For the third year in a row, the organizers of Personal Democracy Forum (PdF) are offering a discount on registration to members of the Idealist community. (If you’re reading this, that means you!)

PdF is a two-day conference exploring and analyzing technology’s impact on politics, government, and civil society. This year’s event takes place June 11-12 in New York City and is centered around the theme “The Internet’s New Political Power.” Speakers will include:

• David Boyce, CEO of Fundly, the largest online social fundraising platform in the U.S.
• Sara Horowitz, Executive Director and Founder, Freelancers Union
• Van Jones, president and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream
• John Perry Barlow, Co-Founder & Vice Chairman, Electronic Frontier Foundation

…And many more.

Planning to attend? Receive 15% off the nonprofit rate with coupon discount code IDEALIST2012.

You can also apply for a Google PdF fellowship for a chance at free registration. According to the site, they’re “looking for innovative people who are trying to tackle big, meangingful problems. Are you trying to change government? Shaking up the non-profit world with a promising new start-up? Blazing new trails in online politics? The Google PdF Fellowship could be yours.” Learn more and apply by Wednesday, May 9.

Image via the (RED) Pinterest page

Yesterday on Twitter and Facebook we asked folks to share “quotations that help you keep priorities straight.” You responded enthusiastically, citing everyone from poet Mary Oliver to philosopher George Santayana to Dr. Seuss to an elementary school librarian in Urbana, IL.

See a collection of the results on Storify.

I hope these words help you remember what’s really important. Go make today a beautiful one – and please keep the quotes coming! You can comment on this post, tweet (we’re @idealist and used the hashtag #favoritequotesroundup), or leave your favorite on our Facebook page.

Ami points out that "Kaboom! invites people to build playgrounds," in strong, active language. (Photo: Ft. Meade Public Affairs, Flickr/Creative Commons)

Today on Fast Company, our founder Ami Dar writes:

To help more people take the leap from good intentions to action, we need better words for what we do. “Service,” “volunteerism,” “civic engagement”—even “nonprofit” and “social entrepreneurship”—are all weak substitutes for the action-oriented verbs that people actually use to describe how they work together and help one another.

Click here to read the rest of the piece. Thanks to Fast Company and Catchafire for including Ami in the “Co.Exist: World Changing Ideas and Innovation” series.

I’m sitting in the lobby of the hotel where the Nonprofit Technology Conference will officially kick off tomorrow morning, back with more tips for conference survival and…thrival. (Did I just type that? I blame the jet lag.)

My post last week focused on what to do before you go. Here are some suggestions for what to do once you arrive.

Be realistic about email.

Think you might neglect your inbox a bit? Don’t forget to put up an out-of-office auto reply. Before the NTC, the smarties at NTEN provided boilerplate text that attendees could copy and paste into their email auto-responder (which deftly include information about the live stream of the conference). You could be cryptic, but Sarah Durham of Big Duck advocates that you share “that you’re out, when you’ll be back, and whom to contact in your absence.” And why not take the opportunity to show off your organization’s personality a little bit?

Remember who you meet.

Trish Tchume, National Director, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network:
I know this is an old trick, but I do still write a brief description about every person I meet on the back of their business card that includes where I met them, one physical detail, one professional detail, and one personal detail that will later jog my memory of who the person is. Hence my rolodex (yes, I still use one) is full of cards that say stuff like, “Chicago IS Conference, cool glasses, been at X org for 2 years, joked abt 4th season 30 Rock.”

Not feeling a session? Put one foot in front of the other, says Amy. (Photo: CarbonNYC, Flickr/Creative Commons)

As my yoga teacher would say, “Create your own experience.”

Amy Sample Ward, Membership Director, NTEN:
Remember the law of two feet: if you’re in a session, a social event, or anywhere else and it isn’t the conversation or topic you thought it would be, feel empowered to leave and find the people and conversations you’re after. Every conference tries to cover many topics and create opportunities for all the various goals participants may have, but participants also need to feel free to make the conference what they want it to be!

Building on that, a tip from me (julia@idealist.org):
Give yourself permission to leave and breathe. I’ve arranged to meet up with an old friend in the city for dinner one night. At the end of a long day of nonprofit tech immersion, I’ll have a chance to unwind, talk about totally different subjects, and see another neighborhood. (I’ll probably forget to take off my conference name tag. She’ll probably make fun of me. I’m OK with that.)

Share power…literally.

It’s conference season! Next week I’m heading to San Francisco for the annual Nonprofit Technology Conference, which boasts thousands of attendees and countless opportunities for networking, skill-building, and…sheer exhaustion. To prepare, I asked a bunch of nonprofit leaders how they make the most of big events like this. Here’s part 1: what to do before you leave.

