See What’s Out There

Many many nonprofits have videos on YouTube. Along with everyone else, nonprofits see the possibilities of using YouTube as both free video hosting, and as a social network, capable of reaching supporters and potential supporters alike.

Now YouTube, which is owned by Google, has formalized their relationship with nonprofits by creating a YouTube nonprofit program, in the spirit of programs Google has recently launched for nonprofits. (Here’s the best Google program for nonprofits. Here’s the second best Google program for nonprofits. You should be using both.)

Here’s what YouTube is saying:

Does your organization have a compelling story to tell? Do you want to connect with your supporters, volunteers, and donors but don’t have the funds to launch expensive outreach campaigns?

YouTube can help. Video is a powerful way to show your organization’s impact and needs, and with a designated “Nonprofit” channel on YouTube, you can deliver your message to the world’s largest online video community.

Your Nonprofit channel includes:

* Premium branding capabilities and increased uploading capacity
* Rotation of your videos in the “Promoted Videos” areas throughout the site
* The option to drive fundraising through a Google Checkout “Donate” button

If you’re a nonprofit organization in the U.S. with 501(c)(3) tax status, apply today for the YouTube Nonprofit Program.

This is a no-brainer. Every organization should apply, just as every organization needs to be creating a lot more video. We will see how much YouTube will rotate nonprofit videos in their feature lists and what the criteria will be for them to do so. We will also see whether it has an appreciable impact. My guess is that those who are already developing their social media marketing and video programs will benefit the most from this, because nothing will replace quality engaging content or good marketing programs - not all of which are that expensive.

A nice added bonus here is that the first 300 nonprofits that apply get (got?) a PureDigital Flip Video recorder. I have been using one for a couple months now and have been meaning to write more about it. It’s a nice gift ($120 or $79 retail depending on the capacity).

So, way to go YouTube. Google is still trying not to be evil and lets hope they keep it up.

One of the things we know about email fundraising and advocacy is that requests that are timely are more likely to result in gifts. For example, if legislation is being voted on today and I get an email today asking me to call my Senator, I am more likely to do it than if I received the request two weeks earlier. In fundraising, if I am told that we have 36 hours to meet a deadline so that food aid can be delivered with the next convoy — this is a compelling ask.

I have noticed recently the added idea of speaking to me like I am an insider. I am seeing this mostly in political fundraising. I got a note from Barak Obama last week. Have a look:

I’m just now leaving New York, and you’ve got me fired up. Nearly 25,000 people came together last night for the rally.

Here’s the video:

I’m inspired by your continued energy and support. But we’re still shy of our goal of 500,000 donations to the campaign by Sunday’s deadline.

Make an additional donation now and help us get there:

https://donate.barackobama.com/promise

More soon,

Barack

Paid for by Obama for America
This email was sent to: michael@see3.net

To unsubscribe, go to: http://my.barackobama.com/unsubscribe

The subject of the email above was “Hey.” Hey? As in, “Hey, I just wanted to fire off a quick note to my buddy.” The signature was the uber-personal “Barack”. Yeah, we go way back.

The next day I got an email from Michelle Obama with the subject line “re:Hey” It’s like we’re all friends on a normal chain of emails.

Today, I received an email from Rahm Emanuel at the DCCC.

Hi Michael,

I know it’s Sunday so I don’t want to take up much of your time. You know me, I like to speak frankly.

Here’s the reality check: This election is far from in the bag. There are 60 Democrats sitting in seats that Bush carried in 2004 and there are eight Republicans sitting in Democratic seats. We have a lot of seats to protect and an historic opportunity to expand the playing field. The resources we have now will determine whether or not we win next November.

The FEC end of quarter deadline is MIDNIGHT TONIGHT and the DCCC is just $38,000 shy of its goal. House Dems are matching every gift until midnight tonight so please give what you can before this critical deadline.

http://www.dccc.org/r/99581/3018530/

On to Victory,

Rahm
Sent Wirelessly Via Blackberry

I like the urgency. We have hours to go and we need your help. But “Sent Wirelessly Via Blackberry”???? Yeah, sure. I wonder how my good buddy Rahm got all of this far at the bottom of the email:

To unsubscribe from this email list, please paste this URL into your browser:
http://www.dccc.org/unsubscribe/?p=MTQxNCwzMDE4NTMw%0A

To make sure you always get our emails add dccc@dccc.org to your address book. Find out more about adding us to your address book here.
http://www.dccc.org/r/99582/3018530/

Paid for by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
430 South Capitol Street, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003
(202) 863-1500 www.dccc.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Contributions to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee are not tax deductible.

