1. What’s your single greatest challenge with blogging?
2. How will the Social Media Success Summit help you overcome this challenge?
3. How do you envision your success online?

1.  My greatest challenge with blogging is speed and time – both personally as well as for the people I’m trying to help.  My blog is new, but it serves a consituency that is floundering in trying to capture and utilize the power of social media – nonprofit organizations.  I’ve worked in the nonprofit sector for many years and all I hear from this constituency is that they know it’s a great resource, they know they should be doing it, they don’t have the time or expertise, and since the results are not monetarily quantifiable at this point, management and the board is reluctant to invest time – let alone money – in it.  So, they are already way behind the pack. For myself, I spent almost a third of my life helping a now ex-husband get his career off the ground and I’m running to catch up too, and running out of time for some personal goals.  So, I don’t have the time to figure this out the hard way (for myself or the nonprofits I want to help) and I don’t have the financial resources to invest in something as great as SMSS.

2. SMSS will give me the tools I need to not have to spend months on the learning curve.  It will help me avoid doing things the wrong way and help make sure that I do things the right way first.  I do know a lot, and I know that I know a ton more than many around me about social media, but I need to leap to the next level in a single bound and not struggle climbing up a rope.  SMSS will help me be more effective and efficient in building the resources necessary to help educate nonprofit organizations as well as help me build this blog into a business to support my future family (which has been on hold for a few years already).

3. I envision success as my blog being a key resource for nonprofit organizations in their marketing, fundraising and social media operations while I make a decent living.  It will allow me to do what I love – share with others the information they need to be successful – while building stronger communities with more effective nonprofit organizations, and at the same time having a happy, fulfilling home life.

Well, that’s my plea in a nutshell.  I would love to have the opportunity to participate in SMSS and can assure you that the knowledge I gain will be distributed to many other sources that are desparately in need of social media help and that are trying to make our world a better place.  So please, pick me!  Even if only to improve your karma:-)!

This blog post is the entry for me and an as-yet-unnamed nonprofit organization. To enter, I have to explain on my own blog why I should win this grand prize.  What you, my readers, know that Scott and Michael don’t, is that my passion is helping small and medium nonprofit organizations build efficiencies, grow revenues and increase awareness.  I do and have done this as an employee, consultant, formal volunteer and informal volunteer/information resource.  And, to have further reach and help even more nonprofits, I recently started this blog Nonprofit Doesn’t Mean Breakeven.

Although the summit appears to be geared towards the for-profit sector, I have the knowledge and experience to translate the information and strategies to fit nonprofit needs.  The company I recently started (Crystal Clear Buzz), is focused on helping small to medium nonprofit organizations build and implement effective social media strategies, so I will be able to exponentially spread the wisdom gained by being a participant.  By helping to strengthen these nonprofit organizations, I’m helping improve communities and create a better world (or at least I like to think I am!).

Additionally, I’m giving a nonprofit organization the chance to win my second ticket and benefit directly – which means that the Social Media Success Summit 2009 will also be helping to improve communities and create a better world!  Further, the materials can be utilized by other employees of the nonprofit, ensuring that the knowledge stays within the organization.

By choosing me and a nonprofit organization for this prize, this event will have a much larger impact on our world than simply teaching two more people how to make money on the web.  It could change many, many lives.

So…how to choose the nonprofit that would get the second ticket if I am so lucky as to win??  If you’re interested in getting the ticket, you’re going to have to help make my entry more noticeable.  Here’s what I’ve come up with:

1.)  If you have a Twitter account, send out the following tweet:

Win a FREE ticket to Social Media Success Summit 2009: http://cli.gs/Grq8RX#smsuccess  (I vote for Nonprofit Doesn’t Mean Breakeven!)

By the way, sending out this tweet enters you into a separate contest for a summit ticket.

2.)  Send an email message to Chris (chris@omig.com) and Michael (mike@writingwhitepapers.com) and copy me (crystal@nonprofitdoesntmeanbreakeven.com).  In this email message, explain why your nonprofit organization needs this ticket and how prepared you are to actually implement the knowledge gained.  You also have to mention that you would like Crystal Thies and her blog, Nonprofit Doesn’t Mean Breakeven, to win the Social Media Success Summit grand prize.  Please include the link to my blog too: http://nonprofitdoesntmeanbreakeven.com.

Although I have not yet asked them, I would love for Chris and Michael to choose the winner based on who they think is most ready to capitalize on the opportunity and the impact it would have on their organization (we’ll cross that bridge when we get there).  I know they’re both super busy, so if they pass on this honor – assuming that they first pick me as a winner! – I’ll choose a nonprofit based on the same criteria.

