The Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) has compiled a great resource of content about how nonprofits are using technology and posted this Google Document for all to view.
If you have questions about how you can leverage blogs, myspace, facebook, etc. to further your cause this is a must read.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Web 2.0 - "Cultivate, Educate and Motivate"
I spent two days at the New York Nonprofit DMA listening to what's new in direct marketing and took every opportunity to here what organizations were doing in the world of Web 2.0.
The good news is that there are several organizations really jumping in with both feet and using the tools well despite the fact that their success appears difficult to measure and the financial support is minimal to date.
The bad news, is that much of the focus seemed to be on how much money is being raised using these new tools. If new revenue was the key measure of success in month one, or even year one of any direct mail program would half of these people still have jobs and be hear talking direct mail?
Back to the good news, I did make note of a great phrase I heard -- I believe the credit goes to the ASPCA -- "Cultivate, Educate and Motivate". Notice, there was no mention of, "ask to donate". Then again, I suspect if you can do all three of these things well raising money will be no problem!
Web 2.0 is a great platform to cultivate, educate and motivate. Building relationships with empowered people who share your views could turn into "boots on the ground" supporters that could have a huge impact on your organizations ability to raise money, gain public support if/when the next natural disaster hits at home or abroad.
The good news is that there are several organizations really jumping in with both feet and using the tools well despite the fact that their success appears difficult to measure and the financial support is minimal to date.
The bad news, is that much of the focus seemed to be on how much money is being raised using these new tools. If new revenue was the key measure of success in month one, or even year one of any direct mail program would half of these people still have jobs and be hear talking direct mail?
Back to the good news, I did make note of a great phrase I heard -- I believe the credit goes to the ASPCA -- "Cultivate, Educate and Motivate". Notice, there was no mention of, "ask to donate". Then again, I suspect if you can do all three of these things well raising money will be no problem!
Web 2.0 is a great platform to cultivate, educate and motivate. Building relationships with empowered people who share your views could turn into "boots on the ground" supporters that could have a huge impact on your organizations ability to raise money, gain public support if/when the next natural disaster hits at home or abroad.
Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us
I saw this video for the first time in January and was really impressed with its message and creative delivery.
I had assumed "everyone" had seen it until last week when I was the facilitator for a round table discussion on blogging at the New York Nonprofit DMA.
If you have seen it, I suggest watching it again as it gets better and better each time. If you joined me for the round table on blogging, and are visiting my blog thanks for a great conversation and welcome to the "blogosphere"!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Live Life the Ebay Way
I am a huge fan of Ebay and have talked at length about my wins and losses to anyone who will listen.
Ebay offers a medium to find almost anything you could imagine and gives you a chance to get it for less than face value if your lucky.
Log on, search for what you want, put in the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item and go about your life until the auction ends. Ebay is so helpful that you don't even need to check back to see if you won, they will email you directly as soon as the auction ends to let you know you've won.
Yeah right!
I have bid on many auctions and can't remember one that didn't end with a flurry of last minute bids by people outdoing the current high bidder by $2.50 and in the interest of full disclosure I can't remember one auction I bid on where I wasn't one of THOSE PEOPLE!
The trick here is knowing what your MAXIMUM is...and if you know this you won't only be a power seller on Ebay but a master at life!
Outside of the Ebay world this concept can be referred to as your "Walk Away Position". At what point are you simply going to say this price is too high? Knowing the answer to this question before you log on to Ebay or walk into a car dealership will save you a lot of time and agony.
Understanding if your walk away position is stronger than the other bidders, the car salesman or your potential clients will make you a master at negotiation!
Ebay offers a medium to find almost anything you could imagine and gives you a chance to get it for less than face value if your lucky.
Log on, search for what you want, put in the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item and go about your life until the auction ends. Ebay is so helpful that you don't even need to check back to see if you won, they will email you directly as soon as the auction ends to let you know you've won.
Yeah right!
I have bid on many auctions and can't remember one that didn't end with a flurry of last minute bids by people outdoing the current high bidder by $2.50 and in the interest of full disclosure I can't remember one auction I bid on where I wasn't one of THOSE PEOPLE!
