Monthly Archives: August 2011

Perspectives on International Organizing

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Social Policy Press has recently published, Global Grassroots: Perspectives on International Organizing edited by Wade Rathke and including essays from community organizers in more than 20 countries including Canada, Philippines, Germany, United Kingdom, Kenya, France, India, Korea, and many others. Included are essays by John Bauman, Denis Murphy, Kirk Noden, Lawrence Apiyo, Na Hyowoo, Craig Robbins, Judy Duncan, and Amanda Tattersall. The book is available through www.socialpolicy.org for $15.00 plus shipping.

I haven’t read this. I might….

Has anyone read this? Or any other books about community engagement in Europe, Africa, Central or South America or Asia that they would recommend? Or even evaluation reports of such efforts? Post in the comments with your recs.

Tags: community, engagement, organizing, global, international, perspectives

Leverage UN days, weeks, years & decades!

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International days, weeks, years and decades offer excellent outreach opportunities for nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations, charities, and others trying to improve our communities, our individual lives, and the environment. There is a commemorative day or week, as designated by the United Nations general assembly, for just about any subject you can think of, and on top of that, there are designated years and decades you may also be able to utilize for outreach efforts.

You can use these designations to tie in your organization’s events and programs, through issuing press releases, writing op-ed pieces for local media, blogging on a related topic, offering yourself for interviews to radio and TV, or even holding a special event. If you mention these days, weeks, years, etc. on your blog and web site, you increase the chance of your organization coming to the attention of anyone doing a search online for information about these days, weeks, etc. Look for Twitter tags that are trending on these topics, so can have your Tweets reach an even wider audience.

For a list of these UN days, weeks, years and decades, see either this part of the UNESCO web site or this page by the UN Association of Canada. 

So far, 2012 has just one UN designation: International Year of Cooperatives. Organizations focused on microfinance, rural business development, small farmers and all organizations that support co-ops / cooperative enterprises in some way should all already be thinking about what they are going to do to leverage this year’s designation to promote their work and the needs of those they serve. Credit unions and even REI need to be thinking about leveraging the International Year of Cooperatives as well!

By the end of 2011,, 2012 will have at least two other designations from the UN as well.

It’s not too late to leverage 2011, which has been designated as:

2011 is also the International 10th anniversary of International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10), and the United Nations Volunteers programme is leading its promotion. In addition, 2011 is also the European Year of Volunteering 2011.

Individual countries and individual organizations also have their own designated days and weeks that may be different than other countries and agencies.

So, how are YOU going to leverage International Year of Cooperatives? Or the next UN Day, September 8: International Literacy Day (UNESCO)? Or any UN day, week, year, decade, whatever?

Tags: cooperative cooperatives, co-op, co-ops, credit, union, unions, women, business, small, micro, enterprise, investing, investment, United, Nations

911 charities gone wrong, how to measure fundraiser performance, & Palestinian/Israeli cooperation

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Three items that came to my attention recently that you REALLY need to read:

First, an AP story about 9/11 nonprofits that raked in millions of dollars – and have nothing to show for that money.

“There are those that spent huge sums on themselves, those that cannot account for the money they received, those that have few results to show for their spending and those that have yet to file required income tax returns. Yet many of the charities continue to raise money in the name of Sept. 11.”

I seethed as I read this. Not only at the reprehensible mismanagement of funds, but also because this will make millions of potential donors say, “I’m not going to give to nonprofits anymore. They cannot be trusted.” ARGH! Here’s advice on what needs to appear on your nonprofit, NGO or charity web site, to show you aren’t like these 9/11 charities.

Second, a piece in the Nonprofit Quarterly by Simone P. Joyaux, about how to measure performance of a fundraiser/donor manager. Absolutely outstanding!

And, finally, something that made me very happy: six paramedics and supervisors from Magen David Adom in Israel (IMDA) attended the International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) course, provided by instructors and doctors from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). While both organizations cooperate around emergency ambulance services, this was the first time that PRCS staff served as instructors for IMDA personnel.

