Tony and Dolly Ellis

 

by Ed  Nicholson

Last week I was in a meeting with a major national non-profit organization.  It's a great organization, that's doing notable work toward its very worthy cause.   It's full of thought leaders at the highest level. 
The representatives meeting with me described a complex national strategy to address the issue at hand.   One that was going to take the buy-in, cooperation, and financial commitment of a wide variety of stakeholders: government representatives, corporate partners, foundations and thousands of individual donors.
When I asked them about their online plans to take this strategy to their stakeholders, I drew a blank.
Their online communications strategy is the exclusive property of their marketing group--whose objectives are to create brand awareness and raise donations.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, but...
They have thought leaders.  They have a strategy.  They have a message.
What would they have to lose by letting some of their thought leaders discuss that strategy online?

photo by PinkMoose--Creative Commons. Flickr

Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.    Chinese proverb

 

Day of Service at Capitol Area Food Bank, DC

By Ed Nicholson

Hunger is a complex issue.  Most people don't really understand it. We're told about it.  We're rarely shown hunger (how many of us actually recognize it when we see it?).  If we're fortunate, someone will take the time to involve us.

Many of those we know in hunger relief have been involved through working with Share Our Strength.  At their annual Conference of Leaders, they offer a day of service, wherein attendees go offsite and work together to benefit a hunger relief organization in the community in which the conference is being held.  It's a lot of hard work for the group's staff to organize, but it works in remarkable ways to bond the Share Our Strength community, and remind us of why we've come together.  We become involved; we understand.   

Who's doing the hard work to engage your stakeholders?  What are you doing to create understanding among those you want to keep enlisted in your cause?  How do you involve them?

 

By Ed Nicholson

Sorry for the week's hiatus.  I was out talking about social media last week--instead of participating in it. 

At Tyson, we've been involved in hunger relief for nine years.  Well, actually for the first couple of years, we weren't really involved--we just threw money and food at it.  Just like all the other good work "campaigns" we'd ever done before. 
But then an interesting thing happened.  We started visiting foodbanks during donations; getting to know their work.  We went to conferences, and heard a diversity of inspiring speakers.  Our employees started doing hunger relief work in their own communities. 
In the process, we became engaged.  Hunger relief has become an important part of what we're doing as a company.
But sometimes it does complicate the relationship we have with our non-profit partners.
Now that we have some time invested in the issue, we have opinions.  We ask questions.  Sometimes we challenge conventions. Some might see it as interfering where we don't belong.   We're not always right, but we're engaged. 

So here's your chance to  voice an opinion and help us become better partners.  Please comment:   Where do we draw the line between contributing and meddling?  Should we produce food and leave the strategic work to the experts?  If you're a non-profit, does it aggravate you that someone from the outside would presume to tell you how to do your job?  Would it be a better world if ultimately corporations were not even involved in social issues? 
 
You know I love dissent.  So let me have some.

 

                                                                             photo by Kris Hoet--Creative Commons

By Ed Nicholson

I've had the opportunity to speak at some really great conferences in the past couple of weeks, including Interactive Austin, and the always energizing BlogWell.   One of the best things about going to these things is the opportunity to hear a diversity of smart people talk about how organizations implement social media.

A theme that seems to consistently emerge--and always interests me as a community builder--is that communities--either spontaneous or planned--will arise wherever there's passion and common interest.  It's always been that way, but the advent of social networking tools has significanlty aided and amplified the phenomenon.  

Brands and organizations can choose to either host these communities themselves or allow them to grow independently (which they will).   There are pros and cons to each approach.

The largest consumer fan page on Facebook is for Coke (3.4 million members and growing). It wasn't created by Coke, and they don't run it.  Check out this entertaining video from its creators (fortunately for Coke, they're die-hard fans).

There are a number of large brand communities built by the avid fans of Harley-Davidson.

Planet Cancer is a quickly growing community of young adults united by their common challenge, often edgy and irreverent in their approach.  The American Cancer Society probably could have started it.  But they didn't. (not passing judgement on that; just making note).

These communities provide a place for members to converse with each other, share information, get questions answered, post video and images--any number of things that allow members to develop relationships with each other and the brand.

Online communities can be messy and hard to control.  That's not an easy concept for established, focused, well-ordered organizations to embrace.  I know.

The hunger community will find a home online, I've no doubt.  The question is, under whose roof?

By the way, just to remind you: Today is Friday.  At school lunch, hundreds of thousands of  kids will get the last good meal they'll have until Monday.  Enjoy your weekend.

