Is Your Domain Name Safe?
Your domain name is your web address - for example: www.orgname.org. Most of us in the nonprofit world know that the .org is pretty standard for nonprofits. However, what if someone went to www.orgname.COM or .BIZ? Where would they end up, and would they know that they had reached the wrong place?

Goodwill Industries recently faced this issue. A company purchased the www.goodwill.com domain name at auction for more than $55,000 despite Goodwill's attempts to stop the auction from taking place. The winning bidder "parked" the domain name and filled it with links related to charitable giving. Goodwill has filed suit against the owner of the domain and the auction company for trademark infringement, unfair competition, violation of the anti-cybersquatting protection act, interference with prospective economic advantage, and unjust enrichment. The company is seeking transfer of the domain name and economic damages.

It is a good idea to type in variations of your domain name and see what comes up. Does someone have content on that domain that would potentially confuse your visitors?
Read more about the Goodwill suit...

Nonprofit Software Giant Makes Another Acquisition
Blackbaud, the nation's largest provider of fund-raising software to charities, has announced that it will acquire Kintera, a San Diego based pioneer and leading provider of a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution to the nonprofit and government sectors. This is the fourth acquisition for the company in the past two years. There is concern that these mergers will negatively impact the nonprofit community as organizations are left with unsupported software. Other concerns are that lack of competition will lead to higher prices for these products with few alternatives.
Read the press release from Blackbaud...
Read an article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy about the acquisition...

Wireless Technology for Social Change
Between December 10, 2007 and January 13, 2008, 560 non-governmental organization (NGO) workers participated in a survey designed to demonstrate how NGOs are using wireless technology to help reach various social, civil, economic, and political goals.
Read more...