The following email arrived today from Peter Davis of fuzion.co.nz. It may be of interest to community organisations.

We know that many NGOs and community groups are not benefiting from some of the integrated online features that can make managing an organisations contacts more straightforward.

Features such as enabling people to register direct for events without having to reply to e-mails or logging in to websites; renewing directly from a link in an email, without risking creating duplicate contacts etc.

Therefore, I wanted to let you know about an application to the Digital Strategy Community Partnership Fund which would provide funding to help more users in the not-for-profit sector to take advantage of an open source contact management tool — civiCRM.

The first round of documentation has to be delivered on November 10th 2008 and while this timeframe is now incredibly tight there is always the option of organisations becoming involved further down the track.

The funding application is being made to help enable the non-profit sector to benefit from a fully-feature, flexible, open source 'contact' management tool. The funding would subside data migration, training, implementation and support for those NGOs that choose to be a part of the project.

Being open source means civiCRM has no licensing costs or support obligations, and there is a strong community of developers adding new features.

We have implemented civiCRM for both simple and highly complex organisations in New Zealand and know that it is a robust and capable system.

We are very keen to help other NGOs know of its existence and enjoy the benefits of having a product that can effectively manage their

• membership
• fundraising
• contact management
• internal organisational systems
• events
• bulk emailing and much more.

I would of course be very happy to show you what civiCRM is capable of, should your organisation be keen to learn more, regardless of the outcome of this funding proposal.

However, at present we are particularly keen to get some 'letters of support' from the non-profit sector so that we may get funding to assist with several aspects

• develop a series of resources to facilitate adoption of CiviCRM by other non-profit and community user groups
• encourage the expansion of the community of CiviCRM users in New Zealand, with a view to benefit from economies of scale
• run a series of CiviCRM Workshop Series that would cover implementation, system manager training, data migration, user training
• ensure there are affordable CiviCRM Shared Hosting & Installation Services.

We are also hoping we will be able to develop a community of learning of CiviCRM users in the New Zealand non-profit sector, to ensure continued sharing of knowledge and best practices.

An additional outcome would be to set up the first annual New Zealand CiviCRM User Group Meeting, to provide an opportunity for mutual learning and sharing of experiences and successes.

To help support the application we are looking to get letters of interest from within the non-profit sector.

Please contact Peter (peter.davis [@] fuzion.co.nz if you want to discuss providing such a letter.

Read more about civiCRM at www.civicrm.org.

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We're accustomed to watching politicians debate on TV when an election draws near. The 2008 debate between Helen Clark and John Key will be broadcast live on TV ONE on October 14.

This year though viewers are invited to send in video questions via YouTube:

Today, we're thrilled to announce the ONE News YouTube Election Debate between Helen Clark and John Key, a history-making initiative with New Zealand's public broadcaster, TVNZ. This marks the first time the head of a national government and a challenger will face YouTube video questions in an official live TV debate. The debate will be broadcast live on TV ONE on October 14.

So now it's over to you.

This is your chance to interact directly with the leaders of both parties. All questions are welcome. Be as creative and compelling as you like, just keep your questions under 30 seconds. You may be a frequent YouTube user, or you may be giving it a go for the first time. The power of video is that you can show where you're coming from, instead of just saying it. Whether you're on a train, in a classroom, outside your lecture hall, in the centre of the city, on the water's edge, in front of Parliament in Wellington, or an expat Kiwi abroad... get your camera and ask away.

… and stay tuned to see the questions -- and the answers -- as the country's leaders respond directly to the issues that matter most to you.

[Via : YouTube Blog.]

Send in a video question and / or comment on and rate questions from others.

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Did you know the Companies Office have a podcast? I only just found out. They also use RSS feeds, so you can easily keep up to date with what they're doing, and it looks as though the New Societies and Trusts website live from 7 October will have RSS feeds too:

The Ministry of Economic Development is pleased to announce that a new look website for Incorporated Societies and Trusts will be launched on 7 October this year.

The revamped website will continue to be the place to search for Incorporated Societies and Trusts, upload financial statements and maintain details. There will be no change to the online services available on the website.

The revised site will contain a host of new improvements including:

• improved information
• improved site navigation
• better website searching
• a wider range of customer support services
• helpful links to other sites containing relevant and specialised information.

The website will add value to the New Zealand business community by better serving the voluntary sector and providing clear and up-to-date information to all.

[Via : Simon Young on Twitter.]

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The Social Justice commission has set up a website in the style of a newspaper, encouraging Kiwis to give up the extra they'll receive in their pay packets thanks to this month's tax cuts — Give It Up:

Generous Kiwis offer fair go with spare change.

This year the government announced tax cuts for the first time in years. They will start to come into effect October 1st. But what will we do with that extra money in our bank account? The $12 to $28 a week individuals will save on their tax bill is not a lot of money, but it can make a real difference.

For some of us that extra $12 to $28 a week will really help make ends meet, but many of us could get by fine without it. If you could, our suggestion is simple - give it up!

By giving it up to those who do need it, and those working to make a real difference, we can all take an active part in changing our nation and our world into more of the kind of place we, and our children, might like to live. It’s time to take power for change back and make a real difference, right where we are.

Watch the embedded video on the front page to see how 'people on the street' plan to give their extra to organisations and activities.

Or click through to read stories submitted to the site about how people plan to spend the extra. Add your story through the comment form, and if you'd like some regular inspiration and cheering up, subscribe to story updates via email, or through the RSS feed.

Nice use of WordPress there folks!

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Do you need to keep a group of people in touch with one another? Email's old hat; try Twitter, as I explain in a post on my own blog:

When a small group in separate locations is working together on a project they miss out on the camaraderie and instant feedback available when they’re all in the same room. Often they try to use email to make up the lack.

Email’s too slow

The days when we compared email to letters and found email quick are long gone. Now we compare email to Instant Messaging, txting and Twitter and it seems oh so slow, oh so 1900s.

In 2008 the free service provided by Twitter is the surprise entrant in helping groups collaborate.

[Read more : Surprise service to support groups.]

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