These were shared earlier via my Twitter feed:

Would love to have you as a follower. Actually, what I would really love is for someone to tell me exactly how to create a bridge so that all that I tweet gets posted here on my blog…

Tags: transparency, accountability, accountable, scrutiny, accounting, finances, donations, donating, funding, sponsorships, investment, investing, Palestine, Israel, Red, Cross, cooperation

Accountability is a MUST for nonprofits, NGOs & charities

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The corporate world loves to say that nonprofits and NGOs should act more like businesses. But the reality is that there are two things (at least!) that nonprofits, NGOs, charities and other mission-based organizations must do that corporations do not have to do:

  • Nonprofits, NGOs and charities are focused on their mission, not profits. Helping the homeless, providing financial literacy classes to low-income community members, helping victims of domestic violence, working to reduce the number of stray and at-risk animals, providing live theater, offering dance classes, and various other activities may not ever see any financial return on investment (ROI) for a nonprofit, but they will provide lots of non-monetary, and very much essential, ROI for the community as a whole.
  • Nonprofits, NGOs and charities have to be transparent about their expenses, in a way that corporations would never dare.

It’s that second bullet point that for-profit businesses would fight tooth-and-nail if it were a requirement for them, yet they will demand it of the third sector, and start poo pooing expenses they see as frivolous, but that they would never, ever scrimp on for themselves: copy machines, computers, software, salaries for expert staff, heating, cooling, water, electricity, staff health insurance, etc.

Like it or not, third sector, your organization has to be transparent about expenses. And that does not have to be a bad thing: there is absolutely no shame in wanting to pay expert staff to deliver the best services possible, for needing things like copy machines, computers, software, etc. Don’t shrink from talking about those expenses: affirm them, to show just how expensive it is to provide quality services toward your mission. Doesn’t the community or clients you serve deserve the best in whatever program or services you provide?

And don’t be surprised when your financial transparency leads to more donations!

For more information:

Tags: transparency, accountability, accountable, scrutiny, accounting, finances, donations, donating, funding, sponsorships, investment, investing

Walking My Talk: How Do I Use Online Tools for Outreach?

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I talk again and again about the importance of nonprofits, NGOs, government agencies and other mission-based organizations:

  • creating a strategy for their online communications,
  • always knowing exactly how they are using each online tool,
  • always looking for measurements of success and areas that need improvement, and
  • always looking for ways to refine that strategy.

Do I practice what I preach, for myself and my own business? Yes I do! And I’ll share my own ever-evolving strategy regarding social media networks, right here, right now, not as a blue print for you, but for you to consider how to create your own road map for your nonprofit, NGO, government program or other mission-based endeavor.

My use of all these tools is ever-evolving. This is how I use these now, but in a year? It may not be true!

Facebook
I have both a Facebook fan page, which I hope you will “like”, and a Facebook account, Jayne Cravens.

I use my Facebook fan page to post about updates to my blog or my web site, and to note anything I think nonprofits, NGOs or other organizations will find particularly helpful or interesting with regards to computer and Internet technology, management, public relations/outreach, volunteers / volunteering, humanitarian / development / aid issues, and women’s empowerment. I try to post to it every work day. One does not have to be my friend on Facebook to like me (and receive updates from me).

I use my Facebook profile page to like, comment on or share other people’s or organization’s Facebook status updates, and to report on personal news that I think my associates might be interested in and that I feel comfortable sharing online. I also use my Facebook profile page to talk about what I’m doing as a consultant, the organization I’m working for, what I’m learning, what we’re accomplishing, etc. (I save my criticisms of current employers for offline conversations directly with the employer, of course!). I try to keep my personal life and professional life separate online, but I don’t want the wall to be so thick that I have no personality online to professional colleagues, and this profile helps in that regard. I friend people I work with, people I volunteer with, volunteers I support or have supported, people I admire and want to learn from, and organizations I support personally or that I think do a great job using Facebook for community engagement. And I accept almost all requests to friend me, though I turn down anyone who I suspect is actually a spammer or scammer… and anyone who is shirtless.

I also have a personal Facebook account that is only for friends. Real friends. People I know and drink beer with. Yes, a *few* people are on all three. A couple of times a month, I might share an item on all three accounts, but I really do try to keep each focused on a specific goal, on a specific audience.

