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People scribbled notes on Palm Pilots. They paced the outer lobby of the Seattle Sheraton with cell phones glued to ears, gesticulating at the air. It was the fourth of ten conferences called Nonprofits and Technology, presented by Philanthropy News Network [ http://conference.pj.org ], held on January 26 and 27, 1999. Many of the 290 registrants were obviously already engaged with technology. But they were eager to learn more.
And they did, thanks in part to the no-nonsense journalistic bent of Philanthropy News Network’s editor and publisher Todd Cohen, former business editor of the Raleigh, NC, News & Observer. Cohen and his staff facilitated many sessions. Among the highlights:
- Microsoft’s Jane Meseck Yeager and former consultant Joan Fanning unveiled plans for NPower [ http://www.NPower.org ], a nonprofit which will open its doors March 1 to provide technology consulting, education, and volunteer matching services to Seattle area nonprofits.
- Paul Brainerd, the founder of Aldus Corporation (of Pagemaker fame) and now the Brainerd Foundation [ http://www.brainerd.org ], urged nonprofits to experiment with information publishing. “You can’t opt out, and expect to win,” he said of using new technology, implying that you might win big if you think big.
