The holidays are in full swing, and in between the last minute
shopping, out-of-town guests, and end-of-year nonprofit campaigns, most
of us are trying to fit in as much time as possible to make a positive
impact in our own way.
Collaborating with leaders in the nonprofit tech community, we’ve
put out heads together to find a way to come together this season and
tap into the spirit of giving to give back to the amazing community of
nonprofit professionals that do wonderful things all year. Working
with the folks over at NTEN, we decided the nonprofit community itself should be empowered to
recognize the people of their choice to win none other than a
membership to the best nonprofit technology organization around, The
Nonprofit Technology Network!
So starting today, anyone can nominate their personal holiday heroes at www.convio.com/nphero
telling why they are deserving of the free membership and what makes
them worthy of the recognition. Everyone nominated will be entered to
win one of 50 free NTEN memberships, compliments of
Convio! Submissions will be open through the end of day next Tuesday,
December 22, and like it says on the page, it’s as easy as 1 – 2 – 3 to
get involved:
Nominate your hero
Share the contest with your peers and increase your odds of winning each time you use the hashtag #nphero on Twitter
Leave a comment at www.convio.com/nphero and give a shout out to your hero for everyone to see
And to show our gratitude for helping share the campaign and making
sure everyone has the chance to recognize the person of their choice,
each time you Tweet the contest we’re counting your submission as
five.
So what are you waiting for? Get your nomination and recognition on over at the Nonprofit Holiday Heroes page! And then stay tuned the first week in January when we announce winners.
Jordan Viator is the Interactive Communications Manager at Convio, and
manages the Connection Cafe blog, all things new and social media
related and the company's corporate Web sites.
The annual Day of Service at the NTEN NTC Conference has been a tradition since 2000. A group of nonprofit techies share their time and expertise with nonprofits from the local community. I've had the pleasure of being involved, along with long time colleague Cheryl Hanback, since almost the beginning.
Orlando Roundup 2002 - Day of Service - We Won The Swimming UpStream Award!
This year we saw a record turnout with more than 100 volunteers assisting about 60 Bay-Area organizations. In addition to the one-on-one consulting (captured by WeAreMedia Flickr BootCamp folks), a large group of nonprofit techies headed out to install two wireless networks, with equipment provided by Cisco, at the St. Anthony's Foundation and on Treasure Island.
Yes, this is a great feel good event!
Lots of good stories. We're not proclaiming wide ranging social impact, just giving a little back to the community.
Over the years, we've reiterated this event - from office visits, types of volunteer tasks, amount of time, workshops, and lots more. One thing does seem to stay constant. Every year we have last minute cancellations, no-shows, or people who show up for the event who didn't sign up. Because we try to match volunteer skills with organizations on a one-on-one basis, sometimes a volunteer's organization does not show up or we have to assign two volunteers to work with one organizations.
Because of the one-to-one matching of volunteers and 60 organizations, the logistics get unnecessarily complex -- (the incorrect table numbers were completely my fault, BTW.) Cheryl Hanback had a brilliant idea. She suggested that we set up tables organized by topic.
Here Comes Everybody author Clay Shirky, keynote speaker at NTEN's Nonprfit Technology Conference told many inspiring stories and offered pithy quotes (captured expertly by Chad Norman)
One story that stuck in mine came when he explained how moving to New
York City from the midwest changed his perspective, because the population was big enough that you could sell pizza by the slice. So, it mean that pizzas were being created and baked before knowing who would purchase and eat them.
The session will share an overview of why the sequence listen, learn, and adapt is critical to implementing a successful social media strategy. We'll take a look at how to use both qualitative and hard data points to refine and adapt your strategy as well as the role of continuous listening and learning through implementation of pilots. We'll examine what can and can't be quantified as well as various metrics and analytics tools. All this will be shared through a lively mix of discussion and case studies.
Takeaways:
1. How to listen to improve the results of your social media strategy implementation
2. An understanding of the right metrics to use and how/when to incorporate qualitative information
3. An introduction to analytic tools and individual/team reflection processes
The panelists included Sarah Granger, Danielle Brigida, Wendy Harman, and Qui Diaz. Some of my key takeaways from the session:
It was really great to have this session after Clay Shirky's keynote because we took a deeper dive on the themes that emerged. Specifically, the them of informed failure.
The "Oprah" style worked really well. I wanted to get away from the expert at the front of the stage and have an informed discussion between panelists, audience, and myself.
Didn't have the right Oprah set up for the mic, but it worked. My fault for not requesting it or rather waiting until the last minute to test a new delivery format.
The discussion was fantastic. I'm glad that at least two really smart people I know of were live blogging. Jana Byington Smith from ROI Philanthropy lived blogged. Amy Sample Ward captured great notes
It gave me an opportunity to think about how to reteirate the content for a full-day workshop I'm doing in Chicago in June.
