Monthly Archive for November, 2007

Not just “grant” making

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 29, 2007
in otherblogs
. 0 Comments

Sean Stannard-Stockton at Tactical Philanthropy has been hosting a One Post Challenge this month, encouraging contributions to the blog from others in the philanthropic community. I wrote a post called Not Just “Grant” Making

As the holiday season is now in full swing and many organizations are launching online donation campaigns, I have been thinking more and more about how closely my personal views of “giving” have formed my professional ones.

I don’t think that our responsibility is to just dole out the cash—we have a whole lot more to offer!

Click here to read more and comment at Tactical Philanthropy!

Nonprofits ahead of the curve!

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 28, 2007
in reports and socialmedia
. 0 Comments

Many folks are pointing today to the research and report by Eric Mattson and Nora Ganim Barnes, Pd. D. about the use of social media tools by nonprofits. “Blogging for the Hearts and Donors: Largest US Charities Use Social Media” is based on the results of a survey of 76 executives from the list of 200 Top Charities by Forbes. Mattson and Barnes compared the results of the phone survey to the data on social media usage by the Fortune 500, Inc. 500, and college admission departments. Charities across the board are ahead of the business and college groups when it comes to integrating social media tools (including blogs, video, social networking, podcasting, message boards, and wikis)into their marketing, outreach, and fundraising strategies.

You can read about and download the report here.

One of the things that I found most interesting is the low response for familiarity with and usage of wikis. Wikis are a terrific way to collaborate, connect event or training participants before, during and after workshops, and organize collective learning spaces for a department, organization, or community. Is your organization utilizing a wiki to share knowledge or work on projects together?

I was happy to see that “charities are blogging at a higher rate than any group of businesses studied to date.” It is encouraging that organizations are recognizing the power and ease which blogs offer to provide information quickly to donors, supporters, reporters, and the community. Most organizations’ communications staff are the ones maintaining and writing the blogs. Is this the same at your organization? How do people in organizations and outside of organizations view blogs from the executive director/ceo?

Check out the report and poll your own organization to gauge your internal familiarity and usage—you could be surprised!

What are you putting in stockings this year?

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 26, 2007
in fundraising
. 0 Comments

This year, the holiday season is upon us with myriad options for giving in a good way without the hustle and bustle, and sometimes jostle, of shopping in the stores. Online fundraising sites have made it easy for people to donate to charities and many organizations have holiday giving that includes special certificates or gifts for those you have donated for.

Network for Good has a unique approach to all of the holiday gift donations: the Good Card.

The Good Card is like giving a gift certificate to Whole Foods, or whichever grocery store you like to visit. There are many great things to choose from and you may not usually treat yourself to spending money on more expensive, organic, or specialty foods. But with a gift card, you have all the selection AND it’s already been paid for. The Good Card lets the recipient choose the organization they would like to support without having to set aside their own funds to do so.

It takes out the grudges people hold for receiving certificates indicating money was donated in their name to an organization they don’t know or don’t want to support and keeps the good will in tact!

Check out Network for Good’s Good Card and get some holiday shopping out of the way!

Beth posts a great compilation of ideas about encouraging philanthropy with children as this is a pretty perfect time of year to shed light on the importance of giving.

Have you provided donations to charities as gifts in the past? Do you think a system like the Good Card will bring more people to the donation-as-gift arena? Do you think the Good Card or other holiday donation activities are a good way to involve your children in giving?

To network, or not to network, is NOT the question!

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 21, 2007
in networking
. 3 Comments

As Elizabeth Dunn and others are discussing lately, the question to answer is not whether you and your organization should use new media networking tools or not, but which ones and for which purposes.

One major factor in deciding between the growing list of social networking sites, is the age group of your donors, supporters, or service members. Facebook and Myspace are the ones you probably hear the most about but many feel that these sites are only used by college-age and twenty-somethings. Actually, Facebook has seen a 98% increase in the last year of users 35 and older (click here for more metrics).

Elizabeth does an excellent job at facing this dilemma using the metaphor of learning a new language:

Of course most of your current donors aren’t on Facebook and MySpace - it’s still a pretty new thing for most of the population. However, most internet usage has historically been led by the young and the early adopters, followed - in time - by the rest of the general population.

