The Gilbert Center is an incubator, research institute, consulting firm, and publishing house working to support and empower the people and organizations who are changing the world for the better. The expertise of the founder, Michael Gilbert, and company lie primarily in the area of communication, whether for internal organizational health and renewal, for successful outreach to members, funders or the public, or for the dramatic opportunities presented by online communication.
For almost twenty years, we’ve been helping nonprofits communicate successfully. Since the inception of the World Wide Web, we’ve been on the cutting edge of nonprofit Internet development. We are the pioneers of Communication Centered Planning, in that we design management, strategic, and technological systems that build relationships, improve workflow, and become a powerful part of a nonprofit’s success.
We are proud of the organizations and projects that we have incubated and supported over the years and many people first came to know about us through them: The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network is the professional association for organizations and individuals who are bridging the technical divide for civil society. The Internet Nonprofit Center continues to have one of the premier encyclopedias of information about nonprofits online. Even Social Ecology, though now out of business, continues to find its software in use as a communication platform and as a source of cutting edge inspiration.
We offer consulting and training services to a range of organizations, with a clear focus on strategic communication and management systems. We have an ongoing interest in the transformative role of new technology, but our first and last emphasis is on people and their relationships. We count some of the largest funders in the world as our clients along with some of the most cutting edge organizations. (Read More about out Consulting Services)
In continual publication since April 1997, Nonprofit News is a leading source of news, resources, and editorial opinion for the sector. Adopting the fast moving weblog publishing style years before it became popular, Nonprofit News has often been equally far ahead in identifying and articulating emerging issues. It is widely referenced and remarkably influential. (Visit Nonprofit News)
In addition to Nonprofit News, we publish reports on our research results, specialized collections of annotated resources, guides to new ideas in communication, and influential editorials. (Full List of Available Publications)
Starting with the Nonprofit Site Analyzer reports, continuing on through a wide range of research on the nonprofit use of email, and several privately contracted research projects, The Gilbert Center has made a name for itself in the field of communication research in the sector. Our standards for rigorous methodologies are among the highest in the field and we continue to endeavor to push beyond anecdotes as a basis for expertise. (Read More about our Research Services)
Michael Gilbert is in high demand as a speaker at a wide variety of gatherings. He keynoted the very first Silicon Valley Conference on Nonprofits and Technology. He has delivered inspirational talks to organizations as diverse as Planned Parenthood and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (Read More about our Public Speaking Services)
As part of our role as a catalyst for community learning and the advance of the practice of effective communication, we offer a growing number of workshops and seminars drawn from our experience with our research, writing, and clients. We offer workshops on an in-house consulting basis and also, from time to time, with open registration. (Read More about our Training Options)