8th
Non-Profit Training Night
Last week we held our first non-profit training session at Attention— the social media marketing and PR agency where we work.
The plan for a non-profit training session originated after our first NYC Changemakers/Changebloggers meeting back in October. At that first meeting George Weiner, the director of technology at DoSomething.org, gave a great rundown of how online tools can be optimized in promoting causes. At the end of his talk a lot of people were hungry for more— and wanted specific advice on applying what they’d learned to particular issues in their organizations.
So we set up our first non-profit training night, complete with wine, cheese, a full room of enthusiastic do-gooders and our agency’s social media guru Jake Fisher. The idea was to offer these nonprofit leaders the same consulting that we give our corporate clients.
It was a great evening. Attendees represented organizations with a range of missions— from raising awareness of gender inequality in Hollyood to preventing rape and AIDS in Kenya. The people in the room had a wide range of experience with social media as well. Some were already blogging, twittering, etc… and others weren’t sure where to start.
Jake’s presentation was comprehensive and offered something for everyone. He covered best-practices for online engagement using all kinds of online tools and platforms.
Everyone walked away with something they could use to reach and inspire more people about their specific cause.
The next NYCChangemakers meetup will be Thursday January 15th. For more info, visit this link: http://nycchangemakers.eventbrite.com/
“I feel like I’m often defending my generation. And in defense of the critics, I can see why. As a generation seemingly obsessed with tabloids, reality television and Lindsay Lohan’s latest family dispute, can we blame our parents’ generation for asking where the passion has gone? Where is that grass-roots activism? What happened to sit-ins? War protests? And all the other loud, public activism that made the 60s and 70s revolutionary decades? Well mom and dad, the activism is still alive — it just has a new face.”
Idealist founder, Ami Dar, will be speaking at the Nov. 13 meetup, so don’t miss it!
Looking for an eco-friendly meal? 
“As someone who is professionally immersed in the new media world, and personally interested in the nonprofit/social action realm, the fusion of the two spaces is something of great interest to me. But so many people outside of the industry don’t understand what the fuss is all about: Facebook is considered superficial, and various other online channels are scrutinized for devaluing real-world interactions. What the cynics don’t understand is the role social media can play in educating people on important issues, mobilizing activists, and increasing the visibility of passionate do-gooders around the globe.”