#Philanthropy: Livestrong Bucked Economy & ROI Expectations Via SM
The Great Recession hardly seems over, though most are confident that we have worked through the deepest part of the proverbial woods. Nonprofits, whose work is even more vital for many thousands of people during an economic downturn, suffered as well. But a few were able to fight the long dark night by sticking to a simple strategy that proved effective before the recession and even helped them expand their Return On Investment (ROI) through the downturn..
The case before us: Livestrong, the cancer-survivors’ organization and network that provides support for those getting treatment and help staying fit while living with cancer.
The yellow bracelets raised millions at $1 a pop, but the support stream from the bracelets was already slowing before the economic crisis hit. Instead of retrenchment, Livestrong went on the attack: it hired a full-time social-media ‘evangelist,’ Brooke McMillan, who remains the voice of the organization’s Twitter feeds.
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She has since expanded her team and coordinated their outreach with that of Lance Armstrong himself. And millions of followers later, the community amplifies the voices of anyone who participates in the programs.
The result? According to analysis by SocialMediaExaminer.com:
- The 2009 LIVESTRONG Challenge raised $10.8 million – a record for the 13-year event in a down economic year.
- Online store sales set a new record in the rough 2009 holiday season.
- LIVESTRONG collected 70,000 signatures for a healthcare petition.
- Twitter matching challenges have brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The recession feels for most of us like it continues. But so does the sale of $1 wristbands, perhaps the icon of microdonations having a macro impact. FastCompany reports that some 7+ million were sold last year.
The scale of success of Livestrong is perhaps unique, but the strategies are not: Develop an authentic social-media voice as part of a larger outreach plan. Find little innovations that capture the spirit of your nonprofit and broadcast them to the world. Do not shy away from the challenges of a tough economy. Thousands are ready to follow your lead.
Popularity: 3% | Category Blogs, Branding, Campaigns, Case Study, Cause Marketing, Communications, Community, Crowdfunding, Development, Events, Facebook, Fundraising, Health, Healthcare, Marketing, Nonprofit, Public Relations, Social Media, Storytelling, Strategic Marketing, Twitter | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#ProAging: GAP Index Highlights Global Challenges Of Care For Aging
The fact of the aging of the global population is something our readers are likely at least acquainted with. The phenomenon has arisen as life expectancy has lengthened even in developing countries and populations in developed countries often are not having enough children even to replace themselves. The result is that most national populations whose citizens or subjects are over 60 are quickly moving toward 30%. To put that number in historical perspective, The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) posits that, before the Twentieth Century, the percentage of inhabitants over 60 was 5-8%.
The CSIS released a sobering report earlier this year that measured the ‘Global Aging Preparedness’ (GAP) Index. The report stresses the demographic facts of the so-called ‘Silver Tsunami’ (a tide that can not now be turned, even if we all started having larger families) and the current economic situations of a number of countries both rich and poor, both developed and developing. So how did the US do?
Popularity: 30% | Category Aging, Banking & Finance, Boomers, Civics, Community, GI Generation, Health, Healthcare, Healthcare, National/International, Nonprofit, Politics, Publications, Report, Resource, Seniors Life | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Health: Study Shows Advantages Of Conversation No One Wants
Remember Obama’s Death Panels? No, they didn’t exist. But like ‘cooties,’ the scared and the immature just kept repeating that they were waiting to snatch us up. What the Healthcare Reform Bill wanted to institute was the opportunity – nay, the expectation – for families to have regular consultations with their doctors about end-of-life/palliative care that would per force be covered by insurance.
Healthcare Reform became law in the early days of 2010, and we have been litigating it ever since – and no one has found any mention of a death panel. But even requiring insurance companies to pay doctors for these end-of-life consultations has proven to be a political hot potato – even though evidence of their efficacy is mounting.
A report from a group of oncologists from Sweden is the latest study to show the benefits of having a frank discussion about what treatments are working, what are not working, and what options/opportunities the patient has. The abstract of the report, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, can be found here (a subscription to the Journal is required to read the full report).
Fortunately, Paula Span of The New York Times discusses the full report and talks with Dr. Gunilla Lundquist, a palliative care specialist at Umea University and lead author of the study. One of the hard truths of the report is that about 70% of people who have that tough conversation about their terminal conditions die at home and among loved ones, in contrast to under 40% who do not have that conversation yet do not die in a hospital.
Paula Span also steps into the cultural and political difficulties of getting such a study done in the US, or even discussing the Swedish report. Instead, we’ll invoke the Bogie Panel to ensure our freedom from everything, except fear.
Popularity: 4% | Category Aging, Community, Dementia Care, Health, Healthcare, Healthcare, National/International, Newspaper Article, Politics, Publications, Report, Seniors Life, Silent Generation | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#ProAging: Which US Cities Offer The Best Lifestyle To Their Older Citizens?
Dave Letterman offers only a “Top 10″ list, but Bankers Life and Casualty has just published its Top 50 “Best US Cities For Seniors 2011″ and the list contains a few surprises – though, admittedly, not so many laughs.
The list was drawn up with an effort to establish some stable criteria that were, in turn, weighted to reflect the importance of each issue with older Americans. For example, healthcare opportunities are weighted to 10 at the top of the scale, whereas housing was weighted at 5, because many kinds of housing arrangements can be made for many kinds of seniors, whereas healthcare is a priority for all older people.
The good side about a weighted standard is that readers can judge for themselves if a certain concern outweighs other issues. For example, the city noted as having the lowest crime and the safest urban environment for seniors is Nassau-Suffolk County, New York (Long Island), yet the area did not quite crack the top 10. But if security/low crime is most important for you, you now know where to retire.
