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Remaining Relentlessly Relevant

Last week was the NEDRA conference which was, as in all years past, exceptional. How do they do it? How do they not only come up with interesting and unusual topics but also deliver them so effectively? And maintain a sense of community?

For example, what was billed as a panel of development professionals who also happen to be fiction writers turned into an opportunity for scores of lurkers to listen in on a fascinating, organic conversation from three amazing women on balancing fundraising work, creative life, and life in general. We got to ask questions, of course, and listen to these three authors from California, Pennsylvania, and Florida discuss, explore, and learn from each other’s experiences. How lucky were we? Who gets to do that?!

It used to be that NEDRA conferences featured mainly New England-based speakers. As a region, we’re pretty lucky because you can’t turn around without bumping into a nonprofit around here, and the mainly local speakers have always been first-rate.

But this year speakers and conference attendees Zoomed in from Texas, New York, Minnesota, Canada, the Netherlands – 22 states and two countries…providing a diversity of geography and experience that we never benefited from in the Before Times.

How they do it and maintain a sense of community is partly operating from experience, but it’s also creativity, collaboration, keeping a keen eye on trends, and a bit of chutzpah. That’s a recipe for the best way to remain relevant in the Now Times.

I mentioned in a previous blog post that, because of the pandemic, I was able to attend events from my university in the UK and hear from leadership and students that I never would have been able to because, Before, they would only have been in-person events.

I’d invite you to think for a moment about all of the creative and beneficial pivots that this crummy pandemic has afforded you.

Maybe those included diversified speakers at conferences. Work from home opportunities. More time to spend with those who matter to you. Maybe a possibility to enjoy a new hobby or interest or activity.

Remarkably rejuvenated annual fund results for some nonprofits. Ways to meaningfully connect with far-flung donors for others.

A chance for us to rethink what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean and what we want to do about it.

Our world has completely changed in lots of ways. We’ve been forced given a chance to reset. As we emerge out of the dark door of this theater of the absurd pandemic, aware that the tacky remains of Covid will be sticking to the bottom of our shoes for many years to come, what are the good lessons we can purposefully take away with us? Will we, for example, find ways to successfully navigate hybrid conferences so that the diversity of experience and geography and ability can still happen? Will we incorporate the best of the MacGyver-style creativity we applied to alumni relations and annual fund and major gift fundraising and build on it?

I’ve got a friend named Mark who is a marketing guru. He’s the author of a bunch of bestselling books, an adjunct professor, a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and a super nice guy to boot. He recently did a TEDx talk, which I recommend giving 12 minutes to, called “How to be Relentlessly Relevant.” In the talk, Mark chronicles his experience of a career that went from the deafening roar of being a SxSW Superstar to the sound of crickets in a matter of 48 hours. And then how it went back again.

In the talk, Mark challenges us to think about our career paths to date, and how they’ve unfolded. Much of the success in our careers involve taking advantage of opportunities in the moment in which they’re presented, and responding relevantly to the needs of that situation. As Mark says, “There’s never been a more promising time to become really relevant.”

In prospect development, we’re always striving to remain relevant, and more than that: our work can help our organizations see ahead of curves. Before we move too much further into the Next Times, let’s take a moment to grab onto what we want to capitalize on from Now forward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Future of Search

Honda driverless car

Driverless cars aren’t ubiquitous yet, but according to a study by McKinsey & Co., in fifteen years we’ll be seeing them everywhere.

Both McKinsey and marketing expert Mark Schaefer say that driverless cars will herald a golden age of an increasing amount of content.

Because we won’t be bothered by avoiding crazy drivers on the roads, each of us will gain 50 minutes a day of time we can spend Facebooking, watching movies, or consuming books, magazines or other online content. [Read more…]

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From Twit to Twitterer: the brief story of a reluctant user

A couple of years ago I was talking with an intelligent, interesting, down-to-earth marketing guy. (And no, that’s not an oxymoron). Although Mark’s got a career that you might expect would entail being smarmy or jumping on couches screaming words like “SEO!” and “market penetration!” he’s not like that at all. Even remotely.

