Defunct websites, or web sites of now defunct organizations, still available on the Internet Wayback Machine. Includes online communities that also have gone away.
Note that many of these URLs may still be functional, but have
long been taken over by other companies, including porn sites. To
see the original web sites. cut and paste a URL into archive.org
and look for the earliest version of the web site. Most of these
sites started being abandoned in 2002.
The Virtual Student Federal Service was a program of the US State
Department. From 2009 to October 2023, it connected "the talents
of U.S. citizen college students with the needs of federal
agencies." More than 10,000 remote interns advanced the work of
the federal government through this program. The time commitment
was about 10 hours per week during the school year. Opportunities
included everything from data visualization to political analysis.
Internships were unpaid. These online volunteering opportunities
helped various US government agencies, including US Forest Service
agencies, US National Parks, the USA Geological Survey (USGS), the
USA Delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council, USA
consulates in various countries and firefighter associations. Each
year, employees from across the federal government registered as
“mentors’ on the web site and submitted projects from May 1st -
June 24th for interns to do through this program. Students applied
in July. They choose three of the hundreds of projects and
introduce themselves - virtually - to those mentors by writing a
personal statement. August was matching month, when mentors get to
see all the students who have picked their project. Through
interviews and emails, mentors made selections and work began in
September.vsfs.state.gov
Community Technology Centers Network. www.CTCnet.org
This was an organization that supported nonprofits, NGOs,
libraries, communities of faith (churches, mosques, temples),
senior centers, youth centers and others in the 1990s and 2000s
who were providing computers and classes on how to use them for
their surrounding communities. I did manage to save the the August
14, 2000 version of the Community Technology Center
Start-Up Manual.
Free Management Library
This extensive web site is no longer updated, but the archived
version includes a vast amount of excellent and still very
relevant information from nonprofit professionals all over the
U.S.A. on:
and much more! Whatever you are looking for relating to
nonprofits, look here first. It was originally compiled by
Carter McNamara. To access, go to archive.org and look for managementhelp.org
on the web site search (not a meta search), then click on a
version of the site from September 2021 or earlier (after that
date, some company has bought the URL and it's just a click bait
site).
Nonprofit Resources
A series of checklists that can help you identify strengths and
weaknesses in your agency's governance (board), human resources
(including volunteer management), planning, financial activities,
fund raising and legal protection. This web site no longer
functions; to access the resources - yes, they are old, but still
absolutely spot on for credible info - go to archive.org and look
for www.mapfornonprofits.org/resources on the web site
search (not a meta search), then click on a version of the site
from August 2017.
US Government NonProfit Gateway - nonprofit.gov
This was SUCH a great idea that is no longer supported - and
therefore, you can only get an old version via the Internet
Wayback Machine. The site links to charity-related Web pages
maintained by various USA federal agencies and departments. Users
may search more than 3,000 federal Web pages, as well as federal
grant announcements and information about federal volunteer
programs and how to comply with laws pertaining to nonprofit
organizations. This web site no longer functions; to access the
resources - yes, they are old, but still absolutely spot on for
credible info - go to archive.org and look for www.usa.gov/Business/Nonprofit.shtml
on the web site search (not a meta search), then click on a
version of the site from August 2008.
NonProfit Gateway Network, www.nal.usda.gov/ric/faqs/volfaq.htm
USA government gateway to all nonprofit-related info across USA
government web sites - US Interior Department, IRS, military, etc.
Links to charity-related Web pages maintained by various USA
federal agencies and departments. Users could search more than
3,000 federal Web pages, as well as federal grant announcements
and information about federal volunteer programs and how to comply
with laws pertaining to nonprofit organizations. Included
information on Federal Tax Information for Charities and
Non-Profits, Volunteer Recruiting, Retention and Promotion,
Nonprofit Standard Mail Eligibility, Cost Principles for
Nonprofits Working with Government, tips for Writing a Grant
Proposal, tips for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and so,
so much more.
CyberVPM YahooGroup. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cybervpm/
This was the first online community devoted to the discussion of
engaging and managing volunteers. It began in the 1990s, then went
away, then came back in 2001. It was begun by Nan Hawthorne, then
taken over by AVA, then, when AVA went under (see below), it was
taken over by AL!VE.
It became more and more inactive as the new millennium progressed,
then went under with the demise of YahooGroups. I've reserved
CYBERVPM on GoogleGroups and am hoping AL!VE or another credible
organization will agree to revive it there.
UKVPMs YahooGroup. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ukvpms/
Inspired by CyberVPM (see above), this was an online community
devoted to the discussion of engaging and managing volunteers in
the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). It was
founded and lead by Rob
Jackson. Like CyberVPM, it became more and more inactive as
the new millennium progressed, then went under with the demise of
YahooGroups.