That’s a lot of Blackberry typing for him to remember.

Yes, friendly and urgent work. But maybe sometimes you need to give your audience a more little credit.

I recently wrote about matching fundraising campaigns where one donor agrees to match the contributions of a set of additional donors, up to a certain amount. A twist on this is a kind of contest with a big payoff for the organization at the end.

An example of that from a few months back was when Beth Kanter orchestrated winning Yahoo! and Network For Good’s charity badge fundraising competition on behalf of the Sharing Foundation. To the tune of $100,000.

The Ploughshares Fund has launched a similar contest with a twist. For the Yahoo!/Network for Good contest the winner was the one who raised the most money using a charity badge (a kind of simple widget) distributed on sites across the net.

The Ploughshares Fund has launched something called the Peace Primary. It is a kind of online popularity contest/election. But you can’t just vote. You have to pay $1 per vote (minimum 10) and those dollars go to the organization. So its a combination contest/fundraiser. Nice!

Here’s their FAQ. Go to the Peace Primary to vote.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How many groups can I vote for?

You can vote for as many organizations as you like. In fact, voting for multiple groups is strongly encouraged.

How many times can I vote?

Each vote costs $1. For each group you select, there is a 10-vote minimum and a 1,000 vote maximum.

Where does the money go?

Every dollar you contribute with each vote goes directly to the group you are voting for. All donations are completely tax-deductible.

I don’t know if I like the idea of money for votes.

Neither do we in actual elections, but in the Peace Primary nobody loses — every dollar raised goes directly to the the participating groups to support their efforts to raise the profile of peace issues in the coming months. There are also strict spending limits in the Peace Primary — no more than $1,000 per voter per group — to maximize every group’s chances of winning. And, unlike real-world elections, voters are allowed and even encouraged to vote for as many groups as they want.

When can I vote?

You can vote any time between September 1 and October 31, 2007.

How will the winner be chosen?

The group that receives the most votes will receive a one-time grant of $100,000 from the Ploughshares Fund, a public grantmaking foundation that supports the smartest people with the best ideas for preventing the spread and use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and identifying new ways to prevent armed conflict.

How were the participating groups chosen?

The Ploughshares Fund submitted a list of organizations to an all-star panel of leaders (see above) from across the peace and security community, and that panel voted for the 12 finalists. The panel was chaired by actor Martin Sheen and also included writer, commentator and religious scholar Reza Aslan, a member of Ploughshares Fund’s Board of Directors; the Reverend Dr. Joan Brown Campbell of the Chautauqua Institute; Bonnie Jenkins, program officer at the Ford Foundation; former Congressman Paul N. (Pete) McCloskey (R-CA); author Jonathan Schell; Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor-in-chief of The Nation, and Ploughshares Fund Executive Director Naila Bolus.

What criteria were used to nominate the groups?

We looked for organizations that represent a wide range of approaches to peace and human security; that have a commitment to action and policy advocacy; that have a base of grassroots support and a national or broad regional constituency; that have the capacity for online communication and outreach to constituents; and that have a record of making an impact.

What the Orthodox Jewish sect can teach us about how to use Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and the emerging social web.

It would seem that the ultra-orthodox Chabad Lubavitch have little in common with your nonprofit. Whether you are a direct service provider, an international relief agency, an advocacy group or a trade association, you probably couldn’t imagine what a bunch of black-suited, black-hatted ultra-religious Jews could teach you about outreach, marketing and fundraising. And it seems far fetched to imagine that they have something to say about social networking and internet strategy, in all of its universalistic narcissistic decadence.

But alas, they have a lot to teach us.

I don’t know what you know, if anything, about the Chabad-Lubavitch, so first, a little background. Here I am going to quote extensively from the Wikipedia article on Lubavitch.

Chabad-Lubavitch (also known as Chabad, Habad or Lubavitch), is one of the largest branches of Hasidic Judaism and one of the largest Jewish movements worldwide, especially in the United States, the Former Soviet Union, Europe and Israel. Chabad (חב”ד ) is a Hebrew acronym for “חכמה Chochmah, בינה Binah, דעת Da’at” (”Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge“). Lubavitch, taken from the Russian Любавичи, Lyubavichi, is the name of the town that served as the movement’s headquarters for over a century. In 1993 there were over 200,000 adherents to the movement some estimate today that there are over a million.

