Using Contact Management, Communication, and Online Organizing Tools for Social Change

The ultimate goal of this report is to help organizers harness the potential of online technology. To this end, we have compiled insights from organizers working to utilize new technology and provided introductory recommendations for technology developers, capacity builders, strategists, practitioners and funders. From a tools perspective, the research presented in this report focuses on the nexus of contact management, online communication, and online organizing tools, which we have broadly defined as:

• Contact management tools permit organizations to track their constituents or service communities. A rolodex is the simplest form of contact management; slightly more advanced is a spreadsheet. Beyond that, there are a variety of more complex programs serving different purposes, such as donor tracking, volunteer management, and relationship management.
• Online communications tools send information from one online computing device to another. This broad category encompasses email and email-blast tools, blogs, and online event calendars.
• Online organizing tools permit organizations to conduct aspects of their campaigns and advocacy efforts online. Examples include online volunteer recruitment, online fundraising, and email advocacy.

Largely designed as separate applications, contact management and Web-based communication and organizing tools are now becoming increasingly integrated. For example, constituent lists organizers previously tracked through offline databases such as FileMaker Pro or Access can now be tracked online and linked automatically to email-blast functionality. Software developments such as these, which seamlessly integrate tracking power and communication technologies, offer organizers ways to streamline their work, strengthen systems, and communicate more effectively with constituents.

There are many other technologies and services, such as hardware, network administration, desktop publishing software, financial management systems, and front or back office technical support, which are crucially important to social change organizers. However, information about how organizers are using these types of technologies and services are beyond the scope of this report.

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