When your constituency finally makes it to Facebook, MySpace, or whatever global site we are using in 5 to 8 years, don’t you want to be there when they go looking for you?

And don’t you want to be already quite good at it?

Of course you do! Getting started with networking and fundraising tools now will help you gain supporters, volunteers, fundraisers, and even partners both in the short term and the long term.

Has your organization made the dive into social networking yet? What was the most surprising part of the new tools?

Want your own social network?

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 20, 2007
in networking
. 1 Comment

As TechCrunch and others are reporting, Change.org launched a service for nonprofits to create their own branded social networks.

These networks are built to include many of the features nonprofits want, including: pages for fundraising, news, events and project updates, fundraising widgets, posting photos and videos, blogs, forums, and even Facebook integration (if the Facebook application of Change.org is added).

Organizations like CARE, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, and Humane Society of the United States have already established their networks in Change.org. As you can see by looking at one of these organization’s profiles, supporting the group by joining, spreading the word, or donating funds is visible and easy. Nonprofits can redesign the pages to fit with their existing logo, colors, branding, and website.

I really like that Change.org is evolving from a place where individuals can connect on issues, causes, and politics into an even more engaged user base directly involved with nonprofits in a more meaningful way. What do you think?

Does your organization have a network on Change.org? You can sign up here.

For-profits using your cause for marketing?

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 19, 2007
in marketing and reports
. 1 Comment

As more organizations in the for-profit sector take on the causes of nonprofits, reports like the one from PRWeek and Barkley Public Relations emerge. This survey of the field shows the view growing importance of cause marketing in the for-profit sector, from Whirlpool and KitchenAid to Newman’s Own. More consumers are basing their decisions of where to put their money on where a corporation is putting its money.

Corporations enjoy the benefit of giving back to a cause that aligns with their established brand and “heart,” as well as the attraction and retention of consumers drawn to the same cause. Nonprofits targeted through these cause marketing campaigns gain added financial support and recognition.

But what about the millions of nonprofits that are working throughout the country but are either too small to gain the attention of potential corporations or are working in the same field as a much larger organization with more visibility? If your organization provides special meetings and events for children with life threatening diseases but serve only those patients in your local county’s hospitals, a corporation may choose to market with Make-A-Wish Foundation instead because there is a much larger consumer base that already knows that organization and its work.

Cause marketing can really benefit all three parties involved: The corporation, the cause/nonprofit, and the consumers. Everyone can feel good for being a part of positive social activism.

But back to those very small nonprofits…Contact local corporations and discuss how they could sponsor an annual event, fundraiser, or even commit to a 5 or 10-year cause campaign. Be sure that the corporation is one that your nonprofit feels comfortable aligning with, has a mission and public presence that is similar enough to align with your organization, and you are ready and willing to commit to the partnership on your end, too.

What do you think about corporate cause marketing? Is it an entirely different kind of philanthropy?

Staffing Constraints = Technology Adoption

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 15, 2007
in reports and webtools
. 0 Comments

As the baby-boomers start retiring or transitioning out of leadership roles, nonprofits stand in an interesting position. The need for knowledgeable and experienced leaders and management staff in the nonprofit sector is about to become incredibly high. Nonprofits are in a unique position where, unlike the for-profit sector, they are not usually afforded the opportunity to grow their own leaders from the inside due to lack of funds and capacity for development training. (For more information on forecasted leadership staff trends, see the Bridgespan Group’s report “The Nonprofit Sector’s Leadership Deficit.)

What does it mean for nonprofit technology?

It means there is a tremendous opportunity for nonprofits to leverage new media tools to take care of many things for them, freeing up staff time and allowing the community to help carry the organization.

How?

Tools that enable online/viral fundraising can let supporters raise funds, support your cause, and campaign for you online without staff time dedicated to outreach or campaign development. These tools include Change.org, 6 Degrees, and Google Checkout for Nonprofits in various degrees, just to name a few.

Tools that enable wide-spread communication can allow staff to relay information in one space instead of many and cut down on repetition of job responsibilities. Using a blog like those I have mentioned before would provide volunteers, interested citizens, media and members alike the same, complete information in a timely manner without adapting the message and using various staff and communications tools to deliver it. Micro-blogging tools like Twitter are also available to make this far-reaching communications option quick and easy.

