Go Social, Give Wisely
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The way philanthropic organizations have been mobilizing social media in recent years to raise funds isn’t really “shiny new stuff” any more. Still, the recent waves of donations after the earthquake have been coming at lightning speed.
In light of that, I’ve been intrigued by The Smoking Gun’s scrutiny of Wyclef Jean’s charity, Yéle Haiti (also reported on in today’s Washington Post). Having run communications for the ASPCA during some critical events in the animal welfare arena, I know how generous people can be with their money when tragedy strikes, even when they don’t have a lot to give. I also know how important it is that that money reaches the right hands.
I honestly don’t know what the deal is with Mr. Jean’s charity and am not going to play a guessing game. If you’ve been following the story, you can view his video response on YouTube, which Mashable picked up pretty quickly (h/t Lindsay Allen for finding it for me). I do think he is to be commended for springing into action so quickly after the earthquake hit and being a very public face for the poorest nation in the Americas.
What I will say is that regardless of who you’re going to give your money to, you should do your research and give where you trust that your donation will be wisely used.
Charity Navigator is a good place to start, and usually my first stop when I’m researching a non-profit organization (you can read their take on Yéle Haiti and why they don’t currently rate it here).
GuideStar is another resource, and there are some terrific blogs and writing out there on philanthropy, such as Tactical Philanthropy, which Wendy Harman of the American Red Cross directed me to.
Also understand that while you might give your money immediately, it will take time to reach those who need it most – it’s not an instant process, as Wendy, who answered a few questions related to the organization’s efforts in Haiti for me, explains:
Q. A couple of days ago, the American Red Cross confirmed $5 million in donations from a texting campaign. However, today’s Wall Street Journal reports that “it could be weeks, if not months, before any of that money actually can be used… the money won’t be routed from most U.S. wireless carriers to relief efforts until cellphone users pay their phone bills.” Is the ARC making this delay clear to potential donors? Does this have any impact on your operations? And how successful are campaigns such as this, in your opinion, to more traditional fundraising methods such as telethons?
A. We can now announce the public has donated $12 million in $10 increments from texting “Haiti” to 90999. It will take more than 60 days for these exact donations to get to the American Red Cross. In the meantime, we know how much has been pledged and will use existing funds from our International Response Fund to distribute the donations immediately.
This text campaign has been a supplement to existing fundraising channels such as donating online, calling 1-800-REDCROSS, mailing, telethons, etc. The ease of text messaging and the automatic $10 donation has helped raise awareness for the need for funds because it’s also so easy to pass around via twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites.
Q. How is the American Red Cross using social media to help Haitians in their time of need?
A. We’re proud of the social media philosophy and program we’ve had in place for a couple of years – we empower social media tools and the community on the social web to fulfill our mission. Many times we provide critical information for people who are affected by disasters. In the case of the earthquake in Haiti, we’re concentrating more on providing information to everyone in the United States who wants to help, and keeping everyone updated on how this tremendous outpouring of support is impacting people in Haiti.
Q. Is it working?
A. I hope so!
Q. Some of us in the communication field feel we can’t “do anything” to help in times of crisis. Do you think that’s true? If not, and we can indeed help, what can we do?
A. The best thing you can do is keep this story in the news. All attention is here now and for sure there is a dire emergency happening right now but make no mistake: this will be a massive long-term recovery operation and we could use your help in continuing to keep the people of Haiti in the minds of the public.
***
I’ve been trying to help spread awareness of the Red Cross’ efforts as well as those of Hope for Haiti, which 12for12K is partnering with (HFH is rated by CharityNavigator, by the way), as have many of the people I know, online as well as offline. As Wendy says, that’s the one thing that we communicators know how to do, so let’s keep doing it. And to everyone who is – thank you.
Do you have tips to share on giving wisely to charities? Any other thoughts you’d like to share? I’d love to know.
See, Hear, Give. Please.
Photo: Matthew Marek/American Red Cross
Please give what you can, to the American Red Cross, Hope for Haiti (You can “Chipin” easily via the 12for12K widget below) or another reputable charitable organization. Thank you.