The trick here is knowing what your MAXIMUM is...and if you know this you won't only be a power seller on Ebay but a master at life!
Outside of the Ebay world this concept can be referred to as your "Walk Away Position". At what point are you simply going to say this price is too high? Knowing the answer to this question before you log on to Ebay or walk into a car dealership will save you a lot of time and agony.
Understanding if your walk away position is stronger than the other bidders, the car salesman or your potential clients will make you a master at negotiation!
What Makes You So Special?
On the surface this question seems sarcastic, especially when you hear it from your Mother as a young boy or girl caught taking the last cookie without offering it to at least split it 50/50 with a sibling.
Fast forward to a time in your life when your priorities extend beyond cookies and this question should be at the top of your list as consumers looking for a new mobile provider, as clients looking for financial or legal advice and most of all as charitable donors!!
Let's ask the question a little differently, "What makes you relevant?" In a crowded marketplace of nonprofits a great answer to this question will separate you from the rest of the crowd.
When looking to donate dollars would you be compelled by some carefully worded, all encompassing mission statement or an organization that could say, "If our organization were to disappear tomorrow the world would lose XYZ"?
It's not an easy question to answer but remember, nothing worth doing ever is! This article can help you start the process of understanding your value proposition.
When you can tell me what makes your organization or business relevant I hope to hear from you!
Fast forward to a time in your life when your priorities extend beyond cookies and this question should be at the top of your list as consumers looking for a new mobile provider, as clients looking for financial or legal advice and most of all as charitable donors!!
Let's ask the question a little differently, "What makes you relevant?" In a crowded marketplace of nonprofits a great answer to this question will separate you from the rest of the crowd.
When looking to donate dollars would you be compelled by some carefully worded, all encompassing mission statement or an organization that could say, "If our organization were to disappear tomorrow the world would lose XYZ"?
It's not an easy question to answer but remember, nothing worth doing ever is! This article can help you start the process of understanding your value proposition.
When you can tell me what makes your organization or business relevant I hope to hear from you!
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Blogging Cadence
The topic of blogging cadence is widely covered throughout the blogosphere and opinions run the gamet but since this is my first post in nearly two months I thought it was a good time to weigh in!
I can offer excuses about my lack of postings (e.g. my home internet connection has been shoddy, I was sheparding a herd of 11-12 year-olds to a championship lacrosse season, etc) all true, but again, just excuses! Having said that, not only did my own blogging disappear but so did my daily review of my RSS feeds, granted I did check in a bit more frequently than once every two months!
At last count I am tracking 32 different feeds, not sure where that falls in terms of average volume so let me know. That being said, if every link had 30 posts I am going to need some real free time to get through that. Fast Company was the ongoing winner, in my longest abscence I logged on to find more than 125 postings to review...I probably gave the first 30 headlines a quick glance and I was done.
Other bloggers were well within my threshold at 10, 15 or even 30 posts. As like most people my threshold varied based on the value I assigned to each blog. Hence, I assume this will be the most important factor in each individuals "threshold"!
The blogging experts would likely destroy me on this post but surely there are people like me who appreciate the valuable content blogs provides and try to put in their fair share as time permits.
For those of you still checking in on my blog let me know what you think is the best cadence and I will act accordingly!
I can offer excuses about my lack of postings (e.g. my home internet connection has been shoddy, I was sheparding a herd of 11-12 year-olds to a championship lacrosse season, etc) all true, but again, just excuses! Having said that, not only did my own blogging disappear but so did my daily review of my RSS feeds, granted I did check in a bit more frequently than once every two months!
At last count I am tracking 32 different feeds, not sure where that falls in terms of average volume so let me know. That being said, if every link had 30 posts I am going to need some real free time to get through that. Fast Company was the ongoing winner, in my longest abscence I logged on to find more than 125 postings to review...I probably gave the first 30 headlines a quick glance and I was done.
