The ecosystem of nonprofits is exploding, yet the problems society faces are larger than nonprofits, said Allison Fine, on the Care2 webinar The Networked Nonprofit. The solution? Networking. This was one of the key takeaways during the webinar presented by Fine, Beth Kanter, Danielle Brigida of National Wildlife Federation, and Mark Sirkin of Austim Speaks. “Nonprofits are fortresses trying to manage the message. Free agents will free you from your cage,” said Kanter. What’s a free agent? They are volunteers in your network. People who are passionate about your nonprofits issues and who want to make a difference! “Invite them in,” said Kanter. Brigida agreed. A truly "networked nonprofit" realizes that help is reciprocal and this is something the National Wildlife Federation is embracing in their constituent engagement strategy.
Sirkin said that nonprofits are too focused on ROI – Return on Investment, something many of us in the nonprofit community have been discussing as we continue to develop metrics to help measure social media’s impact. “We need to be focusing on ROE - Return on Engagement," said Sirkin
How to Build Relationship and Achieve Fundraising Success in a Web 2.0 WorldCAMT
Establishing your organization’s brand and presence on the Web, with opportunities for potential donors to learn, blog, question and connect, leads to community-building and, ultimately, long-term giving. Join Jono Smith, director of marketing at Network for Good, to learn how to build affinity for your organization and use your Web presence to turn Web visitors into Web donors.
Social Media Strategies and Tactics for Fundraisingfrank barry
Learn the key to raising money online using social media, the tools and techniques you need to successfully execute social fundraising campaigns, and how to focus on long term donor cultivation - Social CRM.
Raise more money: Turn your volunteers & supporters into fundraisersJeff Achen
Social networking has fostered an explosion of social sharing and caring like never before. Individuals are asking their Facebook friends for donations in support of a 5K run for their favorite charity. People are tweeting the link to personal fundraising pages on their birthdays or wedding days. Volunteers are championing your cause when they are offline and online.
In this webinar, we'll explore ways to tap into social fundraising by turning your volunteers and supporters into fundraisers using GiveMN's fundraising and team campaign tools.
Here's what we'll cover:
How to discover and engage your biggest supporters, volunteers and advocates
How to promote social sharing and social fundraising for your organization
How to provide support to people fundraising on GiveMN on your behalf
Ideas for creative fundraisers
How to Build Relationship and Achieve Fundraising Success in a Web 2.0 WorldCAMT
Establishing your organization’s brand and presence on the Web, with opportunities for potential donors to learn, blog, question and connect, leads to community-building and, ultimately, long-term giving. Join Jono Smith, director of marketing at Network for Good, to learn how to build affinity for your organization and use your Web presence to turn Web visitors into Web donors.
Social Media Strategies and Tactics for Fundraisingfrank barry
Learn the key to raising money online using social media, the tools and techniques you need to successfully execute social fundraising campaigns, and how to focus on long term donor cultivation - Social CRM.
Raise more money: Turn your volunteers & supporters into fundraisersJeff Achen
Social networking has fostered an explosion of social sharing and caring like never before. Individuals are asking their Facebook friends for donations in support of a 5K run for their favorite charity. People are tweeting the link to personal fundraising pages on their birthdays or wedding days. Volunteers are championing your cause when they are offline and online.
In this webinar, we'll explore ways to tap into social fundraising by turning your volunteers and supporters into fundraisers using GiveMN's fundraising and team campaign tools.
Here's what we'll cover:
How to discover and engage your biggest supporters, volunteers and advocates
How to promote social sharing and social fundraising for your organization
How to provide support to people fundraising on GiveMN on your behalf
Ideas for creative fundraisers
Getting Your Board on Board – Feeling anxious about telling your Board you need a Twitter strategy? Is your Board skeptical of the value and return on investment social media can provide? Or, do they have unrealistic expectations that you’re going to sign up on Facebook today and raise $1 million tomorrow? Either way, get the information you need to manage your Board’s expectations around social media. Find out the best ways to present the value and tangible benefits of social media to get your Board on-side.
Social Media Planning – Now that you’ve got your staff and board excited about social media, what’s next? Like most plans, it starts with a strategy, one that's based on a desire to build relationships. What does a social media plan look like? What are the key elements? Where should you dedicate your time and how can you make most of your efforts? This session will present strategies and tactics you can employ, and will touch on how it all ties into the communications plan you’ve already got.
