To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• How to Prepare Your Community for a Major Change « The Community Manager – "Change: it’s the one constant in life. Whether you’re introducing a change in ownership, new staff, policy change, technical update, or something else, community members sometimes resist change. Usually, they’re afraid of repercussions that could affect the community they care so much about—so, it comes from a “good place.” That being said, their fears and frustrations can create chaos, and part of your job as community manager is to make transitions as smooth and drama-free as possible. Follow these steps to turn your announcement from a sign of the apocalypse into a community-building win they thank you for."
• Interactive: How America Gives – How America Gives – The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas – The Chronicle of Philanthropy has launched a great new tool: an interactive map of giving data in the US. You can look at total contributions, contributions by household, discretionary income by household, and percentage of income given by household at the national, state, county, and local level.
• Survey says: Most noprofiteers blend their personal/professional brands | Big Duck – "Last week I had the joy of presenting a workshop with the fabulous Danielle Brigida of the National Wildlife Federation at the 7th Annual Bridge to Integrated Marketing & Fundraising Conference in Washington, DC. To gear up for our session on "Mixing Business and Pleasure: Managing Your Personal Brand in Social Media," we asked nonprofiteers (readers like you!) to respond to a quick survey about their own behaviors. We heard from 209 nonprofit staff, consultants, and the people who love us–and some of the results suprised us. While not scientific, the survey offers some interesting insights and we highlighted the key findings in our presentation (included in the slides below and online here). Here are some of those insights…"
• e.politics: online advocacy tools & tactics » How a Twitter Rapid Response Campaign Helped Susan Sarandon ‘Get’ Paid Sick Days – "A coalition of diverse organizations in New York City has banded together to escalate the conversation regarding paid sick days for workers, with an emphasis on getting the NY City Council to pass legislation mandating paid sick days. So far, Council Speaker Christine Quinn has not called for a vote on this issue. But now, it just may happen — after the coaltion (with a little help from their friends) gave us an impromptu course in how to run online rapid response."
• Direct Energy | Direct Energy Contest | Reduce Your Use for GoodReduce Your Use – "Nonprofits, you know it: small changes can make a big difference. At Direct Energy, we’re committed to using our energy expertise to make a difference in people’s lives — so we’re donating up to $100,000 to nonprofits like you to help reduce energy use. Just make a short video of two minutes or less showing us the good work you do in your community. Acceptable submission formats include Windows Media, Quick Time and MPEG (files ending in .wmv, .avi, .mov, .mpg or .mp4). Be passionate. Be creative. Be concise. Tell us about your organization and its vision, how the small things you do make a big difference and why it’s so important that you continue your mission."

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• The Co-operate App | Co-operatives UK – Co-operate is the first mobile application I've seen focused on enabling people to find co-operatives for all their needs, wherever they are (based in the UK). "We are encouraging everyone with a passion for co-operative and ethical business across the country to download the app and push it up the listings. Together we can bring the co-operative economy, during the International Year of Co-operatives, to a wider audience." I'll be keeping my eye on it to see how people use it and how it evolves over time. Great idea!
• The Feast Presents : The World’s Fare – "For four years, The Feast has gathered remarkable people bringing their talents to the table to make the world work better. In addition to rethinking our annual conference, we’re opening up the dialogue this year to move people to action like never before. Join in on The World's Fare and host a dinner for six or more friends at 7pm local time on October 5, 2012 (last day of the Conference). Break bread and by the end of your Feast, collectively decide on one thing to collaborate on that’ll improve the world. We’ll compile all of the ideas online, and akin to the original World’s Fair, it'll all be capped off with a giant celebration of innovation at a public pavilion in NYC the next day."
• A Meet & Greet with Your Favorite Social Archetypes [Infographic] | NetWitsThinkTank.com – "The question today is not whether you should use social media (the 901 million Facebook users answered that for us), but how you should use social media to engage with your supporters, advance your mission and make your fundraising efforts more successful. The answer to the question lies in understanding your  nonprofit social media supporters and identifying which ones are the most well-connected, influential, and, in a word, social. It’s a tricky task, but someone has to do it!"
• The Internet has become a spontaneous, grassroots fundraising tool – Small Act – "Philanthropy has turned on its ear. Where previously people mainly donated to reputable charities who sent them donation requests, or in response to a disaster, now people are spontaneously giving to ad-hoc fundraisers online. Why is this happening? People give because they have an emotional response to a story, and because they’re asked to give."
• Facebook Reporting Guide Shows How Site Is Policed (INFOGRAPHIC) – "Facebook Inc offered a rare peek on Tuesday at one facet of the elaborate system it uses to police its 900 million-user social network, as it attempts to keep it free of content it deems offensive, illegal or just plain inappropriate. The company said it employs "hundreds" of staffers in several offices around the world to handle the millions of user reports it receives every week about everything from spam to threats of violence. A detailed, and somewhat confusing, chart published by Facebook on its website on Tuesday depicts how reports of various infractions are routed through the company and lays out all the potential outcomes, which can range from an account being disabled to Facebook alerting law enforcement."

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• Social Media: A Bubble About to Burst – Online Fundraising, Advocacy, and Social Media – frogloop – "Are your nonprofit staffers addicted to social media? Do they feel that one day Twitter and Facebook are going to bring in the big bucks and build a huge base of activists that will come to your organization’s rescue when you need their help the most? Perhaps around passing one of the most important legislative bills in your organization’s history? Well, I wish you lots of luck and good fortune." Great piece from Allyson Kapin reminding readers that social media is "part of" a strategy. We know that tools (aka tactics) are what help us implement a strategy, not what it is built around. So we need to remember that with social media!
• Love of Philanthropy Photo Contest « Vivanista | Living Well. Doing Good. – "Join Vivanista in sharing the love of philanthropy by participating in our Love of Philanthropy photo contest that showcases images of what it means to be philanthropic." Great example of digital storytelling and community engagement. Check it out and submit a photo yourself!
• Admitting Failure – "“All my successes have been built on my failures.” – Benjamin Disraeli Human and economic development are complex. Progress requires testing, trialing and constant iteration – in short, many failures. This site is an open space for those in the international development community who want to honestly and publicly share their failures. It is a conversation and it is an archive. It aims to create a culture in the broader international development community where failure is embraced."
• Twitter’s Response to WikiLeaks Subpoena Should Be the Industry Standard | Threat Level | Wired.com – "Twitter introduced a new feature last month without telling anyone about it, and the rest of the tech world should take note and come up with their own version of it. Twitter beta-tested a spine."
• Apple’s Disdain for Philanthropy Hurts Society – Opinion – The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas – "Holiday season is always a time for giving—but not on your iPhone. That’s because Apple doesn’t allow nonprofits or other organizations to include a direct donation system in the phone’s applications, so the only way to give is to go to a charity’s Web site, a cumbersome process with a small phone-size keyboard. The only question: Is it a mere glitch or a natural extension of Apple’s policy that is generally indifferent to nonprofits and philanthropy? The company’s policies toward philanthropy and nonprofits are growing increasingly problematic as Apple products become an ever larger part of our media and communications landscape."