The winner of the How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar career coaching contest is...
Congratulations and thanks to everyone for entering and spreading the word about How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar. If you didn't win this time, stay tuned for more prizes and resources for book readers.
Here is a round up of some of the wonderful things that I have recently found in my in-box and Twitterfeed.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has posted the transcript of a live discussion on overcoming career obstacles and preparing for a successful nonprofit career where Rosetta and I were guests.
In a recent BoardSource survey nonprofit CEO's rated their boards poorly when it comes to promoting diversity.
The New York Times has a new interactive feature where you can try your hand at fixing the nation's budget deficit. Try it here.
Moo cards are my new favorite for personalized business cards.MOO Business Cards are $21.99 for 50 customized Business Cards, each one with a different design.
Today is the last day that you can enter to win one hour of free career coaching. Buy How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar and post a comment here to be eligible.
To celebrate the great response we’ve been getting to How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar, Rosetta and I are each offering one hour of FREE career coaching (a $100 value) to someone who purchases the book by midnight EST on November 15. (Check out the great reviews the book has received from your colleagues!) All you have to do is buy the book (ebook or paperback) at the discounted rate of $19.99 (remember the price goes up to $24.99 after November 15!). If you’ve already bought the book, thank you! You’re already eligible to enter 
First, buy the book if you haven’t already. Then, fill in the comment box below with your name, email and the general area of nonprofit career development you’d like to work on. You have to comment below to be eligible for this prize. Rosetta and I will be randomly picking one winner from each of our comment sections on Tuesday, November 16. Then, we will schedule our one-hour coaching call to help you implement some of the tools found in the book. Entries must be received by midnight EST on November 15. The winner will be announced as an update to this post on November 16!
Note: Entries posted on my blog will win a coaching session with me and entries posted on Rosetta's blog will win a coaching session with Rosetta. You can post one entry on both of our sites if you like!
P.S. Even if you don’t win this time around, stay tuned for more contests and special offers just for Nonprofit Rockstar readers!
Do you feel stuck in your nonprofit career? Unsure how to take that next step? How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar is an accessible, do-it-yourself map of how to navigate the nonprofit sector and gives you the tools that you need to move from entry level to leadership. This book is designed for professionals who want to build a meaningful and rewarding nonprofit career. How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar is based on the authors’ experiences as well as interviews with nonprofit rockstars who have supercharged their careers.
You’ll learn how to develop meaningful nonprofit experience, build a strong network, establish a strong personal brand, achieve the elusive work/life balance, and move on up in your career.
Rosetta Thurman and I wrote this book together and it is chock full of all of the things that we wish we knew when we first started our nonprofit journeys.
How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar is available with two versions for you to choose from: an ebook or a paperback.
You better act fast, though. The book will only be available at the introductory price of $19.99 through November 15, 2010. After November 15, the book will revert to the original retail price of $24.99. Save $5 by making your decision to buy now!
This 189-page resource is ready for your download right now. Click here to get your copy.
Benefits to purchasing the ebook version:
189 pages of practical tips, strategies and real-life examples to help you ROCK your career The ebook version contains LIVE hyperlinks throughout the book, so you can put the 50 tips into action right away The ebook version saves paper, is searchable and can be saved to your computer to be read anytime, anywhere Includes a resource section with links to books, fellowships and professional associations we recommend. BONUS! Free 34-page ebook from Rosetta on developing your own blog BONUS! Free 14-page ebook from Trista on becoming a presentation powerhouse
Wanna hold How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar in your hands? You can also order the book in paperback format. It’s 174 pages and ships within 3-5 business days. You can order it as a paperback here.
Benefits to purchasing the paperback version:
So there is a dirty little secret in the next gen movement. Gen X folks can pull the same ageist nonsense that baby boomers do. I know this is absolutely shocking (unless you are a Gen Y nonprofit staff member that is sick of your Gen X coworkers constantly railing against your generation). Alfonso Wenker, who is a blogger at From Our Perspective and is featured in How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar: 50 Ways to Accelerate your Career, has a lot to say on this topic. From Alfonso:
I was hired for my first nonprofit job when I was twenty years-old. Yes, HIRED. It was a paid gig. AND it was a job in philanthropy to boot – and I still work for the same organization.
To this day I am still entirely humbled and grateful to Greg, my first boss, for hiring me. He took a risk and saw potential. And also, to this day, people continue to do a double take when they hear that I am in my twenties and work for a foundation in a lead program role. I still find myself saying at events and happy hours, “Yes, I am on staff and have been for three years.” It gets old after a while. Now in most settings I would expect that folks might be surprised to hear that a 23 year-old is the director of programs for a regional LGBT foundation, but the last place I’d expect to get pushback is at an event for young professionals. This has been a huge challenge for me.
When I landed what I call “the first job of my dreams”, I immediately started attending networking events, professional development seminars and of course “YP” events. Working in philanthropy I felt a little over my head at first. Everyone was older. Most everyone was white. Many had been seasoned nonprofit professionals before they arrived as program officers at a foundation.
I thought my one safe haven would be attending “YP” events. Think again. I suppose you could call what I encountered at these events, acute ageism. Sharing my age seemed to leave a bad taste in the mouths of people I thought to be peers. I continually had to assure my colleagues at these events that “No, I in fact, am not an intern. I am on staff.” I was shocked. These were supposed to be my people. We were supposed to band together about being younger in field dominated by folks 20 and 30 years older than us. Instead what I found was a general mistrust and disbelief.
Sometimes when I was not “out” about my age, I found my other young colleagues cracking jokes about “those twenty something’s” or ridiculing the work of their newest intern.
Read the rest of Alfono's post here.
Here is a great post from Pam Pompey on the GIFT blog (Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training). Until we open up our vision about who is a giver and who is a receiver, we will be unable to solve the problems that face our society. (Special thanks to Theo Yang Copley for sending me this link). From Pam:
My head is still throbbing from my conversation with a program associate at a southern-based foundation. The conversation had me so upset I reached out to my board of directors for moral support. The foundation person (who is probably first contact for groups considering submitting a grant proposals) told me our organization was not compatible with their social change agenda.
Okay, I get that. Not all groups fit all grants. I preach that. But I was told my organization’s work wasn’t social justice work. I said, yes we are! I told her “We believe strengthening donor-ship and leadership skills of individuals (in communities of color) is key to helping groups build organizational capacity and sustainability. I told her working on community-led philanthropy and fundraising is working for social change.
The program associate disagreed. “Sorry, ya’ll don’t match our mission” is exactly what she said. But I assumed what she meant was that sharing cultural knowledge and developing people of color with a donor/fundraiser/activist mentality and the spirit of volunteerism, is not considered part of a progressive social change agenda.
Read the rest here at the GIFT Blog
I just finished reading the final draft of the book that I am co-writing with Rosetta Thurman “How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar: 50 Ways to Accelerate Your Career” and it’s pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. The stories and examples included in the book are from hundreds of nonprofit rockstars, much life yourself, that have shared their advice through interviews, blog comments, Linked In Q and A’s, Facebook comments, and twitter chats. The book will be available on November 1st on this website. We have two versions for you to choose from: a paperback version with an extended resources section and an electronic version that includes the resource section as well as live links throughout the book, so you can move to action sooner. The electronic version can also be read on any ebook reader that can view PDF’s. As a New Voices of Philanthropy reader, I’ll give you a sneak peek at the book’s table of contents.
Table of Contents Chapter 1: What a Nonprofit Career Looks Like 3 There is No Linear Career Path 3 Rosetta’s Journey 5 Trista’s Journey 8 How Do You Get from Here to There? 11
Chapter 2: Develop Expertise 12 Tip 1: Find A Great Nonprofit Job 12 Tip 2: Size Matters 18 Tip 3: Make the Most of Your Volunteer Experience 22 Tip 4: Learn How to Raise Money 25 Tip 5: Always Learn, Always Teach 28 Tip 6: Work Abroad 32
Chapter 3: Build a Strong Network 34 Tip 7: Prioritize Networking 34 Tip 8: Attend Nonprofit Conferences 35 Tip 9: Get Your Own Business Cards 36 Tip 10: Join Professional Associations 37 Tip 11: Go Talk to People 40 Tip 12: Build Your Own Frankenmentor 45 Tip 13: Start Your Own Network 50
Chapter 4: Establish a Great Personal Brand 52 Tip 14: Google Yourself 52 Tip 15: Stop Trying to be Two Different People 55 Tip 16: Write a Kick Butt Bio 58 Tip 17: Professionalize Your Online Presence 60 Tip 18: Start a Blog 62 Tip 19: Look Like a Leader 66
Chapter 5: Practice Authentic Leadership 69 Tip 20: Do Your Job and Do It Well 69 Tip 21: Join a Nonprofit Board of Directors 73 Tip 22: Lead a Committee 75 Tip 23: Cultivate a Slash Career 79 Tip 24: Polish Your Public Speaking Skills 83 Tip 25: Ask for Feedback 89 Tip 26: Do a Stretch Assignment 90 Tip 27: Speak Up! 93 Tip 28: Mentor Someone Else 94
Chapter 6: Plan for Balance 96 Tip 29: Develop a Personal Mission Statement 96 Tip 30: Schedule Time to Reflect 99 Tip 31: Don’t Skip Lunch 101 Tip 32: Fall Back in Love with Your Job 103 Tip 33: Ditch the Martyr Lifestyle 105 Tip 34: Clear Off Your Plate 108 Tip 35: Mind Your Money 111 Tip 36: When Work and Home Collide 114
Chapter 7: Move On Up 119 Tip 37: Create Your Own Professional Development Plan 119 Tip 38: Set Big Goals 120 Tip 39: Get a Master’s Degree 124 Tip 40: Manage Up 128 Tip 41: Get Paid What You Are Worth 131 Tip 42: Consider the Benefits 135 Tip 43: Get Promoted 137 Tip 44: Introduce Yourself to a Search Firm 139 Tip 45: Use Your Network To Find a New Job 147 Tip 46: Get an Executive Coach 149 Tip 47: Know When to Take the Leap 154 Tip 48: Resign Gracefully 157 Tip 49: Be a Good Manager 159 Tip 50: Run with the Big Dogs 163
Resources 167 Books You Should Totally Read 167 Professional Associations Worth Joining 168 Foundation and Nonprofit Fellowships We Love 172
If you are interested in having you community be part of the Nonprofit Rockstar Tour and booking the authors for an event, conference, workshop or book signing, email info (at) rosettathurman (dot) com with your request.
Want to learn about social justice, family philanthropy and national organizing, all while helping Resource Generation organize young people with wealth? Introduction Applications are now being accepted for Resource Generation’s Fall Fellowship program. The initial position available and advertised below is for the RG Family Philanthropy Fellow. This position is located in Seattle, with the possibility of the Bay Area for the right candidate. A small stipend is available if needed.
Background Resource Generation (RG) organizes young people with wealth to leverage resources and privilege for social change. Through community building, education and organizing, we help young people with wealth bring all they have and all they are to the social change movements and issues they care about. Key programs and resources include a developing network of local chapters, national conferences, delegations, action projects and publications. Find out more and check us out at www.resourcegeneration.org.
Fellowship Program RG is looking for motivated individuals to form our inaugural fellowship team. Each fellow will have the chance to work alongside an RG staff member on a specific topic area. Fellows will gain invaluable experience in the field of philanthropy, social change organizing and many facets of non-profit work.
Eligibility These are ideal positions for students or recent graduates, though all individuals are eligible and encouraged to apply. Fellows will receive supervision and support but should also be comfortable working independently. The schedule is flexible and we are happy to accommodate requirements for academic credit. Fellows can request a small stipend as needed.
Title: Family Philanthropy Fellow Location: Downtown Seattle, WA (possibility of Bay Area as well for the right candidate) Supervisor: The Fellow will be supervised and work alongside Michael Gast, RG Co-Director. Position Summary: The Family Philanthropy Fellow’s main responsibility will be as lead coordinator for the 2011 Creating Change Through Family Philanthropy (CCTFP) Retreat. The CCTFP Retreat is for young people who participate in their families’ philanthropy and are committed to progressive social change. Info on last year’s retreat can be found here. Responsibilities include: • Supporting retreat planning committee • Coordinating logistics for participants, presenters and on-site • Updating and maintaining retreat website • Managing creation of retreat materials • Tracking and managing retreat registration • Advising on strategy for RG Family Philanthropy Program • Data entry into Salesforce database for Family Philanthropy Program Qualifications: • An interest in family philanthropy, social justice, and organizing • Strong communication and organization skills • A willingness to perform administrative tasks with enthusiasm and attention to detail • An understanding of the importance of confidentiality Helpful skills: • Retreat or Conference Planning Experience • Familiarity with Salesforce, Microsoft Office Suite, Google Docs, Facebook, Twitter Dates and Hours: October, 2010 - End of May, 2011. 7-14 hrs/week.
Please send a resume, cover letter and available work hours mike@resourcegeneration.org by September 24th.
I love this video about the impact of the nonprofit sector. We are a force to be reckoned with!
I once got a fortune cookie that said “you are the average of your 5 friends.” Shut your eyes and think for minute about your five closest friends. I’m guessing you have the wild college roommate who is now gallivanting across Europe and the other end of the spectrum is your Martha Stewart-like friend who homeschools her kids and bakes cookies for the troops. You are right in the middle.
I think this rule holds true for your professional colleagues as well. Who are the five people that you trust most professionally and are your sounding board for career moves? These include mentors and the person that you like to hang out with at work. Keep it to just five and if you are having a hard time coming up with the five, it’s time to start focusing on building your professional network.
Thinking of your five closest colleagues, ask yourself the following questions:
Do you have people that you regularly spend time with that are doing the job that you would like to do in 3-5 years? 10-20 years?
Do those 5 people support your dreams and aspirations?
Do you have people in that list that you are mentoring?
Would you be comfortable asking everyone on this list to act as a reference for you?
Do you see any holes on this list?
What proactive steps could you take to fill those holes?
There is no more painful calculation than looking around a conference room, during a boring, nonproductive meeting and figuring out how much it is costing in staff time for everyone to be there. Personal estimates have run from $190 for a small meeting that only lasted one painful hour to an all day retreat where nothing was accomplished and it cost $5,100 in staff time.
If you are leading a committee, here are some strategies to make the time more productive:
Have a clear agenda- Standing meetings with no purpose are the reason why so many people think meetings are a waste of time. Set a clear agenda before the meeting and give people time to add their own agenda items. The agenda should also include the goal of the meeting, so everyone is clear on what needs to be accomplished.
Make the time clear- Have clear start and ending times and stick to it. Don’t wait 20 minutes for everyone to show up. If you get started on time people that are often late will start to come on time because they know that you respect their time, so they’ll respect yours.
Determine who has to be there- Some meetings may only need to have some of the team members there. It is better to proactively think about who needs to be at each meeting and make the invitations contingent on absolute necessity.
Decide if the meeting really needs to happen- If the core purpose of a meeting is check in’s about a project, save everybody the wasted time and have a document that summarizes where everyone is rather than making them sit through a painful meeting where only a minute or two is relevant to their part of the project.
Good meetings are the result of good leadership. Take the initiative and make it the meeting timely, useful, and relevant for all participants. They’ll appreciate their time being used wisely and you’ll get what you need from your committee.
In an interview with the Zora & Alice blog, Thalia Theodore Washington, the Executive Director of DonorsChoose.org talks about her experience negotiating her salary. “My second job was in a non-profit in LA. I’ll tell the end of the story first, which is that I didn’t negotiate and I should have. I was young, it was my first office job, and I had no idea what I was worth.
I still to this day kick myself for not negotiating . And the reason is that you’re always building off of your last salary. You don’t have a $30,000 salary and then your next job’s $100,000. There are stages.
The fear I had and the fear that women have is that negotiating makes you seem greedy, not classy; it’s a knock against your integrity. Yet, now that I have had the chance to hire people, I would argue that there’s something to be said for advocating for yourself. Probably everyone has a job where an offer was made and you just said yes. But smart people don’t always just say yes.”
Here are some ways to negotiate a higher starting salary:
Look at salary surveys- These surveys can give you an idea of what local positions, in similar size organizations are paying. Many organizations use these salary surveys to set their salary scales with in the organization. Your local nonprofit association may produce a salary survey or you can look at Idealist’s listing of surveys at http://www.idealist.org/en/career/salarysurveys.html. Use these numbers when you are considering positions at a variety of organizations (e.g. larger organizations often offer a higher salary) and to give you an idea of what to expect during salary negotiations.
Check out the 990- The last tip told you that salary often is depended on an organization’s operating budget and the place to find that number is on the 990. The 990 is a document required by the IRS for tax-exempt organizations. This form will give you an idea of how large the organization’s budget is and will also tell you how much the top paid staff at the organization are paid (if their salary is over $50,000 a year). Even if the position that you are interested in is not listed on the 990, you can determine what their salary scale looks like compared to similar sized organizations by looking at what they pay their top staff.
Be truthful but don’t overshare- Don’t ever lie about your salary history. The HR department will check your salary history and being a liar isn’t going to help your career. Instead of listing salary history on an application, list your desired salary range for the current position.
Just say hmmmm- Most people immediately accept the first offer from an employer. Even a reflective “okay” when they say the first salary number can immediately end negotiation. Pausing for a second and saying “hmmm” or “that’s a little lower than I expected” gives room for negotiation. The hiring manager almost always have flexibility and starts with a low-ball number to have room to negotiate.
What are your tips to negotiate a higher starting salary?
I am so excited to announce that I am co-writing a book on tips for young nonprofit professionals to move from entry level to leadership with the super-talented Rosetta Thurman. The release date is November 1, 2010 and you will find ordering information on this blog. We wrote this book because one in three emerging nonprofit leaders aspires to be an executive director someday, yet only 4% of them are explicitly being developed to become their organization’s executive director. And of that 4%, women are being developed at a lower rate than men.
Our solution? Give young professionals an accessible, do-it-yourself map of how to navigate the nonprofit sector and the tools they need to move from entry-level positions to leadership roles.
The book is based on our experiences as well as interviews and case studies from other young nonprofit professionals who have successfully used the career strategies outlined. We have both also relied heavily on the wisdom that we have gained from our blog readers. As a result of reading this book, young professionals will be able to develop valuable nonprofit expertise, practice authentic leadership, and establish a strong personal brand.
Rosetta and I are looking for young nonprofit professionals to give us feedback on some of the books chapters. Send me an email at tristaharris (at) gmail (dot) com if you are interested in being a reader.
Hi everyone! I'm back from hacked blog purgatory so you can expect new posts and a very, very exciting announcement coming next week. To keep you busy as you ponder my big announcement (new job? nope! solved centuries old math problem? nope!) I've got an interesting post from The Chronicle of Philanthropy's Give and Take Blog: Charities are all too familiar with being scrutinized over their administrative costs, but in a twist, a foundation in Britain is being asked to reduce its overhead.
John Copps, a head researcher at the British charity-evaluation group New Philanthropy Capital, describes on his organization's blog how the Big Lottery Fund -- Britain's largest grant maker -- is being instructed by the government to reduce its administrative costs from 8 percent to 5 percent.
While it may seem that the foundation shouldn't be immune to the cost-cutting going on elsewhere, Mr. Copps says, limiting the organization's administrative costs will likely cause harm.
Read the rest here
[caption id="attachment_1163" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="From www.postsecret.com"]
The issues that we are working on in the nonprofit sector will not be solved by one generation alone. We need many ways of working and many different types of skills sets. Maybe that recognition hungry Gen Xer might be a perfect fit for your HR department. They may develop your next employee incentive program that increases your staff’s productivity. That Facebook obsessed Gen Yer could suddenly lift your tiny social service agency from obscurity to social media fame.
Let’s all step back from the irritation and dark wishes that these generations never be employed and move to something more healthy for all of us.
I had an interview with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits as an opportunity to give advice to new foundation staff. Here is the interview.
Many of us dream of spending a month on a sailboat but brush the idea off as pure fantasy. We have too much work to do, our boss will say no, maybe we'll rock the boat too much even by asking. Usually all of these things are true, unless you do your homework first. Headwaters' newest staff member recently made this request and I happily said yes. Is it because I am a kind executive director and will happily take over her workload for a month? Nope. It's because she made it so easy to say yes. Here's what she did:
She got a feel for the organization's culture- We have many staff members that have taken extended vacations. I often rave about what a good job they did preparing the other staff for their time away. She took mental notes and used that as part of her strategy when approaching her own leave.
She didn't surprise me- When she first heard about the opportunity to go on the sailing trip, she let me know that she was thinking about doing this and was concerned about missing an event that we are hosting during that time. I appreciated that she was so concerned about the event and wanted to make sure it was successful but I made sure that she knew that, while there was a lot of work to be done to get ready for the event, her attendance on that day wasn't mandatory.
She made a plan- She wrote up a list of all of the activities that needed to take place during that month, figured out who could be alternatively responsible, got their buy-in, and also listed all of the things that she could do in advance to either finish that activity or to make it easier for the person taking over.
She always does a good job- It is much easier as a supervisor to say yes to someone who consistently keeps up with their responsibilities. She does her job well everyday and so that made it really easy for me to trust that she would properly prepare for this leave and be ready to get back to work when she returns.
Do don't give up on your dream of going on a safari, a mission trip to Honduras, or backpacking in Australia. Just make it easy for them to say yes.
I recently received a copy of Laura Vanderkam's book 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think. A while back Laura interviewed me about my time management techniques to add to the book, as I was reading over my suggestions and quotes I was quickly reminded that time management can be a fleeting accomplishment. When Laura interviewed me I had an amazing executive coach that was helping me put systems in place to make sure that made sure that time wasn't an excuse for not being able to do all of things that I needed to do as the new Executive Director of Headwaters. She helped me set my schedule so I had time for strategic thinking for three large blocks of time a week, time to clean out my inbox everyday, and time for lunch (I know it sounds ridiculous but in my first few months at Headwaters I was packing my schedule so tight that I didn't have time to eat). As I got more comfortable in my new organization it became easier and easier to let those good habits go because things were moving smoothly and I was getting a lot accomplished.
Getting Laura's book in the mail reminded me that good habits only work if they are really habits and not just a fleeting lifestyle change. Her example of how you can really have it all (wife, mother, successful careerist, and connected community member) just by paying attention to how you are spending your 168 hours a week was a needed reminder that I need my good habits back, even when things are running smoothly. She has great examples throughout the book of how to maximize your hours. Check out the book, I bet you'll find new ways to maximize your 168 hours and make it a permanent habit.
I stumbled upon this old post, from when I first started at Headwaters, and it was a great reminder of how far I have come. My family may not be eating gourmet meals but I can happily say we haven't had Hamburger Helped since this post.
I have been busy with work lately, not sleep under my desk busy, but busy enough where I don’t have a lot of spare time to think about what to eat at home. It is not like when I have lots of spare time I am a wonderful chef who makes home cooked meals for the neighborhood but I can get a protein, vegetable, and a starch on the table pretty consistently. For the first three weeks of my new job my husband has been handling almost all of the home duties and when it comes to food that means we had eaten a wide variety of fast food for three weeks straight. I was starting to feel like the guy from Supersize Me, so I finally ventured to the grocery store. I have found that when I have a large number of decisions to make at work, facing the infinite number of possibilities at the grocery store makes my head feel like it is going to explode. Instead of picking fresh food that would require me to figure out what to do with it I gravitated towards the dangerous middle aisles, where there are pictures of completed meals on the box and numbered directions on how to make it happen. At 9pm on a Tuesday night at a grocery store, numbered directions start looking pretty attractive. The next night when I cooked my “1-2-3″ meal I noticed that it had a very unappetizing grey color and it had a nice chemical aftertaste. That’s when I remembered that work-life balance isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.
I have no false illusions that I will be running a board meeting, speaking at a conference, and then cooking a three course meal for dinner but I can do a better job of using the same strategic planning that I use to decide what I need to accomplish for the week at work, at home. I can set broad goals about the sort of food I would like my family to eat and how we spend our time together. I can also celebrate those successes at home the same way I celebrate those successes at work with staff. The hard thing about being a parent or a partner is that you don’t get performance reviews to tell you that you are doing a good job. You need to figure out what let’s you know you are doing a good job, is it well adjusted kids, a happy partner who says nice things about you to their friends, or a family without scurvy? Then enjoy those successes.
Great post from Rahim Kanani of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard about the Global Philanthropy Forum: Just a few weeks ago, the 2010 Global Philanthropy Forum convened in San Francisco. The three-day forum highlighted a number of key international challenges and opportunities facing investors and grant makers, NGOs and civil society, and multi-sector partnerships both public and private, as the industry of giving and receiving enters the second decade of the 21st century. While the overarching themes of the conference were not explicitly related to technological advancements or solutions to the world's most pressing problems, having attended a variety of sessions over the course of the conference, one of the most prominent threads was exactly that: harnessing mobile and internet technology for change, social impact, and accountability.
Catalista, for example, has developed a mobile platform to connect individuals interested in timely volunteer work for local non-profits in need, whereas The Extraordinaries pioneered the field of micro-volunteering, which helps organizations and supporters turn spare time into social value from a bus stop, cubicle, or couch. To-date, micro-volunteers have completed over 300,000 tasks for more than 200 organizations. Similarly, but in a reversal of roles and in the space of economic development across the developing world, Samasource enables marginalized people, from refugees in Kenya to women in rural Pakistan, to receive life-changing work opportunities via the Internet. The core of this concept is microwork -- little bits of labor that can be performed anytime and anywhere that add up to a real livelihood for their partners. Another example of mobile and social innovation in action is the work of FrontlineSMS, designed specifically to address a widespread communications problem facing grassroots NGOs working in developing countries. By leveraging basic tools already available to most NGOs -- computers and mobile phones -- FrontlineSMS enables instantaneous two-way communication on a large scale. The uses for such technology spans monitoring human rights violations, disaster relief coordination, election monitoring, emergency alerts, health care information requests, mobile education, and more.
Read the rest here
