Monday, December 8, 2008
Meeting with Betty
Today our group went down to Enlace and presented her our project proposal. It was a very productive meeting and she was very excited about what we had presented her. We also were able to gather the necessary paper work that we will need going forward. We were also able to obtain a copy of the form that is necessary to prove that they are a non profit organization so we can submit it to dreamhost. Our next step is waiting for feedback on the project proposal to make sure that we have meet her needs and that she is satisfied with what we have presented her. Our group is meeting Tuesday night to put the finishing touches for our presentation on Wednesday.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Project Proposal Presentationg
Our group met tonight at the library to piece together our final project proposal. We took the corrections we received from Carol and implemented them into the proposal. We have edited it so that it is in a letter format. We are going to Holyoke tomorrow at 3:30 to meet with Betty at Enlace to present her our proposal. Also we worked on our presentation for Wednesday. We have planned to meet Tuesday night to practice our parts for our presentation on Wednesday. I will be blogging tomorrow after our meeting with Betty and provide a summary of what took place.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Project Proposal
This is combining the last two weeks of what our group has been up to. Before thanksgiving break our group finished a rough draft of our project proposal. We split up the paper evenly and then brought it together to edit it. After we finished that we presented our project proposal to the class. We took the feedback that we received and again split up the paper into the parts we had worked on and edited them over break. Also after our semi-formal presentation we e-mailed betty and giving her potential times that our group could meet. To set this up we used doodle which worked quite while in finding times that worked for all of us. Unfortunately Betty did not receive our e-mail after talking to her today I told her that our group would get back together and figure out new times and call her. Our group met yesterday and put together our corrected portions of the paper as well as started working on our powerpoint presentation. Currently I have set up a new event in doodle and we are trying to figure out new times to present to Betty.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
TechSoup - study up on this & Prep for next week!
As you are planning what you can offer your CBO in your Project Proposals...please study up on
TechSoup.
I don't know if your organizations even KNOW about this but they can get software very cheaply and lots of help with tech related things from TechSoup.
So.....
Go to the web site. Read it over. Know what it has to offer. Think about how it could fit into your project and how you could also use it to educate your CBO people and to help with sustainability (for example with tech support, products etc).
ALSO... are there TechSoup items you could include in your ComCol grant application???
Assuming the CBO's are not already members and registered users of TechSoup, you should plan to get them hooked up with TechSoup asap so you and they can access it when you need it.
NOTE:
Please have a "semi-formal" presentation ready for the second half of our class next week.
I want to hear your ideas about this as well as joomla and whatever else you are investigating to assess factors related to your proposals.... when we meet next week.
TechSoup.
I don't know if your organizations even KNOW about this but they can get software very cheaply and lots of help with tech related things from TechSoup.
So.....
Go to the web site. Read it over. Know what it has to offer. Think about how it could fit into your project and how you could also use it to educate your CBO people and to help with sustainability (for example with tech support, products etc).
ALSO... are there TechSoup items you could include in your ComCol grant application???
Assuming the CBO's are not already members and registered users of TechSoup, you should plan to get them hooked up with TechSoup asap so you and they can access it when you need it.
NOTE:
Please have a "semi-formal" presentation ready for the second half of our class next week.
I want to hear your ideas about this as well as joomla and whatever else you are investigating to assess factors related to your proposals.... when we meet next week.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Needs Assessment
Our group has finished the first part of our needs assessment. In our needs assessment we started with a quick history of the organization. Also we mentioned exactly what Enlace does as an organization. From there we started to describe the Enlace's current technical status. We explained how their current technical status will not be something that will hinder our progress. Also we mentioned the two basic needs that the organization wants. The first being the website, the website is very important because it will give a face to the organization. Also it will help the organization in funding because people will have a place to go to get more information. The second thing they need is some sort of database. This will allow the organization to keep track of the people they service, not just how many but how many people of this age and race did they help. This will show people how much of an impact they have in the community and this will again help with funding. The database will most importantly save the organization time. Instead of taking time and going through piles of paper, they can be using that time to help others. Also we talked about another issue that is one that are not going to mention but hopefully will be able to deliver. This is the issue of creating email lists and groups so they can just one click and be able to save time and send out e-mails. Our next step is to figure out what exactly programs we will be using and present it to betty.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Communication Reminders & Info
Just a reminder to be sure to include me on all emails with your CBO! Also when e-mailing them always put UMass IT Capstone (or something you all agree on) in the subject line so it doesn't go undetected. Set up and use ONE email consistently so it doesn't get filtered on their end, and make sure their emails to you are not getting filtered on your end. Please also be sure that when they reply to you, I am receiving that as well. The paper trail can become very important for me, especially if we run into any obstacles.
If your email asks for a reply from them and you do not hear within 24 hours please send a polite email checking to be sure they rec'd the first, with a copy of the first email included. If you do not hear in another 24 hours, call them and politely get the info you need or ask them to reply to the email. If you get needed info from them over the phone, send them a brief follow up email confirming what you heard on the phone. Basically, create a paper trial that you can all review. It can be helpful for you and for them, to be able to look back and refresh your memories. If an email contains important info but does not require a reply, ask for a quick "got it" reply anyway so you know it was rec'd. They are incredibly busy people but do NOT assume your email always gets thru either! Email is great but it is far from perfect.
Stay in touch with your CBO! You don't want to be a pest but neither do you want to be too far off their radar. Send short updates fairly regularly (maybe once per week or at least every other week), even if you do not need input or info at that time. You want to keep them posted, establish rapport and keep your project fresh in their mind. This is an important foundation building time with them.
