Campaigns Give Power to the People…
Posted by: Crystal Noble on: February 5, 2010
In December, Louder Than Words’ Tricia McKenna wrote about a number of new campaigns using social media to inspire action and communicate good. Earlier this week, two of the nation’s biggest brands jumped into the mix, launching some seriously ambitious campaigns:
Pepsi kicked off the Pepsi Refresh Project, a new “social investment” project, through which the brand is dedicating at least $20 million in 2010 for donations to local organizations and causes proposed by the public in realms like health, arts and culture, the environment and education. This campaign puts the power in the hands of the people, allowing anyone to nominate his/her ideas for grants. Read the rest of this entry »
The case for Idealist.org?
Posted by: Rich Polt on: January 29, 2010
I found out today on Twitter that Idealist.org has been experiencing a monthly shortfall of $100,000 for the last 15 months and that they need an immediate infusion of funding to, in their founder’s words, “maintain all our services.” Now an organization’s leader does not make this kind of public plea unless their back is against a wall. (Read the complete appeal from Executive Director Ami Dar, here.) It takes guts and commitment to say the equivalent of we need rescuing.
I’ve known about Idealist.org for years, probably because I fancy myself somewhat of an idealist too. When I first launched Louder Than Words, I registered the agency as a vendor on the site, and over the years I’ve used it for recruiting. So when I read that they were in trouble, my immediate reaction was “oh no … not Idealist!” My instinct was to make a small donation and then reach out to my expansive network (via email, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc.) to help make the case for saving Idealist.org. But just as I was about to kick my plan into gear, I had a startling realization … (dramatic pause to build suspense) … Ami Dar himself had not built the case for saving Idealist in his email (go back and read it). Although he did a commendable job being transparent about Idealist’s financial shortfall, he doesn’t actually address what they do; why it’s needed; why it must continue. Read the rest of this entry »
Communications Lessons from the Massachusetts Senate Race
Posted by: Tricia McKenna on: January 22, 2010
So, Massachusetts has a new Senator. As Scott Brown packs his truck for Washington, many residents are still suffering whiplash from a campaign that seemed to come out of nowhere and quickly grew into a national event. Politics aside, there are a few communications lessons from Martha Coakley’s epic defeat for anyone trying to use media to advance their organizational agenda: Read the rest of this entry »
Making Web Video Work
Posted by: Rich Polt on: January 13, 2010
I’m not a fan of the monthly “newsletter.” In general, I toss them upon arrival, and I typically advise clients against using them. There is, however, one monthly newsletter that I read religiously. It’s called Free Range Thinking, and not coincidentally, it deals with effective communications practices. Free Range Thinking is put out by a communications expert named Andy Goodman who has achieved guru-like status in the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors. His seminars and talks feel more like entertainment than work, which means he practices what he preaches.
The cover story in this month’s newsletter is a great piece about how organizations can make compelling Web-based video. The article draws on the expertise of professional movie director Steve Stockman, who is currently writing Why Bad Video Happens to Good People (and how to keep it from happening to you). Chock-full of practical information and real videos to click on, I thought this would be an ideal article to reprint on Communicate Good. I checked with Andy Goodman, and he gave it the green light! Incidentally … if you would like to sign up for Free Range Thinking, you can do so here.
Web Video Worth Watching
A veteran director offers five tips for improving the videos on your website.
Now that you can hold an HD camera in one hand and upload your file to the web with the other, an increasing number of nonprofits are adding video to their sites. The process is inexpensive, easy to learn, and breathtakingly fast, but that doesn’t guarantee a watchable end product. In fact, in many cases the smooth path is more of a slippery slope. Good causes, meet bad videos. Read the rest of this entry »
Mending Hearts and Clothes
Posted by: Michele Fox on: January 7, 2010
Companies are always searching for ways to make a positive social impact in their community. For some, it’s a no-brainer. Restaurants with extra food often donate leftovers to a local shelter or food bank. Many businesses allow employees paid time out of the office to work with a favorite charity or non profit organization. The following is an example of two stores seemingly doing the exact opposite.
Spotlighting the Good
Posted by: Michele Fox on: January 5, 2010
Ordinary people do good, even remarkable things each and every day. The majority never receive any recognition or attention for their work. This past weekend, I caught an inspirational segment on CBS Sunday Morning that focuses on people who silently do meaningful work for others. The piece is about eight minutes long and well worth it. Enjoy http://bit.ly/7kbzcJ.
A Quest for Good
Posted by: Crystal Noble on: December 23, 2009
Last month, I wrote about a run-in with a reporter that had ceased covering organizations doing good because there were too many to choose from. Since then, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the media, on a personal quest to find stories that do feature good in the news.
