• Blogging takes a lot of time
• It’s hard to motivate team to blog
• How to re-motivate people to blog
• Hard to demonstrate success of blog
• How to start conversation on blog
• How to market blog
• How to motivate readers to read the blog
• Is it worth the time to create a new blog for a program or use the larger organization blog

Tips

• Repurpose content- write about reports and what organization is doing
• Write shorter blog entries. Break up long entries into different posts.
• Create an editorial calendar
• Figure out where blog fits in communications strategy
• Share web metrics with team
• Use the blog to drive people back to website
• Link to other bloggers
• Comments on blog keeps blogger motivated
• Start commenting on other blogs
• Ask people to comment on your blog
• Ask questions on blog entries to start conversation
• Comments are not the only way to measure success – look at web analytics, likes, and re-tweets
• Connect with people connected with organization
• Need to know your market to know how to market your blog
• You can experiment with blogs
• Content ideas- Tell failures, Q & A with experts
• Link to older blog entries on blog
• Put a live feed on the website. It looks like the site is updated. The feed could be from the blog or Twitter.
• It doesn’t matter if the blog is built on website or third party. Do whatever is easiest.

Crowdrise “If you don’t give back, no one will like you”

Twitchange “Team up to change the world, one tweet at a time”

Downside of using celebrities to boost your campaign — they can’t help when they get busy. (i.e. The Jonas Brothers stopped tweeting a Crowdrise campaign).

“To be an influencer, don’t tweet one thing and step away. You have to be passionate at what you do.”

Facebook and Twitter are not the answer to our problems. Wolfe says its key to build a good email list. Social media is meant to support the email lists.

So many NPs are focused on the dollars, but the “bodies” are important, too. Need to get people in the door, and get them to stick around.

@StaceyMonk, EpicChange (Interviewed by Allyson Kapin of RadCampaign)

1. FrogLoop is Care2’s (blog for nonprofits)
2. Monk went through period of loss, divorce, etc. But realized life was about not about getting ahead, but more about love/making a difference.
3. Epic Change is about telling stories that change the world.
4. Stacey asked people on Twitter (in 6 days with 6 volunteers). “Tweetsgiving” began – (Instead of using fear). $11,000 raised in 48 hours. Built classroom.
5. To Mama With Love Campaign – all created out of love.
6. Our intentions matter.
7. Resources flow from love.
8. Giving is a sacred act. That’s not what our job is; it will never move people. You have to create more meaningful experience.
9. Embedded giving: buy coffee and 10% goes to charity. It’s not the same experience.
10. Donor community and beneficiary communities stay separate, but it’s not moving the world forward.
11. How does EpicChange sustain itself? It has a strong volunteer community (time and/or money). They’ve been able to outsource certain functions.
12. When you rely on volunteers who are not as committed as you are, how do you handle that? What are the challenges?  Takes years to develop an effective program. You need a large enough pool. Also, you’re not always in control. People better than you do things better. “You have to let people do their own dance.”
13. Change is an art – not a science. A lot of things can be scaled, commodified. PEOPLE can’t be commodified.
14. Easy to be optimistic about how social media can help people be heard. Stacey not as optimistic anymore. 1) There’s too much noise. 2) Everyone talks about themselves.

Generation Divide with Technology

Baby Boomers tend to read every single word on a webpage

“Click here” is actually very effective with the older crowd.

Email communication works – especially if it acts and looks like a personal letter

Internet Engagement – Older folks visit trusted sites, especially a single site (Rather than providing a variety of scattered links).

Go step by step – (i.e. “Login means your email address”).

Board meeting: meet them where they are.

some board members have been doing things for decades; how do you help with the transition

The basic premise of the conversation was:  how do we cultivate long term buy-in and engagement from our donor community.  Some basic themes included:
1) strategies for grabbing immediate interest;
2) short-term campaigns versus long term “keep the lights on” fundraising
3) moving folks up the engagement ladder

Notes:

-Strategies for connecting with donors:
-comment: getting folks to donate is EASY (i.e. $5) its getting deeper buy in from volunteers and volunteer leaders that is the real challenge
-make it tangible – they are buying a single goat/microloan, not throwing cash into a pot
-example:  US Association for UNHCR blue key campaign; you’re buying a key, not making a simple donation
-creating donor “bling” that donors can wear around like a badge of honor
-importance of excellent reporting, regularly demonstrating the impact the dollars are having
-creating a two way conversation between donors and fund recipient communities
-engaging donors through a campaigns approach – where their dollars are tied to helping complete an action or campaign (i.e. get a bill passed, etc)
-lowering barriers to entry with simple asks (sign a petition, vote for a bumper sticker slogan, tell us in a few words why you support us, etc)

-Other types of buy-in
-i.e. crisis commons where folks are donating all kinds of personal abilities, time, physical space etc.  They consciously avoided individual fundraising and instead cashed in on large foundation grants given their successes mobilizing a mostly volunteer labor force

-Issues of scalability
-the Kiva example, is direct earmarking really feasible with scale – it was exposed publicly that they donor funds were not translating directly to individual loans as per their marketing/branding indicated
-Red Cross example:  in Haiti they were fundraising to recoup much of the funding that had already gone out the door in the early days of the crisis.  They had to be very honest in their asks – to fund “this emergency in Haiti and others like it.” or to include a earmark click box on their donation form for “where the money is most urgently needed.” – which may translate to paying rent.
-some organizations do successful “help keep the lights on” fundraising campaigns.
-do we NEED to scale up as a non-profit, or can we find a new model that’s not based on the capitalist construct of economies of scale?

