Posts Tagged ‘SM4SG’

Join Create The Good on October 22 for a virtual #AllUCanTweat

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

by Jen Martin, Senior Specialist, Office of Volunteer and Civic Engagement, AARP

“…the first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind.” -Norman Borlaug

Nearly six million older Americans face hunger and the number will only increase as the aging population grows.

Between 2006-2008, the percentage and number of poor and near-poor elderly struggling with hunger or lacking sufficient nutrition and food resources more than doubled – from 4.7% to 10.1%

Nationwide, AARP and AARP Foundation are launching anti-hunger initiatives including volunteer-led food drives Create The Good and Comparti es Vivir, a major fundraising campaign, new online hunger resources and information at www.aarp.org/hunger and — and local SNAP outreach and assistance.

And as part of the broader AARP hunger initiative, Create The Good is hosting a social media tweetup this Friday we’re calling, “#AllUCanTweat.”

For three hours (11 a.m. – 2 p.m. EST) on October 22, Create The Good is inviting you to a virtual discussion on the growing issue of hunger, specifically for older Americans. Did you know that Older Americans most at risk for hunger are:

  • Age 60-64
  • Living with a grandchild
  • Living at or below the poverty line
  • Undereducated (less than HS)
  • African-American or Hispanic
  • Divorced, separated or have never been married
  • Renters

Are you or someone you know in any of these categories?

Do you have a Facebook or Twitter account?

How about a personal blog?

If so, join us to learn how to help your loved ones get the benefits and information they deserve.

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Posted in Economy, Events, Mobilize, News & Links, Social Media, Volunteerism | No Comments »

Using the Social Web to Drive Real-World Social Action

Friday, October 15th, 2010

by , Hand’s on Network

I’m in Las Vegas today with of VolunteerSpot, of KaBOOM and of Crowdrise. We’re presenters in the Cause Track at the Blogworld New Media Expo talking about how to use the social we to drive real world social action.

In other words, how can anyone mobilize friends, fans and followers to take real actions that make a difference?

As we planned the session, it occurred to the four of us that that people are still inspired and motivated in traditional ways – even if it’s happening through a new medium.

In our session today, we hope to gather the collective wisdom of those in the room to create a more complete list, but as we head in to our workshop, I’ve outlined a few of our ideas for applying the best practices of traditional volunteer management to distributed action in the social space.

We’d love to know what ideas you have and what you would add to this list. 

Leave us a comment with your ideas, won’t you?

Here are some of our initial thoughts…

Make a personal appeal - the number one reason people volunteer is because they were asked.  This doesn’t mean they were asked via a mass e-mail, a generic tweet or a mass Facebook event invitation.  Someone they knew asked them personally.  Keep this in mind when recruiting within social networks.

Tell a compelling story - never underestimate the power of story!  Tell your story.  Why is the cause important to you?  How and why did you get involved?  What kind of change do you believe is possible if others get involved?  If you speak personally and from your heart, your friends will respond.

Make folks feel part of something larger than themselves – all of us want to find meaning in our lives.  You’re not just asking for help, you’re offering people an opportunity to contribute, to participate in making a difference.   Let this help you overcome your fear that you’re burdening folks with your request.

Make your ask relevant – think about the needs/concerns of your social media networks and how what you’re asking of them speaks to their needs and concerns.  Let them know what they’ll get out of it.  Don’t be shy about this one.  The truth is that all of us end up getting more than we give when we volunteer.  We’re transformed for the better by the experience!

Think creatively- How can you spread your ask beyond your immediate network? Brainstorm ways to create incentives for your network to pass it on. Can you make a game out of it? Might you offer a prize to the person who recruits the most people to join the effort or raises the most money for your cause?

Make it easy – remember volunteers have to be eased into a commitment. Make it quick and easy to take immediate action, ask for specific actions and small commitments first and work up to larger commitments.

Don’t waste volunteer’s time, be organized.  (Enough said?)

Invite volunteers to get involved in planning and shaping the next project.  (First you ask the mom to make cookies for the bake sale and the next thing she knows she’s President of the PTA!)

