10 & 11

Chapter 10 starts to build on the ground work of being transparent, simple, and listening and building relationships. Funding is one of the staples of a nonprofit organization, and methods of special events and mailing potential donors are practices we have all heard of. A new way is donating online, like the “Donate Here” button. This does nothing to build relationships, but during Haiti, the Red Cross had a text ability to donate that went along with commercials that showed the massive destruction on Haiti and pulled on your heart strings. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34850532/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/t/mobile-giving-help-haiti-exceeds-million/

They also engage you people by using celebrities by using people they look up to, like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. This made people feel like they were a part of the help instead of just a text and a dollar.

Storytelling is how the Susan G Colman Foundation makes such a powerful impact on people, even if they don’t know someone personally that has breast cancer, they still can relate to the person telling their story.

Thankfullness in another point the book makes and I saw it first hand with the event Jessica and I planned. The fact that Julie Meredith came by to say thank you made such an impact that the restaurant owners kept the Safe Harbor information and wanted to pass it along to Certus Bank.

Chapter 11 talks about governance and its need for an organization to succeed. They safeguard the organization so to speak, but social media can play a curtail role in bringing in expertise and live, new energy. Without social media it can seem like a monarchy and people will not want to just go out and ask for money when they don’t get a say in what’s going on within the organization.

The lack of diversity doesn’t surprise me at all. I mean, look at the big 6 that control the media in the first place. All white, all male, all wealthy. I makes since that some nonprofits would have certain “cliques” as well. A way to help get an organization networked in a sense of governing is to give people options. Just because their job title says they are to answer the phones doesn’t mean they can’t participate and contribute their ideas. Also, the project should be out in the open, not hidden in a boardroom. Create an online, private, social network. This will engage everyone, even the shy member that would normally keep to himself. Allow people to participate in meetings and draft agendas online, and again, the meetings don’t have to take place in the boardroom. If it’s easier for people to meet at a public library, then that’s where the meeting should take place.