DVPA Workshop
June 4, 2009

Why electronic outreach?

• Use social media to recruit new generation of volunteers and retain old ones
  
• Meet people where they are

Social media and nonprofits:

• Use social media to share your story e.g. Share Your Story (March of Dimes)
  
• Self organizing around common causes e.g. Facebook Causes Birthday application that encourages an individual who is member of a Cause to use their birthday as an excuse to raise money for a non-profit organization.
  
• Collaboration among nonprofits
  e.g. We are Media, a wiki set up by nonprofit professionals on teaching each other about web2.0 technology.
  
• Listen to your audience; a shift of mindset
• Clients and customers can take your message and create their own.
  e.g iPod Touch commercial made by a fan.
  Or use your fan base in Social Media to help with the advertising . See the Keep It Coolatta campaign by Dunkin Donuts.
  

To ensure success, make sure you consider the following:

1. Identify your audience -who are they, how do they use social media, can you connect them together?
2. How do you measure success? -often depends on what area of social media you're focusing on
3. Have a strategy that includes the bigger picture -know the plan of your organization; inform IT and webteam of what you are planning to do if needed
   
4. Build the trust & be transparent - e.g. using made-up positive reviews will break all the trust between customers and company.
   

"Social media is really about building relationships in communities and the conversations you have." *

Types of social media & other means of outreach:
Most of these are free and minimal skills needed; do need time and patience to learn.

1. Blogs -- institution or personal; include a section on news for volunteers or recruiting volunteers. (e.g. Book Envy; FVRL Reading blog)
   --Building a better blog
   
2. Website -- make sure there's information on how to volunteer; requirement (e.g. teenlink , a crisis line for teens in King County)
   
3. Twitter -- have the volunteers who tweet to follow you; one way to recruit or help to spread the word; broadcast updates about your organization; make it causal and conversational, not promotional
   --26 charities & nonprofits Twitter
   --follow some of them to get inspiration, best practices and share ideas.
   --Project Hope's twitter page
   --10 Twitter tips for nonprofits
   --How to master Twitter and all the tools you need. --Ultimate Twitter Lists & How-tos
   --40 best brands on Twitter
   --How you can rock on Twitter
   --How Twitter will change the way we live (Time 6.4.09)
   
4. Facebook -- make a page for your organization; invite people to become a fan
5. Distribution email list -- to keep in contact easily; saves time; broadcast (not the same as Mailing List)
6. Online Newsletter (e.g. FVRL Teen eNewsletter) by subscription; find templates online or use a blog format.
   
7. Advertise volunteer positions in volunteer recruitment websites (see right)
8. Make sure you are on Google Maps correctly
9. Create social network group for your volunteers and potential volunteers - e.g. Ning, Facebook Groups (difference between a FB Page vs. FB Group)
   

Ning: Let you create and discover new social networks for your own interest & passion.

• A free tool to create and administer your own social network
• Give control to your volunteers
• Great way to interact with each other and to broadcast new info
• Members can add different applications on their page
  
• Find groups of your interests
• Follow other nonprofit groups and learn from their networks
• Let's build one together!
  

Resources consulted for this presentation:

1. NonProfits and the Social Media: it's the story, stupid!
2. Beth's blog: how nonprofits can use social media
3. 4 ways social media is changing the nonprofit world
4. *Most corporate media efforts will fail