Twitter
Like my Facebook fan page, I use my Twitter feed to post about updates to my blog or my web site, and to note anything I think nonprofits, NGOs or other organizations will provide particularly helpful or interesting with regards to computer and Internet technology, management, public relations/outreach, volunteers / volunteering, humanitarian / development / aid issues, and women’s empowerment. And like my Facebook profile page, I also use it to learn from people and organizations that are also at least somewhat focused on my areas of professional interest. Anyone can follow me on Twitter, but I don’t automatically follow someone who is following me; by limiting those I follow on Twitter to only those people and organizations that relate to my work and that I don’t already friend or follow on Facebook, I keep Twitter much more valuable to me.

I greatly prefer Twitter to Facebook when it comes to getting the word out about my own professional activities and engaging with others (commenting on other’s activities, forwarding the messages of others, etc.). I also learn more on Twitter than I do on Facebook – I learn about resources my own network should know about, news that will affect my work, and ideas I can use in my work. Twitter feels more creative, more fun, and more manageable than Facebook. But I have to be on Facebook too, because that’s where soooo many people and organizations are. For your organization, it might be the reverse – I have worked with many organizations that get far more out of Facebook in terms of engaging constituents, including volunteers, than Twitter.

I don’t link my Twitter and Facebook accounts – meaning when I post to one, it doesn’t automatically post to the other. Because I really don’t like it when someone does that – feeds to Twitter from Facebook often make no sense (the person forgets Twitter’s 140 character limit, or the URL link doesn’t come out right), and feeds from Twitter on Facebook look cryptic. More on why not to do this is best said in this presentation by Carie Lewis at Humane Society of the USA.

LinkedIn
I use my LinkedIn connections to connect with people I have worked with. Period. My 360+ connections on LinkedIn are actual colleagues. These are people I’ve worked with, volunteered with, corresponded with at length regarding work or volunteering, have been in one of my workshops, etc. They are people I know. That makes them a real, trusted network. It is my highly-specialized database to use for specific communications to that network.

My former boss and good friend, Howard Sherman, said in a Tweet once,

Why do people I don’t know keep trying to link to me on @linkedin? Don’t they understand it’s for professional ties? Poor use dilutes goal.

That is exactly how I think as well.

I do use LinkedIn to network: I’m on as many groups as a free account allows me to be on, I post my presentation dates in the events feature, so others can consider attending, and I post regularly to the “answers” section regarding nonprofits. All of that brings me in contact regularly with new people and organizations – and we engage together via email, I read their blogs, they read mine, we get to know each other, and maybe, as a real relationship develops, I may ask to friend them on LinkedIn (or they may ask me). Otherwise, everyone who asks to be a connection that isn’t a professional or volunteer colleague gets directed to my Facebook page, my blog and my email newsletter, Tech4Impact, and I ask for their blog address, newsletter subscription info, or any links to publications they have so I can learn more about them and their work.

Tech4Impact
I have a monthly email newsletter. It has almost 800 subscribers, most of whom do not follow me on Facebook or Twitter. My email newsletter is focused on…

  • how technology is used effectively by mission-based organizations — that means nonprofits, non-governmental organizations/NGOs, civil society organizations, public sector agencies, schools — and their supporters, to benefit individuals, communities and the environment;
  • what tech and online tools, resources and practices are proving most valuable to these organizations and their volunteers;
  • what cultural and financial conditions, legislation, and other factors are that can and do influence tech use by these groups.
  • news and resources relating to all of the above
  • updates to the Coyote Communications web site relating to nonprofits and technology.

Tech4Impact is less about techno-jargon and more about the human factors in using technology successfully, including the Internet, to benefit people, communities and the environment.

I would love to get rid of this newsletter and convert everyone on it to my Twitter feed or an RSS reader for the blog you are reading now. But guess what! The subscribers have told me that is not what they want to do, and so, I’m going to keep publishing this email newsletter. Because that’s what this huge group of people interested in my work have asked for, and I listen!

Google+
I’m still figuring this out. I will probably use it just like I use Facebook. And maybe it will replace Facebook someday. Or maybe it will go away, just like GoogleWave.

I also am still an active user on many email-based and web-based online discussion groups, including several on YahooGroups; it’s through these channels that I reach the most people and organizations, far more than any of the social media channels I’ve just named.

I also subscribe to numerous blogs via RSS, though I’m lead to most via a link on Twitter, Facebook or an email newsletter.

