In the last couple of days I came across two seemingly unrelated, but equally compelling, online items: a Kickstarter campaign by Julia Haslett, a filmmaker raising money for a New York City theatrical run of her prize-winning documentary about philosopher and social activist, Simone Weil, and a New York Times article on marketing agency BHH's "charitable experiment" "Homeless Hotspots," at the SXSW tech conference in Austin, Texas.

After reading Haslett's description of her film, though, I realized that these two events are very much related. Haslett writes that a line by Weil, "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity," made her wonder, "What response does seeing human suffering demand of us?" The film is, in part, Haslett's search for an answer.

BHH might present "Homeless Hotspots" as an initiative to provide jobs for the homeless and focus attention on their plight, but I don't think this isn't the sort of attention Weil was talking about. The BHH program, to provide mobile hotspots to the thousands of convention-goers struggling with over-taxed convention wi-fi, gave 13 local Austin homeless men mobile wi-fi devices, outfitted them in t-shirts printed with their name and the "Homeless Hotspot" info, and paid them to hang out at the most densely packed conference areas.

The shirts also promoted a link to the "Homeless Hotspots" website, a page where people could contribute suggested amounts per minute of using the wi-fi service. But BHH's self-congratulatory promotion of their "charitable experiment," and lack of any articulated followup or next step in helping these people, exposes it as shameless exploitation in the name of charitable outreach.

In a Wired.com blog post, Tim Carmody, reveals "The Damning Backstory Behind Homeless Hotspots at SXSW."  Turns out that last year, a couple of BHH interns created a program in New York, "Underheard," that gave 4 homeless men free mobile phones with Twitter accounts and unlimited texting so they could tell their stories and bring attention to the issues of homelessness. The intern's program generated an unexpected amount of media attention and after it ran its two month course, BHH took it back from them and put it on hiatus, where it remains, although BHH has promised that there will be an update. Carmody surmizes that this "update" will be a reality TV show.

It's hard to believe that anyone at BHH truly thought "Homeless Hotspots" would be viewed as a legitimate charitable outreach or an effective way of improving the plight of the homeless. Maybe they don't care. But one thing's for sure, this was a woefully misguided response to human suffering and attention of the very worst kind.

Question:
Does your organization tell compelling stories,       or recite facts?

Before you answer, read the two excerpts below. Both are taken from the websites of large non profit organizations. The first, from the United Way, illustrates the "Just The Facts, Ma'am" approach. The organization communicates with readers through statistics and strategic objectives. The second, from Heifer, illustrates the "Storytelling" approach. They follow the storyline of the impact their program made on the life of one woman, taking her from helpless to self-sufficient. Both organizations offer important programs. But in speaking the language of data, generalities, and high-level objectives, the United Way keeps people at arms-length from the emotional core of their organization. Seen through a wide-angle lens, their description gives supporters very little to connect with. By comparison, Heifer's story is told through a close-up lens, giving supporters a one-to-one connection to the impact that their donations have.

After reading the excerpts, take a look at your organization's messaging. Conversation or business brief?

From the United Way website:

Family-sustaining employment is the foundation of financial stability.  Almost 25% of adults in the U.S. earn less than $27,000/year in jobs that offer no health care, vacation, or paid sick leave.  These workers often struggle to afford food, rent, childcare, and transportation, with little left over for saving. United Way and our partners are providing education, training, and sector-based strategies to connect skilled workers with jobs that offer the potential for career advancement.

United Way of Greater Cincinnati oversees The Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network, a public-private workforce collaborative that provides employers with trained workers and connects unemployed and/or low-paid, low-skilled workers with opportunities to earn family-sustaining wages. Over the past two years, the Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network has served more than 2,700 people with 80 percent completing training programs and more than 70 percent obtaining jobs."

From the Heifer website

The value of supporting a non profit organization goes way beyond the simple mechanics of transaction or investment. Sure, supporting an organization's mission and the benefits of its programs is money well spent. But potential donors don't form an emotional connection to a mission or a program. It's the end benefit of those things that tug at people's hearts, make them open their wallets, and give them the joy and satisfaction of a worthy accomplishment. And there's no more powerful way to make the connection between an individual donation and a the end benefits and value of an organization's programs, than through stories about individual successes.

One of our most powerful communication tools is also one of the most overlooked and underestimated. Storytelling. Stories do more than simply pass along information. The best ones carry emotional resonance that touches people and connects with them. The book, "The Dragonfly Effect," one of the best books written on storytelling and social media, contains a quote by Maya Angelou," People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Below are four resources for understanding the power of storytelling, and how to bring that power to your organization. 

1. Storytelling And The Art Of Email Writing

"Non profits are adding stories to their fundraising messages...and they're not working."  

