I often find in small nonprofit organizations a core group of dedicated individuals working hard on programs, projects and services targeting their mission. The smaller the organization, the more work that has to be done by its people to accomplish its goal. One thing I notice is that when everyone is busy and running around, trying to schedule meetings, plan events, and manage projects, things can get lost in the shuffle and staff can get frustrated.
There is an emerging, web-based set of planning and collaboration tools for small groups that range from free to low cost depending on your needs. Some of the features included in these tools are:
• Central/Shared Calendar
• File sharing and collaboration
• Project and task management
• Real time polling
• Group chat and conference calling
Do any of these features sound attractive to you? If so, here are a few examples:
Wiggio.com – Completely free tool for centralized calendar, group chat/conferencing, shared documents/links, and basic project management.
Huddle.net – Free for 1 project. A very good project management, conferencing, and document sharing tool.
Sosius.com – Free with advertising and limited file storage space. An excellent all-around tool for centralized calendar and communications, project/task management, and document sharing.
These are only a couple of the tools available right now. Have you used any of them? Have you found a different tool that is aiding in your planning and collaboration efforts?
Note: This post is authored by guest blogger Adam King. Adam King is the Technology Manager at NPower Michigan. Since 2004, Adam has been helping nonprofits in Michigan with technology assessments and planning, scheduled support and maintenance, as well as technology-based workshops.
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Filed under: Collaboration, Planning, Technology | Tagged: Collaboration, nonprofit, nptech, Planning
