Overcome the Challenges of Distance with Free Online Tools

Yes, Mimi is always encouraging you to take your organization online to find and take advantage of the new opportunities for collaboration with colleagues, supporters and beneficiaries around the globe. But as we all have found, t can be difficult to get organized to work together with a group through the net. This month, thanks to the liberating power of Creative Commons discussed in November, she is reproducing an excellent Techsoup article that will be a tremendous help. Some of the resources are US-focussed and will require a very good Internet connection, however Mimi was struck by the appropriateness of the selection for African civil society. She recommends heartily that you devote some time to exploring the suggested resources and bookmarking the ones you find most useful for future use in your online collaboration forays. And let us know if we missed a good one!

Overcome the Challenges of Distance with Free Online Tools

Manage your nonprofit's international projects using these handy resources

Working internationally often means collaborating with people in different time zones, speaking different languages, and using different currencies. Though challenging, these constraints don't have to bring business to a standstill. Using free and low-cost Web-based resources can help you convert currency, hold conference calls, and even manage projects more efficiently.

The list below includes software, articles, and Web sites that can help any organization be more effective when working internationally. Have you tried any of these resources, or have one you've used and recommend? Tell us about it in the Discuss this Article section at the end of the page.

Conference Calls and VoIP

Skype: Skype allows you to place free calls to other Skype users and (for the time being) landlines and mobiles within the United States and Canada. International rates to landlines and mobiles vary; charges also apply for conference calls of more than five participants.
WebHuddle: This free Web conferencing tool can be used for making and recording conference calls and online presentations. WebHuddle can be used in conjunction with VoIP or with your organization's existing teleconferencing service.
VoIP: Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology that allows you to make free, or nearly free, phone calls over the Internet. Learn what you'll need to start making calls over the Internet in TechSoup's article Ditch Your Telephone for VoIP.
International Dialing Codes: Need to place a call to a city in another country, but don't know the country or city code? Use International Dialing Codes' online calculator to find dialing codes around the world. Simply select the location you're calling from and the country or city you're placing the call to, and the site will tell you which prefixes to dial.

Currency, Translation, and Time

XE.com: This free online calculator lets you convert one currency to another with the click of a button. XE.com handles many different currencies, including the Indian Rupee, the South African Rand, and Japanese Yen.
Time and Date: This helpful, free Web site includes a clock that displays current local times of cities around the world, a meeting planner, and a monthly calendar. Time and Date's customization features allow you to save your own settings.
Babelfish: Use Babelfish to translate phrases from one language to another: Simply enter the phrase you would like to translate, select the languages you're translating to and from, click the Translate button to see, and voil√É¬† - Babelfish will generate a translation. Though not always the most accurate translator (Asian languages are not a strong suit), Babelfish will give you a general idea of how a phrase translates from one language to another.

Distance, Maps, and Driving Directions

Geobytes: Geobytes' free City Distance Tool allows you determine the distance between two international cities with the click of a button.
Frank's Compulsive Guide to Postal Addresses: Use this Web site to find postal codes (if applicable) and other mailing guidelines for international addresses.
Maporama: Maporama offers tools for calculating distance between cities; driving directions; and real-time traffic information for countries in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and beyond.
Geographic.org: Geographic.org offers free, downloadable maps and flags from around the world. Ideal for finding graphics for international presentations. Additional features include a list of country and airport codes.

Holidays

TravelNotes.org's Holiday and Events Calendar: Find out when holidays and festivals around the world are taking place so you can make travel and other plans accordingly.
Slipstick's Microsoft Outlook Holiday Issues Guide: This free online guide shows you how to add international holidays to your Outlook Express calendar.

Project Management

Overcoming the Challenges of Remote Management: Read this TechSoup article for insider tips and tools for managing an international team of nonprofit technology consultants.

Wikis, Blogging, and IRC

Exploring the World of Wikis: In this TechSoup article, find out how wikis - Web sites that allow users to rapidly and easily change the content of pages - can help your nonprofit collaborate easily and inexpensively over long distances.
Seven Blogging Tools Reviewed: Idealware's detailed article provides reviews of the most popular nonprofit blogging platforms to help you determine which blogging tool is right for your organization.
Top Ten Tricks and Tips for New IRC Users: Learn about Internet Relay Chat ( IRC), a form of instant online communication that allows you to quickly communicate and collaborate with others - whether one-to-one or many-to-many - across long distances.

Conference Calls

ReadyTalk: ReadyTalk is user-friendly audio and Web conferencing tool that offers recording, remote-control, and chat features, along with toll-free international dial-in numbers. ReadyTalk is available to qualifying nonprofits on TechSoup Stock for an administrative fee of $45. See ReadyTalk's Web site for a list of the service's conferencing rates.

Project Management

Basecamp: This project-collaboration tool makes it simple to communicate and collaborate on projects, allowing you to centralize group communication with coworkers and clients; assign tasks; post messages; and gather feedback. Free for one user, fees for other plans are posted on Basecamp's site.
Three Easy Ways to Manage Tough Projects: In this TechSoup article, three nonprofit project managers write about their favorite project-management software, all of which can be used internationally.