#FUNDRAISING: Impact Of Mobile Donations To Haiti Two Years On?
Two years ago this month, Haitians endured a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that destroyed much of the infrastructure in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed over 300,000 people. The outpouring of support from numerous nations inspired faith that rebuilding after the tragedy would bring notable improvements to the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.
Unfortunately, two years on, much of the news concerns not the rebuilding of the island nation but the challenge of simply finding where the promised money and resources went. Much of it simply has not shown up as countries have given less (some news sources state as much as half) than first promised. But of what has arrived has often been diverted to non-Haitian companies or to corrupt local officials who overcharge for minimal services.
And yet we also have the data to show how much non-governmental was raised ($43 million) and how.
Popularity: 1% | Category Case Study, Communications, Community, Crowdfunding, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, Media Review, News and Current Affairs, Newspaper Article, Nonprofit, Publications, Research, Resource, Social Media, Study, Technology, Technology for Nonprofits | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Communications: Hashtags Haunt McDonalds’ Foray Into Social Media
If anyone suggests to you that social media lay the yellow-brick road to huge fundraising or provide the silver bullet to finish off negative responses to your company, just smile sweetly and back away. Like any power tool, social-media platforms offer opportunities to do fine work to reach out to new customers, and they offer the chance to do serious damage to your organization in a stunningly brief period of time.
The most recent victim of a social media/PR blitz that went awry is the McDonalds‘ corporation, who wanted to put a human face – one interested in good food – on its restaurant chain. But for a while, it looked like Mickey-D’s slipped terribly out of its own control.
Popularity: 1% | Category Advertising, Campaigns, Case Study, Diet, Health, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Media Review, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Tech: Apple’s Reputation Gets Pulped – Deservedly So?
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Tweets often move faster than facts. True, the Apple web store was down for a bit yesterday, but when it came back up, no new iPad or iPhone 5. Indeed, the only notable difference I could see was the prominence of Apple’s report on ‘Supplier Responsibility‘ for 2012.
Which proved to be a ‘fortuitous’ move, given the fact that yesterday The New York Times published a scathing and in-depth report about workers’ conditions at technology-suppliers Foxconn in China. A significant portion of Foxconn’s factory in Chengdu exploded in May 2011, killing four workers. Which slowed output of iPad 2s, which caught peoples’ attention. Which inspired investigations into what was going on at Foxconn. Which are now coming to light and showing the terribly rough conditions at the factory/city. For which Apple is taking most of the heat. Is that fair?
Popularity: 1% | Category Apple, Branding, Campaigns, Civics, Communications, Environment, iDevice, iPad/Tablet, Marketing, News and Current Affairs, Newspaper Article, Public Relations, Technology | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Communications: Postal Rates Raised Last Week – Not For Nonprofits
The United States Postal Service has been struggling financially for the last few years. The Bush Administration saddled the service with pre-paying its future retiree benefits for a decade (2006-2016), a demand uniquely imposed on the USPS. Bush’s policy meant the service went from profits in the $1.4 billion range in 2005 to one that has laid off thousands of works, closed numerous branches, and still needs to raise postal rates in an effort just to stay open. So what he did to the postal service he did to the country.
This past Monday many postal rates changed. For example, first-class mail went up by a penny and its guaranteed one-day delivery (depending on distance) was removed. Or perhaps you didn’t notice?
Popularity: 1% | Category Advice, Campaigns, Civics, Communications, Community, Direct Mail, E-Mail, Fundraising, Interview, Marketing, Marketing Budget, Marketing Skills, Measurement, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Newsletter, Newspaper Article, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Politics, Publications, Strategic Marketing, Web and Print | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Development: Listening To Social Networks An Important Investment Too
The field got built only after Ray listened
Yesterday we talked about creating content on your business’s or nonprofit’s website that will bring new readers to your site, deepen the loyalty of those already in contact with it, and turn more of them into customers, volunteers, and donors. The creation of such content requires some investment. Staff – at least some staff hours – have to be dedicated to research and writing. The technological side of blogging is not like programming anymore, thanks to all the great platforms (think: WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, TypePad…), but it takes some time to get comfortable with the features and quirks of your chosen platform. When your blog reaches out to those beyond your office, you need to budget for unscheduled delays or time to allow your subject to review the interview.
But then what? If you build it, will they come? No. (more…)
Popularity: 1% | Category Advice, Blogs, Campaigns, Case Study, Civics, Communications, Community, How-to, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Nonprofit, Public Relations, Site Administration, Social Media | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Communication: Six Tips To Expand Readership On Your Nonprofit’s Blog
We thank you for reading our blog, and we hope to provide relevant, timely, and interesting material for you for 2012. Producing a timely and engaging blog (at least we hope so!) requires some effort. But the opportunities and results they can produce are well worth the investment. If your nonprofit organization has a blog, you want to ensure regular production of high-quality. And if it doesn’t, you’re missing great opportunities to tell your stories, to turn your passive followers into active volunteers and donors, and to benefit from the multiplier effects of readers sharing, tweeting, and faving your nonprofit’s good work.