They are picking the winner on May 22nd, so you have to act quickly!

One last thing…if your nonprofit organization has its own blog, you can enter to win the whole shebang yourself.  The contest details are on Chris’ blog at http://chrisg.com.

Good Luck!

The financial outlook for nonprofit organizations over the next 12 months is not good.  Foundations and endowments have lost 20%-40% of their value causing decreases in grants and investment income.  Additionally, individuals are cutting discretionary spending and donations, which means decreased event attendees and individual gifts.  Nonprofits that are able to maintain their funding levels will be doing really well.

However, there will be some nonprofits that really shine; that come out of the crisis in a better position.  How is that, you ask?  First and foremost, they are accepting the situation for what it is and focusing on what they can control.  They are not operating in a state of shock and scrambling for every penny no matter what the cost.  More than ever, fundraisers have to work smarter and focus on the ROI (return on investment) of their fundraising activities.

The organizations that will be successful are currently involved in an indepth evaluation of their programs and operations.  They are eliminating programs and activities that are not related to their mission, that are not producing results, and that do not strengthen the organization.  Smart nonprofits are really prioritizing to make sure that their resources are directed to the programs that matter the most.  They are looking for efficiencies and reviewing processes to streamline their operations and maximize their resources.  They will emerge from the crisis leaner, meaner and ready to take off when things turn around.

The smart nonprofit is also capitalizing on positive public relations and stewardship.  They are sharing their success stories and demonstrating the value their organization brings to the community.  People want to see rays of light through the gloom.  If you are able to make your organization shine through, you will really be noticed.  Smart nonprofits are also very focused on communicating with current donors and planting seeds for future donors.  They are building their “followers” without alienating them because they can’t give now.  By using low cost methods like online communities and volunteer programs, they are able to get new people connected and strengthen existing connections.  When the economy loosens up, they will be primed and ready to donate.

Nonprofit organizations that focus on controlling what they can, making the most of what they can’t and seizing the new opportunities that present themselves, will emerge from this economic crisis stronger and better positioned than when they went in.  It’s not necessarily going to be easy or fun, but it can be done.

1. The first thing you have to do is learn what options are out there and pick one or two to get started.  If you don’t have strong IT staff, look for a volunteer or Board member who has knowledge in this area or who can connect you with someone who can.  Ideally, you want to choose solutions that can tie your donors and volunteers to your mission and those you serve.  For example, if your mission is to empower women and your programs are targeted towards women working on their GED and to established professionals learning advanced leadership techniques, create a blog that deals with issues pertinent to the entire constituency.  Then set up a community or group that allows them to communicate and discuss those topics.  The more your (potential) donors  have first hand knowledge and participation in the mission, the easier it will be to persuade them to make donations.
2. You have to provide compelling content.  Often, nonprofits only use enewsletters, blogs, and social media postings to advertise events and ask for money.  If this is what your nonprofit is doing, you are likely causing people to tune out and are possibly causing negative reactions.  It is very easy to create donor fatigue if all of your communications are around “asking” for some type of support.  Remember, Web 2.0 is a two-way street and you have to give your supporters a reason to come back.
3. Managing social media and virtual marketing can be very time consuming and cannot fall on only one staff member’s shoulders.  Set up a rotation for staff members to make status updates on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.  Asking a staff member to come up with two 140 character status updates a few times a month isn’t much and it’s an easy way to keep your content changing and your organization in front of your followers.  If you have a blog, you can also rotate the responsibility of writing the blog.  If your staff is still stretched too thin, consider hiring a Virtual Buzz Assistant.  This is a relatively inexpensive way to get the job done without adding staff.
4. Lastly, your blog and website could be generating revenue by using affiliate programs such as Amazon or eBay.  When people click through your website and purchase items from the affiliate’s site, your organization earns a commission.  By recommending products that tie into your mission and the subject matter of your blog posts, your followers won’t feel as if they are being “advertised” to.  Also, if your followers are aware that the organization receives funds when they click through your website, they may visit your site and click through for other purchases they would have made anyway.  Not only do you get the revenue, but you keep them coming back!  If you’re uncomfortable using affiliate programs directly on your website or blog, consider setting up a Squidoo lens on a topic that is mission related and you can generate affiliate revenue in a less noticeable manner.  With Squidoo, you can even encourage your supporters to create their own lenses on any topic and have the revenue donated to your organization.

I’ll be going into more detail on these topics in future posts.  If you have a strong need for me to cover one of these topics sooner rather than later, please leave a comment in that regard and I’ll focus next on the greatest need/interest.  If you’re interested in working with a Virtual Buzz Assistant, please contact me directly and I can give you more information.

‘Til next time!