OK, so we have this Jewish sect with maybe a million members. If you live in New York, or a college town, you have probably seen some Chabaniks around town. They look like this.

(photo by Mordechai Der Yid)

Chabad, unlike other ultra-Orthodox Jewish sects, don’t keep to themselves. They have it in their DNA to go out into the world and, with incredible passion, reach out to every Jew they can.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson spurred on the movement to what has become known as shlichus (”being emissaries [performing outreach]”) after becoming Rebbe in 1950-1951. As a result, Chabad shluchim (”emissaries”, sing. shliach) have moved all over the world with the stated mission of helping all Jews, regardless of denomination or affiliation. They assist Jews with all their religious needs, as well as with physical assistance and spiritual guidance and teaching. The ultimate goal is to encourage Jews to learn more about their Jewish heritage and to practice Judaism.

The movement, motivated by Rabbi Schneerson, trained and ordained thousands of rabbis, educators, ritual slaughterers, and ritual circumcisers, who are then accompanied by their spouses to many locations around the world. Typically a young Lubavitch rabbi and his wife, in their early twenties, with one or two children, will move to a new location, and as they settle in will raise a large family who as a family unit, will aim to fulfill their mandate of bringing Jewish people closer to Orthodox Judaism and encouraging gentiles to adhere to the Seven Laws of Noah. They will carefully seek out and search for and recruit Jews they have identified and contact them and start the process of encouraging them to observe Judaism, encourage Jews to strengthen their commitment to Judaism. All over the world Lubavitchers (including those not formally in the position of emissaries) assist and support the religious needs of tens of thousands of Jews.

Chabad Houses

Chabad today has centers around the world. Centers are called a Chabad Houses. They are Jewish community centers providing educational and outreach activities for the Jewish community. Level of observance is irrelevant; no minimal level of observance is a requirement for using facilities. The centers are informal in setup. They primarily serve both educational and observance purposes. Effort is made to provide an atmosphere in which the nonobservant will not feel intimidated by any perceived contrast between their lack of knowledge of Jewish practice and the advanced knowledge of some of the people they meet there.

Mitzvah campaigns

Chabad aims to attract non-Orthodox Jews to become Orthodox, and believes this is part of the process of bringing the Messiah. This practice is called “mivtzoim” - meaning “campaigns” or “endeavors.” At one time, Schneerson issued a call to every Jew: “Even if you are not fully committed to a Torah life, do something. Begin with a mitzvah - any mitzvah - its value will not be diminished by the fact that there are others which you are not prepared to do”. Schneerson also suggested ten specific mitzvot that he believed were ideally suited for the emissaries to introduce to non-observant Jews. These were: lighting candles before Shabbat and the Jewish holidays by Jewish women; putting on tefillin; affixing a mezuzah; regular Torah study; giving charity; purchasing Jewish books; keeping kosher; kindness to others; Jewish education, and keeping the family purity laws.

Camps

Chabad has set up an extensive network of camps around the world, most using the name Gan Israel, a name chosen by Rabbi Schneerson for the first overnight camp. There are 1,200 sites serving 210,000 children—most of whom do not come from Orthodox homes. Of these, 500 camps are in the United States.

Campus

In recent years Chabad has greatly expanded its reach on university and college campuses. Chabad Student Centers are active on over 100 campuses, and Chabad offers varied activities at an additional 150 universities worldwide. Professor Alan Dershowitz has said that “Chabad’s presence on college campuses today is absolutely crucial”, and “We cannot rest until Chabad is on every major college campus in the world”.

So what we have here is a group that is mission driven. They have created a vast network of people able to carry their message out to the world. And they are investing in young kids and college kids.

I must mention that the Chabad are not without controversy. Rav Eliezer Shach, who was the patriarch of some of the largest ultra-orthodox communities around the world acerbically called Chabad the “sect closest to Judaism” because of the movement within Chabad to proclaim their late Rabbi Schnerson the messiah.

In addition Chabad has been active in the right-wing of Israeli politics, while at the same time taking a non-Zionist stance (meaning the modern State of Israel is not a theologically consistent phenomenon and that “the only thing that unites Jews is the Torah, not a secular state that happens to be planted on holy land.”

