(More) Tardy for the party

Okay, where did we leave off? Oh that’s right, you’ve been oblivious to proper party etiquette, which you are working on now thanks to me, and you think I am the most brilliant person in the world.

#3: The early bird gets the worm and cheaper tickets!

There is a silent killer targeting events in Jacksonville… it’s called Lazyassopotomus and it’s slaying Jacksonville events left and right. This affliction is brought on by people waiting until the day of to buy tickets for an event. Guess what? There is a reason why events offer early ticket discounts. It’s not only to boost ticket sales, it also used to gauges interest in the event. Early ticket sales help to determine a general headcount for things like food and beverage. Sometimes if an event fizzles before it even happens due to low pre-sale, event organizers are forced to slash items from the budget. So all those fun little surprises that events often lack (ie: free booze) were probably cut due to a strike of Lazyassopotomus!

Tune in next time: same bat time, same bat channel! Tip #4: If you can’t say something nice… don’t say anything at all.

How to make your party the biggest in town

Blackbaud is reporting that since 1999, online donations for events have grown an average of 50% annually and now account for 30% of most major US events. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all make it easier for people to connect and they are connecting for nonprofit events.

A Nielsen Online Global Index Survey from Dec. 2007 to Dec. 2008 reported that people now spend more time on social networking sites than they do on email.

So what is the bottom line on social media and events? It’s all about friends asking friends to participate. Look for more on Cause to Communicate about social marketing and events.

The next big idea

A friend steered me to an article about the next big idea. It’s currently in design phase but the purpose is to connect individuals and organizations in the areas of philanthropy, volunteerism and social networking. It is being designed by Chris Hughes, one of the founders of Facebook, who left the company to design the social media network site my.barackobama.com that revolutionized presidential campaigning.

Why am I excited about Jumo.com without really knowing what it will do?  Chris Hughes has a great track record. And I see the possibilities that this will have for the Millennial generation’s involvement in the nonprofit area. They are already the generation that is more socially aware, more digitally linked, and more concerned about others than any other generation in American history.

So check it out. Wish I had invented it!

YouTube and you

By now as a successful nonprofit you are probably getting very well acquainted with social media. But have you thought about YouTube? A recent article on Mashable, the social media website, details the success nonprofits have had in using YouTube and its nonprofit friendly tools to raise friends and funds.

The key is to make a compelling video. Whether you handle in-house or ask a volunteer to supply, the message has to grab people. YouTube will allow you to annotate your media message with key information as well as a call to action. Don’t forget to link to your donation page on your website and be aware of the importance of using keywords with regard to search.

Finally, use YouTube Insight, a version of Google Analytics, to measure how well you are doing and to tweak your product.

Leveraging dollars

The current economic downturn has affected everything from government revenues to nonprofit donations. With demand for services on all fronts up but revenues down, what’s an organization to do? Actually, there may be a solution in governments and nonprofits working together to leverage dollars and provide services.

An example of a great public-private partnership is the work of LISC (Local Initiative Support Corporation). LISC works nationally to garner funding from foundations, individual philanthropists and through government grants. It then sends that money to its local LISC organizations, such as LISC Jacksonville. LISC Jacksonville in turn raises funds through grants, individual philanthropy and city government support. So, what was a local $500,000 donation is leveraged to create a pot of over $12 million to help neighbors create sustainable communities in underserved neighborhoods. Wow, any nonprofit would love to “grow” money like that.

So while money doesn’t grow on trees, it can be made to grow into a substantial pot that will have a better chance of achieving goals through leveraging a public-private partnership.