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At this year's nonprofit technology conference, we were exposed to a vast array of organizations and companies involved with different aspects of helping nonprofits and technology mix well. Here are five, in my mind, stand-outs.

Just a little of the NTC 2010 Science Fair floor.

Wireless Discounts

National Purchasing Partners is a group purchasing organization that assists public agencies (nonprofits, schools, government, etc) by negotiating group purchasing rates with various companies, such as Staples. What caught my attention on the Science Fair floor, however, was their partnership with Verizon Wireless. VZW now offers non-profits discounts for organization-paid and personal-paid wireless services including 15% off monthly access fees and 25% off accessories. Even if an organization has no wireless lines directly, it can offer the discounts for its employees’ personal lines. For more information, visit NPP’s website or send an email to VZWNon-Profits@verizonwireless.com.

CRMs and Clouds

Web-based CRM solutions providers are a lot like mushrooms. First, they are prolific: it was hard to walk 20 feet at the NTC without running into one ... or more. Furthermore, while a good one is helpful and healthy, the wrong choice can make you or your nonprofit sick. If you’re in the market for an online CRM, you could do worse than considering Salsa Labs’ Democracy in Action or Z2 Systems’ NEON. Both of these providers stood out both because of their nonprofit-centric focus and features and because of their non-profit-friendly and flexible pricing structures. Both NEON and DIA offer free trials, and NEON also offers demonstrations.

Going Mobile

In the wake of the Obama campaign and Haiti earthquake fundraising efforts, nonprofits have become very interested in what text messaging can do for their causes. Mobile Commons and MobileMatters are two companies helping nonprofits connect and fundraise in the new world of mobile communication.

There were many interesting and excellent organizations and companies represented at the NTC. These are just a few that I thought worth passing on. I have more information on each in an inconvenient, paper format (which I can share if anyone is interested).