John Kenyon - Nonprofit Technology Educator & Strategist

Dropping eNewsletters in Favor of RSS?

At a conference where I spoke recently, someone mentioned an organization who decided to drop their enewsletter in favor of RSS. I was really surprised by this and am not sure I understand (or would recommend) this strategy.

From my point of view, marketing in nonprofits (and business in general) today is about managing multiple platforms. I think that matching your message and its delivery to various channels is one of the most important skills for nonprofits to have. Using the same message across all media is not as effective as matching it to the audience. Your youth program participants may be on MySpace and your donors on Facebook, so modifying your message to these different audiences and the medium they prefer is essential. Although much of my work is around online fundraising and communications, I still believe in print. I think there is something about a print piece that people can pick up and peruse. If I am visiting someone's office I can't peruse the enewsletter you send them unless I snoop in their email. 

I appreciate the story about how when broadcast radio began, the prediction was that since people could now get news for free, newspapers would soon go out of business. Almost a century later, at least some are still in business. Different people prefer to consume information through different channels.

While having an RSS feed of your website/blog is important for those who wish to use RSS, that likely is not 100% of your audience. I understand wanting to consolidate communications for efficiency, but I think it is important to use the various channels favored by your stakeholders.

A great way to understand this is to ask. If you are going from a print to an online newsletter, ask your current subscribers to sign up for the enews and see what they do. Do 70% of your print subscribers sing up or only 20%? That give you an indication what they prefer. Be sure to do a good job explaining and enticing people to sign up, citing why it is more cost effective for the organization and what great things they will hear about in a timely fashion.

With some planning even small organizations can handle messaging across the platforms and to the audiences they determine are most important. 

CEO Sleepout to Help the Homeless

One of my favorite Australian CEO's Lisa Harvey of Energetica, is participating in the St. Vincent de Paul Society's CEO Sleepout to "raise awareness, raise money and rise to the challenge of homelessness".

CEO's from around Australia are going to be sleeping outside in Sydney's Luna Park on June 18th. More information is available on the CEO Sleepout website.

Not only do I thik it is a great thing she are doing, it is an interesting concept for nonprofits to consider about bringing the realities of homelessness - and other areas of focus - "home" to people in a concrete fashion.

Lisa has already raised AU$370, please consider joining me in supporting her in this event. Here is the link to Lisa's individual giving page on the site:

Lisa's Page

Send Unfriendly Fire to Congress

On March 3rd, Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America (St. Martin’s Press) by Nathaniel Frank will be released. The book is the definitive story of the current ban on gays in the military, but it also contains surprising stories about the appallingly dishonest process that created that policy and about the hidden costs of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” It is also a deeply personal meditation on what it means to live in a country where federal law represses the expression of who we are—a reality which affects gays and non-gays alike.

“Send UNFRIENDLY FIRE to Congress!” invites you to buy yourself a book and have a second copy sent—at half price—to Capitol Hill. The two books together cost under $39, and it couldn’t be easier: just make the purchase online, and wait for your book (it will ship March 3). When we reach our goal of buying books for all 542 members of Congress, Nathaniel will drive a station-wagonful of books to Washington amidst much fanfare. Click on the widget below for more info and to order.

Praise for Unfriendly Fire

“Brings light, not heat, to the debate.” - Andrew Sullivan

“Builds a solid case that the ban on gays in the military is not only wrong, it is endangering the country.” - Kirkus Reviews

“A beautifully written and brilliantly researched book… practically every page provides genuine reading pleasure.” - Charles Kaiser, The Gay Metropolis

“Should be mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in the state of our society or the readiness of our military.”  - General John Shalikashvili, former Chair, Joint Chiefs of Staff

Ten Nonprofit Web 2.0 Essentials for 2009

Like a lot of nonprofits, I am not an early adopter of new technologies. I try to keep my  skills focused close to where my nonprofit clients are and what they are ready for technology-wise. The tools I list here are mostly not new or cutting edge tools, they have some history and proven effectiveness. The time has come for nonprofits of all sizes to embrace these tools. Even if you don't start using these tools right away, learn about them and keep them in mind for the future.

A core strategy for success with web 2.0 tools is to "meet the audience where they are". I believe the following tools have become essential for most nonprofits wishing to engage with social media/social networking. Google's Zeitgeist for 2008 showed sites/tools that are useful for nonprofits are some of the most popular on the Internet. These sites can provide large audiences of potential new supporters and other helpful functions.

1. Facebook

Globally the 5th most popular website with over 60 million members. I am a recent member and I urge nonprofits to get on and try it. First, create and use a personal account for several weeks and learn about the different ways organizations can use FB before putting your organization up there. Will your nonprofit be listed as an organization or a "cause" or...? Do research and create a process for how you will update your organization's page on a regular basis.

2.YouTube

Even my smallest clients are now on YouTube and loving it. YouTube provides a place for millions of potential new supporters to find content about your nonprofit. It is relatively easy to set up a "channel" for your organization, post videos and incorporate them into your website. Search under nonprofits in Channels and see what others are doing. Two examples I like are Performing Arts Workshop and Green for All. Globally the 3rd most popular site online.

3. Flickr

This photo sharing site allows your organization to create a "group". Photos of your stakeholders, program work or events can be posted and given a special "tag" the identifies them as images related to your org. The ability exists to pull these images into a website to keep the sites images fresh. Like the Nature Conservancy's photo contest, the site can also be integrated into efforts to engage new and existing supporters.

