When economic woes and job layoffs dominate the news cycle, we tend to examine our own careers and financial standing.  Am I okay? Is my job safe?

Flickr Credit: RobbieG1It's times like these that being part of a community of professionals, a community of colleagues who share tips, insights, and even job opportunities, becomes even more valuable. 

For us, the nonprofit technology professionals -- a niche that includes IT professionals as well as fundraising and communications folks, as well as the small nonprofit staffers who are jacks-of-all-trades -- to do our jobs well, there's the added need to stay on top of the fast-evolving technologies and trends.

Building that community and providing that professional development training is the idea behind NTEN, and the mission we pursue.  The key to this community is, obviously, YOU, the community.  The key to professional development is learning about best practices and application of tools for mission-oriented strategies -- and those lessons come from colleagues (though we like to call them heroes around here) within the community.

It's NTEN Member Appreciation Month, so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the NTEN community, past, present, and future, for building this successful network for your peers and colleagues (and yourself).  Here are some community resources you can benefit from:

• NTEN Groups (connect 24-7!)
• NTEN Speaker Directory (find your hero)
• NTC Archived Session Materials (notes at your fingertips)
• NTEN Office Hours (chat live with a hero)
• NTEN Jobs Listings (nptech jobs)

I'd also like to announce today's NTEN give-away as part of our month-long celebration of NTEN Members:

Heather Valli, Website Editor for IntraHealth, thank you for being a member of NTEN and doing the work you do! We're sending you a coupon for a free NTEN webinar so you can beef up your nptech skills.