SocialButterfly

Carnival of Non-Profit Consultants: Cha-Cha-Chaaange

Monday, June 9th, 2008 | Blog Talk, Carnival of NPC | 2 Comments

Hello and welcome to my first time as a host for the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants! This week was an open call, with a personal preference for social change and social marketing type posts.

The posts listed below largely discuss and point to current nonprofit marketing trends and potentially future marketing trends. Though this might not reflect social marketing per say, it is a reflection of social change….how trends surface, alter, flourish, downsize and in essence, change. So enjoy this week’s carnival!

• Jordan Viator at Connection Cafe’s post Glimpses of the Past, Present and Future Online Communication Practices for Nonprofits provides an audio file from a panel discussion with nonprofit guru Vinay Bhagat. In the discussion and as Mr. Viator reflects, marketing techniques have largely changed from 2003 to 2008…greatly thanks to new media, pointing out the next big trend of constituent empowerment.

• ***Inserting my special ‘bonus host post’ here, as it follows up well with Mr. Viator’s idea. In my post Consumerism. What’s Your First Reaction?, I too coin my own term ‘optimistic consumerism,’ explaining that with changing media and times, the consumer is becoming more empowered than ever by having a choice. In particular, not only do we have a choice of what products or services we consume, but we also have a choice in the place we consume our information. *Props to choosing the Carnival,

• Rebecca Leaman at Wild Apricot continues the discussion of change in her post titled 5 Keys to Effective Knowledge Transfer for Nonprofits, where she outlines how effective communication can transfer through each phase of a message. No matter how the times and technology change, Ms. Leaman’s insights and download-able resource is priceless.

• Bryan Miller at Giving in a Digital World maps out the technology hype cycle in his post titled Online Fundraising and the Hype Cycle. Mr. Miller points out how web 2.0 is making the way for community fundraising 2.0 and that knowing where your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts are will put you and your organization ahead of the curve.

• Jason Dick at A Small Change-Fundraising blog outlines three core values of traditional nonprofit fundraising in his post: Cultivation, Solicitation and Stewardship. However, Mr. Dick points out that while the traditional model is good, the big umbrella term that deserves attention is relationship. According to Mr. Dick, a good relationship means good fundraising and “all bets are off” on the traditional process.

• J. Karlin at Marketing and Fundraising Ideas sets the stage on how to implement change in the post Powerful yet Reasonable Goals. Karlin says that before change can even be accomplished as was in the case study given of Tufts University, one should dream big, and not overlook setting reasonable, attainable goals.

• Last but not least, Jeff Brooks at Donor Power Blog offers up that any amount of change, is good change, in his post Tiny Gifts: Good or Bad?.

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s carnival. Thank you for all of the submission’s this week, as I’ve found new blogs and bloggers to follow, along with some great ideas about cha-cha-chaaaange!

Keep track of the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants, no matter which blog is hosting, by subscribing to the Carnival feed.

Tags: Carnival, carnival of nonprofit consultants, Carnival of NPC, change, choice, Communication, community, consumerism, core values, digital, fundraising, giving, goals, Marketing, marketing trends, non-profit, nonprofit, Nonprofit sector, online communication, online fundraising, online trends, philanthropy, relationship, social change, Wild Apricot

Consumerism. What’s Your First Reaction?

Friday, June 6th, 2008 | Blog Talk, Experience This?, Identity Crisis, Interesting Articles | 4 Comments

My guess is that it might have caused a slight wrinkle in the face and a sigh of stress? confusion? frustration? I offer that more and more…it should bring a smile. Consumerism is not just about what you consume, but about the choice (and power) you have as well.

Been meaning to post on this topic for a while, but a discussion I had at a friend’s gathering the other day prompted me to post. (Plus, a recent article regarding the optimistic power of consumerism found by a colleague of mine). The conversation circled around consumerism and capitalism….leisurely, get-to-know you chit-chat right…lol

But I was listening to two new friends, acquaintances really, debate consumerism versus capitalism:

• Are they the same thing?
• Does one breed the other?
• Is one better than the other?
• How to stop it, can we stop it?

Etc., etc., etc….you can only imagine. How many of us have found ourselves in these slightly awkward conversations over the weekend, when all you want to do is relax and make friends. Truth is, I secretly LOVE these conversations. Yup, I’m one of ‘them.’ I love the people who are open to talking about how they feel about the things that really matter, especially those amongst my generation. We do DO more than check Facebook 10 times a day, ;).

Onward. Fact is, I enjoy listening to these conversations because they get my mind tinkering and fueled. After each person shared their viewpoint, I offered this:

Nowadays, the power is transferring from the organization or company to the consumer. Consumerism in today’s terms is increasingly more powerful than it’s given credit. We are all consumers. We all have a choice in the types of services, types of products, types of media we support. Think about the power we have as individuals, let alone when communities and groups surround a movement!”

The best I’ve heard what I’m trying to communicate was at my grad school graduation where Ken Paulson, Editor and Sr. Vice President of USA Today, told my class:

“You are not going to change the world…You already have.”

He went on to explain how the Millennial generation changed the world when they decided they didn’t want to have to pay for music. Or, when they made new phrases like brb, lol and ttyl become common. He also went on to describe the danger we in the media landscape - from advertisers, to journalists, broadcasters, etc - create by referring to ourselves as: The Media. What IS that anyway? The media.

Mr. Paulson, I applaud your speech and would love a copy if you ever read this. It very much reflects what my own master’s research reiterates. There was a time when ‘the media’ (whatever that is) was not a business…and when it was a public service. If you don’t think so, research 1776 or the first newspaper, Publick Occurances. Or, recall Walter WIlliams’ infamous Journalist’s Creed. Or, email/comment me, and let’s have a conversation.
Thus, I leave you with this: What’s your choice? Where do you stand?

Skeptical? Check out Joseph Jaffe’s post and what his power as a consumer is doing to Delta Airlines…at this point, not sure who I feel worse for: Jaffe, or the PR mess Delta is now in, lol. Wow.

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As an FYI: My research is being presented at the 1st World Social Marketing Conference this upcoming September in Brighton, England. There’s more to it than this paragraph, and it’s not quite publication ready yet. Let me know if you’ll be there, and hopefully, we can meet! =)

Tags: capitalism, capitalist, choices, consumer, consumerism, consumers, conversation, culture, Delta Skelter, generation, Jaffe Juice, journalism, Journalists Creed, Marketing, media, media landscape, Millennials, optimistic, power of consumerism, public service, research, Social Marketing, USA Today