Getting Your Board on Board – Feeling anxious about telling your Board you need a Twitter strategy? Is your Board skeptical of the value and return on investment social media can provide? Or, do they have unrealistic expectations that you’re going to sign up on Facebook today and raise $1 million tomorrow? Either way, get the information you need to manage your Board’s expectations around social media. Find out the best ways to present the value and tangible benefits of social media to get your Board on-side.
Social Media Planning – Now that you’ve got your staff and board excited about social media, what’s next? Like most plans, it starts with a strategy, one that’s based on a desire to build relationships. What does a social media plan look like? What are the key elements? Where should you dedicate your time and how can you make most of your efforts? This session will present strategies and tactics you can employ, and will touch on how it all ties into the communications plan you’ve already got.
ePhilanthropy - Innovative Ways To Raise Funds OnlineJoe Solomon
A brief introduction to ePhilanthropy. Discusses the potential of widgets for fundraising, in particular the "causes" application on Facebook. With further resources.
Building Participation through Social NetworkingNetwork for Good
Your intern won’t stop telling you that your organization needs to get online. “Make a MySpace page! Create a Flickr account!” Or maybe you have started social networking, but can’t help thinking “Why am I here? What do I do now? Is this helping my organization?” Welcome to the new communications landscape and the realities of building participation – from donors to clients to advocates – in the connected age. This session will explore social networking tools (including MySpace, Facebook, blogs and YouTube) that both enhance traditional forms of connection and information exchange, and create relationship-building opportunities that feel entirely new. Attendees can expect to leave this session armed with practical strategies and tactics about how to start using social networking tools to engage in a personal relationship with users by providing something of value.
This is a ppt. about Most popular Social Networking web sites in the world.Here i described its origin,fecilities they are providing to their users,special features etc....i choose around 12 web sites including Face book,My space,Linked in,Millatfacbook(Pak) ...etc
Getting Your Board on Board – Feeling anxious about telling your Board you need a Twitter strategy? Is your Board skeptical of the value and return on investment social media can provide? Or, do they have unrealistic expectations that you’re going to sign up on Facebook today and raise $1 million tomorrow? Either way, get the information you need to manage your Board’s expectations around social media. Find out the best ways to present the value and tangible benefits of social media to get your Board on-side.
Social Media Planning – Now that you’ve got your staff and board excited about social media, what’s next? Like most plans, it starts with a strategy, one that's based on a desire to build relationships. What does a social media plan look like? What are the key elements? Where should you dedicate your time and how can you make most of your efforts? This session will present strategies and tactics you can employ, and will touch on how it all ties into the communications plan you’ve already got.
Getting Your Board on Board – Feeling anxious about telling your Board you need a Twitter strategy? Is your Board skeptical of the value and return on investment social media can provide? Or, do they have unrealistic expectations that you’re going to sign up on Facebook today and raise $1 million tomorrow? Either way, get the information you need to manage your Board’s expectations around social media. Find out the best ways to present the value and tangible benefits of social media to get your Board on-side.
Social Media Planning – Now that you’ve got your staff and board excited about social media, what’s next? Like most plans, it starts with a strategy, one that’s based on a desire to build relationships. What does a social media plan look like? What are the key elements? Where should you dedicate your time and how can you make most of your efforts? This session will present strategies and tactics you can employ, and will touch on how it all ties into the communications plan you’ve already got.
ePhilanthropy - Innovative Ways To Raise Funds OnlineJoe Solomon
A brief introduction to ePhilanthropy. Discusses the potential of widgets for fundraising, in particular the "causes" application on Facebook. With further resources.
Building Participation through Social NetworkingNetwork for Good
Your intern won’t stop telling you that your organization needs to get online. “Make a MySpace page! Create a Flickr account!” Or maybe you have started social networking, but can’t help thinking “Why am I here? What do I do now? Is this helping my organization?” Welcome to the new communications landscape and the realities of building participation – from donors to clients to advocates – in the connected age. This session will explore social networking tools (including MySpace, Facebook, blogs and YouTube) that both enhance traditional forms of connection and information exchange, and create relationship-building opportunities that feel entirely new. Attendees can expect to leave this session armed with practical strategies and tactics about how to start using social networking tools to engage in a personal relationship with users by providing something of value.
