Can Nonprofits Survive The Recession (Part 2)?
THE TRIGGER THAT CREATES POTENCY
JOHN’S KEY POINTS: A REALISTIC ASSESSMENT
Hon. John Key, Prime Minster, made the following key remarks during his 18th March speech at Philanthropy New Zealand’s Annual Conference this year:
“First of all – and this does not get acknowledged nearly enough – New Zealanders are a very generous people One of the joys of being Prime Minister is that I visit communities in every corner of the country, and meet people in those communities who make a real difference.
Whether it’s donating their time, money, food or effort. Whether it’s coaching a sports team, or planting trees in a local reserve, organising a fundraiser, giving koha, or helping troubled teenagers read and write. Or whether it’s digging deep to support a worthy cause when they don’t have much themselves.
Two years ago, and just after I became Leader of the Opposition, I gave a speech at Burnside in Christchurch. I spoke about how I want to promote a culture of generosity and giving, and how the Government needs to get behind the community and voluntary groups that make a real difference in our communities. I said I didn’t think “more government” is the solution to every problem.
Since then, much has changed. The world is now experiencing the worst economic downturn in more than a generation, and this is having profound effects on our own economy – from reduced growth and increased budget deficits, to falling business profits and rising unemployment. There is, as you know, no magic lever the Government can pull to suddenly turn our economy around.
The government provides a huge amount of funding to the voluntary and community sector – but we do this as a purchaser or funder of services, not as a giver of last resort
As the downturn bites, we are expecting to pay more in unemployment benefits, and we do expect demand for these services will grow, but the fiscal constraints we face mean there is not going to be a lot more money available.
Our challenge is the same one we face right across government. The age of expanding budgets is over. We need to do more with the resources we have. Like you, we need to prioritise and we need to make choices. We need to tackle our problems with greater creativity and ingenuity.
We can advocate for a culture of generosity. We can ask people to think about those who are worse off than themselves. And we can encourage them to give. But we cannot do this alone. If we are to build a culture of generosity and giving in the country, the message can’t just come from the government.
Web-based technology presents another huge opportunity. There are, by some estimates, close to 100,000 non-profit organisations in New Zealand. That’s an almost baffling array of causes and organisations. It makes sense to use the web to help people get better information about these causes and ways to support them, and it’s good to see the non-government sector leading the way.
Let’s work with each other and reach out to voluntary and community organisations, to business, and to all New Zealanders.”
SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR NONPROFITS
Prime Minister John Key couldn’t have been more apt when he remarked that web-based technology presents another huge opportunity for nonprofit organisations during these trying economic times. I consider it the trigger that creates potency for nonprofits.
Why? Social networking has turned out to be the global social phenomenon of 2008. It is creating a transformational change in people’s behaviour worldwide. Consider: nearly 77% of the world’s Internet population today visit social networking and blogging sites.
It is a remarkable development not only because more people are connecting with each but the total amount of time they spend on these ‘member community’ sites are rising significantly as well — 63% to 45 billion minutes in 2008.
The growth in popularity of online member communities and the resultant broadening audience is only half this story. Because time spent on social networks is growing at a dramatically faster rate than the Internet average, online social networks are gaining an increasingly larger share of all Internet time. The staggering increase in the amount of time people are spending on these sites is also changing the way people spend their time online and this has ramifications for how people behave, share and interact in their normal daily lives.
So what’s in it for you?
DON’T MISS OUT. SOCIAL NETWORKS ARE AN OPPORTUNITY
Social networks are a communication channel just like TV, newspapers, radio and the telephone. Therefore, social networks are another vehicle which any organisation with an offering, product or service can use to communicate, engage and connect with people.
IT’S A FREE LUNCH. THE DOORS ARE ALWAYS OPEN, PLEASE COME IN
All types of nonprofit groups and organisations in New Zealand now have a means to actively participate in the social media evolution. The growth of social media and people’s willingness to listen, generate opinion and co-create content is a big opportunity for nonprofits to increase audience and engagement on their own websites specially configured to reach relevant touch points on the Web.
YOU CAN NOW CREATE INTERACTIVITY WITHIN YOUR OWN WEBSITE
Leaders and communication officers of nonprofit organisations should instigate functionality that enables communities and conversations to form within their own websites. This doesn’t mean creating a social network infrastructure like Facebook, Bebo or Twitter but can be as straightforward as allowing visitors to comment or create content related to material posted by you. Doing so enables you to become part of the wider conversation rather than just pushing content and sitting back.
YOU CAN ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONVERSATION ON SOCIAL NETWORK SITES
Just as people on the Internet add content to social network sites, so can you. Social networks offer the opportunity to publish and promote your own content to a wider audience across the Web. Nonprofit organisations across the globe are now becoming publishers and are amongst the most popular fan pages on Facebook, some having hundreds of thousands of fans.
THE INTERNET IS FAST BECOMING AS RELEVANT AS TELEVISON
A Nielsen study published in October 2008 showed that almost one-third (31%) of home Internet use (31%) is accompanied by background TV viewing. Adults aged 35 to 54 actually logged the most simultaneous Internet/TV usage minutes. These early trends potentially indicate that online usage is complementing, not substituting, traditional television viewing. Social networks and TV, therefore, might be a mutually reinforcing media.
BE PATIENT. SUCCESS DEPENDS ON HOW WELL YOUR MESSAGES RESONATE.
Success in promoting your organisation using social media means overcoming obstacles such as complexity, creativity and relevance. But whatever the successful formula turns out to be the ingredients could form the ‘best practice’ that fits your organisation’s capabilities and style. If what you do begins to resonate with people, use it.
Click here to read Part 3
Other related blogs:
(A Tremendous Opportunity For Nonprofits)
(Building Communities On The Web)
To learn more about what the author of this blog and his company do for nonprofits, please click on this link.