Report back – let people know the larger impact they’ve made possible.  Share the results of your team’s collective action.  How many students were tutored?  How many houses renovated?  How much money was raised?

Don’t skimp on the thanks & recognition.  Always thank and recognize your volunteers and donors.  You can send them an e-mail, call them, write on their Facebook wall, send a tweet out about them… just don’t forget to thank them.

What would you add?

Related Posts & Articles

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Posted in Equip, News & Links, Service, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Management, Volunteer Recognition, Volunteer Recruitment, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 11 Comments »

Volunteerism at the New Media Expo? You Bet!

Saturday, October 9th, 2010

by , VP of Social Media, Hand’s on Network and , CEO, VolunteerSpot

On Friday, October 15th at 12:15 p.m. PST, we’re facilitating a  session at the BlogWorld New Media Expo exploring what’s most effective in inspiring, equipping and mobilizing people to make a difference and take real world action.

We’ll be joined as facilitators by of KaBOOM and of Crowdrise.

This won’t be a ‘talking heads’ panel discussion.  Instead we’ll be calling on the wisdom of the crowd and challenging participants to drive real-world action right there, in the moment, from the conference room. (And there will be some cool prizes too!)

Session participants will compete to earn points and prizes for creating real-world actions that range from simple, like re-tweeting of messages,  to more complex commitments like persuading friends, fans or conference attendees not in the room to pose for humorous photos or make commitments to charities or causes they care about.

Between the four of us, we have boatloads of experience mobilizing people to make a difference.  If you’re coming to Blogworld and you attend our session, we’ll share simple best-practice strategies as well as demonstrate the way that social media can amplify your power to create change and involve friends, family, community volunteers and others in your local and networked communities.

There couldn’t be a better time to talk about mobilizing people to take real world action.  October 23, 2010, just one week after Blogworld closes, marks the 20th anniversary of Make A Difference Day, the largest national day of community service.   We hope you’ll Make A Difference in your community.

  • Spread the Word
  • Create a Project
  • Find a Project
  • Get Resources
  • Share Your Story

Follow the conversation on Twitter at #BWERWA at 12:15 PST on October 15th!

BlogWorld Expo ‘10 here we come!

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Posted in Equip, Events, News & Links, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »

4 Tips for Using Social Media to Mobilize People

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

by ,  HandsOn Network

Remember the Service Nerd Fantasy Panel discussion that took place at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service this summer?

I’ve been reviewing the Q&A footage from the session and pulling out the juiciest nuggets.

In the clip below, and discuss ways that social media could – or should- be used to mobilize people to take action.

As the he New Media Director of President Obama’s 2008 campaign, Joe Rospars learned a lot about how to engage people in the digital space.

Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter, talks about strategies for engagement that don’t sound all that different from what we already know about engaging people – the same things that work off line also work online.

Give it a look…

Thinking about this commentary in the context of mobilizing volunteers, I’m taking away a few key points.

Joe Rospars reminds me that I’ll be more successful engaging and mobilizing people if I involve them in planning and shaping the project itself.  (This has always been true, right?  Now to make it true in our online social spaces!)

He also reminded me of the way that volunteers have to be eased into a commitment.  We’re all more likely to sign up for something simple first.  His remarks make me think about how to create levels of engagement online – from light and easy to increasingly committed.

Jack Dorsey’s comments reminded me that all of us like to feel part of something larger than ourselves.  Letting people know what kind of progress is being made, how their efforts fit into the larger impact is a great way to do this.

Finally, it was interesting to hear him say that Twitter’s biggest successes have been those that bring people who met online together, face-to-face.

All of us want to be more connected.

Let’s make sure we create offline opportunities for our online communities to come together.

Related Posts:

  • Joe Rospars on Effective Organizing
  • Mobilizing Volunteers with Social Media
  • Finding the ROI in Social Media

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Posted in Equip, Mobilize, Service, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 3 Comments »

NCVS Panel: Social Media for Social Good

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

by Chris Noble

Quick!  What’s the best social media advice you’ve ever gotten?