Plenty of advice about how to raise your blog’s readership exists in the same blogosphere your organization is already working in. A recent post by Jeff Ogden at SocialMediaToday.com particularly caught our eye because he keeps the advice clear and simple and because he stresses quality over quantity. And let’s face it: the internet largely encourages the latter over the former. So what is on his short list?
Popularity: 1% | Category Advice, Blogs, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Communications, Community, How-to, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Media Review, Newspaper Article, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Public Relations, Reviews, Social Media, Storytelling, Twitter, Web and Print, Writing | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Tech: CES 2012 Shows Off The Flat Entertainment Coming Post-Recession
Each mid-January, while much of the country is struggling to get through wintery weather and get kids back on a school-day schedule, the brash, bold, and bright world of near-future technology is shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Not the back end of the financial crisis/Great Recession, not the fact that Apple has not attended in over a decade, or that Microsoft is attending this year for the ‘last’ time could stop the show from breaking attendance records at over 153,000.
Yet those 153,000 did not include the consumer, per se. The show is invitation-only and those are sent to hardware and software companies, to news agencies, to retail-chain buyers, and to tech reviewers. Alas, despite the strong numbers and expansive and loyal readership of the MKCREATIVEmedia blog, we did not seem to warrant an invitation this year. Or it got lost in the mail. Thankfully, the names we trust to write about technology were there to help.
Popularity: 1% | Category Campaigns, Communications, Design, Event Review, Events, Hardware Review, iPad/Tablet, Marketing, News and Current Affairs, Newspaper Article, Public Relations, Reviews, Software Review, Technology, Technology for Education, Technology for Nonprofits | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Communication: SOPA & PIPA Bills Are Dying, But Not Dead
Yesterday, a couple of the most used and best-known websites on the internet willingly shut themselves down: Wikipedia and Reddit. Google, you likely noticed, ‘redacted’ its daily Google Doodle. These efforts were to call attention to and protest against the Congressional debates over the ‘Stop Internet Piracy Act’ (SOPA) in the House and the ‘Protect Internet Protocols Act’ (PIPA) in the Senate. And they seem to have worked, as support for either bill has drained away: ”We can find a solution that will protect lawful content. But this bill is flawed & that’s why I’m withdrawing my support. #SOPA #PIPA,” Republican Sen. Roy Blunt wrote on his official Twitter page. (Quote from CNN Tech report earlier this morning).
But the concern over online piracy of entertainment and software remains, and SOPA’s political supporters promise to refine new legislative efforts.
Popularity: 2% | Category Blogs, Civics, Communications, Community, Copyrighting, Marketing, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Opinion, Politics, Reviews, Site Administration, Social Media, Technology | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#ProAging: CES Highlights Tech For Boomers On-The-Move
This past 10 through 13 January saw the annual International Consumer Electronics Show present some of the up-and-coming technologies for the next year(s). The CES “is owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $186 billion U.S. consumer technology industry.” Most of the news pertains to the latest smartphone or smart TV, but for the past three years the CES has also supported the ‘Silver Summit.’ This exhibition-within-an-exhibition focusses on technology for older citizens. It also awards ‘Silver Choice Awards,’ a couple of which we wanted to relay to our readers – along with video access to a round-table on the future of technology for retiring Baby Boomers.
Popularity: 3% | Category Aging, Apple, Boomers, Community, Design, Events, Health, iDevice, Independent Living, iPad Apps, iPad/Tablet, iPhone Apps, Marketing, Nonprofit, Reviews, Seniors Life, Software Review, Strategic Marketing, Technology, Technology for Aging | | 2 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#SocialNetworks: (Almost) Free Web Tools To Stir Online Discussion
The consultants, designers, editors, and bloggers at MKCREATIVEmedia wish you a happy Martin Luther King Day. The holiday has been on the US calendar since 1986 when the left-leaning, union-supporting, out-of-the-mainstream Republican President Ronald Reagan signed it into federal law. And on this Martin Luther King Day 2012, numerous schools, nonprofits, and religious organizations are getting their students, volunteers, and parishioners out into the community to put service into action.
To inform your members of such service opportunities and to inspire others to join your organization, you need to reach out and market your organization’s focus, skills, and ambitions – as well as explain how your followers can help achieve those ambitions. So in that spirit, we wanted to relay a short list of handy, inexpensive, online tools to help you do just that.
Popularity: 2% | Category Advice, Cause Marketing, Civics, Communications, Community, Fundraising, Marketing, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Resource, Reviews, Site Administration, Social Media, Software Review, Technology, Technology for Nonprofits | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
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