Give Back Chicago! – November 4

It was a brainstorm!

Question: How can we engage and help professionals who want to give back?

Answer: We will match up nonprofit projects with volunteers who have the skills and time to donate.

Simple as that Maura Hernandez, Justin G. Roy, Jean Pickering and I created Give Back Chicago. It is a great opportunity for professionals to donate their skills to specific nonprofit projects. If you are working, under-employed or looking for work, Give Back Chicago is a great way to share your expertise and help your community. At the event you will be able to meet with nonprofits, talk to them and others, like you, who want to help.

We are delighted more than 20 nonprofits have submitted projects. We will be matching the projects with the people at our happy hour and skills auction on:
Wednesday, November 4
5:30pm-7:30pm
Bucca di Beppo
521 N. Rush
You can register here!
All of the registration fees will go to one nonprofit drawn at random on November 4.

Give Back Chicago is matching skills, nonprofit needs and donating to great organizations. Join us in making positive change in our community.

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Climate Change – Fact or Fiction?

I live in Chicago – let me tell you – climate change and global warming is upon us!

You know global warming is real in Chicago when:

Chicago summer includes multiple days of 100+ degrees, people die during the heat wave and Chicago purchases buses with air conditioning.

• Chicago misses major snow storms and has less snow than New York
• Chicago has no snow and Arizona floods.
• Lake Michigan loses more than an inch of water annually.
• Chicago has temperature swings of 40 degrees in one day.
• It’s November and 60 degrees one day with three inches of snow the next.
• It is more humid during a Chicago summer than Florida.
• Spring rain showers show up in the Fall – warm temperatures and light rain.
• Crocuses start blooming during a warm March only to be frozen in April or May
• Big snow storms hit in April or May.
• You don’t need a winter coat in December.

Don’t get me wrong, when it’s warm in Chicago, we don’t complain. But deep down we know it’s wrong, very wrong…especially when it shouldn’t be warm. We love seeing Spring begin, but not in March. We have come to expect a storm in April or even May.

None of this is reflects normal weather patterns for a northern, Midwest city like Chicago. These changes are new over the past ten years. Everyone is trying to mitigate global warming. The city has purchased electric buses. We have a stronger car sharing program than in previous year. High gas prices moved many people to public transport. But we have a long way to go.

I am committed to making any and all changes I can to positively impact the environment. I sold my car, joined the car sharing program but still try not to use it. I bike and walk whenever and wherever feasible and even try using the electric trains over the bus system. I have to believe all my choices make a positive impact. I have to believe because we only have one Earth and I want to be sure it is around for generations that follow. Think about what you can do to make a difference.

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Climate Change – Four Changes You CAN Make

The United Nations will be convening thousands of global representatives in Copenhagen in December. While they are over there TALKING about climate change, we can decide to make change now that will positively change our impact on our Earth in our neighborhoods. No one said saving the climate would be easy – but anything worthwhile takes commitment, work and maybe sacrifice. I’m in are you?

1. Reduce the number of lights you use or need – Take a walk around the house/office. How many lights do you need? Or how many in one room? I live in a loft, I can assure you all those ceiling tracks don’t need four to six lights in them and now only have one or two. At your office – turn off the overhead lights and use a task lamp on your desk. THEN change ALL your light bulbs to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.
2. Take a walk – Can you walk to work, grocery shopping, meetings or lunch with friends? I know not everyone can, but where and when you can, do. When we don’t use a car or bus, we are lowering carbon emissions. If you can’t walk, take public transportation or sign up for a share car program. I sold my car and never looked back. My feet, bike, car share and mass transit are all working to get me where I need to be.
3. Wash in cold water or less water in general – Laundry detergents don’t require hot water to clean your clothes. Make sure to use the amount of water you need to wash your clothing. Heated water takes more energy. I use less detergent and cold water all the time – so far my clothes smell fine!
4. Make good food choices for you and the planet – Buying local does more than support your local farmer – it saves on the carbon emissions it costs to transport your food to the store. Buying organic is good for a number of reason. It is good for you because the farmer doesn’t use chemicals to grow your food. Because of the farmer’s commitment to growing organic he isn’t polluting the water table with pesticides. My local farmers produce better food than the stuff I used to buy at the large, chain grocery store and I feel better about my purchases.

Think about doing your part to save the planet. Some changes will make an impact immediately. Others will leave a legacy for generations who follow us. In either case, it is worth the effort, sacrifice and commitment. After all, we only have one Earth, let’s not waste it.

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BLOG ACTION DAY – Climate Change

Why is it important we talk about climate change? Despite what you may think about climate change – pro or con – you cannot deny our environment is and has changed.

Our ecosystem is co-dependent and interdependent. Small shifts make big impacts-positive and negative. Increases in CO² warms the earth, changes climate patterns, warms the water that evaporates too quickly. Wildlife can’t survive changes – survival of the fittest becomes no survival at all.

I remember as a child – going to a park with a pond and feeding the ducks from my hand. The pond is dry the ducks are gone.

I visited Ayres Rock in Australia way before “eco-tourism” took over Aboriginal sacred land. There is not enough water to handle the hotels and tourists, yet we continue to make poor decisions in name of tourism to harm the land we call home.

I have lived on a Great Lake (Erie or Michigan) most of my life. They are losing a minimum of an inch of water every year. And they are expected to fall 1.5 – 8 feet by 2100. They support our economy, plants and wildlife.

We, humans, are the only sentient beings on the planet with the ability to make decisions that impact our climate. We are responsible for Earth. Every change helps – large and small. Light bulbs to surge protectors. Hybrid cars and public transportation. Walking and biking versus vehicular traffic. Food packaging and reusable shopping bags. Support companies with positive environmental policies. Advocate and make your voice heard – it has an impact!

Make change happen. Make the decision to change the climate in your own way, everyday.

Creating a Culture of Innovation

Last week on my radio program I had the opportunity to interview Laura Thrall, CEO of United Way of Metropolitan Chicago. She shared many great ideas and how United Way is meeting challenges in the current economy. In case you missed the program, I wanted to share one of the ways Laura creates a culture of innovation at United Way.

The Weekly Mash-Up

I asked Laura about leadership and how she inspires and engages her team. She talked about leading by example, willing to roll up her sleeves and fostering a culture of creativity. I asked her for some concrete examples of empowering staff to be creative.

Every week all staff are invited to the Weekly Mash-Up – ALL staff…not just management or directors. Anyone who is available is welcome to attend and participate. The purpose of the meeting is to generate new ideas, solve problems, think creatively. Ideas that came out of that meeting include:

• Chalking the Chicago sidewalks with Live United Chicago logo
• United Way coffee jet packs outside United Way corporate offices to serve staff as they arrive

Some nonprofits talk about creativity, but are reluctant to change. Some leaders ask for new ideas and shoot them down. In this economy and always we need to be innovative. A leader does not have to come up with all the answers but they can empower staff. Change is good. New ideas make change.

Couple quick ideas to encourage and empower innovation:

• Use mind mapping to approach ideas, challenges, problem solving from a different point of view and using a visual diagram
• BBQ the sacred cow – What in your organization can’t be touched? Does it keep your organization from moving forward or just is? Is it time to let it go? This can release a lot of energy and creativity.
• View a challenge through someone else’s point of view
• Use mind tiles to get ideas out and move them from creativity to innovation
• Engage in brainstorming: Remember – no idea is a bad idea, no comments – just a flow of ideas

Practice creativity. Empower creativity. It will lead to innovation.

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TweetCamp Chicago Success!

¡Congratulations! to Maura Hernandez for mobilizing friends and colleagues to create TweetCamp Chicago.

More than 100 Tweeters and Tweeters to be learned about tweeting for personal and professional use. Twitter 101 and one on one was a buzz with those who know how sharing with those who wanted to know. The sharing was wonderful – Twitter basics and apps that make it work. More importantly the willingness to give and take was terrific. The essence of the more you give, the more you receive. I learned so much from everyone – the questions asked and answered.

The Camp was a “unconference” or open space meeting offering opportunities for participant driven classes in 30 minute sessions. The fast pace kept everyone interested and engaged.

It was terrific meeting those you have been following on Twitter. Seeing their real faces instead of the gravatar or mini Twitter photo was a fab. You could write your Twitter handle or real name on the TweetCamp t-shirt making it easy to identify your Twitter friends. The t-shirt was designed by Mike Rhode. They are collector items and may still be available!

Thanks to everyone who attended and tweeted my session on Twitter for Nonprofits – @susanbirk @cytaylor @saduros @kgallagher @nicolegsimonds @interactiveamy @danticoa @karefreeman @karitas @jimsharp @slines @npcommunicator @beingswell. It was great meeting everyone and hearing from YOU!

Maura did a great job recruiting sponsors, securing the location, publicizing and engaging speakers and participants. Congrats and we are looking forward to Tweet Camp Chicago 2.0. Proceeds from the event went to the American Women Journalist scholarship fund.

You can follow Maura on Twitter @maurahernandez and all the action from TweetCamp #tcchi.

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Copenhagen Climate Change Conference – Why you should care!

Copenhagen will be a busy place on December 7-18. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will bring together world leaders and their representatives to create a comprehensive, ambitious and fair climate change deal (COP 15).

The overall goal for the COP 15 meeting is to establish an ambitious global climate agreement for the period from 2012 when the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires.
For more than ten years this group has been talking about reductions in global warming, the Kyoto Protocol was signed by some but not all and Clean Development Mechanisms have reports since they began. It has been ten years – this must be the year they come to agreement and to be sure there is no gap when the Kyoto Protocol ends! Our voices are important to the outcome of COP 15 or another ten years will pass and the Earth will continue to suffer.

 No matter where we live, our leaders, elected or otherwise, have appointed representatives to attend COP 15. The United Nations system includes specialized agencies and nonprofits that will be observing and lobbying outside of official proceedings. There are many opportunities to have our voices heard. If you care about global climate change – Let those attending COP 15 know what you think:

• Call/Email/Fax local representatives and tell them we care about the climate now and for generations that follow. See Visible Vote to see how your US representative votes and acts on climate change issues.
• Support a nonprofit who is attending COP 15 or a local environmental NGO working to make positive change in our environment. Write a letter, volunteer or make a contribution.
• Use the social media to draw attention and share opinions – use our blogs, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter accounts to make our voices heard and share it with our friends and followers. Ask them to do the same. Respond to blogs about climate change, leave comments and share posts you find interesting or informative.
• Use traditional media to get our opinion heard. Write letters to the editor, respond to articles, call press conferences in conjunction with COP 15 events, happenings and announcements.

WE CAN make a difference! This is the time to make our voices heard, engage others to do the same and be sure we are heard above the politics of climate change to protect generations that follow.

Next post – What we can do locally to lower our impact on global warming.

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Last Quarter Social Media Moves: Fundraising

Hey guys! Sending a hard copy newsletter and/or electronic version to your supporters? Getting your end of year appeal ready? Maybe this is the time of year you distribute your annual report? How about adding some social media to the mix?

Do you have a Facebook page or group, a Twitter account or two or a group on LinkedIn – take some time to review your friends and followers. Who in your group has lots of fans, friends and followers? Those folks could help you increase your last quarter bottom line. These social media “major donors” may not be on your email or mailing list. Besides the updates you post, they may not be receiving the same detailed information as your land-based donors.

