T-minus 7 weeks: Sandbox Time

Image: Photos8.org

We got to do something exciting this week: begin testing the migrated site and some of the new features!

Playing as test users in the development area, we're getting to see some of our Dev team's hard work. The Drupal migration went beautifully, and there were no problems when testing the "old" portions of the site. The foundation has been established for the Affinity Groups for our Individual and Organizational memberships, and we can't wait to see them lit up with engaging discussion and useful content

The Affinity Groups will be a major component of  NPO Connect 2.0. Version 1.0 has been focused entirely on facilitating individual, off-site connections for nonprofit professionals. Individuals seeking to mentor or be mentored in a variety of areas - like Fundraising, Program Development, and Marketing/Communications - can search for skills and initiate a request with another user. We are keeping this central component of skills-based connections, while adding a community-based learning and discussion environment.

Our goal at NPO Connect is to become a "one-stop shop" for nonprofit networking and learning, with discussions, content, webinars and meetups. Our overarching priority is capacity-building for the nonprofit sector; we all work or have worked extensively within the sector and are personally dedicated to supporting social good organizations. We want to make it easy and affordable for both individuals and organizations to access vital networks, opportunities and knowledge, and to connect with each other to build a stronger future for us all. Bringing a social, community focus to 2.0 is a huge step towards accomplishing our goal. We can't wait to get going!

In other news, Kenny and I are reaching out to some of our favorite nonprofits and networks, and he and Gavin are working to get our Content Experts set up (more on that soon!). I'm working with a wonderful volunteer, Sarah, and searching for an intern to take on some of the many pre-launch duties. The folks at Digital Loom are hard at work on the new homepage, which we'll screenshot for you as soon as it's ready.

Stay tuned - more updates next week! As always, you can reach us at info[at]npoconnect[dot]org with any questions, or leave a comment below.