This is a ppt. about Most popular Social Networking web sites in the world.Here i described its origin,fecilities they are providing to their users,special features etc....i choose around 12 web sites including Face book,My space,Linked in,Millatfacbook(Pak) ...etc
An introduction to networking slide show I prepared for a TRCA\'s pilot program with the Canadian Government to assist new Canadian immigrants in finding jobs in Canada.
Join The Social Media Movement - the Importance, Power and Potential of Socia...Jordan Viator Slabaugh
How to embrace social media for nonrprofit organizations - social networking benchmarks for nonprofits, organization case studies on fundraising and advocacy and the tools and tips to monitoring your social media efforts.
A discussion of ways in which nonprofit organizations can anticipate using tools and techniques like Smart segmentation, data mining, marketing automation, crowdfunding and emerging platforms like Snapchat & Vine in the near future.
Engaging communities – talking about mental health onlineKlaxon
Presentation delivered by Eve Critchley at Making Social Part of Your DNA, a conference held during Social Media Week 2012 in London.
For more information visit http://www.socialmediadna.co.uk
If you didn’t raise a million dollars through Twitter or Facebook in 2010, you’re not alone. Unlike the wide-eyed success stories reported by mainstream media, many charities struggle to raise significant revenue from social media channels.
In this workshop, we’ll take a “no bull” approach to examining the use of social media & mobile giving in integrated digital campaigns. We’ll learn from successes but even more from failures, looking at the latest case studies from projects that are experimenting in this space.
Let’s get real – social media is only one complementary channel for your online programs. Do you know how to really leverage your resources, staff knowledge and most importantly – fundraising strategies – to get the benefits of the real-time web? If you feel chasing after “awareness” is not enough, join this session for a grounded guide to social media fundraising, by a fundraiser, for fundraisers.
Takeaways:
- The characteristics of successful fundraisers involving social media
- The digital literacy skills necessary to make wise choices about investment in social media
- An introduction to the latest tools charities are experimenting with this to raise money this year
How do we create websites and products that’s welcoming and truly inclusive to all of our users? It’s not just the right thing to do or PC thing to do. There’s a huge Return on Investment.
Diverse teams build better products because they understand the market better. Companies that have more women on their teams experience 15% more ROI. And companies that have people of color on their teams experience 35% more ROI.
This keynote outlines concrete steps that we can all take to create the inclusive web and get rid of tech’s mirrorocracy.
How do you build community with teens, when you aren't one? This presentation walks you through social media and mobile apps that are trending with the 38 million teens in the US and provides examples on how to build engaging campaigns through their shared experiences.
Learn:
· What tools and tactics are teens using to engage other teens?
· What’s trending in online engagement?
Launching a startup is one of the toughest jobs you will ever love. But do women face more roadblocks than your average male startup founder? This thought-provoking panel at the Women Who Tech TeleSummit focused on how women launching startups can disrupt the startup “brogrammer culture” and issues such as:
– Lack of funding networks
– Imposter syndrome
– Sexism and/or harassment
– Ageism
– Being labeled as too bitchy or too meek
Photoshop demonstration for Members of Congress showing how models are radically manipulated to look "picture perfect."
Graphic designers use programs like Photoshop to drastically alter models bodies to fit the fashion industry’s ideal beauty standards. In the eyes of the fashion industry even professional models are never thin enough or “perfect” looking. Most of the ads that you see in the US don’t actually reflect what these real models look like in real life.
Here's a couple of examples that our web agency Rad Campaign mocked up in Photoshop when Allyson Kapin, co-founder of Rad Campaign testified during a Congressional Briefing.
What happens when big brands, national nonprofits like the NRA or Susan G. Komen ignore their community or influencers lash out when they did not like what people had to say? This presentation explores some of these failures so you can avoid this pitfalls.
Are Nonprofit Raising Money on Social Media? This presentation digs into data on social media as a fundraising channel and highlights the best strategies for raising money.