Are you thinking about it? Think about the person who gave you that advice.  Now think about how you’ve applied it in the days or months since it was offered.

Got it? Hold on to that memory.

Follow-up question: Is that “social media” advice different in any way from other sound advice you’ve received from friends and colleagues?

I hope not.  Because the best advice in social media is about how to be a person, and about what’s important to any form of interaction.  If what you’ve been told only applies to social media, it’s not gonna serve you very well when the next thing comes along.

Case in point: This video from the Social Media for Social Good panel at NCVS (The National Conference on Volunteering and Service).   If you’ve seen the previous videos in the series, you know it’s a cast of all-stars: , , , and .  As good as they are, the most compelling thing about this segment is how the wisdom they’re imparting is valuable across many disciplines.

In a nutshell: (No, Craig, that’s not a reference)

1. Few create, many watch – Paul explains the 1-9-90 rule of how content is created and consumed.  It applies to more than just the internet.  If your goal is getting a mass of people to participate, whether by volunteering, donating, voting, etc. the best way to pursue that goal is to remember that your storytellers are a precious resource.  In nonprofit organizations, this means your leaders, the folks that are rallying others toward a campaign goal or event.

2. Lead by example/ lead by listening – So, if your leaders are your storytellers, get ‘em out there!  Joe talks about how important it is for organizations to show leaders in action, and to create a story of leadership that inspires others to become leaders within the group.  Andrew echoes by pointing out that groups need to look externally for leadership as well – taking examples from what others in the space are doing well (and poorly).  Craig goes a step further by reaffirming that social media is about talking to people: respecting them, listening to them and inspiring them.

3. Use the right tool for the job - There’s the old saying that if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.  Asked about what tools nonprofits to use, the panel flirts with open source and new media for a bit, then comes right back to… email.  Yup.  There’s a little rally at the end of this clip where the gang agrees that capturing email addresses and using email to mobilize your forces is still the most powerful way to maintain a connection with your donors and volunteers.  (That’s gotta be good news for the Flowtown team, who make it their business to leverage email lists to best social media effect.)

All good lessons, and all reusable no matter what the future holds. Naturally, these guys say it better.  So take a look:

Related Posts

  • NCVS Panel: Mobilizing Volunteers with Social Media
  • Service Nerd Fantasy Panel Discussion
  • NCVS Panel: Finding the ROI in Social Media
  • NCVS: Joe Rospars on Effective Organizing

Originally posted on What Gives?! and cross-posted here with the author’s permission.

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Posted in Equip, News & Links, Service, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | No Comments »

How to Use Social Media to Recruit, Retain & Recognize Volunteers

Friday, August 6th, 2010

by Jessica Kirkwood, VP Social Media, HandsOn Network

As the chief social media geek at HandsOn Network, my job is to think about ways that social media tools can be used to motivate people to volunteer.

How can online tools enhance and accelerate community building to sustain volunteer engagement?

Social media tools have tremendous potential for building community around a project among participating volunteers.

Once you get volunteers to your project the first time, online community building can help keep them coming back.

Using Social Media for Volunteer Recruitment

Start a and invite volunteers to “like” it.  Set up your project as a calendar event on Facebook and invite your volunteers to sign up – and to invite their friends as well. Remember to send a personal message to each volunteer that signs up through Facebook to introduce yourself, confirm their attendance and let them know you’re counting on them showing up.

Create a for the project and ask volunteers to “follow” the account. Use Twitter to share #volunteer opportunities. (Using the in the text of your tweet will launch your tweet into Twitter’s volunteer conversation.) You can also share last minute project updates like changes in driving directions through Twitter. During the project, upload and tweet photos for those who couldn’t join that day to show them what they’re missing.

Create a video that makes a compelling case about why the project is important and asks people to get involved. Share the video through the project’s Facebook page and share it via Twitter.

Using Social Media for Volunteer Retention

Creating a blog can be a great way to build community around your volunteer project. A blog post is a great format for storytelling and can be a place for you to share stories such as: sharing the founding story of the agency or neighborhood partner; sharing stories of the kind of impact you’re having because the project exists; or recognizing a stellar volunteer by telling his or her story.

