What's being said about your organization in the wired world?

The wired world is also a viral world where blog posts, video clips, information and opinions can spread like wildfire. Many progressive organizations in the charitable sector are starting to engage social networking and electronic communication to connect donors and friends with their message and mission. But what happens when an event or opinion casts your organization in a bad light…and then travels with the speed of light around the Internet?
Network for Good’s Katya Andresen offers sage advice on minimizing your organization’s reputational risk on her Getting to the Point blog, using Google and Twitter alerts, YouTube monitoring. She also offers tips on how to respond when the worst happens.
And whether you are concerned or not about your organization’s vulnerability in the wired age, isn’t it just worthwhile to know what’s being said about it?

Nominations Open for National Volunteer Award

Speaking of volunteers, I'd like to take a moment to thank the 2009 AFP NS conference organizing committee. Last week's conference was excellent - a result of many hours of volunteer planning and hard work. Job well done!

The government of Canada has announced a call for nominations for the 2009 Thérèse Casgrain Volunteer Award. Details can be found at: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?m=/index&nid=444729

The award will be presented to two outstanding volunteers - one for Youth Participation (age 18 to 30), and one for Lifelong Commitment (age 31 and over) - in December, to coincide with International Volunteer Day.

Bletiquette

An esteemed colleague of mine once made the observation that the cosmetics industry is peppered with made-up words and phrases (what exactly IS Vitalastin?). It occurs to me that the same observation can be about about the technology industry and its many offshoots.

Bletiquette, n: Blog etiquette.

I thought I had brilliantly coined a new phrase - until typing it into Google and realizing that several people, perhaps more brilliant than I, had already used this "word".

So are there etiquette rules for blogging and, if so, what are they? According to one website, blogging about blogging is strictly a no-no (oops - looks like I've already broken that one). There seems to be no universally-accepted "code of conduct", however, there are several common-sense guidelines available:

Deborah Ng's Blogging Etiquette Rules:
http://www.bloggingtips.com/2007/11/25/blog-etiquette-the-rules-are-quite-simple/

Kevin, aka DigiKev's advice:
http://www.digikev.co.uk/blog/home/13_february_2008.aspx

If you are considering entering the Blogosphere on an organizational level, you may want to consider drafting your own organizational Blogging Code of Conduct, especially if you are considering multi-author postings on your blog.

My own piece of blogging etiquette advice? As with face-to-face conversation, focus on the interests of the person/people you are addressing. That's just plain good manners.

Children and Families - Social Development Partnerships Program 2009 Call for Proposals

The Government of Canada, through the Children and Families component of the Social Development Partnerships Program (SDPP), invites not-for-profit organizations to apply for funding through Calls for Proposals.

The SDPP is currently inviting proposals for contribution funding that support Canadian families, children/youth and other vulnerable populations.

Funding is available for (up to a maximum of $200,000 per year) for projects that support the needs of Canadian families, children and youth, through three funding priorities: supporting children/ youth and families; caregiving over the life course; and strengthening not-for-profit organizations.

Deadline for proposals is May 8, 2009.

Details are available at: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/community_partnerships/sdpp/call/social_wellbeing/2009/step1.shtml

Virtual Volunteering

Ten years ago, articles about the untapped potential of virtual volunteer opportunities were being published on Charity Village's website, in Canadian FundRaiser magazine, and throughout other websites and publications frequented by those of us involved in the charitable sector. The realm of vitual volunteer opportunities being touted included:

• conducting on-line research
• providing professional consulting
• designing brochures, newsletters, logos, etc.
• translating documents
• maintaining a database
• electronically "visiting" people in hospitals or homes
• providing on-line mentoring or instruction
• supporting group members via chat rooms or newsgroups

In 2002, the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (now Imagine Canada) published a study, Virtual Volunteering: Current Status and Future Prospects. At that time, the study revealed, only 16% of volunteers reported volunteering in a virtual capacity. Of those, only 11% of virtual volunteers were involved in fundraising, and social networking was not even on the radar screen - at least not as its own separate "task".