I recently found an interesting example, thanks to our friends to the north, who have taken a very different approach to their reporting—they actually set out on a mission to find good. Last week, a team of Toronto Star reporters fanned out across the city to document everyday people being kind to each other. They started at midnight and continued around the clock, chronicling the random acts of kindness that they encountered for a full day. They found kindness everywhere they looked, leaving the team (and me) deeply moved. Here is the article: http://www.thestar.com/actsofkindness/article/741064–24-hours-of-kindness.
This story struck me for a couple of reasons:
1) In a shrinking media environment, a large, daily newspaper dedicated a full 24 hours of staff time to cover this story. Eight reporters to be exact. Typically, breaking hard news would receive this type of round-the-clock coverage, maybe even something tied to a celebrity scandal or death, but never have I seen a news organization dedicate so many resources to cover such a story. If that is not a clear-cut example that there is room for (and demand for) good in the news, I really don’t know what would be.
2) From my perspective as a reader, I was inspired by this moving testimonial to unsung heroes bettering their communities. Some of their stories are quite sobering (i.e. this is not your typical “feel good” story) but each serves as a reminder that there is good all around us, and sometimes in the least expected places. In a year where much of the news coverage has felt bleak, it was refreshing to see a story demonstrating the generous, compassionate actions of ordinary people, and their direct impact.
Hopefully, we’ll see more stories like this…not just at the holidays, but throughout 2010 and beyond.
Best wishes to all for a wonderful holiday season!
~Crystal
Clicks for Cookies: SUCCESS!
Posted by: Rich Polt on: December 20, 2009
I awoke this morning to about 6 inches of fresh snow (still coming down hard), and the very exciting realization that we met our goal of 1,000 cookies in just over 3 days! Read this post here to learn more about the Clicks for Cookies campaign. Thanks to you, the many generous folks who decided to click through to our new blog, we are able to supply the nonprofit Birthday Wishes with enough cookies to stock every Massachusetts-based birthday party in the month of January (one cookie per child in attendance). I was told by Lisa Vasiloff, founder of the organization, that these cookies will be placed in childrens’ gift bags (along with other knick-knacks) to take after the party. If you’re looking to do some volunteer work with a minimal time commitment… helping out at a Birthday Wishes party is an incredibly rewarding way to spend two hours. Check out their Web site to find an upcoming party in your area.
A special thanks goes to Trish Karter, Scott Miller, and the rest of the folks over at Dancing Deer Baking Company for helping us make this happen by extending a healthy discount on product. I’ve known Trish for several years now, but we REALLY got to know each other this past April when Louder Than Words helped promote Trish’s 1,500 mile bike ride to end homelessness. Trish averaged 100 miles per day, riding from Atlanta to Boston, staying at homeless shelters each night to help raise awareness for family homelessness. She is passionate for the cause, dedicated to her trade, and a powerful cyclist to boot.
We launched this blog in early November and, like most new blogs, have only enjoyed a small amount of readership. These things tend to grow organically over time. So it’s worth checking the blog stats to see how this campaign so drastically skewed our numbers (for the better!) 
over the last few days. Click on the image of the graph to the right to see the numbers. We posted the blog at 2:30 pm on Thursday and then sent word out via email to our “friends of Louder Than Words” list. We also tweeted about the campaign and posted it to Facebook. Within minutes, unique hits to the post started to roll in and they didn’t stop. Read the rest of this entry »
CLICKS FOR COOKIES: Something Different for the Holidays
Posted by: Rich Polt on: December 17, 2009
THANK YOU for putting a smile on a child’s face!
For simply visiting this blog post, Louder Than Words will purchase one additional molasses clove cookie from the Dancing Deer Baking Company, to be donated to the ultra-inspirational nonprofit, Birthday Wishes.
Massachusetts-based Birthday Wishes throws birthday parties for children living in homeless shelters. The service they provide is so pure and the joy they bring so tangible, that we couldn’t resist making them the beneficiary of our holiday campaign. NBC Nightly News captured the power of their work in this segment earlier in 2009.
Our hope is that we can amass 1,000 unique visits to this post before Christmas Eve, thereby earning enough cookies for every Massachusetts-based birthday party in the month of January (one cookie per child in attendance).
Frankly, we have no idea whether the goal of 1,000 cookies is a reach or whether we’ll hit that number within 24 hours. If you want to track progress, Read the rest of this entry »
Rich Polt
Michele Fox
Tricia McKenna
Crystal Noble
Erica Salamida