Invite your volunteers to contribute stories to your blog or to post stories on their own blogs – ask them to reflect on their participation, the difference it makes and why it matters.

(If you don’t have the time to maintain a traditional blog, consider using a microblogging platform like where you and all your volunteers can share anything from photos, to stories, to short updates.)

Post project photos to the project’s Facebook page for your volunteers to enjoy and share. Invite volunteers to post their own – on your Facebook page or theirs.

Engage volunteers between volunteer projects by holding a photo or video contest.  Ask volunteers to post their best photo or video footage of the project on your Flickr group page or on your YouTube channel and ask your community of volunteers to vote for the best one.

Crowdsource ways to improve the project by asking volunteers connected to your project’s Facebook page to share their input and ideas. For example, each week after the project, consider posting questions on the project’s Facebook page like:

  • What went well at this week’s project?
  • What do you think could have been improved / what would you suggest we do differently?
  • What ideas do you have for…?”

Experiment with what kinds of content engages your volunteers most.  Do they want to engage online with content that is mostly positive and celebratory or would they rather grapple with ways to address the root causes of your community’s social challenges?

Using Social Media for Volunteer Recognition

Tell a phenomenal volunteer’s story through a blog post.

Enter your project on Foursquare and encourage your volunteers to “check in” when they attend.  Offer some kind of small reward to the volunteer who is the reigning “Mayor” of your project.

Interview your nonprofit partner or a beneficiary of the service project about why it matters to them and share the video with your volunteers online as a thank you message.

Post statistics about the impact your volunteers are making on your Facebook page.

Write a note of thanks on a volunteer’s Facebook wall.

Invite volunteers to help support your social media efforts. Volunteers can manage all of the ideas listed here – and more – as part of their volunteer commitment to your organization.

These are just a few of our starter ideas. What ideas do you have?

Originally posted as guest author on VolunteerSpot’s Summer of Service blog series. VolunteerSpot’s free online volunteer coordination tool saves time and makes it easy for more people to say YES to making a difference.

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Posted in Equip, Service, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Management, Volunteer Project Development, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 5 Comments »

Restoration

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

by Sheila Weinberger Cope, Social Media Volunteer, Hands On Nashville

For me, what is most memorable about the May 1st flood in Nashville is the text message I received from HandsOn Nashville on the night of May 2nd.

The message let me know that HandsOn Nashville was officially in emergency management mode. We all needed to act and act fast.

When that message arrived, I was on a gurney in an emergency room with what turned out to be one nasty case of pneumonia.

My situation didn’t matter.  I tweeted and I posted about the disaster right then and there all the while with nurses doing their thing to ensure that I could breathe again.

With those tweets and posts, I put out the call for volunteers, tried to soothe frayed nerves and give hope to those who had none.

Even as sick as I was, my adrenalin kicked in and I became determined to do any and everything I could to help the city and organization that I love absolutely.

Before volunteering to do social media work for Hands On Nashville, I was, in a way, lost.

Early in my career, I was a publicist, a journalist and a photographer in New York City.

I went on to practice law and led intellectual property litigation if Silicon Valley.

Most recently, I opened and ran a yarn store that was, incidentally, very successful.

I sold the yarn store in the summer 2007

It was right after selling the shop that when my life changed completely.

In January of 2008, I was diagnosed with MS.

In response to the news, I floundered, grieved and struggled with what having MS would do to the rest of my life.

Always having been an active, go-getting, afraid of nothing, overachiever, I suddenly felt like MS took all of that away from me.

Last winter, when I saw that Hands On Nashville was looking for a social networker, I jumped at the chance.

Here was something I could do from home (my feet are totally numb so I’m not allowed to drive anymore) and something I hoped would finally give my life a purpose again.

I responded to HON’s search for (and I am quoting!) “a social networking guru” willing to devote four hours a week to posting and tweeting on their behalf.

After I signed up, I went home and then worried whether I could really do it and do it well.

Trust me when I say that in my wildest dreams, I could never have conceived of what this “little” project would become.