This probably isn't what you were expecting to read in a blog post about storytelling. But keep reading. M+R Strategic Services, the marketing company that wrote the sentence is a strong proponent of storytelling. But, as they explain, "Too many organizations have a limited understanding of what "storytelling" means.

This white paper explains why storytelling is a powerful communication tool and gives clear examples on how organizations can use it successfully. One of the paper's findings has particular relevance to the excerpts discussed above: "Individuals are more willing to give to save one person than to save thousands." Who'd like to call United Way and let them know?
Read the white paper

2. Stories: The Source Code For Who We Are

"Stories stick because they hold real value." 

In this article from Fast Company, author, Paddy Harrington, talks about the three keys for moving beyond branding into storytelling. Also describing businesses, the information is just as relevant for non profits. Harrington argues that for organizations to survive, they need "deeply compelling stories at their heart," and offers 3 simple principles to follow to achieve that.
Read the article

3. How To Tell Resonant Stories

"Brian McDonald calls it The Golden Theme, and it's critical to telling more resonant stories."    

In his newsletter, Free Range Thinking, communications consultant Andy Goodman writes about screenwriting teacher and storytelling guru, Brian McDonald's book, The Golden Theme, and how it cuts to the core of what makes a story compelling and effective. Here's a hint: all good stories, no matter the content, have the same clear message. Goodman illustrates the Golden Theme principle with the example of a story told two ways. One works, one doesn't.
Read the newsletter piece

4. The Golden Theme of Storytelling

"Art (Storytelling) is not to show people who you are; it is to show people who they are." Brian McDonald is an author, filmmaker, and story consultant who has taught seminars on story structure at Disney Feature Animation and Pixar Animation Studios. His most recent book, The Golden Theme: How to Make Your Writing Appeal to the Highest Common Denominator, although short, is a valuable exploration of his unique perspective on the art, and importance, of storytelling. It can be read for free on the publisher's website (although, once you read it, you'll probably want to own a copy.)

Read the book online

"Curation taps the vast, agile, engaged human power of the web. It finds signal in the noise." - Steve Rosenbaum

In his recently published book, "Curation Nation,"Steve Rosenbaum argues that information overload has rendered the old adage, "knowledge is power," obsolete. Anyone who has tried keeping up with web-published information knows that it's like trying to sip water from a fire hose. Truth is, our all-you-can-eat access to the bulk-knowledge strewn about the online universe in blogs, newsletters, and social media updates is just as useless as no access at all. Rosenberg sees power shifting "from content makers to content curators." In other words, the web made all information ubiquitous, which made the good stuff harder to find, which means that these days, the real power lies in curation.

"We don't have an information shortage; we have an attention shortage." - Seth Godin

Most people have neither the time nor the stamina to wade through miles of information looking for the narrow range of content they're interested in. By sifting through fields of haystacks in search of a couple of needles, curators provide a valuable and powerful service. But don't confuse curation with aggregation. Aggregation is macro-collecting without refinement. Curation is what happens after aggregation. I call it intelligent filtering - editing out the truly bad and mediocre, then categorizing, organizing, summarizing, and sharing the best.

"Curation comes up when people realize that it isn't just about information seeking, it's also about synchronizing a community. "  - Clay Shirky

We're all curators. If you've ever segmented your Twitter followers into categorical lists or posted links to favorite websites on your own site, you're a curator. In fact, in some small way, most people online end up curating for each other. Every day, as reviews are posted and read on sites like Amazon and Yelp, and photos are uploaded and searched for on Flickr, we're participating in a culture of curation and helping each other find the signals in the noise.

I'm a long-time dabbler in curation. For years I've emailed informal roundups of relevant information to friends, colleagues, and clients. But it wasn't until recent conversations with some of them that I figured one of the big barriers keeping them from building their own knowledge base. The sheer magnitude of information was intimidating, and they weren't sure where to start.

"Wouldn't it be cool if someone aggregated the information you needed, curated it into categories, and handed you brief summaries?" - Linda Ziskind

I thought, yes, that would be cool, so I did it. Yesterday I launched a twice-monthly newsletter for non profits and small businesses, one/five. Published on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, each issue will address a single topic and include short briefings on five relevant articles, with links to the full pieces. Whether readers click through to the full articles, or just skim the briefings, they'll find ways to do things better, faster, and more effectively.

The inaugural issue is titled: "Organizations Worth Knowing About" and it covers five nonprofit service organizations that are invaluable sources of information, white papers, reports, case studies, and best practices. You can read the issue online: bit.ly/OneFiveOnline.