Do you really want to do this?

Ami Dar, Founder and Executive Director, Idealist:
Think twice—or three times—before signing up. It’s tempting and easy to sign up for a conference that’s happening a few months from now, but pretend for a moment that the conference is happening tomorrow or next week. Would you still want to attend? If so, go for it!

Make a plan.

Does this make you want to run for cover? (Photo: Enterprise 2.0 Conference via Flickr)

Amy Sample Ward, Membership Director, NTEN:

Create a schedule for yourself ahead of time. Don’t budget every minute of every day, but do outline any sessions you know you want to see, and add in a block or two of time that’s free time so you reserve flexible time to meet up with new friends or explore the city.

Allison Jones, Fundraising and communications professional:
While I may blog and have an online presence, I am at my core an introvert. Large group settings make me uneasy so I always feel incredibly nervous before a conference…But I build a ton of relationships online, and conferences offer an opportunity to strengthen those relationships face-to-face. [Arranging ahead of time to] connect in a small group or one-on-one feels less random and less “networky”; these interactions invigorate me and allow me to connect with people in a more meaningful way. Plus, by planning time to meet others, it makes it harder for me to run into a corner and hide!

Trish Tchume, National Director, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network:
If the conference posts a participant list beforehand, go through the list and make note of who you want to catch up with or meet. Once you decide on those folks, PICK AN ACTUAL DATE, TIME, AND PLACE TO MEET. The best way to not actually meet up with someone at a conference is to just plan to “grab each other” when you’re there.

Creature comforts, AKA “Your body and soul”

This one’s mine:
On my packing list for this trip are comfortable shoes, workout clothes, healthy snacks to help me avoid a conference pastry overdose or overpriced airplane snack pack, and a travel mug or water bottle.

One thing I didn’t do that required advance planning: Sign up to volunteer. If your conference includes optional service opportunities like the NTC does, why not take them up on it?

Think (way) ahead.

Farra Trompeter, Vice President, Big Duck:
Block out time on your calendar now for AFTER the conference to process all that you learned and actually implement some of the bright ideas you’re certain to pick up in the sessions and in your conversations.

I’ll be back soon with Part 2: What to do while you’re there. In the meantime, have you tried these strategies? Do you have other “know before you go” tips for conference-goers?

Update, 3/29/12: Watch the webinar via the Nonprofit Quarterly archives.

So grateful for this community. (Photo: Daniel J. Sieradski)

“I need your help to save Idealist.org.” That’s the title of an email our executive director Ami Dar wrote just two years ago. It began:

Dear ___,

You know how sometimes in life you go through a bad moment, and when your friends hear about it later, they say, “Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you ask? We would have helped.”

That’s where Idealist is now, and I am writing to ask for your help.

Very briefly, here’s what happened…

Ami went on to explain that after the financial crisis in October 2008, thousands of nonprofits froze hiring – which meant that we could no longer depend on that revenue stream. We had to get creative. We expanded other revenue-generating efforts, including our Grad Fairs; made some painful decisions to streamline our operations and staff; and got by “on faith and fumes” and with a lot of help from our friends. By January 2010 we had no choice but to turn to you, the people who had attended our events, subscribed to our Email Alerts, and contributed to this community for more than a decade.

Ami sent the email to 500,000 people who had registered on our site. Your response—donations large and small, stories of how Idealist had touched your life, warm wishes—touched us immeasurably, and allowed us to get through that rough patch.

On March 28, the Nonprofit Quarterly will host Ami for a free webinar called When your Financial Model goes Bust: How Idealist Took a Risk and Pulled Through. Join us to hear more about this critical time in our history and to discuss how the lessons we learned might help in your own work.

Space is limited. Reserve your seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/220154626

And to all of you who pitched in back in January 2010: thank you again. We can never thank you enough.

The awards below might not be handed out at this venue, but they're still pretty special. (Photo: Flickr user p-a-t-r-i-c-k, via Creative Commons)

The Academy may be out of golden trophies for the year, but it’s not too late to recognize the Artists, Iron Ladies, and Beginners making a difference at your organization or in your community. Here are three contests open now; click a title to get all the details.

CTK Foundation’s “Heroes with a Heart”

Nomination deadline: February 29, 2012

We heard about this one via NTEN’s Facebook page. From the awards site:

The CTK Foundation presents the Heroes with a Heart (HWH) grant award in celebration of the unsung heroes of the non-profit world. Five “heroes” who have exceeded all expectations in giving of heart, mind and hands to their non-profit will be awarded personal cash prizes to spend any way they wish.

Nominations from any country are welcomed. Learn more and hurry – the nomination deadline is this week!