If you’re new to web design, you may find yourself intimidated how complex it can be creating assets for the online paradigm. We will explore how to use storyboards to plan animated functionality, how to use wireframes to create mobile-friendly designs and help guide and inform your final design, and how to use mood boards to help determine color, texture, and the overall look and feel of online communications. We’ll discuss how to properly start an online design project to help give you a launching point and to help save valuable time and resources by nailing down the basic elements of your assets before you even begin initial design comps.
From your website to social media, email to mobile messages, online to offline, multichannel strategies require coordination and creative thinking across teams and departments, and a focus on the core of your work beyond any one specific call to action. In this session, we will show you how to craft an online multichannel campaign plan to meet your mission and campaign goals, and how other organizations are successfully integrating multichannel efforts into their work. For example, what happens when you tie your Facebook posts to your online fundraising appeals? What about sending text messages connected to your email actions the next day? Multichannel strategies bring your staff together and connect your community across platforms for more targeted actions. This session provides highlights from the new book Social Change Anytime Everywhere: How to Implement Online Multichannel Strategies to Spark Advocacy, Raise Money, and Engage your Community by Allyson Kapin and Amy Sample Ward and gives you the next steps you need to start working to create real social change online and on the ground.
In 2007, the Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders was created to create a society dedicated to the women who give their time, talent and treasure to the American Red Cross.
By annually investing $10,000 in their local American Red Cross chapters, these women follow in the footsteps of a long line of women leaders who have helped the Red Cross serve the American public in times of war and peace through disaster response, blood collection, safety training and countless other community services.
This presentation was given by Wendy Harman of the American Red Cross at the 2011 Blackbaud Conference.
If your nonprofit doesn’t have a solid outreach strategy to cultivate women donors and activists, your organization is missing out on huge opportunities to grow your advocacy and donor base. Why? Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care to donating money to charity. In fact, women make contributions to twice as many charitable organizations as men do. Women also bring in half or more of the income in 55 percent of U.S. households. And Women ages 50 and older control a net worth of $19 trillion and own more than three-fourths of the nation’s financial wealth. Need more reasons to cultivate women? Women also volunteer much more than men do. Thirty-two percent of women, compared to just 25 percent of men, volunteer across every state, age group and education level. Join Allyson Kapin, Founding Partner of Rad Campaign and Women Who Tech, Jocelyn Harmon of Care2 and Wendy Harman of the American Red Cross for this exciting panel. During the session these seasoned marketers and nonprofit campaigners will give you the low down on:
· how powerful and important women are to the vitality of nonprofits including hard data that you can take back to the office and share with others.
· how to reach women across multiple channels ranging from direct mail to social media
· how to plan a multi-channel campaign to successfully reach women.
Are you looking for a way to engage your donors without always asking for a donation? Do you need strategies and tactics for doing online acquisition? This free webinar will talk about the relationship between advocacy and fundraising, how organizations are using advocacy successfully for list growth and engagement, and show you valuable case studies from successful organizations. We will also discuss best practices in assessing ROI or Return on Investment for online acquisition, so you can see how to make advocacy pay.
You built your nonprofit to right injustices, empower communities, and to inspire social change. But does your nonprofit reflect the communities it serves? Organizations that lack diversity limit their ability to innovate, create change, and build transformative movements.
Join us for a lively discussion to explore why and how your nonprofit should diversify its technology, communications, and development teams beyond the usual suspects.
How do you market a campaign on a shoestring budget? Check out best practices and case studies by four experts who do it every day - Katya Andresen CEO of Network for Good, Jocelyn Harmon, Director of Nonprofit Services for Care2, Allyson Kapin, Partner at Rad Campaign and Founder of Women Who Tech and Shireen Mitchell, Founder of Digital Sistas.
In a May 9, 2024 paper, Juri Opitz from the University of Zurich, along with Shira Wein and Nathan Schneider form Georgetown University, discussed the importance of linguistic expertise in natural language processing (NLP) in an era dominated by large language models (LLMs).
The authors explained that while machine translation (MT) previously relied heavily on linguists, the landscape has shifted. “Linguistics is no longer front and center in the way we build NLP systems,” they said. With the emergence of LLMs, which can generate fluent text without the need for specialized modules to handle grammar or semantic coherence, the need for linguistic expertise in NLP is being questioned.
