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Mobilizing Communities in a Connected Age:
Using New Tech Tools & Strategies for Impact
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Dial in to 866-740-1260, Access code: 7730388
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Motivation for this Project
How can nonprofits improve their use of new technology tools and strategies for social impact?
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Research Questions and Methodology
Research Questions:
• What are key characteristics, practices of successful orgs?
• What can funders do to better support nonprofits’ efforts?
Methodology:
• 16 nonprofit advocacy organizations – California, national– Grantees of Mitchell Kapor Foundation & ZeroDivide
• 2 non-grantees for benchmarks– Color of Change & CREDO Action
• Intensive interviews, reviewed websites, collateral material
• Full report at http://zerodivide.org/tech_advocacy
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Rubric for Evaluation
Emerging
Aspiring
Leading
Color of ChangeCREDO ActionElla Baker CenterGreen for AllNetroots NationVoto Latino
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I. What makes a Tech “Leading” organization?
Strategic use of technology across operational functions– Databases talk to one another– Tech integrated into business strategy– Organization embraces tech as a lever to improve org processes
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I. What makes a Tech “Leading” organization?
Strategic use of tech to engage different stakeholder groups, for development work, communications, and program
– Fosters a dialogue with different audiences– Segments constituents– Consistently uses analytics (A/B Testing)– At least one high-level Marketing/Communications expert on staff
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II. Success - It’s all about leadership
Nonprofit Leadership
Interest in technology
Understand tech as an “enabler”
Hire tech-savvy staff members
Single largest determinant = Leadership, not size or budget!
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Future Funding Projections
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How funders are investing in grantees’ tech use
• Technical assistance, trainings - one-offs, boot camp, weekly
• Operational functionality - website, CRM integration
• Program-related - funding social media component
• Cohort - tech capacity building, leadership dev, social media
• Staffing up - hiring online engagement director, etc.
• Innovation challenges - health monitoring app, asset building
• Gen Ops
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III. Recommendations to Funders
Pair fundingwith consulting
Fund tech forlong-term
Provide thoughtleadership
Fund tech for movementbuilding
Fund integratedCRM systems
Enable automatedperformanceevaluation
Build a communityof practice
Foster leadershipdevelopment
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GABRIEL REY-GOODLATTE & RAVEN BROOKS
Special Guests
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RAVEN BROOKSExecutive Director
Special Guest
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About Netroots Nation
• What is Netroots Nation?
• How is it different than many nonprofit organizations?
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Case Study: New Media at Netroots Nation
Quick usage examples with primary goal:– Mobile app - engage attendees– Video - engage non-attendees & potential supporters– Twitter - rapid response & assessment
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Learnings and recommendations
• Setting a strategy and goals is far more important than the tools and tactics
• Measurement and analytics
• The crucial role of leadership
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GABRIEL REY-GOODLATTECampaign Director
Special Guest
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Case Study: Breitbart / Huffington Post Campaign
• Pushed Huffington Post not to feature Breitbart’s column
• Traditional email petition campaign PLUS use of Twitter - took it to scale, beyond existing membership and signers
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Maximizing advantages of chosen tool’s functionality
Pass along – spread word, encouraged friends to sign Direct pressure on Huffington Post, in real time, didn’t
need to wait to deliver petitions Ability to quickly refine message - achieved swift victory
and changed suggested tweet to stop directing pressure at HuffPo, spread news of victory:
Victory! After 43k @ColorOfChange members speak out, @HuffingtonPost agrees not to run front-page @AndrewBreitbart http://wapo.st/gRGF9Q
Use of Twitter served several strategic purposes:
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Learnings: How we integrate social media
• Social media built into planning, execution of each campaign
• Each program staffer, not communications person, takes the lead on drafting social media content (across usual silos)
• Focus on unique properties and opps of social media tools vs. replicating old models using new tools
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Key take-aways
• Success is due to leadership fostering tech-fluent culture
• Tech integration across org: from ops to comms to program
• Systems to support day-to-day and seize opportunities: importance of planning and workflows
• Experimentation, analysis, re-implement
• Drive decisions based on org goals and strategies, not tools
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Conversation plus Questions and Answers
Unmute yourself via *7 and join the conversation!- Questions about the research and presentations?
- Do the findings sync with your experience?
- How are you investing in grantees’ tech use for impact?
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Thank you + Resources and Next Steps
Raven Brooks - @ravenb on Twitter
http://netrootsnation.org
Gabriel Rey-Goodlatte – [email protected]
http://colorofchange.org
ZeroDivide – [email protected], @FundingMedia
http://zerodivide.org/resources_1
The Mitchell Kapor Foundation
http://mkf.org
Mobilizing Communities in a Connected Age:
Using New Tech Tools & Strategies for Impact
Thursday, July 21, 2011
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