Who we are; what we do
Our Mission

Organizers' Collaborative is a membership organization of activists and technology consultants dedicated to providing social change groups with proven, easy-to-use technology and support that is specific to the needs of organizers.

OC provides:

Focused training and assistance coupled with expertise in organizing
Technological best practices and free, customized, state of the art software
Online infrastructure to link organizations, individuals and organizing resources
Organizers' Collaborative facilitates the use of low-cost, easy to use, and open source technologies in order to strengthen individual grassroots organizations and unify the progressive movement.

Our Programs

Grassroots Use of Technology
OC's education and training program enables community organizations to incorporate technology that enhances their work. The components of this program include:

Annual conferences focused on technology for nonprofit organizations and community organizing.
Free training series on using the Organizers Database for organizing, member management, volunteer tracking, and fundraising.
Resources including the OCtech email newsletter, Tech Tips, database case studies, a list of technology tools for community organizing, as well as a comprehensive library of links to web resources on technology and social change.
Low-cost, paid services (including telephone and on-site support) and referrals to qualified consultants for hardware and data conversion assistance.

Online Collaboration and Movement Building

OC has supported several projects to develop web sites that serve as a clearinghouse or "portal" for specific organizing sectors or information relevant to groups engaged in organizing. For example, Democracygroups.org is a national directory of web forums and email lists related to social change, searchable by issue, constituency, or geographic location. The site also provides resources for "best practices" on the use of email lists by nonprofit organizations. The software behind DemocracyGroups is a volunteer project (see calf.democracygroups.org) and we invite people versed in graphic design or Perl programming to participate.

OC also serves as a fiscal agent to three other projects that use the web in innovative ways to promote social change:

CampusActivism.org - an online clearinghouse for student activists nationally,
NetAction.org - the publisher since 1998 of a widely known basic training guide for online activists, and
13Myths.org - a resource for collaboratively publishing fact-sheets.

Strategic Tools for Organizers

Because OC's model of technology assistance places a unique emphasis on affordable off-the-shelf tools, we actively research new tools as they become available. Software released under an "open source" license to serve outreach, advocacy, and fundraising needs of nonprofits has become available only in the last 2-3 years. OC is working to make these tools easier for nonprofits to adopt. We are assisting with documentation, arranging for field testing by community organizations, and advising other groups on incorporating these tools into their trainings.

On occasion, OC develops new, affordable tools where there is a void. We released the Organizers Database (ODB) software in March of 2002 to improve the ability of small organizations to maintain their organizing and fundraising contacts. This database software for Windows is free and available for download. We also released eWrapper, a utility that helps activists prepare e-newsletters.

History of Organizers' Collaborative

OC was founded in 1999 because we felt that there were few resources available to assist smaller community organizations with technology. Small nonprofits we had worked with had chronic difficulties using technology, even though the computer hardware had become extremely affordable.

Working with others interested in addressing this problem , Rich Cowan convened the founding meetings of Organizers' Collaborative (OC) in 1999. In July of 2000, Organizers' Collaborative gained 501(c)(3) status. Operating initially as a volunteer-based organization with only part-time staffing, OC has expanded into a nationally recognized technology resource that now reaches thousands of non-profits and community groups. OC's accomplishments have included:

Holding 5 annual conferences on "Grassroots Use of Technology".
Conducting dozens of presentations and workshops at activist conferences and events in Boston; Amherst, MA; Manchester, NH; Albany, NY; Washington, D.C.; Durham, NC; Providence, RI; New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Orlando, FL, Minneapolis, and Tokyo, Japan.
Hosting 23 interns over a 4-year period. The interns have been responsible for creating Democracygroups.org, a national directory of electronic mail lists relating to social change, organized by issue, constituency, and location.

Establishing an online presence through an email list, octech@democracygroups.org, reaching 2,200 small non-profit members, as well as a library of resources and technical tips for activists on our web site.
Creating and supporting two free software programs, Organizers Database (ODB) and eWrapper, that simplify the process of membership management and expedite the creation of e-mail newsletters. ODB is now in use over 200 nonprofit and activist groups (it has been downloaded by 5,500 people so far).
Answering about 100 requests for technical assistance per year, by email and telephone.

Click here to become a member or get involved.
Click here to see our board.
Click here for internship information.

Our staff and volunteers have scoured the Internet and located over 280 links relevant to computers and social change organizing. Last updated on 7/25/02. Please mail corrections and suggestions to webmaster@organizenow.net

Technical Tips for Small Nonprofits and Social Change Groups

We want to allow activists with a minimum understanding of computers to learn more about how they can be useful within social change groups. This page is designed as a "front end" to help you locate the resources you need quickly and easily even if you don't have lots of time to surf the web.

The first tip is a glossary of some of the basic computer words used on this page; the other tips contain advice from people with years of experience working in activist groups and in technical support.

In order to implement some of the suggestions here you might need an assistant with a technical background. We have provided a tip on finding technical volunteers to help you find that person.

We are constantly updating this collection. You can send ideas for new links, resources, or edits to this page to techtip @ organizenow.net

Technical Tips for Small Nonprofits and Social Change Groups:
Finding a Technical Volunteer

At the present time VolunteerMatch is probably one of the best resources for finding someone to help you with your technical needs. To register as an organization eligible to list volunteer opportunities, you must be a non-profit organization with a federal tax ID number. It's a good idea to list two or three different areas where you need volunteers (i.e. webmaster, computer networking, software training for staff) to increase the chances that you'll get a match. VolunteerMatch can be used to find local volunteers as well a "Virtual Volunteers" who do most of their work for you online. A great resource on managing virtual volunteers is located here.

A second excellent resource is TechSoup. TechSoup is a new project of CompuMentor, a national organization with a decade of experience placing technically oriented volunteers in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are lucky, you can sign up and be assigned a "mentor" who will help you address your organization's technology needs.

Techsoup also has published several excellent articles on using volunteers:

Working with Technical Volunteers
Structuring a Successful Volunteer Project
Volunteer Management Mistakes to Avoid

Other ideas on finding a volunteer:

1) try to find out if there are any programs in your city which do volunteer matching. (New York and Seattle are two cities with such programs.)

2) find an employee who works at a local high-tech company and ask them to post a notice on a bulletin board.

3) contact engineering organizations at area campuses or High Schools, including Eta Kappa Nu, the National Honor Society, the Society of Women Engineers, and Black or Hispanic Engineering groups, and ask them to announce your need for volunteers at one of their meetings.

4) look on the Internet for meetings of local computer societies or clubs. Contact these groups by e-mail to ask them for advice on finding a volunteer from within their ranks.


If you have other suggestions please contact us at techtip @ organizenow.net.