A Social Media Mission for 2011

A Charitable Social Media Mission for 2011

This post wasn’t meant to be here – it sprung from a thought I had, which I then posted as a status on my Facebook page. Here’s the thought:

Wouldn’t it be cool if big corporations that supported charities took an allocation of their donation, and paid for consultants to help non-profits learn about social media? The consultants don’t have to charge the charity, the corporation is still helping the charity, and the charity can allocate these funds back into the organization and those who need it the most. Just a thought…

From that simple thought, I got a ton of feedback and stories.

From the conversations with Abbie, Shana, Catherine and Kimberly, it’s clear there continues to be a huge need for social media within the non-profit sector.

Not only can it help reduce costs from an advertising standpoint, but (as we discovered with the 12for12k project), it can help raise awareness and reach like no other medium.

The problem is, too many charities can’t afford the extra cost of hiring a consultant or agency to train them on how to use social media to its fullest.

On the flip side, people that offer their time pro-bono to try and help educate non-profits often find they can’t continue to allocate free time and still work their own job to pay the bills. Sadly, this leads to them giving up, and the charity is back to square one.

So. Here’s a challenge for 2011. A mission statement, if you like.

Let’s build a database of social media consultants and agencies, either with expertise in the non-profit sector or working with clients that donates funds to non-profits, and look at how we can use their skills.

Let’s add companies and corporations to that database that are willing to fund social media education for their chosen charity, or ones that we can help suggest and connect.

Let’s find and add quality, creative agencies that understand the power of storytelling and want to make a change, and can bring amazing visuals to a charity’s words.

Simply put, let’s make it a mission to connect people who can help each other – consultant-to-business-to-charity-to-consultant.

Along with my business partner Troy Claus, I’ll be speaking with a bunch of folks over the next couple of weeks as we put in place some of the stuff we’ll be doing with 12for12k next year as it returns from its sabbatical.

I’m now making this mission one of the key goals for 12for12k next year.

I’m pretty sure we can find enough willing parties from all aspects of this mission to make a good start on the database and how it’ll work. Then the real fun can begin.

Interested?

Leave your details in the form below (it’s just for letting you know when the database is up, as well as ideas along the way – no spamming, I promise!) and let’s see what magic we can create next year.

Thanks!

image: niznoz

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I agree with you missions Danny. And I've Interested with it

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yola

thanks for the information, it's that i need, and agree with it

patrickreyes 43 pts

Great idea Danny! You should connect with Christopher Barger or Jeff Pulver. As part of Buick 's sponsorship of #140Conf Detroit in October, Buick hosted local non-profits to give them social media 101. This was a 1 day event but your idea extends beyond just a day...it builds relationships (the goal of social media IMHO) and provides a needed service to organizations that are truly doing good in local communities.

RaynaNyc 7 pts

patrickreyes Smart idea. This reminded me of the Pepsi Refresh project and how their social initiative to drive philanthropy also facilitated access to social tools/communities in a large way. Realize that is not exactly what you're speaking about Danny, but perhaps that is another strategy towards the same ends partnering with large corporations to layer on pro-bono services/expertise to those that participate in these non profit outreach programs. Other examples are Chase Communit Giving, The Target BullsEye Gives. Might be something here to expand upon.

DannyBrown 2790 pts

RaynaNyc patrickreyes Great ideas from both of you, thanks :)

And I'm connected with Christopher, so will definitely reach out - more info soon, guys, thanks for the support!

Great idea Danny and salute you for facilitating taking it from ideation to reality. I would love to see an 'Open Forum' like network for non-profits (similar to what Amex has established for SMBs. It could potentially evolve into a community where non profiits can collaborate and share amongst themselves as well. Perhaps there are growing hives of non profits already doing that. I would welcome participating any way I can in your endeavour here.

RaynaNyc Sounds like a great idea, Rayna - will definitely be setting up an open community area where non-profs and consultants/sponsors can connect, as well as contacts refer resources.

Look forward to having you part of the next steps :)

JudyDunn 236 pts

Wow. It's so timely, this post. I've been thinking about this topic lately. In my experience in fundraising/grant development, I found that many corporations consider certain things "overhead," which often means electricity, office equipment, and, yes, marketing supportu00e2u0080u0094and they want to see their donations go to "direct services." It's short-sighted, because social media marketing is the way nonprofits can build momentum and establish and grow their donor bases.

I am very interested in your idea and would love to be a part of this discussion.

What I also wish (and John Haydon may have some thoughts on this) is that there was some way that the social media-savvy nonprofits could be held up as models and that their work and strategies could somehow be shared with those just starting to use SM. There is a nonprofit on Facebook, WhiskerCity, that does a phenomenal job of using social media, both to find homes for stray/shelter cats and to secure the dollars they so desperately need to keep the doors open. I think that nonprofits can relate tou00e2u0080u0094and would listen closely tou00e2u0080u0094one of their own that has made it work.

Please keep me in the loop!

JudyDunn Hey there Judy,

And that's the thing - so many organizations just write a check and be done with it, thinking they've helped when all they've probably done is just prolong a service a little. Which is still great, but nothing compared to what could be done.

Thanks for jumping onboard - look forward to seeing some of your ideas!

RyanWest 6 pts

This is great Danny. I work with a few non-profit clients and it's so true when you say they need the help. As an agency we unfortunately are tied to the tight budgets and hours that non-profits have and they simply can't afford for us to take them that extra way that they need so desperately. If larger organizations could help alleviate that with a program like you're talking about, it would be great.

RyanWest And that's the problem, Ryan - it's not that agencies or consultants don't want to help, it's often that they can't afford too. While it'd be great if we could all volunteer (and I know people do), the realities are that's not always feasible.

Here's to getting some ideas banged together and see what we can come up with :)

JenFongSpeaks 21 pts

LOVE this Danny! Thanks for taking the time to really create positive change. You rock!

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November 30, 2010 at 7:16 am

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