Conventional wisdom holds that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Where the proverbial cat equals information technology, the solutions are as varied as needs. As a professional communicator and not a computer programmer, so much of my interactions on a personal and professional level are online, and within this artificial world, I’ve had to find ways to solve problems that are usually barriers to communicating. Whether you are a filmmaker or a nonprofit organization, you probably also need to have a website, to maintain a database of contacts and to communicate with those contacts, and perhaps to even sell merchandise or manage membership.

I don’t have any magical solutions, but as I’ve been doing some research for issues faced by the organization I work for, I’ve come across some very helpful new resources.

Idealware - “Through product comparisons, recommendations, case studies, and software news, Idealware allows nonprofits to make the software decisions that will help them be more effective.”

TechSoup - “Offers nonprofits a one-stop resource for technology needs by providing free information, resources, and support.”

Beth’s Blog - “A place to capture and share ideas, experiment with and publish links about nonprofit technology, educational technology, adoption challenges, information design, visual thinking, creativity, ICT in the developing world, and much more.” Thank you to David Tames for the lead on this one.

Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) - “NTEN aspires to a world where all nonprofit organizations skillfully and confidently use technology to meet community needs and fulfill their missions.”

Of course, there are a whole host of blogs on the topic; I included Beth’s because she has a host of useful links to said blogs, and of course, all of these sites will take you into the world of tools that nonprofits are using. The frustrating part is that there is no one solution that will fit all. You have to identify your needs, be realistic about your budget, and probably hire a consultant to help you make sense of it all. At least that is the point I am at.