Chron: Social Media + Non-Profits
I got a call a few days ago from Houston Chronicle contributor Shannon Buggs about a story she was writing on Social Media and specifically why non-profits in Houston have been slow adopters. She was given my name by Ed Schipul, eternal champion of good causes, who heads up Houston’s branch of NetSquared, an organization who uses social web tools to help benefit social issues. Namely, bringing together the technology community with the non-profit community, to see how they can help out each other. Obviously Ed was the right person to talk to on this topic.
I have a small quote in the story about early adopters, as I explained to Buggs that the most beneficial time for non-profits to benefit from social media is NOW. I also spoke at length about Michelle Calabretta, Dr. Miggy, who’s social media work at MD Anderson, and with groups such as I’m Too Young For This (I2Y), has successfully raised awareness to the monster health care industry, that there is a place that social media can affect change within their organization. Don’t believe it, check this out.
Read the full article online here.
I’m curious if any of you reading this who work for non-profit organizations, and how much exposure you or your organization has to social media tools. Why do YOU think non-profits are (or are perceived to be) slow adopters to technology advances or social media tools? Are you aware of programs like NetSquared? Do you feel your organizations see the value in tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn? Gimme a shout.
I work for a nonprofit that has been “exploring” these tools for well over two years… but to date we haven’t implemented a single one. I don’t think it’s that they don’t see the value, but I get that there is a lot of concern about maintaining control and answering all the “what if’s” before we go live with anything of these tools. Plus none of us is terribly tech-savvy so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
cortney, thanks for the feedback. i do see a lot of concern at big organizations like hospitals about maintaing control on all of these tools.
hope you can stop by NetSquared this week at Stag’s Head 7pm!
I’ve just become aware of social media in the last six months. As Cortney noted, it’s a bit overwhelming. I looked at “Twitter in English” and heard Erica O’Grady’s recent webinar. I was stunned. The idea of having 1,400 “friends” twittering you that they’re having coffee at Starbucks on West Gray, going to the library, or visiting their mom in the hospital is just too much. How does one keep it all straight? Can I be the lead in a twitter-thon that benefits the organization that pays me? I’m interested in beginning to do this, though, parallel to a more traditional marketing approach. I don’t see this as a campaign you launch but rather one you build one by one with people you don’t know or may never know. If this works, the whole donor pyramid will be upside down. Cultivating select relationships for big gifts will be replaced with multiple relationships for multiple small gifts – chipping in. There also seems to be a secret language among users that is intimidating. Cup Cake Camp? And, do all of you speak at the speed of a hurricane, while reading twitter and conducting webinars? Will a 52 year old fit in? How much of my routine will change if I’m “hooked up” to one of these “systems?”
Our museum has been exploring social media for about a year – we have a blog, facebook and myspace pages, and a flickr photo pool. We’re also working on developing a YouTube channel – the challenge for us has been time. Non-profits are chronically understaffed, and so devoting the time necessary to not just starting these efforts – but also to maintaining them in the way people who join the community deserve – is a huge undertaking. It’s extremely rewarding and we’ve found it very beneficial – but we want to do it right, and there is just not enough time in the day to do everything we would like. I’m hugely grateful to Ed and everyone at Netsquared. I’ve attended several of the meetups and just listening to what everyone recommends has been incredibly helpful.
I’m a consultant who works with nonprofits. There are several aspects to the problem of slow adoption, some of which have already been covered–skeletal staff, lack of technical expertise, time constraints, etc. I think the age of the ED has an affect–ED’s in their 30s or early 40s seem much more aware of and open to these tools. It probably also has to do with the traditional ethos of the nonprofit world–that communications is a luxury not a necessity. When budgets get tight, often the first function to be cut is communications. Nonprofits sometimes see their “real work” as the services they provide, without looking deeper to see that to do any work effectively today involves all kinds/levels of communication–with current and potential donors, funders, clients, partners, even competitors and opponents. They still tend to look at communications in a formal, pushing-messages-out-to-audiences way–like one-way communication is enough. I think there’s an education process that needs to go on before they can see the benefits of social media–case studies with clear results really help!
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