I know it probably goes without saying but:
Always use friendly, professional protocol in your emails. Always thank them for their participation, help, or support, etc. Being reliable, building trust, being professional and appreciative will go long a long, long way towards making your partnership run smoothly when you get into the thick of things next semester.
If your email asks for a reply from them and you do not hear within 24 hours please send a polite email checking to be sure they rec'd the first, with a copy of the first email included. If you do not hear in another 24 hours, call them and politely get the info you need or ask them to reply to the email. If you get needed info from them over the phone, send them a brief follow up email confirming what you heard on the phone. Basically, create a paper trial that you can all review. It can be helpful for you and for them, to be able to look back and refresh your memories. If an email contains important info but does not require a reply, ask for a quick "got it" reply anyway so you know it was rec'd. They are incredibly busy people but do NOT assume your email always gets thru either! Email is great but it is far from perfect.
Stay in touch with your CBO! You don't want to be a pest but neither do you want to be too far off their radar. Send short updates fairly regularly (maybe once per week or at least every other week), even if you do not need input or info at that time. You want to keep them posted, establish rapport and keep your project fresh in their mind. This is an important foundation building time with them.
I know it probably goes without saying but:
Always use friendly, professional protocol in your emails. Always thank them for their participation, help, or support, etc. Being reliable, building trust, being professional and appreciative will go long a long, long way towards making your partnership run smoothly when you get into the thick of things next semester.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Free web hosting info - apply soon!
More info from Aaron:
Tim C-M just got me login info for DreamHost. Free for non-profits!!
Amazing! Ruby on Rails, PHP, mySQL, and more. One-click install of Joomla!
Teams should get an application submitted so its ready when/if they need it:
http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Non-profit_Discount
Tim C-M just got me login info for DreamHost. Free for non-profits!!
Amazing! Ruby on Rails, PHP, mySQL, and more. One-click install of Joomla!
Teams should get an application submitted so its ready when/if they need it:
http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Non-profit_Discount
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Team Oriented Project Management Tool !
Some info for you all from Aaron:
You may want to check out Action Method.
Basically, its a to do list that organizes tasks into projects with an emphasis on collaboration.
Free version allows 50 action steps.
You might want to use this, since it allows for task delegation, due dates, and time tracking. Also, each person only views tasks that they're involved in, which is nice.
You may want to check out Action Method.
Basically, its a to do list that organizes tasks into projects with an emphasis on collaboration.
Free version allows 50 action steps.
You might want to use this, since it allows for task delegation, due dates, and time tracking. Also, each person only views tasks that they're involved in, which is nice.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Also.....
Also, I am hearing django may be a good possibility for web-based data management. Not sure how it may (or may not) fit into any project you would do for Juntos but check it out and see what you think. Supposed to be powerful and relatively fast to develop with.
http://www.djangoproject.com/
http://www.djangoproject.com/
Check these out....
Hi team Enlace!!
Here are some leads for you to pursue -
Divide and conquer.
Begin looking at joomla as a poss. content management system (web). Not sure if that is the best for Enlace but since that is what some other orgs. are using in Holyoke, it may well be best to use for them as well. (continuity, sustainability etc)
Knowing how much work the site part will be, will help you think about what else you might take on.
Also, I am hearing django may be a good possibility for web-based data management. Supposed ot be powerful and relatively fast to develop with. Check it out and see what you think.
http://www.djangoproject.com/
Below are some things Tim suggested you all check out. I believe they are regarding assessments so there may be helpful info to think about and/or to help you in writing up your needs assessment paper.
http://www.npower.org/
http://www.nten.org/
http://www.zenofnptech.org/category/nonprofit-tech
http://www.consultantcommons.org/
If you have not already thought of it, Google docs may be a good way to Team write your paper!
See you Wednesday!
Here are some leads for you to pursue -
Divide and conquer.
Begin looking at joomla as a poss. content management system (web). Not sure if that is the best for Enlace but since that is what some other orgs. are using in Holyoke, it may well be best to use for them as well. (continuity, sustainability etc)
Knowing how much work the site part will be, will help you think about what else you might take on.
Also, I am hearing django may be a good possibility for web-based data management. Supposed ot be powerful and relatively fast to develop with. Check it out and see what you think.
http://www.djangoproject.com/
Below are some things Tim suggested you all check out. I believe they are regarding assessments so there may be helpful info to think about and/or to help you in writing up your needs assessment paper.
http://www.npower.org/
http://www.nten.org/
http://www.zenofnptech.org/category/nonprofit-tech
http://www.consultantcommons.org/
If you have not already thought of it, Google docs may be a good way to Team write your paper!
See you Wednesday!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
First two visits
Our group has visited with Betty of Enlace on two different occasions. From these two meetings we have gathered a good amount of information. We have concluded that the main things we want to get set up is a website, and a database so that she will be able to keep track of all the people they help out. Currently we have not yet started looking into what we will do for the database. We have concluded that the main thing we want to get out of whatever program we choose is sustainability. We decided this after we heard from Tim Coen Mitchell. We heard the trouble he was having trying to make all the programs that he had work in cohesion. This is something that we do not want to happen for Enlace after we leave. We want to make sure that what we choose to set Enlace up with will be something that they will be able to sustain for a long time. Now what we must do going forward is work on figuring out what will be the best programs to use for meeting Enlace's needs.
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