Association for Volunteer Administration (AVA). www.avaintl.org
Created in 1961, this nonprofit association was for those that
work with volunteers, in any setting. For more than 44 years, it
was the largest professional association in the world for managers
of volunteers. AVA hosted an annual conference in cities around
the USA, a certification program for managers of volunteers, an
online community and The Journal of Volunteer Administration
(JOVA), as well as recognizing outstanding managers of volunteers
with a special award each year. AVA was dissolved in 2006 amid
allegations of financial mismanagement by employees, the dismissal
of three employees, including the executive director, the
accumulation of more than $250,000 in debt, and lack of adequate
financial and administrative oversight by the board of directors.
AVA launched its web site in 1998. Here is the Wikipedia page for
AVA.
International Year of Volunteers. iyv2001.org
This was the official web site by the United Nations Volunteers
Program for the International Year of Volunteers. It later pointed
to the World Volunteer Web address (see below). Here is the
Wikipedia page for the International Year of Volunteers.
World Volunteer Web. worldvolunteerweb.org
This was a web site by the United Nations Volunteers, part of
UNDP, to highlight the contributions of volunteers all over the
world, not just UN Volunteers.
NetAid. netaid.org
NetAid began with a concert event on October 9, 1999 with
simultaneous activities meant to harness the Internet to raise
money and awareness for the Jubilee 2000 campaign, and to promote
virtual volunteering. It started as a joint venture between the
United Nations Development Programme and Cisco Systems. It became
an independent nonprofit organization in 2001. Here is the
Wikipedia page for NetAid.
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. cpsr.org
a global organization incorporarted in 1983 promoting the
responsible use of computer technology. I attended CPSR's 1994
Annual Meeting, October 8-9, 1994, in San Diego, California. The
theme was Organizing for Access: A National Forum on Computer
Networking, Community Action, and Democracy. The panel that
changed my life: "The Meanings of Access." Info about their annual
meetings and themes is available at archive.org (year 2000 version
of their web site has a list of the panelists and workshops for
all of their annual meetings in the 90s).
Metropolitan Austin Interactive Network. main.org
MAIN was a nonprofit working to get nonprofits in Austin, Texas
online with their own web sites. It also provided a directory of
community, nonprofit and government agencies in Austin that had
websites. It would host "web raisings", where volunteers would
come together in a computer lab and build websites for nonprofits
that didn't have such - MAIN hosted these websites for those that
couldn't afford web hosting services. They also co-founded the Accessibility Internet Rally.
LibertyNet. libertynet.org
LibertyNet was formed as a non-profit in 1993 by a group of
business and civic leaders with the support of the University City
Science Center, the Ben Franklin Technology Center, Bell
Atlantic-Pennsylvania, the University of Pennsylvania, and WHYY
TV-12 and 91 FM. LibertyNet was Philadelphia's largest online
provider of regional information, with over 600 non-profit and
commercial web sites and almost 1,000 non-profit members with
e-mail and web-browsing access.
CompuMentor, compumentor.org
CompuMentor evolved into TechSoup, but the original CompuMentor
was a very different organization: it recruited tech experts as
volunteers, called mentors, to help nonprofits regarding using
computer technology, primarily databases and intranets. The
CompuMentor web site was focused on recruiting and training the
volunteers. Here is the 1996 version of the
CompuMentor Volunteer Handbook for mentors. You can see how
this earlier manual evolved into a
handbook for any IT volunteer (via the TechSoup web site).
San Francisco Women of the Web, sfwow.org
Top25 Women of the Web, Top25.org
SF WoW was a nonprofit network of women with a mission to serve,
educate and empower women on the Internet and in new media
industries, through professional development and support,
expansive and diverse networking opportunities, and intensive
community involvement. The hosted an annual Top25 Event each year,
through 2001, honoring women who have made significant
contributions to the Internet and New Media industries through
their dedicated efforts to advance technology, contribute to
online communities, advance and advocate women's right and issues
and set an example for successful business women in the high tech
industries.
San Francisco Nonprofit Development Center, supportcenter.org
This organization became Compasspoint.
Yahoo Contributor Academy, https://contributor.yahoo.com/academy/
If Yahoo had been smart, they would have never gotten rid of
YahooGroups, Yahoo Answers nor the Yahoo Contributor Academy.
YahooGroups, in its heyday, remains the BEST online collaboration
tool and online community platform of anything ever out on the
Internet, YahooAnswers could have been much bigger than Quora or
Reddit and should have featured experts and had paid subject
matter experts as facilitators, and the Yahoo Contributor Academy
is so needed now to train people on being humane online
contributors committed to quality. If it ever goes away from
archive.org let me know - I have screen captures.
Web sites I have preserved entirely or in part on my own web site: