What-if-concepts

I spent a couple days in the caverns of the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC attending the BoardSource Leadership Conference., a gathering of members of the nonprofit community. I attended the usual mix of wonderfully enlightening and informative presentations that make you want to change the world today and the occasional presentation worthy of downloading a new iPhone application just to pass the time (if the cell signal had reached three stories underground). Although I uncovered a couple chapter’s worth of information worth sharing and hyperlinks to add to a future posts, one of the themes that resonated deeply with me was the role of social networking. I will note that lots of focus was given to the topic of donor retention and surviving the economic downturn. In case it is keeping you awake at night I offer a synopsis of a keynote speech made by the Pew Trust’s (www.pewtrusts.org) Executive Director Rebeccal Rimel who said that a reduction from donors and foundations is certain and any group with fore-thought should be preparing a worst case, mid case and best case scenario for their immediate future. Rebecca went on to urge all nonprofit organization’s to be transparent and advise your donors about your challenges and engage them as partners as you plan for the future. On a more optimistic note, I offer some observation about our future leaders.

What grabbed my attention most was the role of social networking and its current impact on the social sector. Cause related community building and peer-to-peer giving weaved its way into every Q&A session. As somebody who was not an early adopter of all the leading social networking sites and a firm member of Generation X I feel a bit like I am painting by numbers. The always connected Millennial generation appears to be playing on a blank canvass with completely original compositions and the rest of us are trying to evolve as quickly (or sometime resistantly) as possible. The first presentation worthy of mention was lead by Paul Schmitz and David McKinney of Public Allies who did a great parody of the PC and Mac media campaign. Paul, complete withe bow tie and jacket took on the role of a stuffy, old-school, traditional 501(c)3 organization attempting to recruit members of the younger generation to its board. Channeling the best of PC’s persona, C3 as Paul referred to himself explained that trustees at his nonprofit organization held board meetings and ate lunch at an exclusive private club, built friendships with a round of golf after their meetings and apparently never spoke of the impact of their nonprofit’s work. Playing the equivalent of the Mac in this playhouse skit, David was a younger, more vibrant, cause related organization attempting to connect with generation X and Y by inviting them to join a community committed to solving a problem and making a difference. Taking a much more active grassroots approach, board members interfaced with the organization’s clients on a regular basis, voted on Bylaw changes via email, worked in a variety of task force settings, measured the success of the organization on multiple platforms and were constantly connected to an ever expanding group of community and online advocates. The skit ended with the question: Is your board a Mac or PC? Highlights from the remainder of the presentation included data from BoardSource revealing that 2% of nonprofits organizations report having members under 30 years of age on their boards and 36% report having board members between the ages of 30-49. With an untapped demographic some great opportunities present themselves in the form of programs like AmeriCorps where 500,000 younger adults have participated (a greater number than those that have served Peace Corp over its 40 year history). So what are the central themes to engaging younger talent? Look at your Board Culture, Organizational Culture and Diversity. The culture of the organization tends to be the biggest challenge for most organizations when it comes to attracting younger leaders. Invest in diversity and inclusion realizing this initiative it is an action and not as an ideal. At the end of the day, the next generation provides a greater chance of increased sustainability for most organizations.

The second transformational presentation was done by Tom Watson who wrote the book Causewired. Tom’s is a true early adopter, from his days on Usernet in the 1980’s he has been in the middle of the technological and social network hub ever since. The central focus of Tom’s presentation and book focus on the role social networking sites play as a younger generation focuses on changing the world. The research presented show the power and reach of the social networking community. Looking specifically at Facebook and its Causes application which currently has 13.5 million users, the biggest cause is currently represented by the 3.7 million individuals that have joined Eric Ding’s Campaign for Cancer Research and raised $75,000. Tom spoke about the viral impact of the Causes application. Anyone can launch a cause for free and develop a global following with a laptop and online access. Imagine the cost of reaching the 3.7 million followers involved in Eric Ding’s model if we used the techniques of a traditional nonprofit marketing and advocay campaign? 3.7 million followers is a commodity that provides instantaneous relevancy- you have my attention when you speak for that many members. The undeveloped potential of many of theses cause comes when you consider the financial contributions made by the group. Is 2 cents per member (as an average when you divide members by the amount donated) a great return on investment? Would your organization be able to survive on such a fundraising ratio? What would your organization do with 3.7 million members? What potential opportunities exist with a massive membership base? At the same time, how committed is the membership for a cause when the only barrier is ‘one-click advocacy’? I click and therefore I show my support but nothing else is required of me. Is this more of an American Idol form of global change, the ultimate in popularity contests? How do we take individuals from being members, wearing the causes logo on theei Facebook homepages to truly committed advocates? The most successful social networking campaigns have demonstrated the ability to attract massive amounts of traffic willing to join a cause but less certain is the impact. A few highlighted organizations Tom considered successful early adopters and great examples of tapping into the network. Save Darfur, the Nature Conservancy, Stop Global Warming. Check out more about Tom at www.causewired.com.

A paradigm shift is taking place. Is it a tremor or a magnitude 8.0 earthquake? Some of what was spoken about at the conference feels much like the technology bubble of the late 90’s when you saw meteoric rise of multiple companies. Books like Jim Clark’s New New Thing felt new and innovative and yet ancient history at the same time. What platform do we use to invest our time and energy is certainly an on-going debate. Perhpas it is time for me to eat some Halloween candy and checkout my Facebook page and consider the future.

Thank you for reading-