Popularity: 6% | Category Affordable Housing, Aging, Boomers, Community, Environment, Health, Healthcare, Healthcare, Independent Living, Marketing, Report, Resource, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Wellness | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#ProAging: Social Security Recipients Enjoy COLA For First Time In Two Years
Social Security has built into its law and budgets a ‘Cost of Living Adjustment‘ (COLA) tied to inflation and/or rising prices. Those prices have, if anything, fallen during The Great Recession, so recipients have not seen a COLA since 2009. But the Social Security Administration published its formula this week to account for a 3.6% increase for most people who receive their checks, beginning in January 2012.
The adjustment can not come soon enough for many seniors. As reported in The Associated Press, though inflation did not move over the last two or three years, incomes that retirees depended upon to supplement their Social Security benefits collapsed over those same years. What does the equation come out to for seniors?
Popularity: 5% | Category Aging, Banking & Finance, Boomers, Civics, Community, Healthcare, Healthcare, Independent Living, News and Current Affairs, Newspaper Article, Report, Retirement Living, Seniors Life | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#ProAging: Medicare’s Open Enrollment Opens – Save Elders From Poverty
Click to Enlarge
Medicare’s open enrollment for next year begins on October 15th and runs through December 7th (an unfortunate date in the lives of many of the GI Generation). Information on Medicare’s medical plans can be found here. General information for those new to the process can be found here. Medicare was founded in 1965 in an effort to buttress the insurance that most Americans lost at 65 or at retirement. It was meant as another strand of a safety net first weaved with the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935, also meant to help the elderly avoid falling destitute.
Although Governor/Presidential Candidate Rick Perry (Rep., TX) stands by his assertion that such support as Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme, it has helped – unlike Ponzi schemes – millions of older and retired Americans avoid poverty. A new Census study clearly demonstrates just how successful the programs have been.
Popularity: 3% | Category Aging, GI Generation, Health, Healthcare, Healthcare, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Politics, Publications, Retirement Living | | 2 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#ProAging: Study Shows Americans Optimistic and Unprepared For Heath In Retirement (Part 2 of 2)
Last Thursday we shared a report conducted by National Public Radio (NPR), who has been presenting the findings of their in-depth survey concerning how recent retirees and soon-to-be retirees (those over 50) view retirement. The report was conducted by NPR, the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. The takeaway of the survey shows that those close to retirement are strikingly optimistic about what their retirements will entail in terms of economic and social stability (which we discussed last week), as well as about their good health and longevity (to which we turn today). Retirement for those already well into it has lost much of its romantic sheen – a distinction between the two demographics stressed in the report.
Popularity: 6% | Category Aging, Audio Interview, Boomers, Community, Diet, Fitness, Health, Healthcare, Independent Living, Internet, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Politics, Report, Seniors Life, Wellness | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#ProAging: Small Ailments, Left Unchecked, Can Lead To Big Concerns
Most (post-)industrial western societies tend to see aging as a decline from the creativity and energy of young adulthood. The experiences and wisdom of longer life tend to be downplayed against the physical changes wrought by age. But older people tend to know better: they want the young to appreciate that the teens and early twenties are the difficult years, whereas the engaged peace of being over 50 is really where the action is.
That said, those moving beyond 50 can not – and do not – deny changes in the body that must be dealt with: quicker fatigue, joint and tooth aches, changes in eyesight and/or hearing… The AARP’s website is reporting a new study at Neurology.org that links the ongoing and unresolved physical discomforts help increase the likelihood of the onset of dementia as well.
Popularity: 5% | Category Aging, Assisted Living, Blogs, Fitness, Health, Healthcare, Independent Living, Resource, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Study, Wellness | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Philanthropy: How to Find and Solicit the Biggest Corporate Donors
In the midst of the present economic crisis, the debate about whether corporations should have social responsibility to give to philanthropic causes has grown heated. Some argue that CR (Corporate Responsibility) departments actually diffuse problems rather than solve them and corporations should put their resources to better, profit-driven, uses for the betterment of all. Others counter that without a role for institutionalized CR, innovation and economic dynamism are often replaced with market suppression and cronyism.
But the present fact is a number of corporations give a good deal of financial and/or goods-in-kind support for social causes (broadly defined). A list of the top 50 (as of July 2011) can be found at The Foundation Center‘s website. What are some of the ways they give? And how might your organization benefit from their philanthropic programs? Over the next few weeks, we’ll present some of the research pursued to see what can be learned about a number of these 50 programs.
We begin with the top 5.
Popularity: 4% | Category Affordable Housing, Banking & Finance, Community, Environment, Fundraising, Grants, Grants and Funding, Greening, Health, Healthcare, Low-Income, Marketing, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Public Relations, Resource, Revitalization | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
#Aging: We May Have To/Want To Work Longer. Will We Live Longer?
Golden or just a Goose Egg?
For many, the Stock Market Crash of 2008 wiped out most of their retirement savings. For some, working longer past the traditional retirement age is a key to ongoing engagement, community involvement, and mental health. For most, working beyond 65 (or whatever the retirement age is in your country) is an economic expectation, for better and/or worse.
Nevertheless, older people continuing in the work force provides at least two striking challenges to the larger economy, which already faces a number of challenges in this Great Realignment.
Popularity: 5% | Category Aging, Blogs, Civics, Community, Diet, Fitness, Health, Healthcare, Independent Living, News and Current Affairs, Retirement Living, Seniors Life, Wellness | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner
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