So I got nervous when he started trying to convince me to join Twitter. I diverted and moved the conversation on. When Mark pressed, I finally told him I thought it was only for twits who talk about what they had for lunch. He said that, while there certainly was an element of that, not everyone on Twitter was like that. That there are a lot of influential people using Twitter in order to share important information – at immediate, lightning speed and that I would always have control over who I followed.

I’m a sucker for lightning speed information, and I trusted him not to lead me down a path that was a time-waster. So I gave it a try.

 

Fast-forward to today. I’m not a super power Twitter user by any means, but I do follow nearly a thousand interesting and informative people, nonprofits and companies. That may sound like a lot, but trust me, a thousand is actually manageable with good filtering. And people aren’t out there constantly tweeting all the time. (Well, most people aren’t, anyway).

And honestly, some of the best information that crosses my screen, whether it’s white papers, studies, or news about big gifts or innovative things that businesses or nonprofits are doing, comes from Twitter. Often I find that I get some news before other people have heard about it – because they aren’t where the breaking news is. Twitter gives me an edge because I find out about things that are being released by thought leaders as they happen. And I re-tweet the most valuable information that comes my way and use the information to inform my work.

Perhaps nicest of all is that I have met some of the smartest, most generous people on Twitter that I have gone on to meet in real life. And we can just pick up the conversation there as we do on Twitter.

So if you’ve ever considered signing up for Twitter, but decided not to bother, do give it a try. And no– it’s really never too late. Give it two weeks. If you’ve given it a real college try and you still think it’s not for you, just cancel the account. No harm, no foul.

To get you started

Mark Schaefer has written a short, very engaging guide to getting started on Twitter called The Tao of Twitter. The book has lots of case studies and examples for how you can get the most out of your Twitter experience. 

If you’re looking for people to follow, try picking and choosing from these lists (or just follow the lists wholesale!)

Prospect researchers: my list

Fundraising experts/consultants: from Beth Ann Locke

You can also look at the people on Twitter that you respect to see who they are following, and add those people.

Filtering tips

As with most research resources, filtering is important because Twitter is a constant barrage of information. One easy way to keep track of things is to use a dashboard like Hootsuite.

Set up is pretty easy and Hootsuite has even compiled a handy Quick Start Guide. You can get a free Twitter or Hootsuite app for your smart phone so you can read your feed while you’re waiting in line at Costco. And if you want to post from your smartphone, you can even do it via text message if you’re a texter.

Making a hash(tag) of it

Another way to filter to find the best information is by using hashtags, which are just key words with the prefix ‘#’ attached to them, as in

#prospectresearch

#nonprofits

#fundraising

So for example, when I post a tweet with information I think a prospect researcher will find useful, I will use the hashtag #prospectresearch to categorize that tweet. Someone later searching on that hashtag will find my tweet (whether they follow me on Twitter or not).

You can even use hashtags to join in on a live chat or follow what’s happening at a conference (such as #APRAprospect2013).

There are lots of hashtags out there. Two blog posts by the venerable Kivi Leroux Miller and Kerri Karvetski provide useful lists for nonprofiteers.

Are you a fundraiser or prospect researcher on Twitter? Which hashtags do you frequently use? Comment here, or send me a tweet! Let’s connect on Twitter!

Full disclosure: none of the companies or individuals mentioned above paid me to praise them. They’re just that awesome.

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Helen’s interview with Mark Schaefer

He may be a marketing guru now, but Mark Schaefer’s background in journalism became clear to me a couple of weeks ago.

Despite the sudden blowout of power in the restaurant we were in and the three fire trucks that raced up outside shortly thereafter with alarms bwomping and red lights circling, Mark ran out to his car to get his video camera.  I say despite those thing because he wasn’t planning on shooting the smoke coming out of the bank across the street or the firefighters trying to figure out where the exploded power line was; he was listening to me getting animated about how – if you’re not careful – Google and other search engines decide for you what you want to see when you search.  And that’s what he wanted to film!