Agenda

8:30: Checkin and Continental Breakfast

9:00: Introductions

9:15: Keynote conversation with Robert Wolfe, Co-Founder of Crowdrise

10:00: Keynote conversation with Stacey Monk, Co-Founder of Epic Change

10:40: Create Agenda for Unconference

10:45: BREAK

12:45: LUNCH

4:15: Final reflections

Tips

Are you ready for a fun packed today filled with lots of sharing, storytelling, brainstorming, and strategizing? We sure are. Here are some helpful tips for tomorrow.

• Dress comfortably – this is not a formal conference
• Bring something to take notes with – laptop, notebook, pen, – whatever works for you
• Bring business cards – unconferences are great for networking
• Tweeting the Unconference? Our hashtag is #Nonprofit20. We are also on Twitter at @nonprofit20
• Drink plenty of water – you need to stay hydrated in this heat.
• Need assistance at the unconference? Ask anyone wearing a black Nonprofit 2.0 shirt and they will do their best to help you out.

Who is invited?

Are you working in the nonprofit community? Are you a an online advocacy guru, a fundraiser, or grassroots organizer? Perhaps you manage a communications team and want to dive into social media but you’re a little old school. This event is for you! We invite nonprofit staff and do-gooder consultants from a diverse array of fields to come join us at NonProfit 2.0. This includes people who work in:

• Online Advocacy and Outreach
• Grassroots Organizing
• Social Media
• Fundraising
• Communications
• Nonprofit Technology
• Nonprofit Consulting
• Public Affairs
• Programming
• and more.

Be sure and also check our our video from last year to hear what nonprofit campaigners learned.

What is an unConference?*

Following the keynote sessions – at 10:30 AM we start with a blank wall and, in less than an hour, with a facilitator guiding the process attendees create a full day, multi-track conference agenda that is relevant and inspiring to everyone in the room. All are welcome to put forward presentations or propose conversations that you would like to have with others and:

• questions you want answered
• information you want to share/present
• a project you would like help on

As people register we will be posting proposed topics on our wiki.

What happens During Sessions?*

As sessions happen people volunteer to document the outcomes on a wiki (The notes of what was said is even better). Photos of any whiteboards are also important along with any slides that were presented.

End of the Day

At the end of the day everyone gathers in one place to share highlights of the day.

Why Charge?

The $45 fee covers event costs. While leading the organization of NonProfit 2.0 as a way to educate the local nonprofit community on social media and contributing some financial resources, the founders do not want to go in debt on the community’s behalf. Secondarily, PodCamp Boston 2008 received more than 1000 registrants and only a few hundred showed up. The resulting financial loss was significant. We want people to commit to their registration, and there is no better way than to charge a cover. The event is significantly cheaper than most events at this cost, and folks will get a big bang for their buck.

Please note that net proceeds will be donated to a local charity. Catering will be provided by DC Central Kitchen.

Refund Policy:

Tickets are refundable until May 15, 2011.

*Adapted from Kaliya’s Halmlin’s blog on Unconferences

Fine and Kanter told attendees that nonprofits need to empower their free agents (volunteers who are passionate about your nonprofit) to help organizations further their mission.

Nonprofits should embrace free agents to raise money for your organization, said Fine and Kanter and Kanter.  Kanter highlighted Roger Carr as a prime example.  Prior to becoming a board member for the Arthritis Foundation he was an active volunteer (aka free agent) with the organization and spent his free time raising money for the organization. Why did Carr became a free agent for the Arthritis Foundation? Because he had a very personal connection to the issue.

Kanter and Fine also warned nonprofits to stop obsessing over control. “The one thing in this world that nonprofits can’t do is control free agents but you can build strong relationships along the way, educate them about your issues, and set them free.”

Before you engage free agents though it’s important that you listen to them first. “This allows you to distinguish between who are the real free agents passionate about your cause and who the trolls are, said Kanter.” You need to mentor and nurture the free agents.

Are Nonprofits Adapting to Social Media?

The shift is beginning to happen, said Fine. The organization and cultural change is extremely hard. It takes time, courage, and patience.

Fine cited a couple of organizations who have done a good job at changing the culture within their organization and leveraging social media. The American Red Cross has benefited from social media to connect with people out of crisises such as the earthquake in Haiti and has raised well over $30 million. Planned Parenthood has also been successful at using social media to leverage new donors and reach new members.