4. Maps (Google Maps, Frappr, etc.)

I love maps and I am not the only one. Many people are visual learners and a picture is worth a thousand words. I had read reams about the crisis in Darfur, but the pictures from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's map showing the tents where 10,000 people live with only 10 aid workers to support them was much more impactful. Maps can be used to show your areas of impact, members, service locations, crises spots and much more.

5. LinkedIn

While most of the tools on this list are for engaging supporters, LinkedIn is more for connecting to your professional network, recruiting professionals and tapping into their expertise. Most users are individuals, but there are a variety of "groups" that exist (or can be started) that allow you to tap into the expertise of the group members. This is becoming the primary tool used by recruiters.

6. RSS

Really Simple Syndication is a way for people to monitor content updates without visiting individual websites. Using an RSS "reader", one can list the websites they want to follow and when content is updated it appears in the reader. If the content is of interest, the person can then go to the content. For most nonprofits, this means providing an RSS feed from their website that the readers can use. It is also useful for monitoring other websites and blogs that work in your focus area - even for keeping an eye on the competition.

7. Google Alerts

Find out any time your organization is mentioned on the internet. By putting in keywords to monitor - like your organizations name - google alerts will email you whenever that term is used on the internet. Phrases need to be in quotations, i.e. "nonprofit technology training" or else you will get results for any mention of each individual word. This helps you reply in a timely manner to blog posts or other mentioned.

8. Meetup

Most nonprofits or their members hold events, meetings and other gatherings that can be listed for their 5 million monthly visitors to see. It is easy to sign up for an account, post an event and collect rsvp's.

9. Texting/Mobile Technology

From the Obama campaign to Facebook , mobile phone applications and campaigns have quickly become an important part of spreading messages. For example, Hispanic youth, mobilized in support of immigrants rights, may not have computers but many have mobile phones, allowing savvy organizations to keep in touch with them via text messages. Check out MobileActive.org for case studies and info.

10. Wikipedia

The 8th most popular site on the Internet, Wikipedia holds descriptions of many organizations - some of them not as correct as they might be. A religious community I worked for was shocked when I showed them that their very outdated listing was based on the 1915 Catholic Encyclopedia! Look up your organization's listing. If you're not there, create one. If you are there, make sure your listing is accurate and up to date.

Using Humor to talk about Immigrant Rights

At the recent Nonprofit Technology Conference, I met Will Coley, the writer of a short video that uses humor to talk about immigrant rights. I strongly believe that nonprofits must try to step outside their traditional communication boxes to find new ways to talk about their issues and this is a great example. This is part of Movement Vision Lab's $1000 Video Contest: Community Values & Immigration.

This video lampoons the government's bureaucratic processes and attitude towards immigrants. One viewer of Will's video said "great video. i currently am in the process of bring my fiancée here from the Philippines. That is exactly how it seems to be. no help, no answers and always kept in the dark. it takes 6 months to approve a packet that takes 15 minutes to review."

Watch Will's video and vote for it! (Contest ends March 31, 2008).

Utterz-ly Amazing

I had my first experience with the new tool Utterz at the 08 NTC. I was standing with Holly Ross and she asked if she could get a quote from me and use Utterz. Holly made a call on her iPhone, we recorded a brief interview, she then took a picture of me and attached that to her message. She explained that the title of the picture would become the title of her blog post. With a phone call, she is able to send the .wav audio file that the services creates and send it along with the picture. The service then updates the NTEN blog, sends it her MySpace page and more! Minutes later I could see it on the blog - wow! Here is the result:

My wonderful colleague Beth Kanter also Utterz-ed me:

The service describes itself like this: "Utterz mashes together the voice, video, pictures, and text you call or send in and creates an 'Utter' that can immediately update your existing web pages on sites like Blogger, WordPress, Facebook, LiveJournal, MySpace and more." See more on the Utterz website.

Interviewed by David Wilcox

While attending the UK Circuit Riders Conference 4.0 last month, I was interviewed by David Wilcox, a consultant, writer and trainer specializing in community engagement and cross sector partnerships. He writes about social media, engagement and collaboration.

We talked about the importance of online presence and how it relates to funding opportunities. See the video interview below or on YouTube and read David's blog post about it.

A Revolution in Faith-based Organization Websites

On March 1st, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, California Province, launched their new website - www.snddenca.org. This is the result of over two years of work on their part, during which I consulted with them on strategies and best practices. I have seen so many websites of faith-based organizations and religious communities that are not effective that to me this is a revolutionary new standard to which similar organizations can aspire.

Some elements that I think make it particularly effective: this website includes inviting language that people outside the community can understand, interactive elements for viewing the schools the Sisters founded or are working in, a way to find out about current and former educators connected with those learning communities, a place to submit requests for prayers (and see others requests), even a quiz to see if religious life might be right for you, titled "Got Vocation?". Of course you can also sign up for enews and make an online donation.

I think sites like this can go a long way to dispelling the misconceptions many have about those in religious communities and specifically about nuns. These are not women in habits trying to "convert the heathen". This is a community of intelligent, caring and motivated people, working in our communities to promote Social Justice & Peace, environmental awareness and education as well as spirituality. Their ministries are involved in educating as health care providers, social workers, justice and peace coordinators among other things. They work around the world supporting and educating the poor and disadvantaged.