If I had, it probably would have scared me to death and sent me running to bury my head in the sand. But luckily, managing Hands On Nashville’s social media efforts has turned out to be my favorite volunteer project that I have ever participated in.

(And being over 40, that’s really saying something!)

I. LOVE. WHAT. I. DO.

I love it because I get to work so closely with nine of my heroes.

Those nine heroes are the people that run Hands On Nashville.

Of those nine, only four are actually full time employees.

It boggles my mind and leaves me awestruck at the end of every day.

If anyone is worthy of being a hero, it’s those nine good people.

Another reason I love what I do is because from where I sit, I get to see the big picture and the small ones too.

Whatever cynicism I had on May 1st, when the Nashville flooding started, is all gone now.

Watching, reading and hearing so many stories from so many amazing, kind, generous, unselfish, enthusiastic and devoted people has been an incredible experience.

The wonderful people of Nashville give me overwhelming hope.

They restore my faith in humanity.

They make me more proud than ever to be Nashville born and bred.

I am truly blessed beyond measure.

No words could sufficiently express my gratitude to Hands On Nashville, to volunteers from everywhere and to the 25,255 online fans and followers.

My focus now is to keep the disaster response momentum going even though life seems to be getting back to normal and enthusiasm understandably starts to wane.

It’s a challenge but I think I’m going the right direction.

I believe I‘ve landed where I was meant to be, doing what I was meant to do.

This project has restored me.

I’m finally ready to go back to living my life without letting my MS limit me.

My friends keep telling me how wonderful it is to have “me” back.

Sheila Weinberger Cope will be recognized at the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service as today’s Daily Point of Light Award winner. Neil Bush, Chairman of the Points of Light Institute Board of Directors will present her award at a HandsOn Network Affiliate luncheon.  Her award will be accepted on her behalf by Brian Williams, Executive Director of Hands On Nashville.

In the 58 days since the disaster, Hands On Nashville has recruited 16,422 volunteers to serve in 925 project sites and contributed 67,857 volunteer hours to flood relief and recovery efforts.  Their extraordinary social media campaign, led by Sheila, has helped galvanize 25,000 plus on-line fans.

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Posted in Disaster Relief, Inspire, Service, Stories from the Road, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Reflection, Volunteering, Volunteerism | No Comments »

Join the NCVS Cause Mob!

Friday, June 25th, 2010

by Jared Paul, Founder, A Good Idea

NCVS “Volunteering is…” Cause Mob
June 30th, 2010
New York City
53rd Street between 6th & 7th
Gather at 12:50p.m.
Flash Mob at 1:00 – 1:20 p.m.

My name is Jared Paul and I’m the founder of a San Francisco nonprofit called A Good Idea (AGI).

For the past two years, AGI has served as a vehicle for positive social change ideas that connect people in need with people who want to help in our community.

Many of the ways that we connect people is through creative service events that empower and inspire individuals to get involved in a way that matters to them.

With service and volunteerism being at the very core of AGI, I believe a conference such as the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering & Service, where volunteers and nonprofits alike come together to learn about effective best practices in social service and to connect with one another is a wonderful and much needed event for our sector.

Upon hearing about the conference, I started thinking about creative “Goods Ideas” that AGI could host that would shake things up a bit in NYC.

I reached out to my friend and co-founder of Open Action, John Brennan, to gauge his interest in putting together a flash mob, or more appropriately for this conference, a cause mob.

If you aren’t familiar with a flash mob, it is when a large group of people assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, and then quickly disperse.

They’ve been done in , on the , and then there’s the .

While flash mobs are usually “pointless”, cause mobs are exactly the opposite.

A cause mob still provides the space for people to come together for an unusual event, but unlike the flash mob, these events have a point and as the name suggests, usually support a cause.

Having hosted successful similar events in San Francisco such as our Intentional Acts of Kindness event, where volunteers come together to simply do nice things for random strangers, I believe NYC and this conference are a perfect setting for a cause mob.

So after doing some brainstorming with John and members of our respective teams, we’ve decided to host our own cause mob/freeze out at the official end of the conference on Wednesday, June 30th.

