It’s our pleasure to share that Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission (URM), will be joining us at the Ideation Conference! URM is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving men, women, and children experiencing homelessness. Established in 1891, URM is one of the largest rescue missions of its kind in the United States, and the oldest in Los Angeles, where approximately 80,000 people sleep on the streets every night.

URM provides a wide range of services for the homeless which include food, shelter, clothing, medical/dental care, recovery programs, transitional housing, legal assistance, education, counseling, and job training. Take a moment to learn more about URM’s work and the lives they are changing.

The following article was contributed by Lee Fox, Founder of KooDooZ. It is a great read on the need and potential of empowering the current generation of youth to be active contributors to the community. These “Digital Natives” have all the passion and persistence to make a world of difference; they just need to be given the opportunities. You can jump to the article here (PDF file).

Interested in KooDooZ? Find out more about their work and activities via their blog or follow them on twitter.

We’re excited to be joined at the Ideation Conference by Hannah Song, executive director of LiNK (Liberty in North Korea). LiNK is an international NGO devoted to human rights in North Korea and the protection of North Korean refugees. Their work includes aiding and protecting North Korean refugees in the underground, advocating on their behalf, providing assistance upon resettlement in countries that will provide asylum, raising awareness through creative media and mobilizing through official LiNK chapters.

The North Korean crisis continues to be one of the least known and most overlooked crises in the world today. Take a moment to learn about the story of LiNK and its work.

Written by Charles Lee

Yes, it’s almost here. We’re only about a month out to our inaugural Ideation Conference (April 5-6, 2010). I’ve discovered in recent years that one of my greatest passions in life is to connect people who care about the world with one another. I believe in people with ideas, especially those who have ideas for good. I’m confident that Ideation will provide an environment in which people who care about humanity will be able to learn from one another, intentionally connect, and be refreshed as they continue their work.

Yes, this conference isn’t for everyone. It’s specifically being designed for those who currently work or desire to work in humanitarian care. In other words, it’s for my heroes. It’s for people who see that life is more than just about “making it”. It’s designed for people who are choosing to live differently so that those who experience injustices will be able to experience relief, care, and dignity.

We’re definitely not seeking the casual conference goer. We want to gather people who deeply care about what’s happening in the world and desire to do something about it…anything.

My wife and I both felt that Ideation was a conference we needed to personally invest in. We’ve dipped into our savings account so that we could keep the cost down for everyone who needs to attend. Some would say that this isn’t the best business move, but it just felt right. We’ve also approached some good friends to help us organize the event fueled by their generosity.

Why should you come?

The “causes” many of us are so passionate about need a lot of development on our end. It’s one thing to be passionate about fighting injustice, but it’s another thing to have infrastructure and a plan to care well. Therefore, I’ve invited some good friends to the table to help us think more intentionally about the way we care for our world. These are friends who have proven through time that their thoughts really do create the kind change we desire to see.

A Personal Offer:

For those who really want to participant, but aren’t financially able, don’t be shy and email me. I want to help you get there! Don’t let finances get in the way of coming out. I hope you see that my heart is to help you become a better compassionary (i.e., a person living out a compassionate mission of care). I deeply care about you more than this conference. The conference is only a means through which we can better learn, connect, and work with one another.

I hope that I will see you at Ideation. Please help us get the word out to people who resonate with what’s been shared here.

In closing, thank you so much for caring about our world. Please continue to “Love Human. Do Good.”

Charles

It’s our pleasure to be joined at the Ideation Conference by Lee Fox, Founder of KooDooZ. KooDooZ, as described on their website, exists to “empower youth by challenging them to find their life balance of heart, mind, body and spirit.” Founded upon the ideas of community service and social learning, KooDooZ provides a safe online community that youth can visit to be encouraged and challenged to make a difference in the world.

Please take a moment to watch the following interview highlighting the work of 11-year-old activist, Zach Bonner. You can also visit the KooDooZ blog here.

