September 23, 2008
Foundations and Web 2.0
A new report that looks at how foundations are using interactive Web 2.0 technology, such as blogs, podcasts, and social networks, in their communications has been announced — appropriately — on the blog run by the Communications Network, a membership organization for people who handle public relations at foundations.
Some foundations are already embracing technology tools that allow for two-way communications, write the report’s authors David Brotherton and Cynthia Scheiderer.
The Daniels Fund, in Denver, for example, set up a Facebook group to communicate with young people who receive college scholarships from the foundation and to try to foster a sense of camaraderie among the students. The fund took that step after it realized that students were not using its Web site or responding to e-mail messages.
“For them, e-mail is kind of the 8-track player,” Peter Droege, vice president of communications at the Daniels Fund, says in the report.
The paper also discusses misgivings that many foundation officials have about new interactive communications technology.
“Foundation concerns are, by no means, insignificant,” write the report’s authors. “They include the worry of losing control over the foundation’s message, allowing more staff members to represent the foundation in a more public way, opening the flood gates of grant requests, or the headache of a forum gone bad with unwanted or inappropriate posts.”
The authors argue, however, that foundations have to reach out beyond traditional communication channels if they don’t want to lose influence among important audiences.
“To decide not to join the myriad online conversations and networking opportunities is to cede territory to others who may have less means, knowledge, or experience,” they write.
What do you think? Has your nonprofit organization or foundation incorporated Web 2.0 technology in its communication or program efforts?
— Nicole Wallace
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My non-profit has begun to expand into web 2.0 with Myspace,Twitter(where I found this posting), and Facebook. As I delve into, and begin to study and use Social Media, I am realizing this is but the tip of the iceberg. What a revelation! So much more opportunity for conversation is available here, and I love that information can be shared on such an instant basis.We are able to establish a dialogue with our supporters and social media gives them a way to provide instantaneous feedback to us.
— Virginia Sep 23, 11:43 AM #
A recent entry addresses this question for Dallas Social Venture Partners. http://dogoodbetter.blogspot.com
With SVP’s working as a hybrid nonprofit- grantmaker, the trick for us to harness web 2.0 is convincing Partners to adopt new technologies for their passion work (which is often not their job)…i.e. How do we inspire “micro-blogging” on our Social Investment Portfolio? To see me try , follow my twitters (www.twitter.com) at SCALDWELL.
And yet, anyone who wants to stay competitive, and more importantly, relative, in “social impact” work, better build the tools and systems to stay in the conversation and leverage the resources available.
— Stacy Caldwell Sep 23, 12:16 PM #
We have recently joined NTEN, as a vendor to help provide technology guidance and streaming information to foundations. We offer a free ‘streaming 101’ for people at www.streamalot.com
Foundations do need to begin using technology to be relevant to a new generation.
— Jonathan Sep 23, 12:37 PM #
I wrote about this report yesterday
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/09/report-urges-fo.html
Interesting that these same questions raised in the report have been discussed on nonprofit blogs for the past couple of years ..
Nothing surprising here – transitions take a long time – the move to adopt to web 2.0/social media is going many more years before it is like air – but it will be like air – and then something new will come along.
I thought one of the most one of the most interesting questions was the last one:
should foundations take advantages of the opportunities Web 2.0 offers to interact directly with the public? Is there a role for grant making foundations to use their resources and Web 2.0 technologies to help create networks of people interested in certain issues and connect with grantees to tack action? Could this be a way to help advance progress on foundation priorities.
— Beth Kanter Sep 23, 01:32 PM #
I had to think for a minute or two before I realized that we are very much pushing our NGO into the web 2.0 safe haven. A US web company is currently creating a database for us that enable easier and faster communication between progress in Ghana and our sponsors abroad.
(FYI: We take care of HIV positive children in Ghana and link up foreign sponsors with a specific child)
Functions >
1. Every volunteer will have its own login + password
2. Volunteers shall be able to create, update and change the information in each HIV positive Child’s profile
3. Sponsors shall be able to login to their childs profile and add remarks (questions to the child, comments, thoughts)
4. Every time the child’s profile is changed or updated a email shall be sent ‘‘automatically’ to the sponsor our volunteers to go online and update the profiles of the HIV positive children that we take care of.
Anyone that come up with any other functions that we should integrate in our new system?
Thanks
Sebastian Lindstrom
butchieenorsk@msn.com
www.lightforchildren.com
— Sebastian lindstrom, co-founder Light for Children (Ghana) Sep 23, 07:32 PM #
I know a lot of non-profit organizations for whom this will report will be a valulable introduction to web 2.0 tools. At Firstgiving, we’ve seen some good successes from people raising money for all kinds of good causes using social media tools.
What is the potential for collaborative Web 2.0 use by philanthropy professionals and amateurs? These tools are so accessible; if used effectively the impact could be huge. In response to the questions re: communicating with the general public, we see great possibilities to connect donors, fundraisers, foundations and other NPOs to causes they care about.
If I could offer any advice to anybody pondering taking the plunge into social media, it would be to remember that the “social” part is at least as important as the “media” part. If you don’t have anything meaningful or interesting to say, it’s not going to matter which tools you use to say it.
— BethP Sep 25, 02:23 PM #
I think it will be a while before nonprofits take a serious look at Web 2.0. I think there will be some early adopter but I have found that there is a lot of hesitation around Web 2.0. I think it is the future of the philanthropy and fundraising and only a few are starting to realize the power of it today.
Jason Dick
www.ASmallChange.net
— Jason Dick Sep 25, 10:47 PM #
At Causecast we are offering a host of web2.0 services for non-profits for free. We are still ramping up but we are supporting a few dozen organizations with an expanding toolset right now. We are also producing fun, hip videos to appeal to a wide audience and help everyone bring cause into their lives.
http://www.causecast.org/
We created Causecast because building a one-stop shop for tools for organizations is much more efficient than orgs having to go out and re-invent the wheel.
We can take all of an organizations content and make sure it gets out everywhere on the web it needs to go, provide services like online donations, text to donate, blogging, video infrastructure and a lot more.
Sorry for yet another ad on this post, but it seemed appropriate!
— Ryan Scott Sep 28, 02:49 AM #