And while I have a serious problem with both of those issues, there is no arguing with their success in building communities of active supporters all over the world. There is no arguing with their success in getting secular Jews to take on some aspects of Jewish observance (a high priority among those who believe intermarriage and assimilation are the biggest threats to Jewish continuity). There is no arguing with their success in getting high-net-worth individuals to part with their money. And there is no arguing with their success in getting people who don’t even believe in their world view to support them every year with donations large and small.

And don’t think that they have this massive centralized fundraising machine that makes it all happen. More from Wikipedia:

Fundraising

Funds for activities of a Chabad center rely entirely on the local community. Chabad centers do not receive funding from Lubavitch headquarters. For the day to day operations, local emissaries do all the fundraising by themselves. The monies fundraised in the local community is invested in that local community. The emissary takes a minimum salary and seldom goes on vacation. Sue Fishcoff writes, “Emissaries in the field may sink millions of dollars into their center, synagogues and Mikvahs, but their own homes are modest, again patterned after their Rebbe’s lack of personal ostentation.”

So how have they done it? How have they been able to get people who will never adopt their lifestyle or world view to support them financially? How are they able to send ultra-Orthodox rabbis to places like Boise, Idaho and expect – know – that they will make it somehow? How are they able to bring non-religious Jews into their synagogues and to their events when their world view and lifestyle is so foreign? And finally, what can their success teach us about fundraising generally and online social networks specifically?

A Theory of Acceptance – Or At Least Tolerance

If I went into a typical Orthodox synagogue in a t-shirt and jeans during the Sabbath service, I would likely have someone ask me to leave. They would tell me that, while they mean no offense, that my clothes are not appropriate for the day or the place and that I am welcome to return in more appropriate attire. If I walk in to a Chabad synagogue on the Sabbath in a t-shirt and jeans I am likely to be given an Aliah – a special honor when you are called to participate in the Torah service. From the Chabad perspective, the one who doesn’t know enough to wear the right clothes is just the person who needs to be brought in and cultivated, not turned away.

Another example. Most Orthodox synagogues close off their parking lots on the Sabbath. Why? You are not allowed to drive on the Sabbath according to Orthodox rules, so having the parking lot open is an tacit invitation to drive, an invitation to break the Sabbath. Makes sense, no? While the Lubavitch take their Sabbath observance very seriously, their parking lots are open and they won’t tell you not to drive. If you drive, drive. Just come.

When Conservative or Orthodox synagogues have group Friday night meals (the beginning of the Sabbath), the evening will include rubber chicken that you most likely had to pay $35 (in advance) to get in the first place. In a Chabad House, you will often get a more elaborate and home-cooked meal (usually prepared by the Rabbi’s wife) and a side order of rousing singing and flowing alcohol. It’s a lot of fun. In fact, the feelings of camaraderie are infectious. No one will ever be made to feel that they are bad or wrong for not taking the Lubavitch path. And no one will ever be asked to pay!

In these three examples we get the core of Lubavitch success that I will try to distill into a few principles:

· Show acceptance and understanding for where people come from
· Never make people feel bad about what they don’t know
· Make them feel welcome in your space
· Teach them by first by example and only explicitly when they ask
· Give them small, non-threatening steps to advance their connection

The most secular person in the world can have a terrific time at a Lubavitch event or even attend their services on a regular basis. They can enjoy speaking to a rabbi whose life is light-years removed from the secular world. And they routinely go out and tell anyone who will listen about the amazing soul that accepts the visitor and gives of themselves without asking for anything in return. That’s magic. Imagine people talking about your organization like that!

Taking the Lessons to Our Fundraising

The lesson I take away from their success for organizational fundraising is that guilt is a losing long-term strategy. Yes, it can work in the short-term. But instead of making me feel bad about what I haven’t done or what I need to do, make me feel good about what you are doing. Inspire me with your dedication. Allow me to participate in a small way, but don’t treat me like a small person for it. Cultivate those who take the first step as if they can become the biggest donor you have and make them feel important for whatever it is they have chosen to do.

The number of organizations that use guilt is staggering. It’s an easy strategy to implement and we see it a lot in direct mail. I recently received a mailing with a nickel in it. “Don’t let this nickel go to waste” they begged me. The same is true with mailing labels. Here are these things with your name on it and you will surely feel guilty is you use them and don’t pay us. This is not how you create deep connections and long-term supporters. (Here is an article in Fundraising Success Magazine that looked at and ranked emotional motivators for fundraising. Guilt was near the end of the list.)