The secret sauce to this format is not over rehearsing - get people who have in the trenches experience, ask them to prepare sound bites for the questions.
I like delegating the tasks to others in the room I know - like keep timing, take notes, share knowledge.
As much as possible, I tried to avoid the Q/A ask the expert - by getting audience to share what they know both in the room and the back channel. Here's the unique That's the richest.
Good feedback and sharing on the back channel using custom tag #ntcmap
As promised, here are some of my collections of posts/resources on this topic:
I have not been blogging because I've been at the NTEN NTC Conference, the premier event for nonprofit techies taking place in San Francisco.
I've been coming to this conference for ten years now and it's a like a family reunion. I treasure the opportunity to spend some "face" time with treasured and respected colleagues who I only get to see here at this conference each year. And, of course, the opportunity to meet new people face-to-face.
The NpTech Community has been early adopters of social media and social networks like Twitter. We have a hashtag and many of us tweet to one another, leave comments on blogs or Facebook profiles regularly. So, while I may not see my colleagues face-to-face more than once a year, Twitter helped strengthen ties and created a sense of ambient intimacy.
The video above is the result of a brilliant online fundraising campaign that NTEN's executive director, Holly Ross, launched back in February to help raise $10,000 in matching scholarship money to Convio's scholarship sponsorship. The deal was if she raised the $10,000, the community could vote on her public humiliation. The winning option was to remake Beyonce Single Women video.
So, before introducing Clay Shirky, well known author of "Here Comes Everybody" as the morning's keynote, they played the above video. The sense of community and connection that I felt in the room, frankly, made me a little teary eyed. (In between laughing at Holly's swinging her hips). She got a rousing standing ovation and Clay Shirky said that he was working on his dance movements because she was a hard act to follow!
Unfortunately, there was a problem with the wireless, so not as many people were able to participate in the Twitter stream during the keynote (unless they had their own wireless like me or used their cell phones). NTEN had also set up a google application that lets people vote on questions which how they decided to handle the Q/A in a room of 1400 people.
Since I had access, I decided to start tweeting his key points out to my Twitter network. Chad Norman did a fantastic job at summarizing and blogging the key points. Read his "15 Clay Shirky Quotes That Blew My Mind"
Here's my quick recap of the Q/A:
What is the value proposition for nonprofits where people can organize themselves?
You matter, if you matter. The absolute value of expertise is exactly what it was. There is no change in knowing. The relative value has changed because of social media. Organizations have value in convening power. You have to bring people into proximity before they can start linking themselves up. The big shift - convening power. Not just to deliver things to members, but be a platform where members discover each other.
Organizations also have staying power. Internet organizes for short-term shots. In the world of focused political organization, not as good long term. People can count on longevity - convening and longevity.
We're trying to figure out harness convening? What makes the convening work?
He doesn't have the secret recipe. There is no secret sauce. Failure for free. In a social environment and it is mysterious why one thing works or does not. Social network platforms are an example. Go where the people are already are - go where the people are. Poll your members where are they? If you don't know that you won't know where to go. Do a lot of listening.
The managerially culture is an issue. Honor the younger people in your organization. Understand them. Given how cheap technology - update where you sit in the current landscape. The secret sauce - know what your organization has a nature affinity for. With animals, we had nerve cells before muscles or bones. Handling information is a fundamental fact of life. When you change the information you change the way people deal with each other. Lots and lots of experimentation so this change can be made as good as it can.
What are the most important things not yet known about social media and its impact?
I'm not a futurist, I live the present. The role of emotion will be a huge part of the story in the next year. Recommendations and forwarding has a passive quality. As we get more social, emotion will drive it and drive it fast. The tools don't get socially interesting until they get technologically boring.
Some points that were really interesting in that the feeling in the room matched the conclusion to the data - that the NTC Crowd - which has been early adopters of social media - are a social crowd and have a strong sense of community.
The highest ranked hubs are Steve MacLaughlin, Beth Kanter, and rachel ann yes.
Of these, kanter and rachelannyes are also in the top of the
authorities. While smaclaughlin is doing a lot of valuable reporting,
kanter and rachelannyes are doing so as well AND are being replied to
and retweeted more (from high-ranking hubs) within the channel. Not
sure why that is.
Of the
half dozen or so conferences I've been looking at, this is, by far, the
biggest SCC I've seen. It indicates, to me, that this crowd is doing a
LOT of replying and retweeting with each other. My guess, and it's only
that at this point, is that #09ntc is a very social group, as compared
to other conferences that are largely broadcast events (this seems to
be what I've found from the 2009 Game Developers Conference, which had
many more tweets coming from it, but a much smaller SCC.)
