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Slacktivist to Activist: Motivating People To Get Involved

02.22.2012 by Amy Sept Leave a Comment

Impulse actions — a retweet on Twitter, a like on Facebook — can seem small, almost insignificant. But could these same people be among your nonprofit organization’s strongest supporters?

I recently co-moderated a panel, From Slacktivist to Activist: Partners in Change, One Small Step at a Time, as part of Social Media Week in Toronto. Over the next few blog posts, I’ll review some of the session’s discussion. To start: My opening thoughts about enabling supporters to take small actions that have meaning to them.

From Slacktivist to Activist: A Storify Summary

02.14.2012 by Amy Sept Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I had the benefit of co-hosting a Social Media Week panel called “From Slacktivist to Activist: Partners in Change, One Small Act at a Time” with my non-profit communications colleague Karen Luttrell, of Luttrell Communications.

An excellent panel of speakers generated more than an hour of interesting and inspiring discussion; I know more than one person left the session with new ideas percolating!

While a few more detailed blog posts will come, here is the overview Storify summary featuring highlights from the Twitter hashtag, #SMWTOslacktivist.

How to Write a Press Release for Nonprofits

12.16.2011 by Amy Sept 1 Comment

The Dec. 16 #smNPchat looked at what makes a story newsworthy and how to improve your chances of getting attention. A well-written press release can make the difference between getting coverage and being overlooked; here are a few important pieces of advice.

Positive attention for your organization that’s free – who doesn’t want that? If you want your chance at the spotlight, you need to stand out.

I once asked an organization why people should donate to them.
The response? “Because we do good work.” That is true – of your organization and every other nonprofit out there. You need more than goodness to earn media coverage: You need a relevant, newsy story.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: inverted pyramid, media, news release, nonprofit, PR, press release

Social Media Success for the Unconnected Nonprofit

11.21.2011 by Amy Sept Leave a Comment

One to an undefined many communication by Wesley Fryer, on Flickr

Image by Wesley Fryer on Flickr (cc)

Your nonprofit organization has an event next month, you’re looking for ways to promote it, and suddenly creating a Facebook account seems the most brilliant way to bring out the masses.

Stop! Take a deep breath.

A quick reality check

While Wendy’s may be able to pull this sort of one-month campaign out of their back pocket – not to mention all the pre-planning, expertise and resources that go with it – your organization will need a minor miracle to do the same.

That’s not to say that you can’t get started; your event is a great opportunity to tell your fans how to find you. But don’t rush it. If you don’t already have a solid plan ready-to-go, focus on your event and get back to social media later; it should be part of your long-term marketing strategy and you’ll do better by planning ahead for next year instead of scrambling around now.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, marketing, social media Tagged With: community, events, facebook, marketing, nonprofit, planning, social media, support, Twitter, volunteers

Making sense of social media metrics: Forget ROI

11.10.2011 by Amy Sept Leave a Comment

Measuring your social media efforts: We all know we should be doing it. It’s just so much easier not to.

Or is it?

“If you don’t take time to measure, you’re operating blind,” said Adele McAlear, director of operations, measurement and analytics with Edelman Digital in Montreal, at a recent event with IABC/Toronto’s Independent Professional Communicators.

Taking time to track what you’re doing with social networks helps you reduce your risk online – a big concern for a lot of organizations – and it helps you figure out what actually works. “If you don’t measure/analyze/monitor there’s no way for you to know whether you’re even targeting the right space,” McAlear noted.

Thank You doesn’t need to be perfect

10.26.2011 by Amy Sept 9 Comments

Sometimes there’s a gap between receiving money from donors and spending it – the space between, where something that says Thank You should be. I don’t know whether there are any statistics about it, but from conversations with fundraising colleagues and unofficial tests it seems a lot of non-profits – maybe even a majority – miss this critical step.

Why?

I suspect that sometimes, staff and volunteers are already so busy delivering services and getting money in the door that they aren’t able to put together any kind of donor recognition.

I also suspect that in some cases, good intentions get stuck behind lack of money and energy; no time to do it well, so it doesn’t get done at all.

