On Friday December 16, we at the Nonprofit Commons were happy to welcome Ms. Ruxandra Popa of TechSoup Romania, who came (as a green robot) to talk about their "Restart Romania" initiative they launched earlier this year. Ruxandra explained how her team created an online platform for citizens to submit ideas for improving their government using technology. It was a great example of how a small group of nonprofit organizers can leverage online tools to have nation-wide impact.

Read on for a slightly edited transcript of her talk. You can get a sense of the level of engagement and excitement of our audience of about 30 nonprofit professionals, and some solid brainstorming about how to integrate Second Life into future TechSoup Romania initiatives. It was a really great meeting! The complete transcript of the NPC meeting follows afterwards.

Thanks so much to Ruxandra for taking the time late in the evening her time to visit us at the Nonprofit Commons! You can join us every Friday starting at 8:30am PT for talks and conversations like this in Second Life at our virtual amphitheater. Click here for details.

Here's a very detailed and multi-faceted video documenting how a group of students at Rutgers University organized a benefit concert for the nonprofit Project Jason at the Nonprofit Commons space in Second Life.  Congrats to Joe, Tom, Hayli and Olivia for doing such a great job on your first virtual event! 

This is a great breakdown for folks who want a detailed understanding of what it would take to put on an event in Second Life.  The community would really benefit from seeing more post-event descriptions like this.

Please join us at the Nonprofit Commons for "Wishes Granted: Stories of Positive Impact" Winter Festival from December 11 - 17.

In a snow covered setting, visitors will discover huge books that tell real life fairy tales. Those stories are about how nonprofit organizations have had an encouraging and constructive influence on the lives of others. Inside the “fairy tale” books will be insightful stories on notecards, landmarks, and gifts from the unique nonprofits. Discover there is an opportunity, as individuals and as a community, to impact the lives of people who join us in the virtual world and those we support in the physical world every day, many of whom do not even log in to Second Life. Grab a wand and make magic happen!

Check out all the amazing events below:

Sunday, December 11, 2011     2:00-4:00 PM SLT

Opening Social Party with music provided by Avantgarde Frequency at the Nonprofit Commons Community Area on Aloft

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aloft%20Nonprofit%20Commons/84/68/25

Continuing our education theme from last week, this Friday December 9 at the Nonprofit Commons we welcome LuAnn Phillips (SL:Thynka Little) Virtual Worlds Coordinator for the National eXtension Initiative.

Tomorrow, December 7, is the next Online Community Meetup, a monthly gathering that happens both at the San Francisco offices of TechSoup Global and in Second Life. This month we are featuring, well, ourselves! That's right, the online community and social media team at TechSoup will be revealing some of their secrets to promote deeper and stronger community engagement through our various activities.  It's a rare opportunity to hear from our stellar social media staff, including:

• Susan Tenby, Online Community Director
• Evonne Heyning, Interactive Producer
• Rik Panganiban, Nonprofit Commons Online Community Manager
• Michael DeLong, Online Community Manager
• Kristy Graves, Social Media & Online Community Team
• and Ale Bezdikian, Online Community Coordinator

You don't want to miss this one!

That's tomorrow, December 7, starting at 7pm PT.  In San Francisco it will take place at TechSoup Global 525 Brannan Street while in Second Life it will be at the Plush Nonprofit Commons amphitheater at this teleport link.

See you then!

[Image by Susan Chavez.]