Other bloggers were well within my threshold at 10, 15 or even 30 posts. As like most people my threshold varied based on the value I assigned to each blog. Hence, I assume this will be the most important factor in each individuals "threshold"!
The blogging experts would likely destroy me on this post but surely there are people like me who appreciate the valuable content blogs provides and try to put in their fair share as time permits.
For those of you still checking in on my blog let me know what you think is the best cadence and I will act accordingly!
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Should Charities Consider Consolidation?
According to this recent article in the New York Times the number of charitable organizations in the United States between 1994 - 2004 increased 64%.
Furthermore, according to Charity Navigator President Trent Stamp there is currently more than 700 breast cancer related charitable organizations in the United States. His blog post suggests we may all be better off with less charities focused on the same cause.
In the for-profit sector only the strong survive but it doesn't appear to be that clear cut in the not-for-profit sector. I am sure many of the 700 breast cancer causes are doing good work and probably a few things that other organizations could learn from. What if ten, twenty or fifty of those organizations merged, built a new business plan using the best practices taken from each organization and leveraged the top donors from all of the organizations to support one unified cause?
I envy those who are willing to pour their heart and soul into a cause they believe in and start a their own non-profit but I also believe in the law of diminishing returns!
Furthermore, according to Charity Navigator President Trent Stamp there is currently more than 700 breast cancer related charitable organizations in the United States. His blog post suggests we may all be better off with less charities focused on the same cause.
In the for-profit sector only the strong survive but it doesn't appear to be that clear cut in the not-for-profit sector. I am sure many of the 700 breast cancer causes are doing good work and probably a few things that other organizations could learn from. What if ten, twenty or fifty of those organizations merged, built a new business plan using the best practices taken from each organization and leveraged the top donors from all of the organizations to support one unified cause?
I envy those who are willing to pour their heart and soul into a cause they believe in and start a their own non-profit but I also believe in the law of diminishing returns!
Proof About the Power of Text Messaging
I suggested in an earlier post that text messaging could be the wave of the future and apparently there is an organization called MobileActive who agrees with me and is smart enough to make it work for them!
If I told you five years ago that 65 million votes would be cast via text message during the season finale of American Idol would you have believed me then?
If I told you five years ago that 65 million votes would be cast via text message during the season finale of American Idol would you have believed me then?
Winner Gets $25 Million...Do I Have Your Attention?
Richard Branson has come a long way from being an eccentric billionaire who spent millions trying to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon to the man putting his money where his mouth is to "cure" global warming.
Branson has put up $25 million of his own money to be awarded to whoever can create a technology to remove one billion tons of greenhouse gases per year over the next ten years. I don't know enough to judge just how lofty a goal that is, but for $25 million it shouldn't be easy and I imagine he got the attention of many with kind of cash!
Branson may be a wacky guy but no one can argue his business acumen. To me, this is a great example of what to do for marketers, nonprofits, etc. Branson set forth one goal, not two, etc...eliminate lots of greehouse gases, you win and the concept has gotten lots of attention. All non-profits would benefit greatly if they would follow a similar strategy. Find out what it is that you do better than anyone else in your city, state or the world and make that your concise case for giving. When I decide who gets my money the winner will be the one who does what I care about most better than anybody else rather than the guy who does a lot of different things pretty well.
Branson has put up $25 million of his own money to be awarded to whoever can create a technology to remove one billion tons of greenhouse gases per year over the next ten years. I don't know enough to judge just how lofty a goal that is, but for $25 million it shouldn't be easy and I imagine he got the attention of many with kind of cash!
Branson may be a wacky guy but no one can argue his business acumen. To me, this is a great example of what to do for marketers, nonprofits, etc. Branson set forth one goal, not two, etc...eliminate lots of greehouse gases, you win and the concept has gotten lots of attention. All non-profits would benefit greatly if they would follow a similar strategy. Find out what it is that you do better than anyone else in your city, state or the world and make that your concise case for giving. When I decide who gets my money the winner will be the one who does what I care about most better than anybody else rather than the guy who does a lot of different things pretty well.
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