New and Improved, NPT Jobs Is Ready To Work For You

There are many new and exciting things happening at NPT Jobs, the source for nonprofit employment services (job postings, job seekers, resume postings, email blasts, etc.). Effective immediately, you now have three ways to advertise your nonprofit job opening:

NPT Jobs eNewsletter – This bi-monthly publication is sent to over 100,000 executives within the nonprofit sector. You can post a single opening or if you have multiple positions available, you can sponsor the entire issue giving you both impact and exclusivity. To view a previous e-newsletter, click here.

NPTJobs.com – Our online job board attracts over 3,000 weekly visitors. This is THE place where talent comes to find great openings in the nonprofit world. To visit NPTJobs.com, click here.

The NonProfit Times – Our flagship publication includes a jobs marketplace in every issue. NPT is read by over 85,000 executives in the nonprofit sector 22 times a year. Choose between lineage or display advertising to get your message across most effectively. Click here to view the jobs marketplace. There are also a number of bulk rate and nonprofit discount packages available – contact us for specific pricing. We look forward to working with you to successfully fill all your employment needs with the best talent available. Feel free to contact Joyce@nptimes.com if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding NPT Jobs.

Virtual Land Rush - Nonprofits, Stake Your Claim

The International Conservation Association formerly known as World Wildlife Fund, now WWF, launched the new Conservation Island in the virtual space Second Life (SL) this past August. With its size and notoriety, WWf in Washington, D.C., has the resources to stand on its own in the SL Meta-verse. But what about smaller nonprofits with less money, branding and support?

Offering an answer to the technological divide suffered by many in the third sector, nonprofit technology service provider TechSoup embarked on its own Second Life Venture - a nonprofits-only space called the Nonprofit Commons (NC).

"Larger organizations...don't need our help, because they have a huge staff and they've been in-world for a long time," said Susan Tenby, online community manager at San Francisco-based TechSoup. "Our goal... is to create a lower barrier of entry... into Second Life, and to create a kind of community for nonprofits." The NC, currently at capacity with 32 resident nonprofits, provides space free to qualifying organization.

According to Tenby, known in SL as the avatar "Glitteractica Cookie," the space provides a virtual venue for nonprofits to meet and collaborate, and foster outreach, education and fundraising. "This is more to help organizations get a foot in the door, figure out what they can do in Second Life, and have an already-existing community to step into and to get help."

Despite being situated on its own island, the American Cancer Society and other big-name nonprofits frequently partner with Techsoup, maintain satellite offices on the NC, and attend the weekly Friday meetings to discuss nonprofit-focused topics. Tenby said she wxpects the space to house 300 organizations within a couple of years.

The NC has a management team of seven people, and requires residents to sign an agreement committing at least three hours each week to SL.

"It's not only a great way to increase awareness for your organization, but also to enlist volunteers," said Tenby. "A lot of these (younger) people are so steeped in Myspace and social networking applications, that expecting them to read a newspaper to find a volunteer center, or even go (online) to volunteer match, those kind of days... they're getting fewer and farther between." - Marla E. Nobles

Hello? 'iPhoned' In A Donation - A Large Donation

Would you pay $100,000 for an iPhone? Would you give $100,000 to help get life-saving AIDS medicine to Africa? How about both for the same price?

Keep a Child Alive (KCA) marshaled its forces to "hijack the line" at Apple's SoHo store in New York City. Working in shifts, almost 60 volunteers stood first in line for more than 80 hours -- from 7 a.m., Tuesday, June 26 until the iPhone went on sale that Friday, June 29, at 6 p.m. The organiztion then turned around and put the item, which retails for $500, on sale on eBay. The $100,000 winning bid beat out 21 others.

Sure, the six-figure contribution isn't bad for a fledgling nonprofit that raised $3 million last year. But the exposure for the three-year-old Brooklyn charity is like those credit card commercials: priceless.

The media coverage of the KCA's iPhone campaign was estimated to be worth millions of dollars, said Senior Vice President Elizabeth Santiso, who's collected every piece, with more than 300 pages of press worldwide from as far away as Thailand.

"We try to keep things lighthearted because it's a serious issue," Santiso said. KCA aims to work directly with clinics in Africa, cutting through bureaucracy to get life-saving treatments to children and families with HIV/AIDS. "This type of guerilla marketing is essential for nonprofits that are working with something as timely as AIDS."

The iPhone will be awarded to the winning bidder at KCA's annual gala in October to honor U2 lead singer Bono. The event raises funds ($1.5 million last year) to cover operating costs so donations can go directly to programs.

KCA also gained attention with its "I Am African" ad campaign, which featured celebrities intraditional African paint or beads. Santiso said the organization doesn't shy from controversy "because it stirs conversation." - Mark Hrywna

Re-Gifting Goes From Tacky to Charitable

Social prudence says you can't trade in that hideous sweater Aunt Sally knitted for you last Christmas, but now donors can swap those unwanted gift cards that have been nesting in their "junk" drawer for months.

The National Prostate Cancer Center Coalition (NPCC) is among a growing number of nonprofit organizations tapping into a new program that allows donors to trade in or donate unwanted gift cards. "This program provides nonprofits a way to tap into the $5 to 10 billion in unused gift cards that accrue each year," says Michael A. Kelly, CEO of Swapagift.com, "turning them into cash for these organizations." With the recent launch of its Cards That Care program, the Internet company is attempting to put a philanthropic spin on the universal faux pas that is re-gifting.

And, okay, maybe you can swap the sweater or donate it to a charity, but do you really want that on your conscience?