Another lesson that organizations can take from the Lubavitch is in having people on board who are passionate about what they do. Now I don’t expect that most organizations can get to the level of passion of the Lubavitch. These folks believe that their lives, all of our lives, and the future of the universe is at stake. That’s strong motivation and most people who work at your nonprofit won’t come with that level of dedication. But if you are choosing between two employees and one is deeply passionate about your mission and the other one, though more qualified, is seeing it as just another job, pick for passion. (You can see this dedication at work in many organizations. I am seeing it more and more with environmental group staff who are genuinely scared for our collective future and energized by the change that is possible. You can see this dedication in the staff of the New Israel Fund — those in Israel in particular — where I was once a fundraiser. The Israel staff wants desperately to live in a democratic Israel and so they live the change they want to see every day.)

Lessons for Social Networks

The reason I wrote this post was because of a eureka moment I had in connecting the Lubavitch success with social networking. I had this moment last week when I was in Manhattan and I passed the Chabad Mitzvah Tank in Midtown. I had my handy-dandy video camera with me, so you can see:

(I have to pause thank Beka Economopoulos here for planting the seeds of this idea. Beka works for Greenpeace. I saw her speak at the Yearly Kos conference and then suggested that we at See3 invite her to co-present with us at the Craigslist Foundation Nonprofit Boot Camp in New York a couple weeks ago. Beka runs the Greenpeace online organizing program and has seen some amazing success with it and we are grateful for her participation with us in what turned out to be a terrific and well-attended session.)

The average organization, if they have a social network strategy at all, think of social networks as a way to meet people, with the goal of then convincing those people to give the organization their email address, go to their donation link or otherwise become members/donors/activists of the organization in the same way everyone else is. Meaning, they will get the same emails, see the same website, and take the same path to further activity as other prospects. They are using the social networks to meet people, but only see their outreach as successful if they can get those people to do what everyone else is doing.

Part of the problem here is that organizational management hasn’t yet internalized social networking metrics. For Greenpeace, those 68,000 friends on MySpace are just like 68,000 email addresses. For most organizations that would not be true. You are looking at email opens and average gifts from your online donations and these metrics are not really reflective of the potential you have in social networking. (Allan Benamer, a big believer in these tools, writes about this problem on his blog. You should also be reading Beth Kanter and Ruby Sinreich on these subjects.)

Now think of the Lubavitch philosophy. You are a MySpace person. You are comfortable on MySpace. I build a MySpace page to show you I can speak your language. This is where you live. Acceptance means I have to stop trying to get you to leave. Acceptance means creating things you can do right there on MySpace. Acceptance means treating my ability to message you on MySpace the same as if you are on my email list – without forcing you to change.

When you start to care enough you might come on over to our site. When you are impressed with how we “walk the walk” you might get out of your comfort zone by doing something offline. I am not going to force you to change. I am not going to limit your access or the information you can get because you live this “alternative lifestyle”. I am going to respect you for who you are! (Or at least I am going to pretend to.)

All of this is connected to the permission-based marketing society we are in today. Top down advertising is working less and less. Word-of-mouth is more important than ever.

Showing people what you do and why it matters is critical to capture people’s attention. Getting your supporters to recruit others is becoming a central strategy. Your content and your passion are what will carry the day and bring people to your cause. Social media marketing is not about tricks or techniques as much as it is about finding your authentic voice and inviting people to share in your passion at the level they are most comfortable in the venue of their choosing.

[The irony of all of this is that Chabad-Lubavitch does everything wrong on their own MySpace page, which I assume is run by one person in a decentralized way. They don’t follow their own script for offline engagement, which would also bring them online success. On MySpace they seem insular, political and shrill – everything they don’t seem in person.]

In Sum

Be passionate in your work and be grateful to those who come and take interest – at every level. Meet people where they are without judgment or condescension. Make your programs and your content accessible to those who come from a different place than you do. This philosophy is the core of what you need to be successful in social networking strategy.

Tell me how you do or don’t apply these principles to your own online and offline marketing by leaving a comment.

I wrote recently about the Johnson & Johnson lawsuit against the Red Cross. Basically, J&J has rights to use the red cross symbol to sell their medical products. The Red Cross is now using the symbol now to sell third-party products, many of which compete directly with J&J’s products. J&J files a lawsuit.

