studio 501c

Jim Fruchterman, technologist for social change, wins MacArthur genius award (oh, and by the way, he has a blog)

One of the 25 MacArthur Fellows announced yesterday was James Fruchterman, social entrepreneur and founder of Benetech, a nonprofit that creates "new technology solutions that serve humanity and empower people to improve their lives."   Benetech's innovative projects have focused on literacy for people with disabilities, landmine detection, and human rights.

When visiting Benetech's web site, I was delighted to discover that the homepage features a link to the latest post in Fruchterman's blog, Beneblog.  Beneblog is an example of what I have called a business-lunch blog.  In a simple, conversational style, and in posts that range from short to long, Fruchterman discusses interesting happenings in the life of the organization, for example, national media coverage and job openings.  He also comments on current events that are related to the mission and work of the organization.

nonprofits, nota bene:  A business-lunch blog is a practical strategy for many social sector organizations.  Every blog takes time, but it needn't take an extraordinary amount (the archives show that Fruchterman publishes as little as three times a month).  Blogs rank high in search engine results, making them a good way to raise awareness of your organization.  For more ideas on how your nonprofit can connect in a more personal way with clients, members, donors, volunteers, and  the general public, see my earlier post, "a blog can be like a business lunch."  And if you do publish a blog, consider featuring the latest post or two on your homepage. 

Congratulations, Jim Fruchterman. (For more on Jim, check out Global X and Jim Korn, two bloggers who know him.)
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the ad that empowered a jilted bride to empower women 'round the world

Kyle Paxman was supposed to get married today, but when she discovered six weeks ago that her fiance was cheating on her, she called off the wedding.  Stuck with a contract for a 180-guest event at a nice hotel, she turned the day into a fundraising benefit for CARE USA and the Vermont Children's Aid Society.

Kyle chose CARE after she happened to see this PSA, I Am Powerful, on television.  From the 9/08/06 New York Times: "[The commercial] shows hundreds of women from various countries striding across a desert, then zeroes in on four who stare straight into the camera and declare, 'I am powerful.'  It ends as a narrator says: 'She has the power to change her world. You have the power to help her,' and it spoke to Ms. Paxman. 'It was the most powerful commercial I’ve ever seen,' she said. 'I knew then that I had found my other cause.' ”

The story has captured the interest of a number of bloggers, at least one of whom was inspired to donate to CARE USA in Kyle's honor. (You can donate to CARE in Kyle's honor here.)

nonprofits, nota bene: Nonprofits should always be ready to leverage current events.  If I worked for CARE, I would try to raise more money by including a link to the New York Times piece on the homepage along with a message encouraging web visitors to join Kyle in supporting CARE.  I'd also feature the story in my next email newsletter.  If I had more time to spare, I'd pitch the story to bloggers like the ones who had already covered the story, e.g., wedding bloggers.  If I worked for the Vermont Children's Home Society (VCHS), I'd do the same.  (You can contact VCHS here.  It does not have an online donation function, so it should get an one, using Idealware's recommendations.)

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my technorati tags: net2, nptech, weddings, brides, vermont, CARE

a new way for nonprofits to "show up" in Google: March of Dimes petitions for a "doodle"

Via Seth Godin : The March of Dimes is asking supporters to petition Google to create a "doodle," (a modification of its logo that changes daily and that commemorates different holidays and events)  to commemorate Prematurity Awareness Day on November 14. 

Good petitions, like this one, Godin says, "build emotional energy."  Even if Google does not create a doodle, the petition will have helped to raise awareness of the day, and of the cause.

live TV becoming more affordable for nonprofits

PR pro Kami Huyse asks her blog's readers to consider putting live TV into their PR plans, with the help of some relatively inexpensive technology. She mentions a recommendation by Shel Holtz, who is a highly respected online PR strategist, and someone whose recommendation I would take very seriously. For those nonprofits that can afford it right now (I supposed that the cost will decline over time), live TV could be a great tool for training staff and volunteers and for helping donors and members to participate in events remotely. If you have ideas for how nonprofits can use live TV, please share them in the comments section below.

free guide is a handy tool for nonprofit public relations

Via Steve Rubel, here's a succinct, free 30-page guide from PR firm Shift Communications on how to use the Web for public relations. Written for PR specialists, PR 2.0 Essentials would be just as helpful to nontechies in nonprofits who want to learn how to interact with external audiences through social bookmarking, RSS, blogs, podcasts, and more. Among dozens of ideas and links to resources, it includes good tips on "pitching" bloggers and podcasters with story ideas. Just replace the phrase "your clients" with "your nonprofit" or "your staff and board," and this guide will serve even the smallest of 501c3s very well.