There are many more tools available but these are just a couple to get you thinking. Are you already using new media tools to free up staff time?

Say “Cheese!” You may be in the picture!

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 15, 2007
in webtools
. 0 Comments

Is your nonprofit holding any fundraisers or special holiday events? Whether you are raising money for the organization or for families using your services, raising awareness of your communities needs or the needs your organization can serve, the chances that a camera is present are quite high.

You can harness the photo snapping power of your volunteers, members, and visitors. Encourage the photo-takers to upload their files to Flickr, a free (or paid) online photo storage and sharing service. When your supporters upload photos from your event, they can “tag,” or label, the photos with your organization’s name. That way, you can put a link on your site to all of the photos with that tag. So, all photos with that tag, regardless of who took them, are grouped together without you doing any work to find them! You can even pull those photos in to your website so you feature new and interesting photos taken by your supporters, with minimal work on the organization’s part.

Be sure to communicate to your supporters that they can use Flickr and tag the photos of your organization, staff, events, etc. (for example, a tag like “socialventurepartners” for pictures of events and supporters of Social Venture Partners International).

You can also create a group (either private or public) in Flickr to easily share and group photos related to your organization. Setting up a group is easy and you will not have to do any work to maintain it once it is ready. Again, you can link to these photos from your website or pull them in to feature your supporters and events right on your own site.

Search for your organization on Flickr and see what comes up! Did you find that photos already exist of your organization? Have you already set up a group or linked to flickr photos of your organization that were taken by volunteers, members, or even strangers?

More on ethics - Thanks, Amy Gahran!

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 13, 2007
in issues
. 1 Comment

A great comment from Amy Gahran at www.contentious.com to my post on ethical standards last week brings up great issues. The best questions really bring up more questions and not specific answers. The only way to truly answer the questions Amy poses is to sit down with your organization and discuss as a group where the comfort level is with the tools, the community, and service area you provide.

1. What ethical standards should nonprofits have when using new media tools, like blogs?

Amy also says that, “many nonprofits have the self-identified standard of working for the good and not for the man,” which can be applied to focus on the answer. As a nonprofit, working for the good, what elements of new media tools stand taller than the rest for ethical standards? How about: Raising community awareness and involvement. To do so would mean that your nonprofit’s website, blog, even videos are shared in a way that is available to the public and include features for commenting and connecting with you and others interested in your organization. Providing a safe environment for people seeking out information and services from your organization. This would require that your organization decides what kind of language and content is allowed in comments and other user generated content areas of your website, blog, etc. If you are an organization that deals with children, your guidelines for appropriate content could much more strict than an organization dealing with single adults. The limits are fine, wherever they fall, so long as they meet the goal of creating a quality environment for community.

2. Is the community you’re serving proud of the way it is represented online?

Terrific question! How best do you identify if you are serving your community well or not: Ask them, of course! There is a plethora of free surveying tools online that your organization could use to build a survey to send to your volunteers, clients, funders, etc. You can ask questions to identify if people know about your website, blog, forums, videos, online fundraising, or any other new media tool currently at use; ask about the current state of those tools and the frequency that the users reads or participates; most importantly, ask what can be done to improve services and community online both by improving the tools already in use and implementing new needed tools. Investigate what other organizations in your field are doing online. There are many organization working toward the same end; find an organization in another part of the state, the country, or even the world and talk about how it is using new media tools to connect and represent the service community online. You should also talk to organizations in your local physical community about how to better represent and serve the groups online, maybe even by connecting the organizations’ tools online. If an organization is having trouble successfully representing its service community online, getting the support of other area organizations can help bring its standards and tools up to a more appropriate level to garner more support and quality for its users.

These were two great questions, but I’m sure there are many more. What do you think?

NPTech Survey from NTEN

Published
by
amysampleward
on November 9, 2007
in issues
. 0 Comments

Nonprofit Technology Education Network (NTEN) is conducting a survey on nonprofit technology staffing. NTEN is the membership organization of nonprofit professionals who put technology to use for their causes. It provides webinars (online conferences), trainings, and additional services and community building for those working with technology in the nonprofit sector.

If you are involved with technology for your nonprofit, you should take this survey and help NTEN identify patterns in the field, issues to address in the future, and areas of interest and concern.

So, if you have a couple quick minutes, click here to take the survey!