We've created this SSC Toolbox to help us maintain an accurate and reliable list of free and open source software for non-profit organizations. If you have questions or thoughts on these toolboxes, please add them in the comments below!

Visit the toolbox itself and create an account on Social Source Commons to add and update applications.

If no tools show up, it's a glitch on the SSC end. Please wait a bit, and try back later.

The Nonprofit Open Source Initiative (NOSI) is gearing up for a new phase of activity, and we want to hear what you are thinking about open source software and it's role in the nonprofit sector. In what ways is the connection working? How is it not? What kinds of new ideas and resources are needed? We're also looking to start conversations on how to get nonprofits involved in the open source community. How do we foster open source development in the nonprofit sector? How do we educate nonprofit technology staff and consultants on the ethos of open source software, not just it's practical applications?

The first NOSI Salon will be in San Francisco on December 11, 2006. We have had Salons in Austin, TX, Washington, DC and Lowell, MA. We hope to have many Salons in the future.

Open Source Cyber Cafe
A Project of the Legal Services Technology Network, the Nonprofit Open Source Initiative, and the National Technology Assistance Project
Circuit Rider's Roundup...

The Cafe made its debut at the 2002 NTEN Technology Circuit Riders Roundup,
held this year on April 12-14 in Orlando, FL. The Roundup is an annual conference of
nonprofit technology assistance providers. These include consultants and staff who assist
non-profit organizations of all sizes around the country with technology decision-making and implementation.

The Cafe was a big hit at with Roundup attendees. Throughout the two-day conference, the
Cafe's five laptops, all running Linux Terminal Server, were in almost constant use.
Many users stopped by to ask questions about open source software. Many others just
wanted to check their email, but in the process found themselves trying out Linux and other OSS programs for the first time.
Here's a sample of what users had to say:
"It [OSS] was less intimidating than I thought. In fact, I have no idea what I was afraid of before."

"This changed my opinion of open source for sure. When I have a chance I'm going to check it out more."

"Pretty impressive."

"Easy to use."

"I used the Cyber Café and really appreciated it. I think you should promote yourself more."

"Very strong effort. Bravo!"

When we asked users how we could improve the Cafe, the two most common suggestions were:

"More laptops!" We're working on getting more hardware donated. For more info, contact the NOSI Steering Commitee
"More documentation" We are also developing more documentation. To help out with this effort please contact the NOSI Steering Commitee.

The open source community model for software development and support represents a huge potential opportunity for nonprofit organizations. The promise of open source is to allow the nonprofit sector to:

• Share technical expertise across organizations
• Leverage limited software development resources
• Avoid lock-in to proprietary technology platforms, and
• Minimize licensing costs as well as total cost of ownership.

You've heard about Linux and you're considering switching to it, at least for your network. You know that Linux has won many converts in the corporate world. But will it really work in the nonprofit world, where budgets are tight and IT staff are scarce?

To answer that question, NOSI is conducting a Total Cost of Onwership (TCO) study of Open Source on the back end for nonprofits. For this study, we are interviewing a wide variety of nonprofit organizations who have actually implemented open source. The goal of the study is to demonstrate what's involved in switching to Linux and whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

We are looking for people who are interested in helping out in the following ways:

• Case study subject: offer your organization as a case study. If you're organization uses open source in any way, please enter it in our examples database.
• Case study interviewer: interview a case study subject and write up the case study.
• Writer: help to write the report(s) and/or articles.
• Editor: read and edit drafts of case studies, reports, articles, etc.
• Web monkey: write up results of case studies for the NOSI web site
• Technical resource: help with technical questions, read drafts to catch technical problems.

If you are interested in getting involved, please contact us and let us know how you would like to help.