This is the Ignite presentation I did @ NTC 2009, at the end of April 2009. For an expanded version of this presentation, check out this page: http://www.slideshare.net/askmanny/using-ning-to-connect-with-your-community

1. For Nonprofits
Manny Hernandez
President, Diabetes Hands Foundation
Co-Founder TuDiabetes.com, EsTuDiabetes.com
Author, Ning For Dummies

2. Personal Background
• Web Product Mgmt, Social Media – 10+ yrs
• Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes – Oct. 2002
• Worked for Ning - Jan. to Apr. 2008
• Nonprofit management - Apr. 2008 to today

3. Timeline
• Mid-2006: social network for “higher purpose”
• Late 2006: look at platforms (Drupal)
• Mar. 2007: launched TuDiabetes on Ning
• Aug. 2007: launched EsTuDiabetes on Ning
• Apr. 2009: 11K total members (15% growth/mo)

4. What is Ning?
• Ning provides a platform for anyone to
build their own social network.

5. Why a social network?
“The true power of a social network lies in
its ability to foster and solidify connections
offline.”
In the words of Tom Watson:
“… after all the clicking, emailing, viewing
and posting, people need to get up from
their chairs and step outside.”

6. Why a social network?
• A social network changes the way
nonprofits engage with members.
• It helps nonprofits to fulfill their mission in
new ways.

7. Setting up a network on Ning
• No need to be a “geek”
• Wizard-like process
• Resources to grow it and manage it
– Up to a few 100’s members, one person can
do most of the management

8. Advantages of Ning
• Affordable:
– Free basic service
– Premium services
• Solid product
• Customizable: appearance and features
• Network and member privacy controls

9. Disadvantages of Ning
• You can’t “host” the network yourself:
– You depend on Ning being “up”
– You depend on Ning being “in business”
• Members are also members of Ning.com

10. Popular features
• Chat: synchronous communication
• Forum: discussion topics
• Groups: interest groups, regional groups
• Videos, photos: activism, campaigns

11. Uses of Ning for Nonprofits
• Communication: blogs, forums, videos
• Outreach: sharing mechanisms
• Activism: events, groups
• Fundraising: through widgets
• Growing your list: export member data

12. Sample networks on Ning
More than 8,000 members

13. Sample networks on Ning
More than 21,000 members

14. ASPCA network integration

15. Sample networks on Ning

16. Growing your social network
• Through your members:
– Invitations, badges, share, slideshows, videos
• Through network RSS feeds
– TwitterFeed to Twitter
• Through bloggers
• Through existing offline efforts

17. Raise funds through the
network
• Donations: from members, others
• Grants: foundations, government
• Ads: unrelated business income

18. Ning Resources
• http://blog.ning.com
• http://help.ning.com
• http://networkcreators.ning.com
• http://developer.ning.com
• http://is.gd/p7kv: Ning for Nonprofits chat

20. Contact Info
manny AT tudiabetes DOT org
@askmanny