03062024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
31052024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
हम आग्रह करते हैं कि जो भी सत्ता में आए, वह संविधान का पालन करे, उसकी रक्षा करे और उसे बनाए रखे।" प्रस्ताव में कुल तीन प्रमुख हस्तक्षेप और उनके तंत्र भी प्रस्तुत किए गए। पहला हस्तक्षेप स्वतंत्र मीडिया को प्रोत्साहित करके, वास्तविकता पर आधारित काउंटर नैरेटिव का निर्माण करके और सत्तारूढ़ सरकार द्वारा नियोजित मनोवैज्ञानिक हेरफेर की रणनीति का मुकाबला करके लोगों द्वारा निर्धारित कथा को बनाए रखना और उस पर कार्यकरना था।
01062024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
Welcome to the new Mizzima Weekly !
Mizzima Media Group is pleased to announce the relaunch of Mizzima Weekly. Mizzima is dedicated to helping our readers and viewers keep up to date on the latest developments in Myanmar and related to Myanmar by offering analysis and insight into the subjects that matter. Our websites and our social media channels provide readers and viewers with up-to-the-minute and up-to-date news, which we don’t necessarily need to replicate in our Mizzima Weekly magazine. But where we see a gap is in providing more analysis, insight and in-depth coverage of Myanmar, that is of particular interest to a range of readers.
role of women and girls in various terror groupssadiakorobi2
Women have three distinct types of involvement: direct involvement in terrorist acts; enabling of others to commit such acts; and facilitating the disengagement of others from violent or extremist groups.
ys jagan mohan reddy political career, Biography.pdfVoterMood
Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy, often referred to as Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, is an Indian politician who currently serves as the Chief Minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh. He was born on December 21, 1972, in Pulivendula, Andhra Pradesh, to Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy (popularly known as YSR), a former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, and Y.S. Vijayamma.
‘वोटर्स विल मस्ट प्रीवेल’ (मतदाताओं को जीतना होगा) अभियान द्वारा जारी हेल्पलाइन नंबर, 4 जून को सुबह 7 बजे से दोपहर 12 बजे तक मतगणना प्रक्रिया में कहीं भी किसी भी तरह के उल्लंघन की रिपोर्ट करने के लिए खुला रहेगा।
27052024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
Future Of Fintech In India | Evolution Of Fintech In IndiaTheUnitedIndian
Navigating the Future of Fintech in India: Insights into how AI, blockchain, and digital payments are driving unprecedented growth in India's fintech industry, redefining financial services and accessibility.
11. Complex social problems that outpace the capacity of any individual organization Photo by uncultured
12. Source: David Armano The Micro-Sociology of Networks In a networked world, nonprofits need to work less like this
13. And more like this …. With apologies to David Armano for hacking his visual! Source: The Micro-Sociology of Networks
14. The Networked Nonprofit BE DO Understand Networks Work with Free Agents Create Social Culture Work with Crowds Listen, Engage, and Build Relationships Learning Loops Trust Through Transparency Friending or Funding Simplicity Govern through Networks
15. Use social media tools to organize, mobilize, raise funds, and communicate with constituents but outside of institutional walls
20. Transparent nonprofits consider everyone inside and outside of the organization resources for helping them to achieve their goals
21. How many free agents does it take to turn a fortress inside/out?
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23. Shawn Ahmed “ I can’t single-handedly end global poverty, but I can take actions and inspire others .”
