It is often the case that nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations lag behind their peers in the private sector in technology adoption. Many organizations are either risk-averse or under-resourced and therefore hesitant to embrace new technology tools. In the case of consumer generated media (CGM) and social networking services this would be a grave mistake. Issue-based organizations are perhaps uniquely suited to take advantage of the momentum behind consumer generated/social media. There are myriad of uses for nonprofit organizations and arguably better reasons for adoption by their advocates, donors and volunteers. These organizations have existing networks of people who care passionately about their causes. CGM and social networking enable these organizations to expand their reach, increase the efficiency of dollars spent, and empower their supporters with another mechanism to actively engage with the organization and its cause.
Political and advocacy organizations were the first to employ these tools, which very successfully translate and amplify offline grassroots politicking. The 2004 Presidential campaign of Howard Dean was one of the earliest and most successful, and there is much to be learned from it. But there have been many other successful e-advocacy organizations, with Move On and Meet Up being perhaps the most visible.
For most nonprofits the goal is similar but a bit less inflammatory: catalyze people who are passionate about the cause to be ambassadors/advocates for the organization. This may take many forms including enriching the experience, expanding reach to new markets, audiences and donor pools, and audience/membership development.
Here are some examples of nonprofits that are effectively including consumer generated/social media in their programs and outreach efforts. One hopes this list will proliferate during the 2005 giving season, and throughout next year.
Arena Stage, Washington, DC: Charity Auction On eBay
eBay Giving Works is the dedicated program for charity listings on eBay. Since 2000, the eBay Community has raised more than $54 million for a number of worthy causes from listings sold on eBay worldwide. eBay effectively merchandises these items for nonprofit organizations, who benefit from exposure to the enormous eBay buyer-seller network, as well as ease of promotion and administration.
Network for Good, Washington, DC; Charity Wish Lists & Viral Marketing Program
Network for Good is the Internet's leading charitable resource — an e-philanthropy site where individuals can donate, volunteer and get involved with the issues they care about. The organization's goal is to connect people to charities via the Internet—using the virtual world to deliver real resources to nonprofits and communities. Each year they create programs designed to make it easier for individuals to include charitable giving in their holiday gifts and celebrations. This year they’ve created Wish Lists (similar to Amazon’s program) as well as Charity Gift Baskets. These programs tap into the “alternative giving” movement, made popular by organizations like Heifer International. [Note: Network for Good might consider making greater use of social networking by adding a wish list sharing/ranking component similar to Del.icio.us, particularly in light of Yahoo’s sponsorship of the organization and announced deal with Del.icio.us last week.] Network for Good will also launch a clever viral marketing program later this week.
NPR is making hay with the OED word of the year: podcasts. The organization has done much more than simply repurpose its own material for podcasts. The radio giant is hosting podcasts for member stations, and selling and splitting underwriting revenues with them. Plus, it's launched three original podcasts under the new alt.NPR brand as an incubator for edgier content.
Oceana,
Ocean organizes campaigns dedicated to restoring and protecting the world's oceans through policy advocacy, science, law and public education. The Oceana Network is a global online community of individuals who care passionately about protecting the world's oceans. It's a place to get the latest news, join stimulating discussions, and find ways you can take action and make a difference. The organization runs several blogs and distribute them using syndication. They also have links to relevant Wikipedia entries/articles.
Technorati is a real-time search engine that keeps track of what is going on in the blogosphere — the world of weblogs. Technorati displays what's important in the blogosphere — which bloggers are commanding attention, what ideas are rising in prominence, and the speed at which these conversations are taking place. Technorati makes it possible to find out what people on the Internet are saying about an organization, its issues, its politics, other related organizations, or other areas of interest — all in real-time. All this activity is monitored and indexed within minutes of posting. Technorati provides a live view of the global conversation of the web. Technorati tags are a way of grouping and categorizing blogs. Technorati is currently tracking 4 million tags. The NPTech tag is the most popular tag for nonprofit technology blogs.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum, Hartford CT; Get Surreal Create Your Own Art Program
The Wadsworth Atheneum museum is attracting new and younger museum visitors by advertising online and including a tool that allows website visitors to create their own surreal art. The online artwork can be titled, printed, and e-mailed to family and friends. It’s a great way to promote their Surrealist Vision exhibition, as well as to reach new audiences.
Wikiscripts; Collaborative Content Creation
Wikiscripts is a collaborative script writing site, which decentralizes the movie and television script writing process. Anyone can edit a script and add his/her own creative skill and talent. Wikiscripts believes in collaborative media. The organization’s vision is: “Together, as a community, we will revolutionize television, Hollywood, and Bollywood by organically producing consistent high quality and entertaining scripts.”
Several nonprofit experts contributed to this post. Many thanks for your generous insights.
Jenn Thompson, Changing Our World