 

                                                                                     photo Addictive Picasso--Creative Commons

By Ed Nicholson

Some really interesting discussion here and on the oneicity blog ("Hunger is boring") about this week's posts.  Before I go any further with the topic, I do want to offer the three disclaimers:
1.  We're not in any way disparaging the fantastic work those in the hunger relief community. 
2.  We understand the necessity of fundraising, especially in today's economy, with ever-increasing demands, and ever-decreasing resources (we're just questioning the effectiveness of how fund-raising communications resources might be applied in many cases).   
3. The posts are not directed at any one organization. All of us are responsible. If you're feeling it was directed at you, well...

My job title is community relations director. I'm fascinated with the art and science of community building. 

There are some fabulous communities built offline around fighting hunger.   Look at Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation communities: the ones built around local events and the one that comes together to celebrate, commiserate and share best practices nationally.  Look at any Feeding America food bank.  Look at the collection of "insiders" that get together at either of these two organization's national conferences.  You won't find more passionate people and groups gathered around any other cause.

Just don't look online, because you really won't find hunger fighters engaged in open, vibrant discussion there (maybe some closed communities--I wouldn't know, I've not been invited).

Why is that?  Some have suggested this week that hunger organizations are apprehensive about discussing the issue of hunger for some reason or another.  I've heard it said the donor base might be offended.  Some have said in private that the big hunger organizations don't want the messiness that accompanies diverse, outspoken communities.  And some have returned to the time-honored defense: "We just don't have time to talk about hunger relief. We're too busy doing it." 

What's your opinion?

 

By Susan Brockway

Yesterday when I came home from work I was again inundated with envelopes asking for money.  “Won’t you help us send one child to camp?”, “Did you know that your $5 will help purchase an animal to help a family become self supportive?” and many more on a daily and weekly basis that contain the same message; send a check. 
Most people do not know that I actually give a substantial percentage of my income each year to groups and agencies that support missions I feel strongly about. 
However, hundreds of solicitations go in the trash unopened, especially from organizations to which I send regular checks, and I am simply caught in their mass mailing circle like a hamster on a wheel. 
Times are tough.  I know.  I'm president of the board of a local Feeding America food bank, and the demands are overwhelming.  All non-profits are in desperate need of cash. Many will fail.
But fundraising tactics are becoming counterproductive.
Think about this:  What about starting (and maintaining) non-profit relationships with conversation that doesn't involve an "ask."  (I actually had this occur yesterday--pleasant surprise).  Not necessarily asking for money on the first call, but starting with a conversation about this issue, the work of the agency, and sincerely asking for perspective on how we as a society should approach the challenges at hand.   Would that allow you to open your mind and become a partner in the fight?   Would you engage and not tune out? Are there other ways to open the door to honest engagment without wasting trees and online bandwidth?   Let me know what you think.

 

                                                                                                      photo fdecomite--Creative Commons

By Ed Nicholson

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that it's pretty much a lovefest for the hunger community. That's because I love you. You do God's work, and the world would be a much worse place without you.

But I have to tell you, as well as you feed people, some of you are just not very good communicators. A year ago, I asked the question, "Where is the online discussion of hunger?" Deafening silence.

I asked it again yesterday. Not much debate there, because frankly, there's just not a lot of online discussion.

Come on people. We're in The Age of Conversation. Exciting new communication tools. Two-way dialogue with your stakeholders. More golden opportunities for community building than ever in history.

Yet the overwhelming majority of the communication I receive from some hunger organizations is, "Please send us another ten dollars. It will help feed twenty hungry kids." I know this. So do the tens of thousands of your other supporters. It sounds eerily like a 1980's Sally Struthers TV spot.

Are we not important enough for a meaningful conversation from you? Because if we're not, I'm going to tell you something that will be hard for you to hear: You're going to lose us. Someone else will come and take your place. Someone who will engage. Someone who will listen, and not simply push their own messages out. Someone who will make us feel as though our voices are as important as yours.

What do you think about that?

 

 

 

By Ed Nicholson

When we started this blog in 2007, one of our goals was to contribute to the online community in the discussion of hunger.  Trouble was, after looking, we just couldn't find much online discussion.  About a year ago, I asked, "Where's the online discussion of hunger?" in this post, and invited anyone who has something going to connect.  Deafening silence.

So I'm asking the question again:  Where's the online discussion of hunger?  Are there thought leaders asking  compelling questions, stimulating engaging conversations with thoughtful answers and healthy dissent?

If so, where?  If not, why not? 

Is this issue not important enough?

I have some personal opinions. Don't make me pull them out.