Social Good

Allison Fine, a nonprofit leader and expert on technology and communications, discusses how charities and foundations can more effectively use social-media tools to spread their messages and raise money. Ms. Fine will incorporate suggestions and questions from readers into her podcasts and invites you to send e-mail messages to her at afine@demos.org. Look for new installments on the first Thursday of every month.

Most recent episode

Episode 12: Developing Online Relationships With Donors

How can your organization use social-networking tools to build meaningful relationships with potential donors? Allison Fine, the host of Social Good, talks with Morgan Richards, who handles online communications at Children's Hospital Foundation of Colorado, and Shirley Sexton, director of interactive marketing and fund raising at See3 Communications, about the ways they talk to donors online. (Running time: 15:07)

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Announcements

Connect with Allison Fine

What would you like to hear on future episodes of Social Good? Do you have reactions to what you've heard in past episodes? Do you have your own success stories using social media? Share your thoughts on these and other questions by sending an e-mail to Allison Fine at afine@demos.org.

Video games aren't just for entertainment anymore. In fact, some developers are creating games that help charities promote change. Allison Fine, the host of Social Good, talks with Alex Quinn, executive director of Games for Change, and Brian Reich, principal at GamesThatGive, about how video games are being used to advance charitable causes. (Running time: 12:59)

How can nonprofit groups establish an internal culture that promotes a healthy online presence? To answer this question, Allison Fine, the host, talks to Tom Subak, vice president of online services for the Planned Parenthood Federation. (Running time: 13:14)

You don't need a big budget to produce videos that get attention. Allison Fine, the host, interviews Michael Hoffman, chief executive of See3 Communications, and Megan Fowler, communications director of Refugees International, to find out how charities with limited resources can use video to call attention to their causes. (Running time: 15:01)

How should nonprofit organizations use Facebook to build relationships and raise money? Allison Fine, the host, interviews Joe Green, who helped found Causes, a section of Facebook designed to help charities win support, and Amy Eldridge, founder and executive director of Love Without Boundaries, an all-volunteer group that provides humanitarian aid to Chinese orphans. (Running time: 14:45)

Connie Yowell, director of education at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and Barry Joseph, director of the online leadership program for Global Kids, discuss how nonprofit groups are working in virtual spaces like Second Life. Allison Fine, the host, also offers ideas on how virtual worlds can help organizations raise money and promote their causes. (Running time: 12:36)

Jessica Clark, director of the Future of Public Media Project at American University, discusses whether nonprofit models are the future of newspapers. Ms. Clark also talks with the host, Allison Fine, about some useful resources for nonprofit groups that want to improve their use of online tools. (Running time: 14:08)

How can nonprofit groups and other organizations use online tools to more effectively communicate with and manage their volunteers? Allison Fine talks with Beka Economopoulos, of Fission Strategy, and Ben Rigby, of the Extraordinaries, about how to use online tools to more effectively work with and manage volunteers. (Running time: 12:56)

How is National Public Radio using online social media to spread its message and connect with its audience? Allison Fine talks with Andy Carvin, the network's social-media chief, about its strategy and about how smaller nonprofit groups can incorporate social media into their outreach efforts. (Running time: 13:42)

How are nonprofit groups using text messaging to raise money? Allison Fine, the host of Social Good, talks to Katrin Verclas, co-founder of MobileActive.org, and Chuck Scofield, chief development officer of Share Our Strength, to learn how charities use this technique. (Running time: 10:13)

How can your organization make the most of its social networks, especially during tough economic times? Allison Fine discusses this question — and many others — with Lucy Bernholz, president of the consulting firm Blueprint Research and Design, and Katya Andresen, vice president for marketing at Network for Good. (Running time: 15:27)

Ms. Fine talks to Jonathan Colman of the Nature Conservancy and Carie Lewis of the Humane Society of the United States about how nonprofit groups are using social-media tools to raise money and awareness. (Running time: 12:52)

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