The point of my previous post was that for J&J to file the lawsuit means the Red Cross must have pushed them very far on this issue — and what does selling stuff have to do with their mission anyway? First aid kits I get. Red Cross is all about first aid and preparedness. But the products they are selling “include humidifiers, medical examination gloves, nail clippers, combs and toothbrushes.” A little off-mission I think. (Seth Godin agreed with me here.)

The Red Cross just responded to the suit with some claims of their own:

American Red Cross Files Response to J&J Lawsuit

Sets the Record Straight on Use of the Red Cross Emblem: Raises Counterclaims, Requests Dismissal of Certain Claims

National Headquarters
2025 E Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
www.redcross.org

Contact: Carrie Martin
Phone: (202) 303-4459

WASHINGTON, Thursday, September 20, 2007 — In its legal response to Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) recent lawsuit, the American Red Cross said today that Congress and the Federal government have long recognized the right of the charity to use the Red Cross emblem on products sold to support its mission. It requested a dismissal of several counts on legal grounds. In addition, the Red Cross filed counterclaims to the J&J lawsuit, accusing the for-profit pharmaceutical company of improperly using the Red Cross emblem.

“Johnson & Johnson’s lawsuit is wrong on the facts and on the law,” said Mark W. Everson, President and CEO of the American Red Cross. “For more than a hundred years, in keeping with our Congressional charter, the Red Cross has used its own emblem to support its health, safety and preparedness mission. We will vigorously defend our right to provide the American people with products and services that advance this mission,” said Everson.

In papers today filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Red Cross makes clear that:

* Congress has given the Red Cross, through its charter, explicit rights to use the Red Cross emblem for the “purpose of trade or as an advertisement to induce the sale of any article whatsoever for any business or charitable purpose.”
* In 1978, the Justice Department, calling the American Red Cross an “instrumentality of the United States,” recognized the right of the Red Cross to use its emblem in arrangements with other entities, such as those attacked by J&J.
* Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross, registered the trademark nine years before J&J did.
* Congress specifically intended for the Red Cross to have wide-ranging use of the Red Cross emblem, in support of its humanitarian, preparedness and health and safety-related mission.
* During World War II, J&J approached Congress asking it to limit the Red Cross’s use of its own emblem: Congress refused.

The Red Cross response also contends that J&J has worked to expand its use of a red cross symbol beyond its grandfathered rights, at the expense of the Red Cross and its mission.

* Congress “grandfathered” J&J’s use of the red cross symbol – placing very specific, narrow restrictions on what the for-profit company could do.
* Today, J&J uses the Red Cross emblem beyond their “grandfathered” rights.

“While it’s unfortunate that the issue has reached this point, we have an obligation – on behalf of our chapters, blood donation operations, and hundreds of thousands of volunteers – to protect the proper use of the Red Cross emblem,” Everson continued. “Red Cross chapters across this country and Red Cross societies overseas have encouraged us to defend the Red Cross against this unjustified attack.”

The Red Cross is charged with the mission of helping Americans prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters and emergencies. One way the Red Cross advances this mission is by providing first aid, health, safety and emergency preparedness products that people can conveniently purchase at places where they regularly shop. The Red Cross invests the proceeds from the sale of these products into fulfilling its humanitarian mission.

The J&J lawsuit comes as local Red Cross chapters are busy with National Preparedness Month. Research shows only 7 percent of Americans have taken the necessary steps to prepare for disasters, but that 82 percent would get prepared if it was easier to do. Red Cross items such as those that are the subject of the J&J lawsuit help families take the necessary steps to Be Red Cross Ready: to get a kit, make a plan and be informed.

It seems like everyone these days is talking about how nonprofits need to use more video, especially online. To all of these people, I say “Welcome!” We founded See3 and DoGooderTV to be THE video people for nonprofits and so it is very nice indeed to see our colleagues starting to beat the same drum.

Our friend Alia McKee from Sea Change Strategies wrote a blog post about nonprofits using video and gave some great examples. We worked with Alia when she was at Donordigital on videos with Amnesty International.

The latest nonprofit consultant/professional talking about video was Tom Belford from The Agitator blog.

“As I’ve written before, I think it is crucial for nonprofits to master this medium for conducting your fundraising, advocacy and educational efforts,” Tom writes.

He then shows some stats from comScore:

* Over 133 million Americans watched online video in July — or 74% of US internet users.
* They watched more than 9 billion videos, 27% of them on Google sites (mostly YouTube).
* More than one-in-three (37%) US internet users viewed video on YouTube.
* Online viewers watched an average of more than 3 hours of online video during the month, with an average video duration of 2.7 minutes.
* The average viewer consumed 68 videos, or more than two per day.

So while we don’t yet have all the metrics we need to show that video will actually improve/increase fundraising online, we know that this is the content people are gravitating towards. You don’t have to have more metrics to understand that in order to capture and keep the attention of you target audience that you have to have good, compelling visual stories. And now we know, online video is the best way to do that.

Why should I donate? Yes, you do good work. Yes, I care about these issues. OK, you got me. I will donate. But not now. When I get around to it. (Which might not actually happen any time soon.)

I think this is a common subconscious set of thoughts from donors. I will get to it. I made that pledge, but I didn’t return the envelope. Not because I didn’t intend to do it, but because it’s not URGENT. Creating urgency is an important part of fundraising. OK, I get you do good work. But why is it important that I donate now. Right now. Why not tomorrow? Why not next month?

One way to solve the urgency issue is to use a matching program. A typical match program will get a high-net-worth donor to conditionally pledge some money, say, $75,000. They will pay the pledge if you can get another $75,000 to match it. Often this is a nice way to up a gift from a major donor as well as getting your base excited. I was thinking about this recently because I saw two case studies for running matching gift programs online.

The first is from the American Jewish World Service (AJWS). They sent out an email about a week ago to their list saying that a family foundation has agreed to provide $75,000 if the amount could be matched. In about two days the $75,000 came in online. Here’s the amazing thing… a lot more money came in phone calls! “I just got this email about the matching and I want to donate.” So they were over their goal. (Don’t forget, if you get calls or letters that reference an online campaign, the online campaign needs to be credited for those gifts in your database so you can accurately measure the impact of the campaign.)

Within a couple days, the whole experience got someone else excited about the matching possibilities and I got this email from Ruth Messinger, the head of AJWS:

Dear Michael,

During these Days of Awe I am particularly grateful for your ongoing commitment to AJWS.

Last week I shared the news that, in the spirit of the High Holy Days, a family foundation agreed to match your contributions up to $75,000.

I am so pleased that, thanks to an outpouring of support, we have met the match.

However, the generosity of our supporters did not stop there. After hearing of the success of the first match, an anonymous donor came forward and offered an additional $100,000 in match funds!

This is the first time in AJWS history that we have been able to extend such a generous offer to our supporters, so please, help us reach our new goal of $175,000 by making a donation today.

With the ongoing help of the AJWS community, we are confronting some of the world’s most difficult challenges. We support the world’s most vulnerable people - where the need is greatest - in communities that have not been reached and not been served by others.

So please, don’t miss this special opportunity to contribute today - your donation will go twice as far and will help AJWS raise up to $350,000 for our critical work around the world!

Thank you for your commitment to global social justice and support of AJWS. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life.

Warm regards,

Ruth Messinger
President, American Jewish World Service

The second case study is from the Obama campaign. What’s interesting about their approach is the idea of matching real people to each other to create a kind of virtuous circle of leveraged gifts. The Obama people are combining the urgency of the match with the idea of creating community, which has been a lot of what their campaign is about. And they also throw in here a little “prove to me that you’re a man” kind of stuff for added punch (which is the part I don’t really like because I think it dilutes the power of the community sell.) Have a look:

Dear Michael,

Somebody out there believes that you’re ready to own a piece of this campaign.

A fellow supporter has promised that if you make a donation right now, they will match what you give.

So take the next step.

Prove to them that they were right to put their faith in you. Make a donation now and double your impact:

https://donate.barackobama.com/match

This isn’t an anonymous donor program backed by big checks from Washington lobbyists or corporate fat cats. This is a one-to-one, supporter-to-supporter effort.

If you make a donation, you’ll be matched up with a real person — another supporter who has put their faith in you. And you’ll be able to read a note from them and send a response.

Here’s how it works:

You choose the amount you’re willing to give — it will be doubled by someone willing to match that amount

You’ll see the name and town of the fellow Obama supporter who agreed to double your donation

You’ll be able to write a note to the person who matched you and let them know why you decided to own a piece of this campaign
https://donate.barackobama.com/match

Our movement is funded by actual people — individuals who are moved to give whatever they can afford, whether it’s five dollars or five hundred dollars.