On Tuesday and Wednesday during the conference, you will see a few folks wearing white t-shirts with “Volunteering is ______” written on the shirts.

Next to the word “is” will be a list of adjectives that represent our feelings about volunteering.

To me, volunteering is “sexy”, “smart”, and “fun”…but what does volunteering mean to you?

Well, you’ll have a chance to tell the world as we’ll be handing out sheets of paper with the “Volunteering is ______” written on it and each participant will fill in the blank with their own adjective.

Then, from 1:00 – 1:20p.m. on Wednesday, June 30th, we’ll all come together and freeze, holding up our signs for people to read.

We hope everyone joins us for what should be a fun, unique event in the name of volunteerism!

Click on the map below to enlarge it and see where we’ll be.

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Posted in Get HandsOn, Inspire, Mobilize, Service, Social Media, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 5 Comments »

Social Media for Social Good at NCVS

Friday, June 4th, 2010

I’m excited about all the social media content coming up soon at the National Conference on Volunteering & Service!

I’ve already revealed how I attained Service Nerd Nirvana through the development of the Service Nerd Fantasy Panel Discussion, but wait… there’s more!

Social Media 4 Social Good: A Social Media Fair
Tuesday June 29th at 8:30 – 10:00 AM
Hilton New York Mercury Rotunda

Join this session for an opportunity to learn more about a myriad of social media topics by joining one of many small group discussions led by a fabulous host!

Discussions

Setting Social Media Policy & Strategy
, New York Cares
Deciding how your organization should use social media.  Learn how to tie social media tools to real organizational goals and objectives and how to release control to staff, volunteers and supporters.

Online Listening
Zack Brown, HandsOn Network
How to find out what the online community is saying about your organization & your issue – Using & Google Alerts and other tools to monitor the online conversation.

Engaging in the Conversation
, ETR Associates
Once  you’re actively listening to the online conversation about your issue and your organization, how do you know when and how to join the conversation?  What are the rules of social media etiquette?  Learn how to join in without making basic gaffs that make you look like a newbie.

Measuring Return on Investment for Social Media
Ken Cho, Spredfast
Jessica Kirkwood, HandsOn Network
How to track and measure the impact of social media efforts.

Twitter 101
Melissa Leibe, Volunteer Center of Bergen County
Getting Started – How to set up an account, how to use tools like Hootsuite, TweetDeck, , who to follow and how to use Lists (your own and those created by others).

Twitter 201
, Chicago Cares
Maximizing your account.

Facebook Fan Pages 101
Samantha Garrett & Lisa Gregory, New York Cares
The basic steps to starting a Fan Page.

Facebook 201
Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom, Volunteer Arlington
Making the most of your Facebook fan base and fan community.

Blogging
, Volunteer Maryland
Getting started, finding your voice, storytelling and community building.

Making the most of You Tube & Flickr
John Afryl, Hands On Greater Portland
How to make the best use of a Channel and a Group

Using Social Media for Events
Katie Stearns, Chicago Cares
Best practices for integrating social media into events

Time Management & Social Media
Whitney Soenksen, AmeriCorps Alums
How to survive the tidal wave of tweets, blog posts, wall posts, etc.

Leveraging Social Media for Disaster Response
Brian Williams, Hands On Nashville
Learn how social media helped HandsOn Nashville mobilize the city’s residents in an amazing volunteer flood relief effort.

New Ways to Tell Your Story
, Cause Global
Ms. Stepanek teaches a course on storytelling for nonprofits as well as a segment on “cause video” at NYU.  She also specializes in basic mobile social media-and-fundraising.

Make sure you’re registered for this amazing session!   The ID # for this session is 1293.

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Posted in Equip, News & Links, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteerism | 2 Comments »

Michelle Nunn: What Social Media Can Do for Nonprofits

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

Last week at the LEAD Summit in Washington, D.C., we heard from Allison Fine () about the many things social media can offer nonprofits. Here, Michelle Nunn sums it up in 23 seconds. Enjoy!

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Posted in Michelle Nunn, Mobilize, News & Links, Service, Social Media, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »