Winter Storm Mara prevented me from speaking in person during the Real Places 2023 Conference, but we were able to visit with attendees remotely online. Our talk was timely, “Old School Teaches New Lessons: How Technology is Preserving a WPA-era Icon.” And in fact, being able to speak and share information online today is a godsend! Technology helped keep the conference presentations going.

I posted our slide deck to YouTube as a video created with the help of Vimeo.

My thanks go to Jane Cook Barnhill, President of Atlanta Grade School Friends, and Danny Stanley, Treasurer, my co-presenters, and to the nonprofit arm of the Texas Historical Commission, the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission. A few years ago, I served on the Board of the Friends under former Executive Director Toni S. Turner. State funding is rarely enough to fully fund the restoration and long-term preservation of the many historic sites of Texas. Private sector donations mean so much and make saving the rich heritage of Texas possible.

I had been taking a late Christmas vacation in January to see my family in Tucson, Arizona. My flight home was rescheduled due to the winter storm something like six times! So, I recorded my part of the Real Places discussion on Vimeo, and while a little rough around the edges, you can hear my “remote” thoughts and avail yourself of more in-depth discussion via my YouTube channel @CarolynAppleton.

You might be surprised to learn, we talked about technology being very helpful, but noted that it does not replace human beings. Relationships matter. But technology can enhance your organization’s “reach” dramatically. Partners of all kinds, donors, and especially younger generations are online in great numbers today. Why not be online with them using the latest social media communications and tech tools available?

I find technology makes the work of nonprofits more cost-effective. Remote working is safe and fairly easy! Several of the tools I reference are free of charge at the most basic level, and modestly-priced in more extensive forms. Thinking smart and making use of these tools can “up your game” dramatically and make you more attractive to audiences and partners of all kinds. I find the cost is mostly that of your time: take it.

My thanks go to our tech partners at Atlanta Grade School Friends. We are grateful for being able to avail ourselves of their convenient services. For the sake of timeliness, this list has been updated as of 2026.

• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Avery
• BetterUnite
• Candid GuideStar and GreatNonprofits
• Facebook
• Google Workspace and its many capabilities including Google Drive, Google Meet, YouTube, Google Slides, Google Maps and more (thanks to the Google Maps team for the updated photo of the historic school!)
• ISSUU
• MailChimp
• Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• TechSoup
• Vistaprint
• WordPress
• Yelp

If you would like additional information, email me/us via our new Gmail: atlantagradeschoolfriends@gmail.com, or reach out to me directly by using the secure contact form on this blog.

Our presentation references information from these organizations: Brookings Institution, Forbes, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, National Council of Nonprofits, Psychology Today, Social Media Today, and World of Statistics on Twitter.