nonprofits meet web video,
you look great together :)

Has your organization embraced digital marketing? Then win some money. No really, Paperless Choice is hosting a contest to reward organizations with great digital marketing. In their own words,

"Through the Paperless Choice Challenge, we are rewarding successful, creative, and replicable campaigns that use email, websites, video, social media, widgets, and mobile —
anything that is moving your organization away from traditional paper-based direct mail fundraising."

20,000 dollars will be awarded on October 15th and submissions end on September 15th! So put together your organizations portfolio and win some money! You can describe your digital campaign and submit an entry on their submission page. Or if you need a little more information you can peruse the contest details.

No matter what your digital dabblings are: web video, social media, widgets, or mobile devices. You can win some money! So don’t let this opportunity slip away.

posted in: nonprofit news
tags: digital campaigns, let's dabble, nonprofit, paperless choice, The Paperless Choice Challenge

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I was recently reading an article written by Tom Foremski at zdnet in which he discusses the misstep of corporations jumping into the world of social media with the intentions of social sales and nothing more.

His comparison comes from an individuals desire to use the social qualities of social media versus the corporate vantage point of commercial purposes. I particularly like the following quote,

"At parties, people will avoid that person that is selling something. Friends that invite their friends to tupperware parties, or multi-level marketing, are tolerated for a while, but not for long. Similarly, companies that use social media as sales media must understand there is a time and place for it, or they risk harming their brand."

His point is valid but is there more to take away other than “corporations use social media for social sales and that’s bad”? I believe there is.

In the realm of nonprofits there is a grey area to be found. A nonprofit exists because of a community that supports it. Therefore, it stands to reason that nonprofits should embrace social media and become a part of the community. We now stumble upon the fine line.

Be a part of the community, don’t take advantage of it. When a corporation finds a target demographic that has come together using social media the gut reaction naturally is, “like shooting fish in a barrel.” But this backfires. Why? The answer is in the question of why is a target demographic coming together? They have come together to discuss how much they love fly fishing (for example). Although this group would naturally attract companies selling camping equipment, they don’t want to talk about camping, they are there to discuss fly fishing.

The point: Although social media offers hundreds of groups, communities, and avenues for sharing information deny the temptation to interact with them all. Successful social media is having a strong community and this comes from similar interests, trust, and good content. Focus on what you are “putting out there” rather than how many times you have put it there.

Moral of the story: As a nonprofit using social media to share its story, show the world how they are making a difference, and attract new donors and volunteers, they need to make sure they are joining the conversation; not trying to sell camping equipment to fly fishers.

posted in: social media, tips & tutorials
tags: let's dabble, letsdabble, nonprofits, social media, social sales, Tom Foremski, zdnet

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The Social Media Club defines their mission as connecting the worlds media makers to advance media literacy, promote industry standards, and encourage ethical behavior while sharing their lessons learned. Local chapters are located throughout the country but I am here to discuss the Chicago chapter which hosted a meeting with The British Council during their visit for the TN2020.

The British Council was present for the Annual Transatlantic Network 2020 Summit, otherwise known as TN2020. The theme of this years summit was “Using Technology to Create Social Change.” Speakers addressed the crowd on topics of online video, using twitter for fundraising, the future of social media, and “how to stop the Mexican Congress from doing just about anything by using twitter, in twelve easy steps.” (yes, that was an actual title haha)

The talks are a great collection of how social media is being used in a variety of ways around the world. Luckily for you, I was there with the camera in my pocket just in case; gotta love small, inexpensive camcorders.

Below is a short web video of the event, and if you are interested in what they all have to say, I highly recommend watching all the speakers give their talks.

posted in: nonprofit news, social media
tags: Annual Transatlantic Network 2020 Summit, let's dabble, letsdabble, online video, SMC Chicago, social change, social media, Social Media Club, TN2020, web video

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You give to a classroom project. They deliver the materials to the class. The kids learn and show it through photos and thank-you notes.