We’re excited to share that Eugene Cho, Founder of One Day’s Wages, will be joining us at the Ideation Conference. One Day’s Wages is an international grassroots movement dedicated to ending extreme global poverty. One Day’s Wages is in partnership with several projects and organizations who are on the front lines fighting extreme global poverty, and donors are encouraged to simply give at least one day’s wages (0.4% of one’s annual income) towards the project or organization of their choice.

One Day’s Wages represents the growing importance and value of providing opportunities for the “everyday donor” to engage with global causes. Check out the incredible story of this great organization and take a look at how easy it is to make a donation.

It’s our privilege to have Scott Harrison, Founder of charity: water, join us as one of our keynote speakers for the !deation Conference. charity: water is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations go towards funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need.

charity: water has been highlighted by the likes of CNN, CBS, and the New York Times for its efforts, and is a leader in strategically using social media to engage with the public, gaining over 1 million followers on Twitter (@charitywater). Take a moment to discover the story of charity: water and its work.

Originally posted by Charles Lee at www.charlestlee.com

How many Facebook, Twitter, or Social Networking invites do you get about someone’s cause? How many emails have ended up in your inbox with an invitation to support, vote for, or join a network around a cause? What percentage of these cause invitations you receive do you actually support in some tangible way?

I think most of us would agree that most causes are definitely worth supporting. They are lead by phenomenal people who genuinely care about injustice in the world. Our world is a better place because of their presence and passion.

As a person who regularly works with and for non-profits, it can be discouraging at times to see the lack of direct correlation between followers and committed participants. I thought I would offer the following insights to those who may be leading a non-profit or cause.

A Sober Look at “Followers”:

Not everyone who “follows” your cause is really supporting your efforts beyond a click to follow, join or retweet. In fact, most probably joined your efforts out of some kind of relational obligation (e.g., a friend invited them to join on Facebook) or general passion towards the issue (e.g., they just saw a film or were inspired by an event). It’s not that they don’t care about the issue, it’s just that they really don’t have (or want) bandwidth to get involved beyond the surface connect. For others, they’ve joined to just see what you’re doing or with a desire to broaden their own work or network (i.e., strictly research-based or professional).

Creating a Healthy Perspective:

Don’t be discouraged. It’s ok! Don’t be too hard on yourself or the people that “follow”. Be encouraged and optimistic about the fact that (for whatever reason) people are indeed following.

Celebrate the “fringe”. No organization can be totally healthy if everyone is a part of the core. We need the fringe to draw us out into areas that we have yet to consider. The fringe also keep us humble. They will remind us that not everyone has our passion for a cause. In addition, they will introduce comments or questions that may at first appear to be unrelated or even confrontational, but may end up being some of our best ideas. Therefore, be sure to LISTEN to the fringe, even those who appear to be complaining about how you do things even if they don’t lift a finger to participate.

Don’t confuse number of followers with impact. Stats can really be misleading. It’s usually encouraging to see lots of followers, but keep in mind that you will need to identify the real number of people who believe in what you do. Numbers can bring about disillusionment. Focus on working with those who are already committed while inviting those on the fence to participate. By the way, don’t use guilt to mobilize participation. A guilt-driven system will not be sustainable in the long-run.

Celebrate the stories of those committed to the cause. Stories are great for inspiring others to get involved. As yourself, as a cause or organization, are there stories that you can point to that embody the mission or goals of your group? I think stories can be a powerful assessment tool for organizations.

Work on clarity, infrastructure, and ideas. Some of the main reasons that people don’t commit to a greater level is because they are not sure what you’re about and how you want them to help. Work hard on creating tangible, clear steps for involvement. Maybe their lack of involvement is created by our lack clarity, infrastructure, and development of ideas.

These are just a few of several thoughts I have about this topic. I’d love to hear your perspective on this as well!

Next time someone communicates that they don’t “care about your cause”, don’t take it personally and continue to live out your passion. Find the people that care and fuel the movement.

Originally posted by Beth Kanter at www.beth.typepad.com

Maybe I’m jaded. But having been in the nonprofit technology since 1993, I’ve seen a predictable pattern of cycles with new tools and technology. It closely follows Gartner’s Technology Hype Cycle

* Technology Trigger
* Inflated Expectations
* Trough of Disillusionment
* Slope of Enlightenment
* Plateau of Productivity

With nonprofits, the Trough of Disillusionment comes when we start to understand the real challenges in implementing a new technology and stop looking at as a panacea that will solve all our problems. Or be bailout for our nonprofit.