Are you planning to launch a Causes campaign on Facebook or Tweetathon as part of your end of the year appeal? Why not? To date, we are not seeing five or six figure results from causes and Tweetathons. But when we launch an online campaign in addition to the support from the traditional end of year campaigning – those $1,200+ online campaigns can add up.

Reach out to your friends and followers. Find the leaders amongst them. Make friends on and off line. Send a few messages, get a few responses. See if they are willing to lead the charge to raise money to support your organization. Set up a challenge or competition to see who can raise the most money. Make it short and sweet – fundraising with social media needs to be quick and to the point.

Start now forming relationships beyond a status update. Social media provides us with unprecendented access to supporters’ likes and dislikes. It can be easy to start a “conversation” about your organization and their interest. Engage them in making a difference to your organization by raising money needed to make your mission real.

Last quarter of the year – make some new friends. Form a new kind of annual campaign committee – online. Add these folks to your major gift list and cultivate a win-win relationship.

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Fundraising – Social Media “Major Donors” as Leaders

In the past posts I have talked about

• Indentifying who social media major donors – power users and supporters
• Cultivating social media major donors – personalized outreach

In this post, let’s talk about a new way of engaging them in fundraising. Social media offers new opportunities to fundraise. However, I think the same old fashioned rule applies – “People give to people.” Social media is very much person to person (and lots of them!) – but on-line or virtually.

Let’s set up the traditional event leadership structure, but ask those we have identified as social media major donors to lead the campaign. You have now identified and cultivated your friends and followers who are the power users of your network. You can have more than one follower leading this effort and they can be from anywhere – near or far.

Like traditional fundraising, we need urgency and a time frame. So establish the need, fundraising goal and a 2-3 week window.

• Ask them to be the “chairs” for the social media fundraising effort
  • Ask them for their ideas, commitment, willingness to support
  • Prominently feature their support on your Causes page
  • Ask for donations of Twollars from all their friends and followers
  • Asking them to create their own Cause page linked back to yours
  • Adding your cause to their Wall, Info, Boxes on Facebook
  • Posting messages to all their friends and followers asking for support
  • Setting a personal fundraising goal
• Decide if the fundraising will include or culminate in an in-person event (see Twestival) – happy hour, networking, party
• Set up a schedule of posts, info to support their leadership
• Continue to encourage their support throughout the process
• Ask for feedback

Try new outreach to your social media constituents. A little time can raise awareness and money from a new group of donors.

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Raising Money using Social Media

I highly recommend Bill Shore’s (Founder of Share our Strength) book, The Cathedral Within, where he talks about  moving beyond hand to mouth fundraising (annual fund, small donations) and truly invest in our communities, people and organizations to make a difference by changing the way we position our organizations and ask for money.

Nonprofits change lives and save lives.  Nonprofit work and the people/communities they support are worth more than $10. Social media needs to be a part of an overall marketing strategy – not an end unto itself. Tweetathons are points of entry for donors – how we engage them BEFORE they make their gift determines how much they will engage in giving AND thus engage others. Fundraising is not effective if we only ask for money and don’t educate and inform.

Let’s make it big – ask for what we want and need and get it to make a difference in the world for our friends, neighbors, communities. Because through that effort, we can change the world and must believe this is true – or there is no hope.

–Make social media an integral part of communications and marketing for any nonprofit.  Social media experts can work hand in hand with professional fundraisers to nonprofits to help them build a social media presence within the human and financial resources they have BEFORE they launch an online effort. 

–Create a social media campaign around each charity BEFORE the fundraising starts. Create the buzz of awareness for their current supporters and prospects out in the world you are giving them access to.

–Ask for what you want – $10 may be too little. In some donors minds they ask, “What could an organization do with $10?”  Equate the ask to something the charity can do with the donation.  

–People give to people – Social media folk have the ability to raise significant funds from their networks by helping raise awareness and money.  Make sure the organizations are able, have the skills and willingness to rally their supporters in the same way.