Sometimes I feel like there's an encyclopedia of online advocacy, fundraising, and social media stuck in my head. While I have close to two decades of experience in the nonprofit field and love to share my experiences and data, I’m lucky to be surrounded by such smart nptech folks who share their knowledge with me. Check out some of my favorite resources in the nonprofit space.
Mobilisation Lab:
Started by the digital strategy team at Greenpeace International, the Digital Mobilisation Lab is comprised of a growing global network of staff and volunteers dedicated to people-powered campaigning. They share best practices in online campaigning as well as concrete data and analysis from their A/B testing. They also provide great case studies that are applicable to other nonprofits. For example, one of the case studies that Amy Sample Ward and I profiled in the mobile section of our book Social Change Anytime Everywhere was about “Missed Calls” as an organizing strategy. Mobile phone use in campaigns is not just about text messaging, but about leveraging missed calls. In much of the world, mobile phone networks are the only thing that connects cities and countries to the rest of the world. Landlines are rare, but inexpensive mobile phones are widely available and more accessible. Cost structures are different and often text messaging is cheap while calls are expensive.
In India, for example, “missed calls” have become a campaign tool. Greenpeace India has used missed calls as a cheap and quick way to engage people and build lists. Instead of sending a text message to sign up or get information, a caller dials a number on their phone, waits for the line to connect, and then hangs up. Nobody answers but the incoming number is saved.
In one campaign, citizens rallied to oppose wide scale coal mining in central-eastern India ’s forests. Greenpeace India set up a call number through a mobile vendor and then promoted the campaign with a call to action—call this number to stop the coal mining in central-eastern India ’s forests.
“Callers knew that dialing the number was a way to indicate their support for the campaign. For many in the West, ‘missed calls’ are a bit of a mystery but the practice has been around for years,” says online strategist Ted Fickes, who writes for the Mobilisation Lab.
John Haydon, The Nonprofit Facebook Guy:
I’m pretty sure my pal John Haydon doesn’t sleep very much because he’s either monitoring Facebook’s new features or developing Facebook campaigns for nonprofits. When I’m frustrated with Facebook and just can’t find a solution, I will head over to The Nonprofit Facebook Guy site where I will often find the information I need. John has great tutorials that walk you through Facebook marketing and also offers great insight in his blog posts, such as Why Facebook Marketing Feels so Impossible.
Idealware: I consider Idealware the Consumer Reports for the nonprofit community when it comes to evaluating and rating nonprofit products and technology. They provide in-depth reports comparing open source content management systems such as Drupal, Joomla, and, WordPress, as well as Constituent Relationship Management systems. Check out their latest reports on the 2103 Field Guide to Software for Nonprofits.
NP Voices: Steve MacLaughlin over at Blackbaud recently launched a great podcast series for nonprofit practitioners. The format is straightforward and informative. Each podcast has about three accomplished guests from the nonprofit sector discussing a range of issues, such as fundraising, social media, mobile, and community building. For example, in Episode 4, Steve talked with Gregg Carlson of the Giving USA Foundation to review the latest Giving USA report, he spoke with Dennis McCarthy of Target Analytics to discuss the new normal of fundraising, and finally Allison Fine joined the show to talk about how to build deeper relationships with supporters.
What are some of your favorite resources in the nonprofit space? I'd love to hear about them.
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