You can subscribe to the newsletter here: bit.ly/OneFiveSubscribe.

by Rob Wu, co-founder CauseVox

Non profits have long recognized the value of individual networks and over the years have found a winning formula for leveraging them - peer-to-peer fundraising. These efforts are mostly associated with athletics like long distance endurance rides, runs, walks, or sports. Up until very recently, the fundraising was mostly done offline. But, with the recent growth of online crowdfunding sites, it's becoming clear that online supporter-driven, or peer-to-peer fundraising has big potential for non profits. CauseVox is a young and nimble company that, through their own experiences in the non profit world, saw the need, and did something about it. Their solution is a customizable crowd-funding platform specifically designed for small to medium-sized non-profits.- L.Z.

$50k in 40 Days
Lingering effects of the recent recession might make some non profits a little skittish about setting aggressive fundraising goals and timelines. But this is a case study about a small non profit that did just that. In the summer of 2010, RestoreNYC, a non profit providing aftercare services to the survivors of sex trafficking, wanted to open a safe house residence before the following winter. They'd found a suitable place and were due to sign the lease on September 1st, but wanted to ensure that there was enough capital to pay for the first year's rent. An anonymous donor pledged to match donations up to $50,000, which became their goal number. They gave themselves just 40 days to achieve it.

Donation by Donation
RestoreNYC had strong community support and a growing email list, but they traditionally relied on offline events as their main source of funding. With time as a critical factor, the organization knew it had to find a better solution to leverage their supporters and accelerate the giving cycle.

Online peer-to-peer fundraising was a solution that could do both - engage supporters and help them become fundraisers, using their network of connections to solicit donations. Research confirms the effectiveness of this strategy. The 2011 "Millennial Donors" research report, by non profit consulting firms, JCA and Achieve, surveyed nearly 3,000 non profit supporters between the ages of 20-35. They found that 56% of respondents get information about non profits from their peers. 48% perfer to give as a result of a personal request and 58% say they prefer to donate online.

RestoreNYC implemented their supporter-driven campaign using the CauseVox platform. They called the campaign, Brick by Brick.

Steps to Success
Deciding to incorporate a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign into their efforts was a critical move for RestoreNYC. Equally important was making sure it was implemented successfully. Here's how they did it:

• Make it Easy – The formula is simple: the easier it is to implement and use an interface, the more people will implement and use it. CauseVox's campaign template and editor allows organizations to create their campaign page on the spot, without the need for html expertise or designers (note: the platform also accommodates custom layouts and designs). Using the online editor RestoreNYC uploaded a digitial video, the organization logo, customized the campaign page color palette, and inserted the campaign copy. They were also able to include links to Facebook, Twitter, and subscriptions to their updates. Fundraiser pages are also templatized and fundraiser can launch their pages in minutes.


• Execute Strategically – The most successful campaigns are those developed around a sound strategy and incorporating clear objectives and timelines. The RestoreNYC staff used CauseVox's guides on developing a strategy framework, as well as how to be "SMART" about setting objectives and getting a deeper understanding of your supporters.


• Multi-Channel Communications – RestoreNYC used multiple channels to get the word out about the campaign and to recognize supporters and keep them engaged:
  • Email communication was used to create awareness of the campaign and send updates about progress.
  • The campaign was promoted through offline events, e.g., a kick-off dinner with key volunteers; distributing flyers at co-hosted events.
  • Restore tapped into communities of people who fit their supporter profiles, e.g., churches, bloggers, etc. Restore actively used Twitter and Facebook to give daily updates on the campaign

• Get Social – With an active Facebook and Twitter account, RestoreNYC was able to connect with their supports as well as their supporters' donors on a real-time basis, reporting campaign progress, thanking donors and creating relationships with supporters and givers to learn more about their reasons for giving, as well as sharing stories about the impact their donation has made on the lives of the women that the organization works with.


• Keep Content Fresh –RestoreNYC regularly updated content on their campaign page, as well as posted updated videos thanking supporters and donors and emphasizing the sense of urgency in meeting the 40 day deadline.

Campaign Results and Learnings
By the end of 40 days, Restore had raised over $80,000 ($65,000 online), beating their original $50,000 goal. They received the matching $50k donation giving them a total raised of $130,000. In the beginning of November, 2010, RestoreNYC began welcoming the first residents into their new safe house.

• Easy-to-use technology enabled Restore to spend more time cultivating supporters


• Using mixed-media and multiple channels for storytelling kept supporters engaged


• Seeding the campaign with an initial group of leaders jumpstarted the campaign


• Fundraiser pages allowed supporters to tell Restore's story in their own words


• Social media helped create a sense of urgency and raise donation activity after it plateaued in mid-campaign 


• Using existing communities to champion their cause extended their fundraising reach