This post wasn’t meant to be here – it sprung from a thought I had, which I then posted as a status on my Facebook page. Here’s the thought:
Wouldn’t it be cool if big corporations that supported charities took an allocation of their donation, and paid for consultants to help non-profits learn about social media? The consultants don’t have to charge the charity, the corporation is still helping the charity, and the charity can allocate these funds back into the organization and those who need it the most. Just a thought…
From that simple thought, I got a ton of feedback and stories.
From the conversations with Abbie, Shana, Catherine and Kimberly, it’s clear there continues to be a huge need for social media within the non-profit sector.
Not only can it help reduce costs from an advertising standpoint, but (as we discovered with the 12for12k project), it can help raise awareness and reach like no other medium.
The problem is, too many charities can’t afford the extra cost of hiring a consultant or agency to train them on how to use social media to its fullest.
On the flip side, people that offer their time pro-bono to try and help educate non-profits often find they can’t continue to allocate free time and still work their own job to pay the bills. Sadly, this leads to them giving up, and the charity is back to square one.
So. Here’s a challenge for 2011. A mission statement, if you like.
Let’s build a database of social media consultants and agencies, either with expertise in the non-profit sector or working with clients that donates funds to non-profits, and look at how we can use their skills.
Let’s add companies and corporations to that database that are willing to fund social media education for their chosen charity, or ones that we can help suggest and connect.
Let’s find and add quality, creative agencies that understand the power of storytelling and want to make a change, and can bring amazing visuals to a charity’s words.
Simply put, let’s make it a mission to connect people who can help each other – consultant-to-business-to-charity-to-consultant.
Along with my business partner Troy Claus, I’ll be speaking with a bunch of folks over the next couple of weeks as we put in place some of the stuff we’ll be doing with 12for12k next year as it returns from its sabbatical.
I’m now making this mission one of the key goals for 12for12k next year.
I’m pretty sure we can find enough willing parties from all aspects of this mission to make a good start on the database and how it’ll work. Then the real fun can begin.
Interested?
Leave your details in the form below (it’s just for letting you know when the database is up, as well as ideas along the way – no spamming, I promise!) and let’s see what magic we can create next year.
Thanks!
image: niznoz
