Join in the Twitter Conversation: Follow and Tweet #ConfHouston

Whether you are packing your bags for AJFCA's 40th Annual Conference in Houston, or sitting at your desk wishing you had the time to step away for some professional development - anyone with an Internet connection or a smartphone will be able to join in the discussion regarding key speakers, session topics and exhibitors at the 2012 conference.

Twitter is an online social networking website that allows its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets". It is a public conversation, allowing open dialogue on any topic.

Placing a # (hashtag) before a keyword (ConfHouston is being used for this year's conference) in a tweet allows that tweet to be searchable in that category, and followed as well.

Including #ConfHouston in your tweets about the conference will allow you to join in an online discussion about what is happening, in real time. For those of you at work or home wanting to get a glimpse of what you are missing - simply enter a hashtag search for #ConfHouston on twitter.com for the latest comments on the program in Houston. Just because you aren't there doesn't mean you can't be part of the conversation.

Not on Twitter? Download the twitter app on your smartphone, or go to www.twitter.com on any Internet connected device.

* Step 1: Go to http://twitter.com

* Step 2: Click the "Sign up for Twitter" box

* Step 3: Enter your email, a password, and your Twitter Username

* Step 4: Start connecting!
 
 

It's informative and a great way to connect with others!

The Nonprofit Social Media Policy Workbook

 The Nonprofit Social Media Policy Workbook, April 2012, Idealware

From Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn, nonprofits are flocking to social media, but not everyone is prepared for the challenges and ramifications of what you post--or how to manage the process. Who is allowed to tweet? Who can comment on your posts? How do you respond if someone says something mean about your organization? How do you make use of what social media offers while protecting your nonprofit and your constituents?

As nonprofits have increasingly turned to social media, policies and guidelines to govern their use of social media have become the new frontier. The open and community-based aspects of social media can be a huge benefit for nonprofits looking to reach out to new audiences and engage their existing base, but sometimes it can seem that no one knows the right way to use each channel, or where the lines are drawn-or even how to find out.

It doesn't have to be that way.

A good social media policy will provide clear guidelines as to what staff should and shouldn't do when posting and interacting with the community on a day-to-day basis. Your organization can create a policy to help guide your whole staff simply by thinking about how you would like to make use of social media.

Written using the research from the Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide, this workbook is designed to help you, as an organization, ask the important questions about social media, and take the next steps to growing a social culture.

Want more guidance? Join Idealware's "Creating a Social Media Policy" online training April 26th, 1:00pm ET.

HHS Announces the Administration for Community Living

This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the creation of a new agency, the Administration for Community Living (ACL). The ACL will combine the efforts of the Administration on Aging, the Office on Disability and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities into one agency, with enhanced policy and program support for cross-cutting initiatives focused on the unique needs of particular groups such as children or adults with developmental or physical disabilities, or seniors, including seniors with Alzheimer's. Kathy Greenlee, the Assistant Secretary for Aging, who has met with family service agencies and federations on numerous occasions, will lead the newly formed organization and serve as its Administrator.

The Administration for Community Living announced:

"All Americans - including people with disabilities and seniors - should be able to live at home with the supports they need, participating in communities that value their contributions. To help meet these needs, HHS is creating a new organization, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) with the goal of increasing access to community supports and full participation, while focusing attention and resources on the unique needs of older Americans and people with disabilities."

More information can be found at the Administration for Community Living. AJFCA will monitor this development, including the reactions coming from the disabilities and aging communities and Congressional leaders, and keep you apprised of how this will affect local programs. As you may know, AJFCA has excellent working relationships with leaders of these agencies and our voice remains vital as ever. Please contact Shelley Rood if you have questions.

Volunteers Give 10x the Dollars

Volunteers Give 10x the Dollars, April 10, 2012, Cafe Connection, by Jennifer Darrouzet

"As it happens, a lot of our volunteers are donors," says Dora Chan. And she should know - she's what colleagues refer to as the "database whiz" at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. And in fact, her statement is true of the wider nonprofit sector: a recent study by VolunteerMatch and Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund found that 67% of volunteers also give money to the organizations where they invest time and talent. You might be asking: why should I care?

Well, for one thing, could your team answer this: "To what extent does our own volunteer list overlap with our donor list?" Would it be a major time-sink to go compare two or more lists? Is it possible there's a population where you could be raising 10x what you're raising now??

Read more to learn about volunteer giving.

Be sure to save your seat: pre-register now for "Volunteer Management: 5 Trends that Can Improve Your Fundraising Bottom Line" on Tuesday, April 24th, at 12pm ET. 

#12NTCJews Talk Networks and Nonprofits

#12NTCJews Talk Networks and Nonprofits, April 15, 2012, by eJP, by Deborah Fishman

Blogger Deborah Fishman must admit that she doesn't go to very many conferences that aren't "Jewish." But in the days just prior to Passover she was excited to attend the Nonprofit Technology Conference of NTEN (#12NTC). Deborah went to speak at a session in collaboration with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, Jim Joseph Foundation, and Darim Online, on networks, technology, and their application to non-profits - and yes, they were speaking about it particularly in a Jewish context. The truth is, with the attendance of over 70 non-profit professionals who are Jewish and/or working for Jewish nonprofits, this session and the social hour that followed had as much as or even more of the usual dose of Jewish geography, schmoozing/networking, and certainly the spirit of Jewish pride.

Why Jewish pride? The focus on how Jewish organizations are making an impact in this realm was impressive to many - especially those who don't usually equate Jewish organizations as being at or even near the forefront of the technological cutting-edge. Fishman gives a lot of credit to the session sponsors, in particular Lisa Colton, the session facilitator, for recognizing the need to demonstrate how Jewish organizations are thinking about technology and networks, even fostering that energy beyond the session by using the hashtag #12ntcJews for the conference's duration.

Read the entire article to learn more about the Nonprofit Technology Conference.

Five Steps for Winning Conversations with Donors, April 1, 2012, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, by Cody Switzer

Laura Fredricks, a fundraising consultant, says she has noticed a disturbing trend. Too often fundraisers use the same formula to seek a gift, whether they are asking for $10,000 or $50,000, instead of tailoring each interaction with a potential donor to the person's interests and values.

That practice wastes time and ensures poor results, she said at the Association of Fundraising Professionals conference, which opened last Sunday in Vancouver.

Conversations with donors are too important to use a standard template, Ms. Fredricks said. A guarantee that fundraisers are doing the right thing: They should be a little nervous every time. Otherwise, it's a sign they are coasting.

She offered her five steps to improving conversations with donors:

1. Know exactly what you want.

2. Prepare the conversation.

3. Deliver with confidence.

4. Clarify your results.