Don Akchin

One of the elusive measures of social media success is “engagement,” the point at which the friend or fan of your organization becomes a committed activist, evangelist or donor. The Mashable blog asked a dozen for-profit community managers for their tips on how to get there. The result is a wealth of ideas that your nonprofit might adapt to fit your own needs.

In a piece about how to tell the story of your brand, consultant Simon Mainwaring made an observation that really struck me:   Like most marketers today, many non-profits still tell their story in a way that positions themselves as the focus or destination. Instead, every brand must shift from being the celebrity of their community to being its chief celebrant. That means the brand and its story exist to celebrate the success of its donors, field workers or community at large, and in so doing, inspires further fundraising and volunteer efforts on the basis of shared values and a sense of community. (emphasis added)   This observation, it seems to me, captures the essence of why social marketing differs from past marketing approaches. The old approach – we talk, you listen – no longer works when people are unwilling to listen. Customers, constituents and clients have learned that they hold the Power of the

If you’re trying to engage your most loyal supporters online, you have quite a few tools to choose from. Allyson Kapin at Frogloop offers a helpful review of five of them: Facebook Groups, Google Groups, LinkedIn Groups, Posterous and BuddyPress.

If you need a model approach to fundraising, says Allyson Kapin, take two cues from the Obama Campaign: don’t ignore small donors, and help them feel they’re part of a movement.

The “news” element is that even my own alma mater, LSU, is trying to strengthen its alumni support by going online. By the time a trend gets to Louisiana, you can be sure it’s mainstream everywhere else. What’s yet to be seen is whether universities know what to do with these networks: do they use them as one more way to “push” their own messages out, or do they let alums connect with one another and become self-empowered advocates for their schools? Your homework assignment: Could this model work for networking your own constituents?

The “news” element is that even my own alma mater, LSU, is trying to strengthen its alumni support by going online. By the time a trend gets to Louisiana, you can be sure it’s mainstream everywhere else. What’s yet to be seen is whether universities know what to do with these networks: do they use them as one more way to “push” their own messages out, or do they let alums connect with one another and become self-empowered advocates for their schools? Your homework assignment: Could this model work for networking your own constituents?

The “news” element is that even my own alma mater, LSU, is trying to strengthen its alumni support by going online. By the time a trend gets to Louisiana, you can be sure it’s mainstream everywhere else. What’s yet to be seen is whether universities know what to do with these networks: do they use them as one more way to “push” their own messages out, or do they let alums connect with one another and become self-empowered advocates for their schools? Your homework assignment: Could this model work for networking your own constituents?

My co-conspirator Denise Graveline and I will be leading a session converting supporters into passionate, loyal communities. Join us Nov. 9 (this Friday) in Cambridge, MD, for the annual conference of Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. And don’t miss keynoter Dan Heath, author of Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. Update: Here is our handout, with loads of links to examples of nonprofits using new “Web 2.0″ media.

A new report from The Digital Future Project of the Annenberg School at USC has provocative findings about the media habits and behaviors of our target audiences. Just one example: participation in online communities leads to social action.

My co-conspirator Denise Graveline and I will be leading a session converting supporters into passionate, loyal communities. Join us Nov. 9 (this Friday) in Cambridge, MD, for the annual conference of Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. And don’t miss keynoter Dan Heath, author of Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. Update: Here is our handout, with loads of links to examples of nonprofits using new “Web 2.0″ media.

A new report from The Digital Future Project of the Annenberg School at USC has provocative findings about the media habits and behaviors of our target audiences. Just one example: participation in online communities leads to social action.

My co-conspirator Denise Graveline and I will be leading a session converting supporters into passionate, loyal communities. Join us Nov. 9 (this Friday) in Cambridge, MD, for the annual conference of Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. And don’t miss keynoter Dan Heath, author of Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. Update: Here is our handout, with loads of links to examples of nonprofits using new “Web 2.0″ media.

A new report from The Digital Future Project of the Annenberg School at USC has provocative findings about the media habits and behaviors of our target audiences. Just one example: participation in online communities leads to social action.

The Casey Cares Foundation is a small, seven-year-old Maryland nonprofit that enhances the lives of critically ill children and their families. On June 3, it suffered a critical crisis of its own when the warehouse that was its rented office space burned to the ground. Everything tangible, from desks to donor lists to gifts for children, was destroyed. But Casey Baynes and her mostly-volunteer staff must have been doing something to engender loyalty, as this article from the Baltimore Sun relates: “I couldn’t believe it,” said Baynes. “A man who we’d just sent tickets to the monster truck show for his son showed up at midnight to say, ‘How can I help you?’…Another family whose children were helped by the Casey Cares Foundation set up a lemonade stand in their Brooklyn Park neighborhood, Baynes said. They sent the charity the proceeds – more than $750. ….”Everyone’s trying to help us

The Casey Cares Foundation is a small, seven-year-old Maryland nonprofit that enhances the lives of critically ill children and their families. On June 3, it suffered a critical crisis of its own when the warehouse that was its rented office space burned to the ground. Everything tangible, from desks to donor lists to gifts for children, was destroyed. But Casey Baynes and her mostly-volunteer staff must have been doing something to engender loyalty, as this article from the Baltimore Sun relates: “I couldn’t believe it,” said Baynes. “A man who we’d just sent tickets to the monster truck show for his son showed up at midnight to say, ‘How can I help you?’…Another family whose children were helped by the Casey Cares Foundation set up a lemonade stand in their Brooklyn Park neighborhood, Baynes said. They sent the charity the proceeds – more than $750. ….”Everyone’s trying to help us

The Casey Cares Foundation is a small, seven-year-old Maryland nonprofit that enhances the lives of critically ill children and their families. On June 3, it suffered a critical crisis of its own when the warehouse that was its rented office space burned to the ground. Everything tangible, from desks to donor lists to gifts for children, was destroyed. But Casey Baynes and her mostly-volunteer staff must have been doing something to engender loyalty, as this article from the Baltimore Sun relates: “I couldn’t believe it,” said Baynes. “A man who we’d just sent tickets to the monster truck show for his son showed up at midnight to say, ‘How can I help you?’…Another family whose children were helped by the Casey Cares Foundation set up a lemonade stand in their Brooklyn Park neighborhood, Baynes said. They sent the charity the proceeds – more than $750. ….”Everyone’s trying to help us