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Do Something Awards

From the site:

Since 1996, DoSomething.org has honored the nation’s best young world-changers, 25 and under…In 2012 (up to) five finalists will appear on the Do Something Awards on Vh1 and be rewarded with a community grant, media coverage and continued support from DoSomething.org. The grand prize winner will receive $100,000 during the broadcast.

Applicants must be 25 or younger and be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada. More info here.

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World of Children Awards

Nomination deadline: April 1, 2012

We learned about this one via Twitter today. You can nominate someone who fits into one of three categories:

• The Humanitarian Award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to children in the areas of social services, education or humanitarian services.
• The Health Award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to children in the fields of health, medicine or the sciences.
• The Youth Award recognizes youth (under the age of 21)that are making extraordinary contributions to the lives of other children.

Be sure to take a look at the Award Guidelines page.

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Know of other awardscurrently accepting nominations to recognize people and organizations making the world a better place? Leave a comment below!

Eye candy and food for thought from our Facebook feed this morning:

Screen capture of the pinboard "Nonprofit Organizations" curated by NonprofitOrgs

• Nonprofit Organizations on Pinterest: Thinking about Pinterest for your organization? Take a look at the boards Heather Mansfield (aka the human behind Twitter feed @nonprofitorgs and facebook.com/nonprofitorgs) has created: Inspiring Social Good & Causes, Shop for Good, Technology & Fundraising, and more.

• Ten technology-for-good ideas via The Chronicle of Philanthropy: “…accomplishments of the 10 people who will be honored next month for their social-change work by organizers of the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Tex. Meet the advocate who is using mobile technology to promote gay marriage, a volunteer who is restoring tsunami-damaged photographs in Japan, people who are improving health care in poor countries, and many others.”

• If organisations don’t have changemakers they’ll get left behind: Felix Oldenburg, the European director of Ashoka, writes in The Guardian, “Sustainability is the gold standard of green. Can there be anything remotely as simple for social impact? Yes.”

What headlines, tweets, or tools caught your eye today?

Example of an NPR Valentine. (Image: npr.org/valentine/2012)

All over my Facebook feed I’m seeing examples of people and organizations highjacking (lovejacking?) Valentine’s Day “for good.” Whether you abhor the “romantic industrial complex” or you adore the chocolates and flowers, the day is hard to ignore. So it poses both a challenge and an opportunity to organizations: if we play our cards right, we can find fresh, easy ways to show love to our fans and to engage our communities around issues we also want to promote every other day of the year. But these can also easily be lost in the pink-and-red deluge, or strike the wrong note with people who hate the holiday.

Here are some examples I’ve seen today.

• NPR Valentines: Easy-to-download, simple graphics featuring inside jokes for loyal listeners.

• Generosity Day: Cooked up by folks from Acumen Fund, Network for Good, Malaria No More, and Fast Company, this campaign encourages everyone to “reboot Valentine’s Day” by saying yes for 24 hours to anyone who asks for help. Get the rundown on Beth Kanter’s blog.

• Amnesty International, Love is a Right: To push their Facebook friends toward an ongoing fight against homophobia in Cameroon, their status reads “Happy valentine’s day! Take action for those who don’t have the freedom to love without discrimination. http://bit.ly/loveisaright LIKE & SHARE!”

So what can you do if you didn’t focus your energy on a whole Valentine’s campaign?

• Find a quote about love or kindness that ties to your organizations mission and share it through whatever channels make sense for your audience. Kiva‘s Facebook status this morning was “‘Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.’ — Mother Teresa.”

• Write a quick blog post, like the National Peace Corps Association’s cheeky 12 Reasons to Date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer or Points of Light’s more earnest Everyday is Valentine’s Day for Volunteering.

• Simply show some love for your community. Google for Nonprofits posted to Facebook: “Today we want to share our love for you! Thank you for your continued engagement, your support, and your insights. Happy Valentine’s Day from the Google for Nonprofits Team.”

Seen other examples? Leave your favorites in the comments. I’ll love you for it.

There are lots of theories about how to develop leaders across the nonprofit sector. But who’s putting those theories into practice, and are younger nonprofit professionals optimistic about their implementation?

This month our HRConnections newsletter features a piece from Trish Tchume, National Director of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN). Trish explains that YNPN’s most recent National Voice report examined just these sort of questions. The report, titled “Good in Theory, Problems in Practice,” concludes with recommendations to help nonprofit executives, emerging leaders, funders, and others effectively implement leadership development strategies.

Visit IdealistHR or YNPN to learn more. Or sound off here: does your organization have a refreshing approach to leadership development? Do you feel you can weigh in and make it even stronger?