Today, we are surrounded by virtual volunteers - most of whom have no "formal" relationship with, or assignment from, a particular charitable organization. They are the Facebookers, the bloggers, the Twitterers, and the thousands of everyday people advocating and raising money and awareness online on behalf of their communities and the entire planet.

For charities, there exists a great opportunity to tap into the vast resources available through virtual volunteering. And for many potential volunteers, the virtual world has opened a door to volunteer opportunities that may not have been accessible to them before - due to physical limitations, geographical separation, scheduling conflicts, or a host of other impediments to on-site volunteering.

More on engaging, supporting, and recognizing virtual volunteers later this week. In the meantime, check out the February 2009 Twestival, which raised more than $250,000 for charity:

http://twestival.com/

To Blog, or not to Blog...that is the Question

Ten days. One-third of a month, almost one-thirtieth of a year. That's how long it has been since my last blog posting. Which begs the question - to blog or not?

Our blogging dilemma is not unique. As a subscriber to many blogs, I have realized that what often begins with the best of intentions, fizzles out when real-world responsibilities and tasks take over.

Blogging, like exercise, is a commitment (don't even ask how long it's been since I've done THAT). And like exercise, there are techniques you can use to help you stay on track:

1. Blog with a team. If yours is an organizational/business blog, create a team of authors and a blogging schedule. Authors should understand the overall "theme" of the blog, and post content that reflects it.
2. It used to be, that at 7:00 every evening I dragged myself down to the basement and got on the elliptical machine. Schedule a time for blogging, and stick to it.
3. Exercise programs are generally comprised of similar components - cardio, strength training, stretching - but include a variety of exercises to keep it interesting. Create a blog topic schedule that covers your main themes and remember - variety is the spice of life.
4. If (as is often my challenge with exercise) you are really feeling uninspired, just start writing something small. One word, one sentence, one paragraph. A walk to the end of the driveway can inspire a walk around the block.

So yes - do blog. Blog with enthusiasm! But realize that, like exercise, your blog will only be helpful if it is part of your daily routine.

Struggling with finding the time to blog? Check out tomorrow's topic - virtual volunteering.

Engaging Volunteers in a Meaningful Way

Six years ago, Scott Neeson took a five-week backpacking vacation through Asia. Today, Mr. Neeson's Cambodian Children's Fund operation is in its sixth year - and he has traded in his successful Hollywood career, 36-foot yacht and luxury lifestyle for a single room in the children's centre he operates and funds. Rather than a Porsche, he now drives a scooter, and running hot water is a thing of the past.

How does this story relate to meaningful engagement of volunteers? While on his backpacking vacation in 2003, Mr. Neeson stopped in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital. He was struck by the number of street children rummaging through the city's dumps - scavenging for plastic, bits of metal - anything that could be sold for pennies or traded for food. Feeling compelled to help, Neeson sponsored a family - providing a street child clothes, food, a space in a private school and extended rent on an apartment. He was later stunned to discover his efforts were for naught. The family sold the clothes, left the apartment, and withdrew the child from school - all to collect the money.

Because Mr. Neeson had already experienced a first-hand, personal connection to the plight of these children, he did an extraordinary thing. Within one year, he had resigned his executive postion at Sony Pictures, sold his five-bedroom Hollywood home, his yacht and his Porsche and purchased a building in the heart of Phnom Penh's slums which is now the Cambodian Children's Fund facility - a centre dedicated to providing for the city's most neglected and impoverished children.

The lesson to be learned from Mr. Neeson's story is that finding ways to connect volunteers personally to your organization's service delivery, in a way that is meaningful, will generally result in long-term and truly committed engagement for your organization. For most of us, there is nothing more powerful than touching the life of another - and having them, in turn, touch our lives.