I’ve been there; we all want what we do to be of high quality and look professional. But I’m beginning to believe that point of view can be wrong; it misses the point.

Sometimes the unpolished, the unprofessional, isn’t just all you need. It’s already perfect.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: communications, donors, fundraising, nonprofit, recognition, Thank You, video

7-year-old twins inspire dad’s Africa-relief efforts

08.18.2011 by Amy Sept 1 Comment

Cute Kids in Kenya by khym54, on Flickr

It’s hard to connect to the ongoing crisis in the Horn of Africa: It’s far away in an area that’s been plagued by problems for years. The problem is so big, it’s hard to wrap your head around how we can provide relief.

Leave it to a couple of kids to sort it out. It took some dinnertime Q&A with his 7-year-old twins for Vancouver, B.C.’s Chris Jimenez to take action, but now he’s on a mission: He wants to help raise $60,000 to support relief efforts. And he’s halfway there.

Chris sent the following email to some friends, and one of those friends sent it to their friends – including me. I asked Chris if I could share his email for two reasons:

Chris is just some guy who’s out to raise money to support relief agencies because he can, and because he believes we – the collective We – can do better.
For the Canadians: Until September 16, the Government of Canada is matching donations to selected relief agencies. And, up to $10,000, so will Chris!

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Africa, aid, Chris Jimenez, fundraising, help, Horn of Africa, mission, relief, World Vision

Nonprofit interns: A sanity-saving hiring process

08.05.2011 by Amy Sept Leave a Comment

Learning how to measure salinity in a salt marsh by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, on Flickr

Interns from U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, on Flickr

Your nonprofit organization wants to hire an amazing intern and you’ve done all the legwork to setup a great internship.

Now you need a few good people to apply – and a plan keep your stress levels in check while you search.

Canadian nonprofit Small Change Fund found a great intern in Sarah Hawkins – a traveling storyteller during a recent fundraising campaign. I asked Clare McDowall (@ClareMcDowall), their marketing & communications director, what she would recommend for other groups with a spot to fill.

“My background is in recruitment, but I admit it was an adjustment to adapt those skills for my nonprofit work,” Clare admits.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: hire, how to, interns, nonprofit, Small Change Fund, stress, volunteers

Nonprofit interns: When management styles collide

07.26.2011 by Amy Sept 1 Comment

James, I think your cover's blown! by laverrue, on Flickr

Photo by laverrue, on Flickr

Is your management style hands-on or hands-off? How do you like to be managed? There are many different ways to manage people, and there’s one thing nonprofit pros agree on: Even if you’ve hired an awesome intern, good management can decide whether an experience flies or flops.

“Management is everything,” noted Gail Perry (@gailperrync) when I asked for intern-related advice on Twitter. The trouble is, the definition of “good management” can vary from one person to the next.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: hire, how to, interns, management style, nonprofit, Small Change Fund, volunteers

How to hire an awesome intern

07.14.2011 by Amy Sept Leave a Comment

Interns, by Dave Ruark on Flickr

Nonprofits have mixed feelings when it comes to hiring interns. An intern can be essential for getting things done, but also needs an investment of energy that many nonprofit pros don’t feel they can spare.

Canadian organization Small Change Fund seems to understand this balance. They hired intern Sarah Hawkins to help with their recent Seven Small Wonders of Canada campaign – with great results.

My own experience with interns and volunteers has been admittedly hit and miss, but I was very impressed by the work Sarah accomplished during her 10-week internship.

I asked Clare McDowall (@ClareMcDowall), marketing & communications director, what advice she might have for other groups with the opportunity to hire an intern.

In my next few posts I’ll share some ideas from Clare and others about things that can make the difference between an internship that works and one that doesn’t.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: hire, how to, interns, nonprofit, Small Change Fund, volunteers

From Slacktivist to Activist: A Storify Summary

How to Write a Press Release for Nonprofits

Thank You doesn’t need to be perfect

7-year-old twins inspire dad’s Africa-relief efforts

Nonprofit interns: A sanity-saving hiring process

Nonprofit interns: When management styles collide

How to hire an awesome intern

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