My goal with all this? To be truly accessible – that all of the information I want about me is out there is for the people who want that information, in the form in which they want it. Not everyone wants information delivered the same way, hence why these multiple channels are necessary.

How do I judge success with these tools? Not by the numbers… but here are those numbers, in case you are interested:

There’s not as much cross-over on those social media network numbers as you might think – meaning most of the members of each of those audiences do not follow me multiple ways. How do I know there isn’t much crossover? I’ve asked who is following me where, and I look over subscriber and follower lists to look for people or organizations showing up on more than one network.

I judge success with these tools by the kind of comments I get from readers and colleagues, by the inquiries I get for my services, and by what I learn via these channels, the blogs or web pages inspired by what I learn, and how often the information from these networks leads to new web pages or new material for presentations.

Based on that criteria for success that I use, I abandoned MySpace, GoogleWave and USENET/newsgroups (which used to be the primary way I used the Internet, except for email, back in the 1990s).

Okay, I’ve shown you mine – now, organizations, you don’t have to show me yours, but you do have to create a similar map for use in your own organization or program. How and why are you using various online tools, and what is the result of using those tools? How are you using those tools not just to get information out, but also to get information in?

More on how I use Twitter (includes a list of tags I follow and use)

Tags: social, media, advertising, networking, outreach, relationships, communications, connections, networks

Answering tough volunteer involvement questions

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Here are two questions regarding volunteer engagement I am seeing a lot through various channels… but not seeing many answers to:

Where can young children – children under 13, even as young as 6 – volunteer? What kinds of activities can they do and exactly where can they do these?

and

Where can people with diminishing mental abilities, or with mental disabilities, volunteer? What kinds of activities can they do and exactly where can they do these?

The first set of questions come from parents, as well as children under 13, on various online discussion groups, like YahooAnswers.

The second set of questions come primarily from volunteer managers – from those in charge of recruiting and involving volunteers at an organization – and are often the result of a long-time, beloved volunteer becoming less and less capable of helping, and requiring so much supervision and assistance that the organization feels the benefits of involving the volunteer are far below the costs. Or, that volunteer becoming verbally abusive, or saying inappropriate things to other volunteers, as a result of their diminished mental capabilities. But I’ve also seen the question asked by siblings, parents and other caretakers of people with mental disabilities.

I’m very disappointed not to see organizations that are supposed to have the promotion of volunteerism as the central focus of their mandate jumping in to answer these questions. Where are you, Points of Light Foundation? Hands On Network? Why aren’t you out there on various online fora, such as YahooAnswers, addressing these tough questions about volunteering?

Anyway…

I’m not at equating children and people with diminished mental capacities. These are two VERY different groups. But they do have one thing in common: they require much more planning, support and staff time to involve than adult volunteers. Hence why I’m discussing these two groups at once here in this blog.

The reality is that it’s more efficient, economical and immediately beneficial for most nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and charities to involve adult individual volunteers who can successfully complete a project, from start to finish, with minimum supervision. Also, most organizations do not have the money, staff, time and other resources to create volunteering opportunities focused primarily on fulfilling the needs of various types of volunteers, rather than creating volunteering activities that are focused primarily on fulfilling the needs of an organization (I’ve said this about microvolunteering as well!). For most organizations, volunteer engagement is primarily about fulfilling the organization’s mission, not fulfilling the wishes of volunteers.

If you think nonprofits, NGOs, charities and others should involve everyone who wants to volunteer, no matter the volunteers’ ages or abilities, then consider this: no matter what your job is, no matter what sector you work in (for-profit, government, nonprofit, whatever), could YOU come up with a safe, fun, meaningful hour-long activity for a 10 year old child to do in your office twice a week, or a two-hour weekly activity for a dozen 10 year olds to do in your office, and do you have time to supervise that child or those children during that activity? What about creating similar activities for someone who has severe short-term memory loss? If you could not do it in your own job at such-and-such corporation, why do you expect nonprofit organizations to do so?

Just as creating one-time, short-term group volunteering activities for adults is difficult, creating volunteering opportunities for children, or for people with diminished or diminishing mental abilities, is also difficult. Should a nonprofit, NGO or charity be spending time and resources to involve these groups? In some circumstances, yes.

