With the 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference (10NTC) taking place April 8 – 10, it's the perfect time to talk iPhone and iPad apps for social good. The 10NTC is the SXSW of the nonprofit tech world and is a chance for nonprofit technology lovers to network and keep up with the latest technology. If you are attending 10NTC, don’t forget to download the event’s official and free 10NTC iPhone app, complete with schedule of events, exhibitor information and more. And, check out @jessicadally’s Curated App list: My @10NTC App List.
Unfortunately, I won’t be attending, but being a connected nonprofit communications professional, I will be listening in on Beth Kanter’s session on the “Networked Nonprofit”, thanks to Webinar capabilities through the Nonprofit Technology Network, host of 10NTC. Kanter is a social leader on technology for nonprofits and even has her own free Kanter iPhone app for nonprofit staff to benefit from her knowledgeable blog, Twitter feed, videos etc. Check out @kanter’s Curated App List right here on Appolicious: Apps for Social Good.
These days, economic uncertainty, coupled with Apple taking us from the iPod to the iPad faster than you can say “po-tay-toe, po-tah-to,” nonprofits can have a difficult time keeping up with technology, let alone finding the budget for it. But even so, some nonprofits are finding the resources to create great iPhone and iPad apps to create everything from petitions to location-based campaigns, as well as securing donations and enhancing storytelling.
So on that note, here are some great examples of apps for social good that you should check out whether or not you make it to 10NTC:
With Earth Day (April 17) right around the corner, the Sierra Club has launched its first iPhone/iPad app called Eco Hero. Download this iPhone app through April 30 and sign an Eco Hero pledge to be entered to win a green getaway to Hawaii.
April is also Child Abuse Prevention Month or what some organizations refer to as Blue Ribbon Month. Check out the Child Abuse Awareness iPhone app by the nonprofit People Against A Violent Environment in Wisconsin that provides a fact a day surrounding child abuse during April.
While we are on the subject of children, everyone with an iPhone should download the free Amber Alert app. This app has a real-time feed of missing children complete with direct access to the hotline number, detailed information about the missing child and circumstances surrounding the crisis as well as the capability for users to send GPS reports with coordinates to help local police find missing children.
If it is volunteer opportunities that you seek, check out the free and freshly-launched VolunteerMatch app for iPhone and iPad, which lets users locate volunteer opportunities close to them including virtual volunteer opps.
If you are an avid FourSquare user, you will like this app. Check out the innovative and charitable CauseWorld iPad app that lets you check in during routine daily stops in order to earn karma points that are turned into donated funds to charities.
The free Nonprofit Tech 2.0 iPad app is a must have for nonprofit professionals, Appolicious user @nonprofitorgs rates it five bars in her app library. This app for both the iPhone and the iPad is the social media guide for nonprofits. And, if your nonprofit uses Blackbaud software, make sure to integrate with their iPhone app Blackbaud Mobile, iPad version coming soon, for mobile access to data on donations and donors.
rolv
Unfortunately people, especially children, go missing every day. There are a great number of methods in place to help find the missing BUT one very obvious method is totally ignored, not to say impossible until WrapMail (www.wrapmail.com) developed its technology: email. Not email-blasts BUT using the emails people send every day anyway (one-on-one emails)!
Corporate and Government employees send emails ever day, these emails go to the public, business and government agencies but when they arrive they are plain black on white.
Each of these emails could have a wrap surrounding the email that in addition to information and links to the respective websites also could feature pictures of missing adults and/or children. WrapMail, Inc.’s technology allows for dynamic rotation so that every single email that is sent out could feature new missing kids so that all the missing is exposed to the receiving audience. There are already RSS feeds out with data on missing kids that can be incorporated into a WrapMail. This is the milk carton of the 21st Century!
These pictures have embedded hyperlinks that lead to pages with more details (such as more pictures, last seen, clothes worn, last seen with etc).
There are about 50 billion emails sent every day; one-on-one emails that is, every one of them could be looking for missing children.
The bottom line is that these emails are sent every day anyway – why not use them for something good? WrapMail offers their solution for free for approved organizations (organizations that focus on finding missing adults and children) as they, like everyone else, send external emails every day. WrapMail further offers its clients to incorporate this feature for free either with just an amber alert or a rotation of missing people with every outbound email.
Please also see this article: http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/cover082907.htm
WrapMail looks for missing Florida children with every email sent by one of our employees.