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25. “ the problem isn’t social media, the problem is that YOU are the fortress. Social media is not my problem: I have over a quarter million followers on Twitter , and 2.1 million views on YouTube. I have a hard time having you guys take me seriously . “
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31. @afine @kanter Book on Amazon: http://bit.ly/networkednp See you on June 21st 1-2 PM PST/4-5 PM EST
32. Growing as a Networked Nonprofit Danielle Brigida Digital Marketing Manager National Wildlife Federation Find me on Twitter @NWF or @Starfocus or Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/nationalwildife
40. We invest in relationship building Grace raised $1,400 for wildlife. We met her mom on Twitter. Group we created has 20 mothers working to get kids outside
41. We tell staff “be yourself” Danielle Brigida Kristin Johnson Anne Keisman Robin Broitman David Mizejewski Jessica Jones Kevin Coyle Libby Schleichert Jennifer Janssen Ashleigh Poff Jen Fournelle Dominique Burgunder-Johnson Christine Dorsey Jaime Matyas Rachel Faulkner Aislinn Maestas Julia Marden Courtney Cochran @starfocus and @nwf @ksuzj and @nwf @keisman and @greenhour @rgbroitman @Dmizejewski @wildlife_watch @climateclass @EpSchleichert @Juniperforest @ashpoff @JenFour @dejae @christinenwf @ecosoccermom @KisatchiePine @AislinnNWF @wildlifeaction @campusecology
42. We try new things and fail fast “ Failing only happens when you miss the opportunity to learn” – me
“ Enough about you. Let’s talk about ME!” Is this how your organization interacts with your supporters? Telling them about the intricacies of your own work and programming —instead of listening and responding to the ideas bubbling up from the communities in which your supporters participate? In The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting With Social Media To Drive Change, co-authors Beth Kanter and Allison Fine, show how social media is catalyzing a shift away from this type of “organization-centric” advocacy, governance and communications toward a “network-centric” approach. Join us for a free webinar on June 17 at 2pm (EST) to learn more about becoming a “Networked Nonprofit.” * Five lucky registrants will win free copies of the book! What you’ll learn: • How to understand social networks through social network analysis; • How to create a social culture at your nonprofit; • How and why you must value relationships as well as transactions; • How to embrace experimentation, and work with crowds; and • How to break out of those troublesome silos. • How to understand social networks through social network analysis; • How to create a social culture at your nonprofit; • How and why you must value relationships as well as transactions; • How to embrace experimentation, and work with crowds; and • How to break out of those troublesome silos.
I wear many hats these days. I’m the CEO of Zoetica, write Beth’s Blog, and have been Visiting Scholar for Nonprofits and Social Media at the Packard Foundation
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicmcphee/422442291/ Problem statement: Explosion in size of nonprofit sector over last twenty years, huge increase in donations and number of foundations, and yet needle hasn’t moved on any serious social issue. A sector that has focused on growing individual institutions ever larger has failed to address complex social problems that outpace the capacity of any individual org. or institution to solve them. Our interest and passion is in solving these problems.
Problem statement: Explosion in size of nonprofit sector over last twenty years, huge increase in donations and number of foundations, and yet needle hasn’t moved on any serious social issue. A sector that has focused on growing individual institutions ever larger has failed to address complex social problems that outpace the capacity of any individual org. or institution to solve them. That’s why feel strongly that nonprofits need to work more like networks. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sorby/258577150/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncultured/1815645413/
Solution: Networks of individuals and institutions that reduces the burden on everyone, leverages the capacity, creativity, energy and resources of everyone to share solutions, solve problems. This changes the definition of scale for social change – was institutions now networks. The transition from working like this to this – doesn’t happen over night, can’t flip a switch
Two themes – The transition of how a nonprofit goes from institution to looking like and working more like a network is what our book is about The transition isn’t an easy, flip a switch – and it happens – it takes time Some nonprofits, newer ones like Mom’s Rising have networked nonprofit in their DNA, while others – institutions – make the change slowly. Way of being transforms into a way of doing
PDF celebrate free agents --- What we’d like to talk about today – is the challenges that some nonprofits are facing – working with free agents. Millennials, with their passion for causes and fluency with social media, are also a part of a powerful new force for social change players called free agents. Free agents are individuals working outside of organizations to organize, mobilize, raise funds, and communicate with constituents. In the old paradigm, organizations could dismiss free agents as amateurs not worthy of their time and attention. And without the connectedness of social media they might have been able to afford to ignore them. But not any more, not with the power of an entire social movement in the palm of an individual’s hand. Free agents are not by definition Millennials, but many free agents are young people. Free agents take advantage of the social media toolset to do everything organizations have always done, but outside of institutional walls.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/444790702/ Fortresses work hard to keep their communities and constituents at a distance, pushing out messages and dictating strategy rather than listening or building relationships. Fortress organizations are losing ground today because they spend an extraordinary amount of energy fearing what might happen if they open themselves up to the world. These organizations are floundering in this set-me-free world powered by social media and free agents. This trajectory changes when organizations learn to use social media and actually become their own social networks.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigtallguy/139143816/ We wrote this book because we saw a landscape of free agents and nonprofit fortresses crashing into one another ….
The opposite of Fortresses, Transparents can be considered as glass houses, with the organizations presumably sitting behind glass walls. However, this isn’t really transparency because a wall still exists. True transparency happens when the walls are taken down, when the distinction between inside and outside becomes blurred, and when people are let in and staffers are let out. Transparency is even stronger when the high walls and closed doors are not created in the first place. We can think of transparency like a sponge in the ocean. The scientific name for sponges is Porifera, which means pore bearing. These simple organisms let up to 20,000 times their volume in water pass through them every day as they breathe and eat. But because they are also anchored to the ocean floor, the sponges can withstand the open, constant flow without inhibiting it. University of California Museum of Paleontology, “Introduction to Porifera,” http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/porifera/porifera.html (accessed on May 21, 2009). Opening the Kimono in Beth’s Blog: A Day in the Life of Nonprofit Social Media Strategists and Transparency,” Beth’s Blog, posted August 3, 2009, http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/08/opening-the-kimino-week-on-beths-blog-a-day-in-the-life-of-nonprofit-social-media-strategists-and-tr.html (accessed September 30, 2009).
Transparent organizations behave like these sponges. They are anchored, they are clear about what they do, and they know what they are trying to accomplish. However, they still let people in and out easily, and are enriched in the process. This can only happen when organizations trust that people on the outside have good intentions, a key ingredient for relationship building. Organizations are transparent when: Leadership is straightforward when talking to various audiences. Employees are accessible to reinforce the public view of the organization and to help people when appropriate. Their values are easily seen and understood. Their culture and operations are apparent to everyone inside and out. They communicate all results, good and bad. Transparent organizations consider everyone inside and outside of the organization resources for helping them to achieve their goals. Jake Brewer, the Engagement Director for the Sunlight Foundation, describes his organization’s efforts to be transparent this way: “We often ask in team meetings, 'How can the community help with this?' or 'How can this be more open?' The result is that instead of an internal email that only the team sees, all of our Twitter followers see it along with our staff.” http://www.flickr.com/photos/avelino_maestas/3886212111/sizes/o/
Shawn Ahmed is 29 year-old Canadian from Toronto and the founder of the “The Uncultured Project.” He raises money and awareness on the issue of extreme global poverty. He is idealistic, facile with social media and works outside the walls of an institution. He’s passionate about wanted to end global poverty and wants to do it on his terms. Shawn feels strongly that his generation can end extreme poverty with one small action at a time in places like Bangladesh. His on-the-ground work aims to make as many meaningful differences in other people’s lives as possible. This includes helping a widow keep her children, helping a student stay in high school, helping malaria survivors live malaria-free lives, and much more. But as he acknowledges, that he can’t do it alone. http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncultured/1173511851/
By sharing this journey on social networks like YouTube and Twitter, he is inspiring other people to talk about issue of global poverty and take action, and as he says, “in a way that is different from the big nonprofit organizations.”
We witnessed this collision first hand during our session on the Networked Nonprofit at the NTEN NTC Conference as Shawn’s frustration with traditional organizations spilled over. He grabbed the microphone to address the room full of nonprofit professionals and said, “the problem isn’t social media, the problem is that YOU are the fortress. Social media is not my problem: I have over a quarter million followers on Twitter , 10,800 subscribers on YouTube, and 2.1 million views. Yet, despite that, I have a hard time having you guys take me seriously . “
He turned and pointed a finger at Wendy Harman from the Red Cross who was in the room. He told the room full of nonprofits staffers ….. When the Haiti earthquake struck, I contacted the Red Cross. I offered to connect the community supporting my work with your efforts in Haiti. But I was dismissed as ‘just a guy on YouTube’”.
A month after our gathering in Atlanta. Shawn Admed shared news of a meeting with the Red Cross, an organization he now describes as “unfortress.” He applauds them for exploring ways to team up with a free agent. The hardest step is for most organizations is the first one. They have to admit their fear of a loss of control that prevents them from working with free agents – and get to a conversation to explore the possibilities. The Red Cross took that first step. There are actually 12 steps – and we lay this out in the chapter on social culture.