Technorati tags: net2 nptech nonprofit_blogs nonprofit social media pr public relations Web2.0 PR 2.0 Shift Communications Steve Rubel

3 posts = a great primer on blogging and web communications for nonprofits

Two of my favorite bloggers recently published posts that, together, provide a great overview of the importance and potential of web-based communications for 501c3s. These articles would be good to share with an executive director or team that is beginning to explore how to use the web to build relationships with donors, volunteers, clients, members, and other stakeholders.

Check out Nancy Schwartz's Everybody's Talking About You--Why Your Nonprofit Needs to Listen, and Listen Hard. (Be sure to click to read the whole article.)

And if you haven't seen it yet, go to Netsquared to read Using New Tools in Non-tech Orgs: An Interview with Seth Mazow of Interplast by Marshall Kirkpatrick. Seth shares practical advice that is within the reach of many nonprofits.

If Marshall and Nancy's posts inspire you to investigate blogging, don't miss Idealware.org's great report, Getting Started With Blogging Software.

Like Seth Mazow, I recommend Typepad, which I use to publish this blog. I also recommend ExpressionEngine, which I plan to use for another project.

Technorati tags: net2 nptech nonprofit_blogs nonprofit Typepad Idealware ExpressionEngine Web2.0

report compiles good blogging advice for businesses and nonprofits; as always, beware of absolute truths

A University of Massachusetts marketing professor has published an interesting report based on a survey of bloggers.  "Behind the Scenes in the Blogosphere: Advice from Established Bloggers" contains useful information, and I recommend it if your nonprofit has a blog or is considering one.

However, in terms of using the report to drive decisions about business or nonprofit blogging, keep the second half of the study's title in mind: the ideas in this paper are based on the "self-reports" and opinions of bloggers who responded to an open call in May 2006 to participate.  The study did not measure the opinions of the blogs' readers, readers' use of the blogs, or the effect of business blogs on customer or stakeholder behavior.

Also consider that not all 74 of the survey respondents were truly "business bloggers," i.e., bloggers blogging as an employee of a company or organization.  As the author notes, 27% of them were "independent bloggers" such as Marketing Monger.

Therefore, I take the assertions in the report with a grain of salt.  I do agree that these "blogosphere truths," as author Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes calls them, are generally true:

1. Blogs take time and commitment.
2. Blogs must be part of a plan.
3. A blog is a conversation.
4. Transparency, authenticity, and focus are good. Bland is bad.

However, there are some assertions in the report that have been contradicted recently by other established bloggers:

-- "A good blog is one where posts are fresh and new posts are frequent."
-- "One respondent says, 'Don’t start a blog unless you have people in your organization to post to it daily in an open, friendly, and excited tone.' "
While regular posts are essential, the MarketingProfs blog recently argued that frequent posts may not be desirable.  Now that readers can elect to automatically receive new blog posts via email and RSS (news feeds), the promise of a new post daily is not necessary to lure readers, and the volume of daily posts can overwhelm readers and bloggers both.

-- "Participation is essential in the blogosphere. One respondent says... 'A blog is a conversation. Don’t open the line unless you’re ready to really talk.' ”
-- "It is important not to be afraid of giving up the mono-directed control that usually characterizes an organization."
While I believe that allowing for comments is beneficial for most business bloggers, Steve Rubel recently discussed why two popular independent bloggers don't accept comments.  More important, in my opinion, is that the content and tone of the blog are conversational, even if it is a one-way communication.

-- "Blogs will make or break your business."
-- "Blogs are not a fad. They are no longer even an option. Those businesses that choose to remain outside this online conversation, will be sidelined. Eventually they will become extinct."
While I believe that most businesses and nonprofits could benefit from some kind of blog, no less than Nicholas Carr, a former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review, argues the contrary, and offers some cautionary advice on corporate blogging: In advising businesses not to blog (or at least to be careful in doing so), he says, "And don't buy that nonsense about needing to have 'conversations' with the marketplace. That's an ideology, not a strategy."