First, think carefully about what is in it for you, the organization or program, to create opportunities for either of these groups. What benefit are you looking for?:

  • measurable results regarding participant or community awareness of a particular issue, program or your organization. Could the volunteering activity help children understand a particular issue? Could the activity help parents or family issues understand the issue more fully?
  • cultivation of donors who would be interested in funding this part of your organization’s program. The staff time to create opportunities and support these volunteers, the materials needed by volunteers, etc. all need funding. Are there foundations, corporate philanthropy programs, government agencies or individual donors who would be attracted to funding the resources required?
  • activities that fulfill your organization’s mission. The volunteering experience results in activities that reach part of your organization’s mission. For instance, if you work with seniors, particularly those with diminished mental faculties, then involving these seniors as volunteers would be a part of your mission. If your organization is focused on children under 13, then involving those children as volunteers would be a part of your mission.

I wrote a page on creating one-time, short-term group volunteering activities, and it includes a long list of activity suggestions. Some of those could be adapted as volunteering activities for children, or for people with very limited mental capacities – but not all of them. And to be honest, I’m stumped on creating voluntering activities for either of these groups.

Not every organization is going to be able to address any of those three bullet points – and, therefore, is not going to be in a position to create volunteering opportunities for either of these special needs groups. What I advise those organizations to do:

  • For those that are getting called by parents who want their children to volunteer, have a list of other organizations in your area to refer their child to. For instance, for girls, I recommend the Girl Scouts of the USA (or, in other countries, Girl Guides). I also have a web page of recommendations for family volunteering – specifically families that include children under 16 – note that many activities are home-based.
  • For those that ask about volunteers with diminished mental capacities – for instance, an organization that finds a long-term volunteer can no longer undertake any of the volunteering opportunities at the organization, could a placement be found elsewhere?  Is there a community theater that could involve him or her to hand out programs before a performance? Could the volunteer help serve refreshments at an event – just putting cups filled with a liquid, not doing any of the fillings of the cups him or herself? And does the family of this person understand that a family member will have to be with the volunteer at all times? Or is there an organization in your community that helps people with diminishing mental capacities that you could introduce the volunteer to, that could give that person meaningful activities to engage in – like going to community events in a group? Does this volunteer attend events by a community of faith (a church, temple, mosque, etc.), and could that community be called on to help in this situation?

What other advice do you have for parents seeking volunteering activities for young children, or nonprofit organizations that are going to have to let a volunteer go because of diminished mental capabilities? Leave your answers in the comments. What I’m particularly interested in: how did you go about letting a long-time volunteer go that you had to let go because of his or her diminished mental capabilties, and what did you learn from that expereince that you would like to share with others?

Also see:

Creating one-time, short-term group volunteering activities

Recommendations for family volunteering – specifically families that include children under 16

 

Your favorite non-English resources re: volunteerism or nonprofits?

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I would like to know YOUR favorite online resources regarding volunteerism / volunteers (especially the support and management of such), nonprofits or NGOs (non-governmental organizations), including Tweeters, in languages OTHER than English.

Spanish, French or German are most desired, but any language – Arabic, Persian Farsi / Dari / Tajik /, Hindi, whatever – would be welcomed.

In short, I’m looking for the Spanish, French, German, Arabic and other non-USA, non-English-language versions of Energize, Inc., of VolunteerMatch, of TechSoup, etc.

Please send the name of the resource, the URL of the resource, and a summary of what the resource is – does it focus on volunteer management? On nonprofits / NGOs / charities using the Internet? Or helping organizations recruit volunteers? Or fundraising / resource mobilization? Or any aspect of management? Is it a web site? A database? A Twitter feed?

I have some of these resources already, but I would like to have more. I will share what I’ve compiled already and what’s submitted – and is what I’m looking for – on my web site, and announce the page here on my blog, as well as my Twitter feed and my Facebook page.

