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Fun to see how the things of our childhood get transformed into the digital age.
UNICEF’s Little Orange Box Goes Digital This Halloween
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Social Good
I’m attending Mashable’s Social Good Summit next week in New York. I am going to try to take some time to write posts for Tumblr based on the speakers and the event. (Fingers crossed!)
Here’s an interview Mashable did with Aaron Sherinian, VP for Communications and PR for the UN Foundation, which is a partner in the Summit. My fave part?
What’s the role or responsibility that the UN bears as a social media trailblazer?
[T]he UN Foundation, because of our mission to support the UN, believes that unless we push the envelope on using new technology, we’re not making good on the promise to the world’s poor people and the world’s hardest to reach populations and the people who need help the most. We believe that social media is at the heart of it.Can’t wait to hear some great speakers next week. Anyone else going?
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StumbleUpon Launches Program to Help Nonprofits
I remember the first time my little sister told me about StumbleUpon.
“Yeah, I stumbled upon this cool website…”
“Oh yeah, how’d you find it?”
“StumbleUpon.”
”???”
And today, the popular discovery tool launched a program to help nonprofits. Stumble For Good helps nonprofit organizations get site traffic and increase awareness. From AdAge:
“Fundamentally, advertising is all about getting discovered,” says Marc Leibowitz, VP-business development and marketing, for StumbleUpon. “We thought about how we could help nonprofits get discovered. That’s one of the biggest challenges nonprofits have — how do they generate awareness which results in people lending their time or money or other resources to help them reach their goals.”
What do you think of this new option for nonprofits?
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Check out Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn helping out at God’s Love We Deliver!
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Tips for cause campaigns
A recent study from the Cause Marketer Forum found that 72% of American consumers said they avoided purchasing products from companies whose practices they disagreed with. This recent Mashable article has some tips for running a successful cause marketing campaign:
1. Do Your Homework
2. What Is Your Brand About?
3. Involve Your Employees
4. Manage Expectations
5. If It Hits the Fan
Do you have any others?
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Shopping for the greater good…
So I recently bought my first pair of TOMS shoes. I’ve always been intrigued by their business model, of giving away one pair of shoes for every pair purchased, and finally the time seemed right.
However, this morning, I heard of another buy-one-give-back company, Sevenly. The company that sells “a new T-shirt each week designed for a partner non-profit,” according to Mashable. “Each shirt will be available for seven days, with $7 from each sale going towards the charity.”
This is an interesting idea and I can definitely see purchasing a shirt, particularly if it’s a nonprofit that I admire or have worked with (Habitat, GLWD, Minds Matter). But I am curious how small and local these nonprofits can be. Is GLWD considered too local? There are definitely possibilities to sell lots of shirts for “local” NYC nonprofits.
Oh man! With all these retailers giving back, I’m going to have to go shopping more!
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I realize that my two most recent posts do not have anything to do with volunteering. However, I am so stoked to see Andrew play in Central Park this summer that I just had to re-blog this…
On the car ride, I said to Kate “The 16 year old in me would die if Andrew sang a Something Corporate song”. And then this happened, and I may have stopped breathing for a moment.
I Woke Up In A Car -Jack’s Mannequin (Something Corporate cover)
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Haha, love it!
For @lukechatelain @adamsonnett @gingervision
11 months ago / 121 notes / Source:
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I read this article over the weekend, Mission Accomplished: Nonprofits Go Out of Business, about nonprofits like Malaria No More, which plan to go out of business once they reach their goals. While the article quickly points out that this is not yet a trend, I find it fascinating and awesome.
“Executives who have closed nonprofits say a feeling of pride overcomes any potential regrets. ‘Knowing that we were going to close helped us work with extreme urgency and intensity and not slack off for a minute,’ said David Douglas, a founder of Water Advocates, a charity that closed late last year.”
I guess a lot of the organizations I’m involved with have long-term, ongoing goals, but it is still cool to see these nonprofits making a difference and closing their doors with mission accomplished.
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Now that companies are using Facebook, Twitter and the like to connect with consumers, they are also using the sites to crowdsource ideas from those consumers. While we average Joe and Jane consumers may not have ideas on how to fix Brand X’s financials or deal with a crisis at Company Y (though, I don’t know, maybe you do??), this means that many are loosening the reigns on their philanthropy, cause marketing or corporate social responsibility programs. What causes are consumers most passionate about? Where should the company donate its time and money?
Home Depot is the latest brand to try crowdsourcing philanthropy on Facebook, according to Mashable. The Home Depot Foundation “committed $30 million over three years to non-profit organizations dedicated to improving the homes and lives of economically disadvantaged veterans.” The company is asking its Facebook fans which organizations deserve the funding the most. Each month, one winning organization will receive a $25,000 Home Depot Gift Card and then the 11 monthly winners will compete for the $250,000 grant. Each organization will at least receive $5,000 in Home Depot Gift Cards, and company volunteers will also spend their time helping these organizations.
I think this is an interesting, and low-risk, way for companies to use social media in a more meaningful way. Let me know if you hear of any other corporations using crowdsourcing for philanthropy.