DonorsChoose.org was started in 2000 by Charles Best, a social studies teacher at a Bronx high school, who saw a problem in people willing to help but frustrated with where the money was going. Therefore, he created a means for people to directly connect with classrooms in need.

Disconnected donors are unhappy donors, engage your support base with contact, personalized notes, photos, and online video. Technology has empowered us all to share our story in new and exciting ways; for good reason because an engaged donor is a happy donor. Happy donors have led to a simple goal of students everywhere having the resources they need to learn to generate over 54 million in donations, over 135,000 projects funded, and over 36,000 schools impacted.

But if that is not enough to get you excited, how about a 30 second online video narrated by Morgan Freeman? :)

posted in: nonprofit news
tags: Donors Choose, DonorsChoose.org, let's dabble, letsdabble, online video

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Do you use the internet? Do you search for information? Then you are doing everything that is needed. That’s it.

Really? That sounds crazy, what’s the catch? To answer this question, I went to their website, entered the name of a charity, checked their statistics for May, then made a search. When I returned and again checked the statistics for May, they were a penny higher. I was shocked. A penny is not much, but the I am one person who made one search!

GoodSearch, powered by Yahoo!, donates 50% of it’s sponsored search revenues to the charity of your choice. When you go to their homepage, you can type in the charity you are supporting, verify that they are setup and you are done. You and the organization you are supporting spend nothing.

If I could find the hidden catch, I would tell you about it, but it really is that simple and this easy. The truth is that the searches we make every day generate over 8 billion dollars annually for search engines from online advertisers (and that was a few years ago). By using GoodSearch a portion of that is going to help the charity of your choice.

To go a bit further, in 2007, they expanded to GoodShop where online shopping merits the organization of your choice 3% of your money spent on average but in some cases 20% or more!

It is not often that I come across something this painlessly easy to add to my routine. However, my homepage has been changed, and since I have been known to buy things online, I will be checking back to GoodShop next time I do.

posted in: nonprofit news, tips & tutorials
tags: GoodSearch, GoodShop, let's dabble, nonprofit, online advertising, online shopping

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The V3 Campaign highlights much needed facts about the nonprofit community that are all to often unknown, disregarded, or simply not acted upon. The truth is that 70% of American households donate to nonprofits, each year 80 million volunteers give of their time, nonprofits employ 7% of the workforce and are in the top 3 employers in many states.

So what does this all mean?

It means that nonprofits need a voice in the democratic process. As said by the V3 Campaign, the nonprofit sector needs to work towards engaging candidates that will strengthen, support, and partner with the nonprofit sector.

The campaign is described well by Kayla Klein,

" The mission of the V3 Campaign is to help people appreciate that a large part of our national productivity is already generated by philanthropic organizations and to encourage more and better support for the charitable sector. "

Nonprofits work towards improving communities, they employ Americans in these same communities, and they add to the economies of these communities more than we ever knew. It’s time that had a voice as well.

posted in: nonprofit news
tags: let's dabble, nonprofits, V3 Campaign

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ClientTrack hits the nail on the head as it offers a prescription for what’s ailing social service organizations. To quote Scott Anderson, PhD, “My intent is not to incite fear… but rather encourage a healthy fear… that will move social service organizations from potential complacency to concerted action, survival, and progressive sustainability.”

When it comes to management a simple school of thought is whether to react or to be prepared. Issues arise whether we want them or not; our options are to be ready for them or to wait and just react as needed. 2010 is a year for preparation, not for reaction.

Back to Scott and his “Must Knows” of which he has five for Social Service Organizations.

1) Social Service organizations are not likely to see an improvement in 2010 funding. Based upon research done by The Foundation Center funding for social service organizations will not be as favorable as other sectors in the nonprofit community.