The Haiti crisis demonstrated that text to give fundraising can be a powerful tool, particularly as an “early responder” fundraising technique in disaster. But will the dramatic text fundraising that we saw the Red Cross experience translate to every non-profit that wants to add it to their tool bag?

I like the way that Allison Fine reflected on this question last week. How does she feel about text to give? Trepidatious.

Geoff Livingston has written a good piece on Mashable that throws a little cold water SMS/Text To Give Campaigns by pointing out the challenges and limitations. The reality is that there are challenges – cost, vendors, and other limitations.

The technology isn’t cheap to set up. In fact, according to the post it can be expensive, anywhere from $3,000-10,000. And, just like other technology tools, like online credit card transactions, nonprofits end up paying a transaction fee of 5-10% back to the vendor. So, deciding to incorporate a SMS campaign should include a traditional nonprofit technology ROI analysis that analyzes the benefits, value, and financial analysis. It may not make sense for your nonprofit to get mobile

The set up cost is out of reach for many smaller/mid-sized nonprofits, and especially since the vendors require a minimum budget of $500,000 to have the right to purchase service. Geoff also points out that text donations are limited to small donations and organizations don’t get the donor contact information, thus closing the door to ongoing engagement and relationship building not to mention potentially missing out on an important ROI – the lifetime value of a donor.

Geoff goes onto make a point that I find myself making over and over about the need to link the use of the tools to an overall communications and engagement strategy. He also encourages nonprofits to look at other ways to incorporate the use of mobile technology as part of a communications strategy or program delivery. (The place to look for lots of ideas and advice is MobileActive.

Allison Fine makes another good point: “It seems to me that relationship building with a first engagement being a cell phone number is going to be inherently difficult.”

Geoff ends his piece with a point about looking at other options which may be the only choice for the smaller nonprofits. Recently, AppMakr rolled out its service that lets anyone create a iPhone app for less than $200. In fact, I created one for Beth’s Blog! But be careful, I was asked a lot of questions about my blog’s audience size and reach and only after looking over my stats (subscribers, page views, Twitter followers) was my app accepted.

For me, the most interesting piece is looking to the future. When will we see a Network for Good for text fundraising campaigns? What are some of the best practices for incorporating mobile into your communications and engagement tool box?

Written by Jeff Shinabarger, one of our facilitators for !deation Conference and founder of Gift Card Giver, and originally posted at www.plywoodpeople.com.

Gift Card Giver launches: SUPER GIVER PARTY Feb 7, 2010 A Super Bowl Party Benefiting Haiti Relief The super bowl is the house party of the year. We know, you will be at a house watching the big screen with your friends, eating junk food, yelling for no reason and voting on what commercial was the funniest. We need you, yes you, the one with the cheese dip in your lap. While you are cheering, we need you to help us collect gift cards to help with relief efforts in Haiti. Every person has an unused gift card ($8 billion annually) and you can help do something super by collecting  those cards to support a great need. Party with a purpose. Simply, have a super giver bowl and put gift cards in it instead of chips.  When you’re wiping up soda spills and filling your dishwasher, you can throw the gift cards in an envelope to Gift Card Giver and you’ll have given your party even more purpose.  But don’t forget to tell your friends to bring their gift cards!

SUPER STEPS 1.  Tell your friends to bring gift cards to your super bowl party. 2.  Put a bowl between the cheese dip and ice cubes, make people give. 3. Watch our video at halftime to share the SUPER idea. (Video is also embedded below.) 4.  Put the gift cards in an envelope: Gift Card Giver, PO Box 17628-Atlanta, GA 30316 5. Help Haiti people in great need.

(Update on Jan 30th: Jeff stated recently on a blog comment at Plywood People: We just confirmed a partnership with HOPE International that has people on the ground working through Microfinance initiatives to rebuild the country. All gift cards collected and sent to Gift Card Giver will be sent directly to their projects to invigorate the already great work they are doing.)