Sharing Lessons from Elmo, Obama, Cute Puppies and American Red Cross

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Justin Brady

By now you know the importance of your organization having a lively social media presence. Ultimately, however we know that social media is most powerful when individuals share messages on behalf of organizations. For Gen X and Y sharing comes natural – after all we grew up with Elmo and Big Bird insisting upon it. Now is the time for nonprofits to start encouraging supporters to become ambassadors for you by creating and sharing messages and images about your cause.

Here are 3 steps to get social media enthusiasts to share:

Step 1. Create a Strategy

Recently, a re-election campaign office in Florida for President Obama posted this visual explaining how their staff and volunteers could use each social media channel (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.) for different purposes.

As more and more new social media channels arise, it’s important to have this level of clarity on the purpose of each and not to just use every channel the same way. While many organizations have given thought to what channels they want have a presence on, Obama’s campaign is a great example of taking it a step farther and strategically thinking through how supporters can have a presence on different channels for you.

2. Ask Supporters To Help

In our Millennial Donor & Engagement Research, we repeatedly hear from young volunteers that they are more than willing to help nonprofits, but often aren’t asked to. It’s time to start asking. Here are two easy ideas.

Create a landing page explaining some of the things supporters can share. We love how ASPCA asks supporters to use Facebook to help animals on their Get Involved page.
Consider creating volunteer positions such Social Media Ambassador, Blog Contributor, or Pinterest Curator to encourage enthusiastic posters. This opportunity will allow them to take ownership and responsibility of the task giving extra incentive to do it well.

3. Make Great Sharable Content

Continue posting great content on your own Facebook and Twitter pages for your supporters to share. American Red Cross is one of the best at providing a great mix of content. Here are 5 examples:

1. Fun Facts

2. Links to Informative Blog Posts

3. Questions That Encourage Commenting

4. Volunteer Thank You’s and Shout Outs!

5. Great Images

With visual sites like Pinterest on the rise and photos taking on a larger role on Facebook, creating sharable images will be just as important. Look for a blog post on this topic soon with some great examples and ideas to get you started.

Remember – sharing isn’t just for kids anymore!

Millennials Keep Their Friends Close, and Strangers Closer When It Comes to Big Purchases

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Admin

By Kari Saratovsky, Guest Blogger, KDS Strategies

Having grown up in a society where “never talk to strangers” was ingrained into the heads of Millennials from a very early age, it may be surprising to learn that today Millennials aren’t just talking to strangers, they are relying on their opinions even more than those of their friends, family and colleagues. This comes into play when making decisions about purchasing everything from cars and electronics to vacations and even insurance plans.

As companies and institutions try and make sense of a generation with 80 Million voices and a collective buying power of $200 Billion, a new study is making it’s way into boardrooms and advertising agencies across the country. And there are many reasons that nonprofits may also want to take note.

Bazaarvoice, in partnership with The Center for Generational Kinetics and Kelton Research, recently released survey findings which indicate that over 30% of Millenials will not make a big ticket purchase without first checking on what others had to say about it. What’s more, through User Generated Content (UGC), the study found that 51% of Millennials say that consumer opinions of complete strangers found on a company’s website carry more weight than what their friends and family have to say.

Continue reading “Millennials Keep Their Friends Close, and Strangers Closer When It Comes to Big Purchases” »

How Does Your Nonprofit Connect With Millennials?

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Justin Brady

This year Achieve and Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates are taking our Millennial Donor and Engagement Research to the next level. In January, over 6,500 Millennials completed our 3rd annual nationwide survey sharing their preferences to volunteer, donate and lead. In February for the first time we are asking nonprofits to share successes and challenges they have had engaging these young professionals.

We are looking for nonprofit professionals to share how Millennials (age 20-35) have impacted your organization. Do you have an actively involved young professional group? Has a change to your website or email communications started brining in younger donors? Is social media attracting more engaged volunteers and advocates? Answer a few quick questions about your Millennial outreach efforts then share your story to help other nonprofits learn from your success. Your stories will provide input into the 2012 Millennial Donor and Engagement Report to be released in June.

Take the Survey now: https://www.research.net/s/NonprofitMillennialImpact

Please share the survey to help us reach more Nonprofit professionals engaging Millennials.

Super Good Super Bowl Projects

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Justin Brady

Achieve has had an exciting month as we have watched the city of Indianapolis transform around us in preparation of the Super Bowl. And while we are excited about the big game, we are even more pumped about the cities efforts to leverage philanthropy to create lasting change beyond the big game. We thought we would share a few you of the super things happening off the field.

The Legacy Project

In the past, the NFL has provided each Super Bowl host city with $1 million to be matched locally to renovate, expand or build a youth center to be a lasting legacy of the impact the big game has on the community. Rather than a single building or project, Indianapolis’ Super Bowl legacy project decided to leverage the momentum to raise funding to revitalize an entire section of the city-21 neighborhoods known as the “Near Eastside.” Through public and private funding, over $154 million has been invested into the neighborhood through building a community center, housing redevelopment and economic development projects. Learn More.

1^st & Green

The 1st & Green Challenge encourages participants to log everyday actions that add up to a big difference. Through the interactive website participants can track how much water and carbon is being saved leading up to the Super Bowl and learn about environment organizations in Indiana. In addition, our client Keep Indianapolis Beautiful raised funding to plant 2012 trees in Indianapolis! Learn More.

46 x 46 Murals

One of the most visible changes to the city has been the addition of 46 huge and colorful murals commissioned by local and national artists all over town. This has been a huge investment in public art that will make the city more vibrant long after the Super Bowl ends. Learn more.

Check out more inspiring projects by the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee.

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