2) Non-profits must implement fundamental changes in how they do business. Based on the Chronicle of Philanthropy, radical changes are needed to maintain and strengthen the nonprofit world in the face of economic upheaval.

I can’t agree with Scott more, funding trends are already changing, as I discussed in February of 2008, online donors have arrived and they are but one facet of the what nonprofits need to embrace.

3) Accountability and transparency are the new reality.

Again, I agree, and to say it as simply as possible, post it. The internet-age began years ago and the reasons for not having information available at the click of a button are fading away. Donors want to know how you are using their donations, being able to scroll through pictures is expected, and seeing a video of the organizations progress in the last quarter is the norm.

4) Non-profits must seek creative collaborations.

The cost of bartering is nothing yet helps both parties. Providing your talents to an organization that can offer you a service in return is a relief on the wallet as well as a solution to a problem.

5) If you don’t have a current technology solution, get the right one… quick.

Did I mention that I agree with Scott? :) Technology is our friend, as aggravated as it can make us, it is here to help. Organizations have come to be expected of a certain amount of online activity. This activity strengthens the transparent presence that Scott discusses in point three. It is difficult to avoid transparency when information, photos, and videos are made available to all.

Need help with adding technology to your organization, I’d be happy to start a conversation.

posted in: nonprofit news, tips & tutorials
tags: ClientTrack, let's dabble, nonprofits, social service organizations

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Our friends at Volunteer Match whom we have discussed here have recently taken the next step in connecting with a new market of interested volunteers by being available in their palm of their hand. Smart phones, in particular the iPhone, allow for new custom software to be created and made available to a sea of cell phone users.

The free iPhone application for Volunteer Match can be downloaded here and allows iPhone users to connect and volunteer with causes/nonprofits that share their passions.

And Volunteer Match is not the only one.

Another old friend that we discussed in a previous blog post is kiva who helps micro-finance entrepreneurs around the developing world.

This micro-finance system “alerts” interested donors of when new opportunities to micro-finance are available, and these “alerts” are now available on the iPhone. The application can be downloaded here.

The moral of the story is: stay connected, stay in touch, and interact with your donors/volunteers. Smart phones offer a free platform for engagement, don’t pass up the opportunity.

posted in: nonprofit news, social media
tags: iPhone applications, kiva, let's dabble, letsdabble, nonprofits, Volunteer Match

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Anyone who has started a nonprofit, a company, or simply put together a club after school has struggled with “what to say?” to describe it.

I want to make it short and to the point, I don’t want to offend anyone, I want to sound intelligent, I don’t want to be vague but I don’t want to paint myself into a corner. The back-and-forth examples are endless but what is always the same is the result. A confused mash-up of words conveying our point… or at least what we think is our point.

After reading an article by Dan Heath at Fast Company, I must agree that the point we end up making may not be the point we were looking for when we started.

Since the video he has made does wonders for describing his point, I have inserted it below. However, the two points he makes to remember are:

1) Use concrete language. Say what you want, don’t sugar coat it, and don’t pull out the thesaurus for every word choice.

2) Talk about the “why”. To quote Dan, “…most mission statements are really long on statement and really short on mission…” What you are doing is great to know; however, why you are doing it is even better.

posted in: nonprofit news, tips & tutorials
tags: Fast Company, let's dabble, Mission Statement, nonprofit

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Ken ya Dream is the vision of students at Cupertino High School. They have raised money throughout their years in high school to help a school in Kenya expand their facility. The money they would normally raise to cover the cost of their senior prom was instead put toward their goal…to raise $100,000.

For that, I tip my hat. The beauty and selflessness expressed by these students is calming to say the least. No good deed goes unnoticed? Right?

Well, it looks like it’s getting some attention. Dell held a competition for high schools to win a $100,000 superprom. The students at Cupertino High saw this as more than an opportunity to have the prom of dreams, but rather as way to meet their goal.

posted in: nonprofit news
tags: Cupertino High School, Dell Superprom, web video

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