Most campaigns do not realize the value of contributions from ordinary people — they are focused on the money that comes from Washington lobbyists and special interest groups.

But we reject the notion that lobbyists and PACs represent “real people,” and we’ve refused their money since this campaign began.

So it’s up to you.

Make a donation and show your support. Double your impact by giving today and being a part of our supporter match campaign:

https://donate.barackobama.com/match

According to the Campaign Finance Institute, we have raised more money in small dollar contributions than any major campaign in history.

If we keep building our movement this way, we have the potential to fundamentally reshape the political process.

We can end the days of lobbyists and political action committees paying for access and influence.

That’s why we’re so focused on bringing new donors into the campaign. For the next ten days you will write the history of this presidential election through your actions.

You have the opportunity to build the biggest grassroots campaign politics has ever seen.

Make a donation, connect with another supporter, and double your impact now:

https://donate.barackobama.com/match

Thanks for your support,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Matching programs can work. So if you haven’t tried it, you should. One rule of creating urgency is that you shouldn’t abuse it. You can’t tell people in every communication you have with them all the time that the sky is falling (even if it is!). If you say, “We need you to act today!” and you say it again next week, they will get burned out. They will begin to feel that they can never solve your problems, that you just take and take and no matter how much they give you are still in this crazy urgent situation. And if they feel that way, then your appeals start to make them feel guilty, and guilt is not a tricky tactic in fundraising. Most of the time people will avoid guilt-inducing situations.

If you have your own matching gift story, leave it in a comment here to share it with your nonprofit colleagues.

There is an assumption among our clients that the whole issue of online video and social media marketing is all about young people. While it is true that the younger generations tend to be early adopters of new technology, the internet has become a central part of communications and commerce for every demographic group.

In today’s New York Times there is a story about how the venture capital community is heavily backing social networking sites that are reaching out to baby boomers. “Facebook with wrinkles” they call it.

Social networking has so far focused mainly on businesspeople and young people because they are tech-savvy and are treasured by Madison Avenue.

But there are 78 million boomers — roughly three times the number of teenagers — and most of them are Internet users who learned computer skills in the workplace. Indeed, the number of Internet users who are older than 55 is roughly the same as those who are aged 18 to 34, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, a market research firm.

Last year, Nielsen/NetRatings did a study and found that a third of YouTube’s audience is over 45. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s only gone up in the past year.

An organizational investment into high quality and portable video messages, combined with an ongoing investment in social media marketing will pay off, increasingly across all the demographic segments of your supporters.

Yesterday I went with Danny and his dad Bernie to watch the Cubs beat the Cardinals. It is hard to not have fun at Wrigley Field. This was shot using my PureDigital Flip Video camera, which I will write more about soon.

I have been telling my loyal readers for almost two years now how video is really important for nonprofit organizations. People want to SEE your story. They want to HEAR from the people you serve and experience the work that you do. You can’t do that in a brochure or on a static website. With the growth of YouTube, DoGooderTV and other video sharing sites, people are used to seeing video content. If you are waiting for the right time, the right budget or the right moment to start developing and using more video, you are waiting too long.

In addition to what individuals are doing online, news sites like the New York Times, CNN, and Washington Post, have invested heavily in bringing video to the web. They know that people want to see and hear and experience. Online video is the juggernaut that can’t be stopped.

The trend in online video has corresponded to a trend in advertising. Advertising dollars are shifting from broad-based media (think TV ads) to more targeted and measurable advertising online. The 8000 lb. gorilla is Adwords, Google’s platform to match text ads to search terms and websites with relevant content. This one product makes up almost all of Google’s billions of revenue and has, by itself, thrown the entire advertising industry into turmoil.

Google just announced that they are are going to begin adding video ads into search results. What does this mean? It means if someone is looking for information about helping the homeless and a great organization has a terrific 30-second spot about how they are helping — they are going to get the mindshare that will lead to more supporters, more advocates and more donors. This is a big move by Google and it means organizations must be thinking how to create compelling media and RE-USE and RE-PURPOSE the video materials they already have into short, compelling videos for use online.

That is what we are pioneering at See3 and I am more excited than ever that we are able to take our clients’ stories and create fundraising and communications’ strategies online that will bring an increasing return on the dollars invested.