I would turn Carr's statement around to say that blogs as conversations are a strategy, not an ideology.  For most organizations, blogs are extremely effective ways to build relationships with customers and stakeholders (in a nonprofit's case -- donors, volunteers, clients, and members), and I highly recommend them.  However, as I argued in my earlier post, "a blog can be like a business lunch," there are no absolute truths about business blogging.

Thanks to Dr. Barnes for the study and to the smart and succinct Steve Rubel for the tip.

Technorati tags: net2 nptech blogging nonprofit blogosphere business corporate marketing research study reference Web2.0 business_blog blogs bloggers

e-newsletters better than web site or RSS for building relationships, study suggests

Any nonprofit interested in effective online communication should check out the executive summary of a fascinating study -- by the highly regarded Nielsen Norman group -- on e-mail newsletters, how to make them user friendly, and their value compared to web sites and RSS (also known as web feeds or news feeds). A couple of excerpts:

On e-newsletters vs. web sites: "Users tend to glance at websites when they need to accomplish something or to find the answer to a specific question. In contrast, newsletters feel personal because they arrive in users’ inboxes, and users have an ongoing relationship with them. Newsletters also have a social aspect, as users often forward them to colleagues and friends."

On e-newsletters vs RSS (web feeds): "Feeds are a cold medium in comparison with email newsletters. Feeds don’t form the same relationship between company and customers that a good newsletter can build. We don’t have data to calculate the relative business value of a newsletter subscriber compared to a feeds subscriber, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that companies make ten times as much money from each newsletter subscriber. Given that newsletters are a warmer and much more powerful medium, it is probably best for most companies to encourage newsletter subscriptions and promote them over feeds on their website."

Hmmm, among other things, this suggests that a free service such as Zookoda, which allows bloggers to send a weekly branded newsletter with digests of blog posts, would be more effective than RSS at building relationships with readers. I'll have to check it out. If anyone has used Zookoda, I'd be grateful for your thoughts in the comments section.

Thanks to the ultrapopular Merlin Mann at 43 folders for the tip.

Technorati tags: net2 nonprofit nptech social sector NGO Jakob Nielsen JakobNielsen Norman NielsenNorman usability newsletters e-newsletters feeds web2.0 Zookoda site relationship building relationshipBuilding

nonprofit marketing with YouTube, MySpace, and more

The npMarketing Blog recently published a great overview of how the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) uses Web services such as YouTube (online video), MySpace (online community popular with young people), and Frappr (online mapping) to promote its cause. Mark Sirkin, the blogger, calls these sites "fourth places" -- "virtual places online that are their own, self-sustained communities that we want to reach out to and partner with." Mark, a "must read" for nonprofit types interested in web communications and relationship building, directs online marketing for LLS.

Technorati tags: net2 nonprofit nptech social sector NGO MySpace YouTube Frappr leukemia lymphoma LLS web2.0 fourthplacemarketing fourthplace nonprofitmarketing

fake newspaper: a fun, fast way to honor nonprofit volunteers, donors, staff

I discovered fodey.com's newspaper snippet generator via popular blogger Steve Rubel, who always has interesting and instructive posts on marketing and PR.

As the image below shows, this free and easy tool provides a fun way to recognize staff members, volunteers, and donors.  Some ideas:

• Use your nonprofit's name in the name of the newspaper, e.g., "YMCA Times." If it's too long a name, use "Great News" or "Hope Times." (Play around with the text -- long titles get cut off.  You'll also have to play around with the body of the story, as spacing between words can get funky.)
• Use your town's name in the "dateline," as in the example below.
• Include quotes from leaders of your nonprofit, and, with permission, from kids and adults who have benefitted from the work of the person you're honoring.
• Use the story images on your Web site, in email newsletters, and in flyers.
• Create and save your story in a Word or a text editor before generating the image with the snippet generator. You can then re-use parts of it or revise it. (Once you save the story in the snippet generator, you can't edit it.)

Please share your ideas for using the newspaper snippet generator in the comments section below.

Technorati tags: net2 rubel fake newspaper nonprofit nptech fundraising email volunteer staff donor recognition web2.0