Tags: volunteer, volunteers, volunteering, engagement, involvement, management, community, stakeholders, charities, charity, NGOs, non-governmental, organizations, nonprofit, civil, society, international, technology, tech, ICT4D, humanitarian

Value of Volunteers – Still Beating the Drum

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Whenever I had a meeting with Sharon Capeling-Alakija, then head of the United Nations Volunteers programme, I took notes, either during the meeting or after, because she always said something amazing that I wanted to remember later. One of the best things she said was when she talked about why UNV was committed to its online volunteering program. She never said it was because NGOs or UNVs have so much work to do and need people to undertake some of that work, for free. She said it was because “this is a way for people to be involved in the work of UNV, first hand. Before the OV service, the only way to do that was to be a UN Volunteer – and most people don’t get to do that.”

When we lost Ms. Capeling-Alakija, we lost a hugely important voice regarding the value of volunteers.

I cringe when someone says their organization involves volunteers because of the dollar value – like the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, which has, at the top of its volunteer page, that a volunteer’s hour is valued at $20.85 by the Independent Sector. It’s the kind of statement that says to those paid staff members at your organization that are making less than $20.85 an hour, You are not as valuable as these volunteers. It says to funders, Why not cut our funding? Because we can replace staff with volunteers, and save $20.85 an hour! And it justifies the fear of union members and others who say We don’t want volunteers, because they are a threat to paid staff.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Why involve volunteers? What are the best reasons?

    • Volunteer involvement allows members of the community to come into your agency, as volunteers (and, therefore, with no financial stake in the agency), to see for themselves the work your organization does.
    • Community engagement is community ownership. Volunteer involvement demostrates that the community is invested in the organization and its goals.
    • Involving volunteers — representatives of the community — helps educate the community about what the organization does.
    • Certain positions may be best done by volunteers. Volunteers can do anything. They can be counselors, advisers, theater ushers, short-term consultants, board members, projects leaders, project assistants, event coordinators, event staff, first responders, coaches, program leaders, classroom assistants, and on-and-on. Always be able to say why your agency wants volunteers, specifically, in those positions rather than paid staff (and never say it’s to save money!).
    • Involving volunteers can be a reflection of your organization’s mission. If you are a nonprofit theater, for instance, you probably involve unpaid ushers. What have ushers experienced that is a reflection of your mission (which may be to present theater productions of that are of cultural significance for your community, or to ensure that community members of all ages and backgrounds are introduced to and educated about the place of theater in our society, etc.). If you involve volunteers as interns, how could you tie this involvement to the mission of your organization?
    • Involving volunteers can help your organization reach particular demographic groups — people of a particular age, in a particular neighborhood, of a particular economic level, etc., especially groups who might not be involved with your organization otherwise.
    • Involving volunteers can create partnerships with other organizations (nonprofits, government, business). Involving volunteers from a corporation might spur that corporation to give your agency a grant. Involving volunteers from a government office could lead to a program partnership.
    • Volunteer involvement can garner good PR (in media reports, government reports, blogs, etc.) regarding your community involvement. 
  • Involving volunteers creates support for your organization in other ways. How many volunteers are also financial donors? Have volunteers spoken at local government meetings or written letters to the editor of your local newspaper on your organization’s behalf? Are there any influential community members (elected officials?) who are former volunteers with your organization? What have volunteers done to educate friends and family about your organization and its mission?

Also see:

Another anti-volunteer union

The union of professional firefighters in the USA “does not condone” volunteer firefighters.

Tags: volunteer, volunteers, volunteering, engagement, involvement, management, community, stakeholders, charities, charity, NGOs, non-governmental, organizations, nonprofit, civil, society, international, United, Nations, UNDP

Tech Jargon – Let’s Rebrand Email

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The Internet is now the Cloud.

Telecommuting is now workshifting.  

Virtual volunteering is now microvolunteering.

What was done on USENET in the 1980s and 90s is now crowdsourcing on social media.

So, since we love coming up with new jargon for old things, then it’s only a matter of time before someone comes up with a new name for email, right?

In honor of Friday, my favorite day of the week: How should we rebrand email?

Snarky/humorous answers will be the most-welcomed.

Answer in the comments section here, or via Twitter. The first answer is from

Erin Barnhart:

Microstatic conversations

And, FYI, this is how I posed this question to my Twitter feed, : (see more re: How I Use Twitter, including my frequently-used, frequently-followed tags)

is now . is now . How should we rebrand email?

Tags:  jargon, technology, terms, tech, cyberspace, language, communications, humor