The most recent issue of the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing is about "creative" thinking as it applies to data and new technologies. The issue is not about the latest release of a piece of software, or some IT virility test about how quick a process is. It is about practitioners within the sector who are challenging received wisdoms and creating value for the organizations they are working for.

In the first section, on systems we can see evidence of this creative approach. Mark Duffill shows where conventional IT wisdom needs to be discarded to satisfy a core understanding for any organization - the value of their donors over time. Peter Flory examines the application of commercial packages and sees advantages and crossovers for the sector by widening our thinking. Scott Logie's article discusses the application of a new database engine for World Vision for the purpose of improved data analysis.

In the second section on data analysis, Tim Drye's article examines the application of an approach originating in medical analysis to transactional files to uncover the probability of donors lapsing. Jennifer Key demonstrates custom response modeling to improve the response levels from donor groups, and statistical approaches to deal with typical response data.

In the final section, there are a number of articles looking at the use of the Internet and emerging technologies. The subject has captured the limelight in the non-voluntary sector, as it has in recent years in every other area from online banking to virtual shopping malls. Joe Saxton explores the development of this media and looks ahead to the potential for how the new technology will create new fundraising opportunities. Merritt Olsen looks at the thinking required to set up an e-fundraising approach with examples from the USA.

This issue should be a source of encouragement to the sector; there are real opportunities emerging with new media, cost-effective tools and the general lower of IT costs. More importantly there are practitioners and thinkers within the sector to exploit these opportunities.

Nigel Magson
IT Editor & Managing Director of Talking Numbers Data based solutions Ltd.
http://www.henrystewart.com/journals/nvsm/

Under the terms of the program, a charitable organization is defined as any entity described in Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code (the "Code"), except for (i) private foundations (as defined in Section 509 of the Code), (ii) any hospital, health care system or research laboratory, and (iii) any entity who is eligible to participate in the Microsoft Academic Open License program as an "eligible education customer" as that term is defined in the Microsoft Academic Open License Agreement in effect at the time your order was placed."

For more information, click on this link: http://microsoft.com/licensing/programs/open/opencharity.asp

Also...avoid getting unwanted e-mail from Yahoo!:
If you are registered as a Yahoo! user and wish to restrict how they use your account information (i.e. if you don't want unsolicited commercial promotions, etc.) you need to go to http://subscribe.yahoo.com/showaccount by June 15, 2002 to change your account preferences.