Expect light blogging for a while, but I do have a number of posts in draft ...:-)
Last May, I had the honor of keynoting and teaching workshops at the ConnectingUp Conference in Brisbane, Australia. Prior to my departure, I was researching Aussie sim cards for my nokia on Twitter. That's how I met Eddie Harran who was kind enough to tell me where to get the best rates.
He attended the workshop because he was interested in getting into nonprofit work and was hoping to find some volunteer opportunities. That's why we made the above video.
Last week I attended SXSW where I met Nadia Payan, young woman who raised her travel and other expenses so she could attend SXSW. I retweeted her request for help. She made effort to find me at SXSW and thank me personally for retweeting her request. By the way, a key part of any fundraising - no matter the context, donor amount, or whatever - is saying thanks.
Now, I'm hoping that Nadia will pay it forward to Eddie in true gift community fashion. And for added good Karma for Eddie, just played this on Akoha.
Can you help Eddie get to San Francisco for the NTC Conference in April?
You may be familiar with the NTC (Nonprofit Technology Conference) hosted by NTEN. It's taking place this year in San Francisco from April 26-28th. There is always a full menu of networking sessions, affinity group meetings, conference panels, activities, and of course, The Day of Service. The Day of Service is an opportunity for nonprofit techies to give back to the local community - in form of sharing knowledge one-on-one with a local organization or participate in a group project like installing a wireless network in a homeless shelter!
I participated in my first Day of Service in 2001 as a volunteer. I got to work with a colleague and provided on-site training for a local environmental group on how to use excel, word, and powerpoint! The following year, in Orlando, I coordinated the event as a consultant to NTEN along with Cheryl Hanback. And, I've been doing it every year ever since.
Last week at Netsquared Net Tuesday, Peter Campbell, IT Director at Earthjustice, created the above slideshow that offers an overview of the Day of Service.
This year's Day of Service will take place on April 26th and there are several options to volunteer. We host a strategy session where we pair up local nonprofits with nonprofit technology experts on a variety of topics - from online fundraising strategy to giving advice on databases. There's also a high demand for social media consults. The list of organizations and projects is here:
This year will send two groups of nonprofit techies to install a wireless network donated by Cisco at different locations in San Francisco.
This project doesn't require hard core technical expertise - and is a lot of fun. The locations:
St. Anthony’s: Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, you will install a network in one of St. Anthony’s, a multi-service social service nonprofit, at one of their low income housing projects.
Treasure Island: You will help install a wireless network that will help provide free wireless internet to low income residents of Treasure Island, located in the middle of San Francisco Bay.
Every year we also do a group community project. This year we will be installing two wireless networks in San Francisco thanks to Cisco
This year we have had far more requests from nonprofits for volunteers than ever! We need about 100 volunteers so that we don't have to turn down nonprofits. So far, we have approximately 40 signed up. So, if you are coming to the NTC and want a chance to give back to the local nonprofit community (and have some great fun and networking with colleagues), please come join us. You can sign up here.
You don't have to be registered for the conference to participate. So, what are you waiting for? You can sign up here and pass it along to your colleagues.
For the past eight years, I've attended NTC, NTEN's premiere conference for nonprofit techies.*
During the holidays, I was talking to Holly Ross on Twitter wondering if the bad economy would be a damper on conference attendance. Despite the tough economic times, it seems the community is really excited about the 2009 NTC. According to Holly, folks are registering at a break-neck pace, and sponsors have
provided more support than ever before. That shows the community considers NTEN of great value.
But I know that in trying to recruit some panelists, that not everyone is able to convince their organizations to make the investment in professional development, especially when travel and training can be easily chopped from a budget. So, I wondered outloud in a tweet whether the community could kick in some of their frequent flyer miles. And of course, Holly took that idea and put together an innovative special fundraising drive to bring more
folks to the NTC: they're going to raise $10,000 for an NTC Scholarship
fund by February 28. Convio is offering to match the dollars raised up to $10,000.
And, you can donate miles too. (I did - hopefully enough to get to part way to the conference)
And, if you're looking to apply for a scholarship, go here
(Disclosure - I've had a small contract to coordinate the annual Day of Service, an opportunity for nonprofit techies to volunteer their time to the local community. If you're coming to NTC, I hope you'll volunteer for this event.)
NTEN opened up the registration for the 2009 NTC Conference. Amy Sample Ward (she's in the photo above with me) describes it as Connections, Collaborations, Friends = NTC09
One of the conferences that I've been lucky enough to attend since 2001 is the NTC and it is major source of annual inspiration and an opportunity for face time with professional colleagues. I also organize the annual Day of Service This year it is in San Francisco.
I know that travel and conference attendance is viewed as a luxury and the first thing that gets slashed in hard times. But, maybe there could be some way to donate frequent flyer miles to help some folks get there who otherwise might not attend.