The Four I’s: Measuring Social Media Impact

At the end of the day, nonprofits want to be able to measure ROI. What are they really getting in return for investing time in social media? Kanter recommends looking at the four I’s.

Return on Insight: What you are getting back is learning about how people feel about your organization and the issues you work on.  Sometimes nonprofits don’t value this enough.

Return on Interaction:  How well you are engaging with people.

Return on Investment: Are you converting people into supporters? Examining conversions will help you learn how to do social media better and where to invest your time.

Return on Impact: Track all the results online and on land.

Notes by Allyson Kapin. Originally published on Care2′s Frogloop blog.

What does Minority mean?

• Less than the majority
• marginalized
• powerlessness
• discomfort with terms
• representation in democracy
• outsider
• federal designation for grants
• federal contracting grant-making
• gives a community more of a face by being specific instead of using the word minority – La Clinica del Pueblo serves young gay latinos

What does diversity look like in the non-profit sector

• 82% of EDs are white
• 86% of board members are white
• 94% of foundation CEOs are white
• 92% of CEOs of ntl orgs locally headquartered are white
• 1/3 of nonprofit managers are black

*From: Urban institute racial diversity collaborative

What can we do to promote diversity?

• Create our own culture – same culture. In a circle – everyone is in  a circle. Everyone is included in activities.

• Less of an ethical issue – more of an economic issue.

• Diversity can fall on deaf ears. Companies are doing diversity – but why aren’t n-profs more like them.

• Job posting – don’t get a diverse group of applicants.

• If you have a hard time getting your board/staff diverse, your org is not connected to your community.

• Is it affected by the size of your organization?

• Jobs don’t honor families taking time off.

• 3-4% of foundation dollars go to people of color – led organizations combined.

How to use the technology tools.

• People of color don’t use online job listing tools. Word of mouth. Well – known brands. Social networks.

• Unless we act with deliberateness, we will still be having this conversation.

• What are the key messages EDs need to hear in order to be more deliberate about this.

• Check out: Joe Gurstant’s blog – Our time to act.

• Brookings Institute on job openings – said people of color and women are encouraged to apply. We don’t take unqualified applications. What does this imply?

• How are you recruiting?

• Reaching out through network – who is a person of color? Specifically targeting people.

• At conferences who is represented in panels reflects the audience. Am I welcome in this space?

• Do have connections to people that do have diverse networks.

• Who are all the invisible people in a sector that we’re missing because we don’t think they would fit in the org?

As Ambassadors of diversity what can we do to encourage this?

• Keep the job process going until you get the diversity qualification filled.
• Reach out to your personal networks and the personal networks of those people.

Session notes by Ben Merrion

Wendy Harman, Social Media Manager at Red Cross, was the first to discuss the listening tools she uses (namely Radian6) — and process she follows (more on that in a moment) to keep a beat on what people are saying about Red Cross across social networks and the blogosphere.

From Wendy’s explanation, Beth distilled four key points:

1. Keywords are king (Google alerts only be effective if the correct keywords have been set up)
2. See the forest not the trees (skim, spend time reading through only the meatiest comments)
3. Find a workflow that will lend itself to both internal and external engagement (listening can essentially serve the same function as assembling a focus group – share the important information that you learn about your brand’s perception with your colleagues. Respond to the happy, frustrated or misinformed people whom you’ve found online to address their concerns or successes.)
4. Make sure to circulate the information learned (Basically, this final point just reinforces the importance of using the information that you’ve found through listening to inform organizational decisions.)

Through listening to others’ descriptions of how they listen to what’s being said about their organizations online, Beth determined that there are three different methods of listening:

1. Listening in real time (or in Beth’s words, changing a flat tire on a moving car.  This method provides an advantage from an engagement perspective.)
2. Reflexive listening over time (This method is especially good for informing a longer term strategy.)
3. ROI (Evaluating the frequency of positive and negative comments will enable you to make a list summarizing research.)

So, what is everyone using to listen anyway?  Here are the tools mentioned during the session:

1. Technorati
2. Google Alerts
3. SM2
4. Radian6 (paid)
5. Twitter Search
6. Social Mention
7. Addictomatic
8. How Sociable
9. Ice Rocket
10. Backtype
11. Twitolyzer
12. Klout
13. Twitter Counter
14. What the Hashtag
15. Facebook search
16. Social Ping
17. Scout Lab (paid tool)
18. Backtype
19. Thrive
20. Flickr
21. YouTube

A few other resources to check out if you’re interested in improving your listening practice are:

1. KDPaine’s PR Measurement Blog
2. Beth’s Blog
3. Social Media Flow Chart
4. Red Cross Social Media guide 

Notes by Larissa Lawrence of Care2.com. *Originally posted on Care2′s Frogloop blog

With NonProfit 2.0 just around the corner and a wait list exceeding 50 people, attendees should be excited. To get folks ready for the event, here’s a short video from SocChangeCamp ‘09 in New York City last fall. This event really captured the spirit of a cause-based unconference.

Also, here’s a recap of the “unsession” that I led at SocChangeCamp on cause exhaustion.