So despite all the hullaballoo, Mark started asking me questions that he thought the members of his loyal blog community might be interested to hear more about.  It’s a short video interview that Mark posted on his blog this morning – I hope you find it worth getting excited about too!

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Introducing the best non-profit blogs in the world

Blogs and social media are critical communication tools for non-profits. In fact, according to research by the University of Massachusetts, a higher percentage of non-profits have active blogs than any other category. And it makes sense:  blogs are a cost-effective way to tell stories and build a consistent emotional connection with constituents.  But how are they doing? Which are the best in the world?

So I embarked on an ambitious project in partnership with Mark W. Schaefer, a well known blogger at {grow} and author of The Tao of Twitter. Mark really knows social media and blogs — in fact he teaches a course on the subject at Rutgers University.

Together we examined more than 250 blogs from some of the largest and most important charities in the world (and I mean that literally – we didn’t just look at blogs in the US). We looked for the blogs that were engaging an audience, offering superb content and aligning with the organization’s strategies. Last year, when Mark compiled a list of The Best Company Blogs in the World he noted that it was a depressing experience.  He found that most company blogs aren’t that great and I’m sad to say that we struggled similarly to find non-profits communicating and interacting with their constituencies.  In fact, we found a lot of  dreck.

But we did find some truly inspiring blogs out there.  Here, in no particular order, are the best non-profit blogs in the world:

Feeding America

This is simply one of the best blogs you will find anywhere, profit or non-profit.  It has it all:

  • Superior content
  • Non-intrusive yet effective calls to action
  • Good use of multi-media such as photography and video
  • Superb use of story-telling to align with objectives
  • Attractive and functional design
  • Convenient social sharing
  • Features that involve key stakeholders

This blog is a role model for any organization.

The Salvation Army

This is a wonderful, interesting blog.  Of course it serves as the place to go in the event of a disaster, but it is also an entertaining read.  As a good example, read this post about the historical role of The Salvation Army in the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake.  Another post features a “fashionista” getting her clothes from a Salvation Army Thrift Shop. Not only is this type of post great story-telling, it connects readers with the history and rock-solid foundation of the organization in an entertaining way that cuts through the noise.

While a good-looking and well-organized blog, inexplicably, it seems to stand alone from the primary Salvation Army site. There is no easy way to connect directly to the organization or donate money right from the blog, which is a missed opportunity.

Holland Bloorview Childrens Rehabilitation Hospital

Mark said that this blog brought tears to his eyes.  (He acts all tough on the outside, but I suspect a moosh lies within).  Okay, I admit to some mistiness myself – but in a good way.  I’m guessing that it will probably have the same effect on you.

Bloom is about parenting special needs kids.  It isn’t fancy.  In fact it’s just on Blogger.  But what it lacks in sophistication it more than makes up in courage and heart. Writer Louise Kinross has something unique and personal going on here. She has nurtured an active, loyal community and with good reason … this is blogging at its best.

Operation Blessing

Check out this gutsy, effective blog.  With My Own Eyes is a firsthand, photo-journalism account offering users the opportunity to see some of the most devastated, disaster-ravaged and previously inaccessible places in the world, as well as a look at Operation Blessing’s efforts to help people that live there.

This multimedia site features video footage, photos and the personal diary entries of some of the team leaders from more than 25 countries including China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru and the U.S.  Each blog post provides concrete ideas on how to connect and help.

World Vision

This effort just began in 2011 so we’ll have to check in later to see if they can sustain what is starting out to be an excellent blog.  World Vision works with impoverished children and their families throughout the world and is also effectively using eyewitness accounts to connect to constituents.

Some of the hallmarks of this journal are fantastic, colorful articles that pull you in to the organization and its mission. This blog seems to have jumped out of the starter’s gate quickly — some of its daily posts are already getting more than 1,000 ‘shares’. While the design of the blog is quite busy, check out the beautiful and effective design of the main  website while you’re visiting.

Broad Institute

Simply put, The Broad Institute is creating methods, tools and massive data sets and makes them available to the general scientific community to rapidly accelerate biomedical advancement.

