Columbus Foundation Launches PowerPhilanthropy

From time to time, you'll see organizations doing amazing things to provide great services to the community. The Columbus Foundation recently launched a new program that provides an excellent, user-friendly opportunity for community donors: Power Philanthropy

The following information comes from the Columbus Foundation website: www.columbusfoundation.org.

What is PowerPhilanthropy?
As someone who cares about charitable giving, you want to know that your efforts will make a difference. You understand that supporting a nonprofit organization is more than check-writing—it’s an investment in your community.

At The Columbus Foundation, we want to help build your understanding of nonprofits and topics that interest you, so you can give wisely. PowerPhilanthropy, a new online tool, was developed with you in mind.

As a simple, searchable database, PowerPhilanthropy:
Connects you with nonprofit organizations and programs that strengthen the community;
Enriches your knowledge of the nonprofit sector by delivering in-depth portraits of hundreds of local organizations. These comprehensive portraits tell stories and offer vital information about programs, finances, management, and services.

You’ll be able to easily manage your giving, safely and securely online, from anywhere at anytime. Start connecting to the nonprofit of your choice. Find out how you can experience the power of philanthropy.

This website highlights types of giving; how to make a gift; has information for professional advisors; has an outstanding knowledge center where you can download PDFs on anything from strategic planning to nonprofit governance; includes an event calendar; and has resources on grant making. And that's just in section 1 on "Find Information."

In the next section, "Connect with Idea and People", you can create a user profile and gain access to the following:

• PowerPhilanthropy Projects that have been reviewed and vetted for inclusion into our nonprofit database;
• Call to Action Projects that feature high performing programs that have received support from the Foundation; and
• Current Initiatives that have been cultivated by the Foundation to address broad community issues.

The final section, "Give Wisely" is the prize and not only educates donors on how to make a gift, but links them up to support various community charities.

This is a terrific "one stop shop" and an excellent example of using a website as a very useful tool to support the community. Kudos to the Columbus (OH - of course) Foundation for their thoughtful establishment of a digital tool that makes giving a simple task and for giving the community easy access to key information on charitable giving.

YouTube Welcomes Non-Profits

It's been far too long since my last post. No excuses except that a job change had me wrapped up in my own professional world getting adjusted to a new position. I've returned to the world of fundraising and am the new Director of Annual Giving for the Children's Medical Center of Dayton. But have no fear, my interest in utilizing emerging technology for fundraising has not diminished and I am returning back to the Electric Philanthropy blog.

And all in good time to learn that YouTube has set up a special program for non-profits. Check out the website: www.youtube.com/nonprofits.

This is a perfect scenario for those who want to launch an electric outreach campaign but may not have the resources to hire a company to create their materials. This gives your non-profit the chance to tell a compelling story without having to spend big bucks to do it.

YouTube allows non-profits to create their own "channel." It is your job to promote that to donors and constituents but it certainly provides a simple way to broadcast you messages and post videos with a strong message. Here's how they explain what is offered:

Your Nonprofit channel includes:
*Premium branding capabilities and increased uploading capacity
*Rotation of your videos in the "Promoted Videos" areas throughout the site
* The option to drive fundraising through a Google Checkout "Donate" button

As an incentive, the first 300 non-profits to sign up will receive a video camera from Casio. You'll need to rush to it to quality. Join groups like the American Cancer Society, Autism Speaks, Friends of the Earth and several others that have jumped in and been an early adapter of this program.

Be adventurous and put your message out there in a new way. You may be surprised by who is watching your channel and can reach a whole new target audience.

No Time to Distribute News?

A continual challenge in communicating with donors is the time it takes to develop news stories, formating the newsletter, and distributing it. The labor intensive project consumes just as much time sending an e-newsletter as a print newsletter. If time is an issue, consider a different alternative: a formated news microsite.

I worked this year with Delta Zeta Sorority's national headquarters staff in creating a news bulletin board. They needed a way to post immediate news that could be accessible to members, parents, prospective members and the media. However, the logistics in sending out a newsletter was a concern. As an alternative, a news microsite was developed.

The microsite is essentially a one-page website with full back-end administrative functionality. Staff members log into the microsite and can news articles and relevant photographs in four main areas: news about the National organization, updates from the National Council, news for collegiate chapters and members, and news for alumnae members. Additionally, a media player was established for Delta Zeta to upload videos on a regular basis.

The videos are a great feature in and of themselves. PowerPoint presentations are developed and through our good friends at Apple, can be saved as Quicktime videos on a Mac. This allows for a simple and very fast option to produce basic videos.

The microsite also features the following:

• Link to the Sorority's main home page
• Links for additional news articles
• Link for members to update their contact information
• Link to make a donation to the Foundation
• Link for user to submit their own news and photos

Graphically, the site is contemporary, uplifting, and fun. The response from members has been outstanding and thanks to a screen shot and link on the home page, it is one of the most frequently visited section of the website. Take a look at: http://newsboard.deltazeta.org.

If considering a similar microsite, I would recommend one additional step to aid with news distribution. Add an RSS feed for your constituents to automatically subscribe to the site. As new updates are posted, the material is pushed out to members who receive an update in their RSS reader or email box.

The microsite provides an efficient and timely way to post news articles and updates for your organization. Overall, the cost for development is less expensive than printing newsletters. And unlike a traditional newsletter, a news microsite is available 24/7. The key is still to update on a regular basis to continue to draw viewers and to be effective for those using an RSS.

To add your own newsboard to your website, contact:
Mediasauce
317-218-0500
www.mediasauce.com

Web 2.0 Seminar - You Won't Want to Miss This

MediaSauce Web 2.0 Seminar
Web 2.0 For Business:Revealing the Best Kept Secret

When:Friday, August 10, 20078:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Where:IUPUIInformatics & CommunicationsTechnology Complex
535 West Michigan St.Room IT 152
Indianapolis, IN 46202


Join MediaSauce on Friday, August 10, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. for a complimentary seminar, led by our very own Director of Emerging Technologies, Sarah "Intellagirl" Robbins.
This seminar will dive into Web 2.0 and explain how it's impacting businesses around the world. It will cover Social, Immersive and Participatory Media and how you can leverage Web 2.0 technologies including Facebook, Second Life, Flickr and Google for your own business.

Agenda:
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. - Registration and Breakfast
9:00 - 9:15 a.m. - Introduction
9:15 - 10:15 a.m. - Defining Social, Immersive and Participatory Media
10:15 - 10:30 a.m. - Break
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. - Applying Web 2.0 Technologies to Your Business

RSVP Now!
Parking passes will be provided. More details will be sent to you when you RSVP.
Special thanks to the IUPUI School of Informatics for hosting this event!
This email was sent to: beth.deines@mediasauce.com.

Electric Philanthropy - Live and In Person

I will be giving a presentation at THE Foundations Seminar, hosted by the North-American Interfraternity Conference on August 24. This program, designed for inter/national fraternal organizations' development officers, will offer a number of sessions that you won't want to miss...especially mine!

Here's a teaser of what is to come:

Broadband technology has ushered in a new era of communication. Fundraisers have a wealth of tools never before available for donor cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. This session will explore how emerging technology can help you tell your story in new and powerful ways. See examples of how Web 2.0 can enhance and impact your development efforts. Learn if social networks, videos, blogs, interactive websites, email appeal campaigns, email stewardship programs, widgets, and virtual communities will work for your organization. Explore the value of building relationships through user-submitted content and viral marketing. You are guaranteed to see new things in this session and to take away ideas to grow your donor base of support.

If you are interested in having me speak at your conference, just say the word!