As folks know, I’m a big supporter of the Non-profit Commons in Second Life, a hotbed of public good activity lovingly managed by my friend Glitteractica Cookie and the rest of the crew at TechSoup. I’m delighted to report that the NPC is expanding from its current island to a second beautiful sim called the "Aloft Nonprofit Commons" (click here to teleport). The name is in recognition of the donation of the Aloft sim by the Starwood Hotel chain last year.
On Wednesday May 28, there will be a mixed-reality celebration of the new sim that I’m participating in from the real world NetSquared conference in San Jose California. I’ll be giving a presentation (along with several other fine presenters) on how my group Global Kids has benefited from virtual worlds and offer some suggestions for how others might as well. There will be live music all day being performed on the sim for your listening and dancing pleasure, tours of the island, and lots of opportunities to interact with the 40-some groups that call Aloft Nonprofit Commons their new virtual home.
Click on the jump for the complete announcement. It’s going to be a swell party of do-gooders…
Join in the Celebration of the Launch of the Second Nonprofit Commons Sim
Nonprofits, supporters to host mixed reality grand opening celebration in San Jose and in the metaverse on May 28th
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. PT/SLT, in the new second Nonprofit Commons location (click here to teleport).
Highlights:
- Grand opening May 28 of the Nonprofit Commons 2/ALOFT, our second sim housing a large community of nonprofit organizations
- Mixed-reality event, to include a live presentation, a demonstration of the new Second Life Nonprofit Commons island to attendees at the NetSquared Conference in San Jose, and events within Second life
- Live peformances all day within Second Life, with over 8 hours of music from musicians around the world
- Media is invited to attend in-world event as well as to San Jose, and phone interviews are available upon request
This second of two Nonprofit Commons nonprofit sims was generously donated by TakingITGlobal. Like the first Nonprofit Commons sim on Plush, a virtual space for nonprofits, managed by TechSoup, Nonprofit Commons 2 creates and houses a community of social benefit organizations in the online virtual world of Second Life. This community of practice is entirely volunteer-run and hosts organizations from across the globe. To date, they have created a community blog, Google Group and a resource-rich wiki, and have held mixed-reality events, workshops, and regular weekly town hall meetings. This international community is a hub for charities to share best practices, work together on innovative ways to benefit their causes, and network with organizations from across the globe.
The Gala event will be a mixed-reality launch party, complete with networking, a panel of speakers, and tours of the Nonprofit Commons. This live event will take place in the real-world of San Jose, California as part of the NetSquared Conference, and within the virtual world of Second Life. These events will occur simultaneously and will also feature interactivity between the two worlds. Following the mixed-reality event, we will have an afternoon and evening full of live entertainment in Second Life. Audience members in the Second Life portion of the event will include Nonprofit Commons residents, their invited guests, and media representatives. Don’t miss this interactive collaboration, connecting the virtual world with real-world issues.
Event details:
- The mixed-reality event takes place Wednesday May 28th in Second Life, broadcast live from the NetSquared conference in San Jose, 10:00 am- 12PM PST (SLT), online in Second , and is hosted by TechSoup, Nonprofit Commons and NetSquared.
- Second Life entertainment will continue throughout the day, into the evening at the Nonprofit Commons 2: http://slurl.com/secondlife/aloft%20nonprofit%20commons/100/68/25
Event activities:
10am- 11:30am PST/SLT (Second Life Time): Nonprofit Panel and Q & A session
11:30- noon: Tours of the Nonprofit Commons offices in Second Life
Noon–>: Activities continue in Second Life throughout the afternoon and night with major concerts, poetry readings, tours, dancing, and games.
Information and Inquiries: More information about the real-world NetSquared conference can be found on the NetSquared site.
Please RSVP via email to Megan Keane (megan@techsoup.org) for in-world attendance to this event or IM Penguin Kuhn iin Second Life. Join the TechSoup group, in-world to receive announcements about this event and future nonprofit events in Second Life.
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About the Non Profit Commons
2 Locations:
NPC1- Plush Non Profit Commons: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/128/178/26
NPC2 – Aloft Non Profit Commons: http://slurl.com/secondlife/aloft%20nonprofit%20commons/100/68/25
Members of Non Profit Commons meet each Friday at 8:30 PST/SLT at Plush Nonprofit Commons Ampitheater. Visitors are always welcome to join us in making a difference one pixel at a time.
Nonprofit Commons (NPC) consists of two virtual locations (sims) housing over 65 social benefit organizations, managed by a community of volunteers, under the leadership of TechSoup. The NPC1 sim was donated by Anshe Chung Studios and NPC2 sim donated by TakingIT Global. NPC was designed to lower the barriers of access to Second Life, to create a community of practice for nonprofits to explore and learn about the virtual world, and to investigate the many ways in which nonprofits might utilize this unique environment. Through this community, we provide free office space to qualifying groups, meet and collaborate, create a cooperative learning environment and foster outreach, education, fund-raising, all in a virtual space. We focus on providing an accessible entry-point to Second Life and on creating a community of NPOs, not just having NPOs live separately and exist separately in-world. We believe that Second Life is a wonderful place not just to entertain, but also to collaborate, educate, inspire and assist our fellow avatars (and the humans behind them). We welcome all who wish to join us as partners, collaborators or supporters.
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About TechSoup
TechSoup is a nonprofit organization that helps other nonprofits acquire and use technology to better serve their missions. We are working toward a time when every nonprofit and NGO on the planet has the technology resources and knowledge they need to operate at their full potential. Through our Website, nonprofits will find a broad range of software donated by leading tech companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Symantec, Intuit, and Adobe, along with content and community forums targeted specifically at a nonprofit audience. The NetSquared conference showcases social Web innovations that nonprofits can use to dramatically increase their reach and impact.