The charming thing about their blog — Broad Minded — is that it frames complicated subjects in accessible terms. I’m partial to science literature any way so this blog was a delight. I mean how can you miss with a blog post titled “Lifestyles of the Fungal and Famous” or another that explains unraveling mysteries of DNA as a Julia Child recipe?

This is a lively, straight-forward blog that is very well-aligned with the mission of the organization.

Refugees International

Refugees International advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises. This blog achieves story-telling excellence through extraordinary writing, compelling videos and dramatic photography. If you want an example, check out this video on how refugees struggle to find an education. The almost daily blog is unafraid of confronting difficult political issues and take a stand as it boldly raises awareness for its cause. A smart, superb blog.

MEMRI

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) explores the region’s media (both print and television), websites, religious sermons and school books. This blog stands out in a special way because essentially, the blog IS the organization.

This respected non-profit scans the Middle East for important news and trends and provides timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Pashtu, Dari, Hindi, and Turkish media in separate blogs. Other sections provide original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East. This series of blogs is the centerpiece of this important effort. Pretty cool.

American Red Cross

This blog provides consistently good content mixed with compelling multi-media.  It has several nice features like a list of all local Red Cross Chapter blogs, weekly round-ups of disaster relief efforts around the world, and connections to many disaster-response related resources.  It also has all-around helpful and targeted information to support the needs of its constituents. I don’t know why this blog is detached from the main Red Cross website – again, it’s a missed opportunity. Also, it is strange that the blog gets no comments when it is such a vital community-focused organization. And in the “maybe we’re picky” category — it seems like they could have come up with a better title for their showcase than “Blog.” : )

 

BONUS CONTENT!

If you’re interested in non-profit best practices, here is a list of some favorite blogs ABOUT charities and fund-raising (again, in no particular order):

Stanford Social Innovation Review Blog

The SSIR is part of the Stanford University Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS).  Highlighting thought leaders, practitioners and innovative funders and “striking a balance between the pragmatic and the intellectual,” this blog keeps you up-to-date on the issues at the forefront of the third sector.  Contributors include Sean Stannard-Stockton, Amy Sample Ward and Peter Sims.

Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Blogs

The Chronicle of Philanthropy site plays host to a number of blogs including those on prospecting, candid conversations about nonprofit boards, international philanthropy and social media for nonprofits.  Contributors include staff writers as well as experts and thought leaders on their given topic.

Queer Ideas; a bloody good fundraising blog

Sometimes irreverent, usually cutting-edge, always intelligent and interesting, this blog is written by Mark Phillips, founder and CEO of bluefrog, a fundraising consulting firm in the UK.  His observations and links to helpful research and resources make this a good one to expand your mind.

A Fine Blog

Written by the co-author (with Beth Kanter) of The Networked Nonprofit, Allison Fine’s blog is a combination of acute observation and commentary on articles, videos, campaigns and collateral on fundraising, networking and social media.  An extra bonus on her site is links to Allison’s monthly podcast interviews for the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Beth’s Blog

Written by Allison Fine’s co-author Beth Kanter, Beth’s blog is seen by many (us included) as the go-to blog for nonprofit fitness checks, great ideas, subtle nudges toward excellence and good advice on social media, networking and organizational management you’d do well to take.   Beth’s writing style is accessible and friendly, yet the blog is packed with resources, links to scholarly studies and other references that you need to know about.

Philanthropy 2173; The Business of Giving

Authored by Lucy Bernholz, founder and president of Blueprint Research & Design, Inc., Bernholz is to nonprofits what Rachel Maddow is to liberal politics – intelligent and incisive yet accessible, wonky, and (respectfully) pulling no punches.  The blog approaches nonprofits and their arena as a third business sector, and Bernholz isn’t sitting behind a desk; very often she’s interviewing some game-changing sector leader and sharing their conversations and her insights.

So there you have it! The best non-profit blogs you’ll find anywhere. Of course there are some good ones out there that we missed.  Do you have a favorite? Tell us – we’d love to hear about it!  What blogging ideas did you pick up from this list of great blogs?

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