Posts Tagged ‘Technology’
Designing a Webinar
Posted by JBA in Nonprofit Marketing, Technology, Workshops & Learning Opportunities on February 1st, 2011
Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a Giving Institute Webinar on the topic of creating webinars. It was excellent and Allison Van Diest did a great job. ”Webinars the WOW” was the title. The use of webinars and technology continues to grow at a fast pace. I would encourage you to go to the following link (http://www.aafrc.org/) to download the slides. It is under the heading, “Education and Programs”.
Reality Bytes: This Thing Called ‘Blog’
Posted by JBA in Fundraising in a Recession, Technology on September 25th, 2009
Fall’s here. School’s begun, as have fall sports and Scouts, and a full roster of fall educational programs and speaking engagements for our firm. But just as the fall breezes have ushered in a flurry of activity, they also seem to have swept out my resolve to keep up with our blog.
Right now, blogging and social media are “to do’s” on my schedule. I think of them as a great way to capture and share thoughts — and Lord knows I have a lot to say — but, different from the ‘digital natives’ some 20 years younger, it’s not a natural habit for me.
I wonder how many of you share this same dilemma? Things heat up each fall in the nonprofit world. This fall, with a little more confidence in the economy and our nonprofits’ unique ability to “absorb” economic shocks, the level of activity is a welcome relief.
But what does that do to our resolve to blog, tweet — and more importantly phone, visit and thank — our donors and supporters? Time management 101 says don’t neglect the important but not urgent. Until it becomes a natural habit, blogging and all this social media must continue to be an item on my to do list. Important, but not urgent. But, important they are.
So, I’m laying it out there. Announcing to the world — or at least our blogging community — a renewed commitment to tend to this thing called “blog” as my own little personal reminder to keep up with the important, but not urgent.
Tweet-Tweet … hey … Blog-Blog
Posted by JBA in Donor Cultivation, Nonprofit Marketing, Technology on July 28th, 2009
A friend had just returned from Dell Social Media Boot Camp and was sharing some ideas. She’s smart, stays current with the latest marketing trends, and sits on some high-profile nonprofit boards. When My Friend speaks, I listen. We talked about how nonprofits want to engage in social media, but are largely behind the curve in their ability to “drive the discussion,” and unsure of who is their market, message, or how to use the tools to connect with donors.
Not so with one organization My Friend serves as a board member. This well-run performing arts organization that hosts national productions “under the stars” is blogging and twittering to patrons about everything from upcoming performances, to special ticket opportunities, to pre-show dining opportunities weather, parking and road closures. They have a “Behind the Curtain” show on YouTube with an engaging 3-minute piece that tells the theater’s history and takes you onstage to learn about how shows are produced.
How do they do it, you ask? For the ??-something’s for whom Tweet-Tweet, Blog-Blog conjures up more of a familiar Donna Summer tune than a way to connect with friends and associates, that is the challenge.
This group smartly invited a couple of local philanthropists to invest in an internship program where two 20-somethings tweet and blog ’round the clock. They bought a couple of mini web cams to produce the material that populates their YouTube channel page. They invite patrons and donors to “Connect with Us” on their website (right above “Support Us”), have their mission posted on YouTube and Tweet Twitpics of concerts so absent fans can catch a glimpse of the action: Jacks Manniequin just stepped onstage. Not too late to catch the show. .. Next up, The Fray.
OK, so you’re not a performing arts organization with a mission and programs that relate easily to Twittering. We all have missions that we care about deeply and a whole host of issues surrounding those missions. You have something to say. And if you have a laptop and the Internet, you have the tools to engage in the conversation. How are you doing that?
Comment and let us know how you are (or aren’t) using social media to further your mission and connect with donors.
In 2009 How Will You Use New Technology to Reap Rewards?
Posted by JBA in Technology on January 21st, 2009
By Jennifer Furla
Executive Vice President
Midwest Region
Despite being part of the Boomer generation, where my grade-school son thinks “Mom and Dad” are decidedly uncool in trying to rap to his new-styled dance and hip-hop music, I still consider myself young and “hip.” So I answered incredulously when my much-younger cousin, in connecting with me by email over the holidays, asked if I knew what Facebook was.
Know it? I have a page!
Facebook was a common thread in emails and chance meetings among friends, relatives and acquaintances over the holiday break. It seemed that a whole new batch of us had awakened to this new technology of social networking and were anxious to try our hand at it.
In keeping with our promise to not only know state-of-the art, but to be state-of-the-art, our firm has made a commitment to ramp up our collective and individual aptitude for new technology, the likely audiences that will connect to it, and how all of this can impact your nonprofit fundraising. Read the rest of this entry »