Tweetup… A Pocketful of Rainbows
I told you a couple of days ago about #shonalitweetup that’s being organized around PRSA2009. Now I’m really excited that we’ve added another layer to what I know is going to be a great evening and will, I hope, help an extremely worthy fund raising effort meet its goal.
We’ve partnered with 12for12K to help one of its charities, Musicians on Call. If you’re active in the social media world, you’re already familiar with 12for12K and Danny Brown, the brains and passion behind it. If you’re not, you can learn more here and here.
So, in a nutshell, if we all give a little, we’ll be able to help some extremely worthy causes. $12K per charity sounds like an awful lot, but not if we all chip in $10, $20, whatever we can (and companies, you should be giving more!). Little drops of water, little grains of sand, etc.
All the charities that have been selected for 12for12K are worthy causes. Even if we haven’t lived in a war zone, been excruciatingly hungry, or have been blessed with keeping our vision, we can identify with those who have/do, have been/are, and haven’t/can’t. If you haven’t been touched by these issues directly, you have been, in some way, shape or form, indirectly.
When it comes to music, though, there is not a single person who has not been touched by it directly. Remember how excited I was to visit Graceland, or listening to/watching Adam Lambert? In other words, the soundtrack of our lives.
So please help Danny and his team support Musicians on Call. Here are some ways in which you can do this:
1. If you’re coming to #shonalitweetup, consider chipping in. Yes, the tweetup is still sponsored, thanks to PRNewswire, Mike Smith Public Affairs and dna13 (that means hosted beverages and pie aka pizza for a limited time, so that we don’t drink Bar Basic out of house and home). And you don’t have to chip in – but it would be so nice if you would.
2. Whether you’re coming to the tweetup or not, share this post and/or the link to its 12for12K page with your networks; Facebook, Twitter, even email… you know the drill. Oh, and how about embedding the donation widget on your blog?
3. If you really think this is a good idea, put the squeeze on people you can ask directly to chip in.
You, my community, have been very good to me – from egging me on when I started this blog a whopping 11 months ago, to helping me find Darby the GSD a home. I hope I’ve been good for you in some way too. Now let’s all be good for 12for12K and Musicians On Call.
One other thing – and this is very important – just because the tweetup is tomorrow night, we’re not going to stop trying to help there. 12for12K runs through the end of the year… so we have a few weeks to help them reach their goal. Let’s do it!
Can we help some very worthwhile causes find their pockets full of rainbows?
As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart. (Psst, I downloaded MoC’s logo from their site, in case you want to do that as well).
Can Social Media Find Darby a Home?
I love social media and networking. No surprises there. What is especially fascinating to me is their potential to bring together people who are virtually unknown [sic] to each other, and set the stage for something unique, something unintended and, quite possibly, something very, very good.
There are several examples of virtual “strangers” banding together to make a difference; certainly for non-profit organizations and causes, but also in response to personal appeals. Remember Beth Kanter’s birthday fund raising drive which raised thousands of dollars for kids in Cambodia? And how about the British teenager who was literally “saved by Facebook“?
I thought long and hard about doing this, and finally decided that if Chris Brogan can ask you to shave your head for charity (which I applaud, by the way) I can ask you to try to save a life.
Darby’s Story
My husband’s uncle died suddenly while vacationing in Panama a couple of weeks ago. To say it’s been a huge shock would be putting it mildly.
We are still not out of the rain forest, so to speak; unless you’ve been through it, you have no idea how much there is to deal with – or how complicated and arduous the process is – when a family member dies abroad.
Be that as it may, our uncle left no progeny behind… but he did leave a dog.
“Darby O’Callahan” is a spayed female German Shepherd, about 7 years old. I’ve never met her, but from what I hear, she is extremely affectionate towards people, healthy and quite a beauty. She’s also one of the few dogs I know who has her own Facebook page.
Should be a cinch to get her adopted, right?
Nope. It seems that Darby has lately been showing aggression towards other animals, which means she needs to go to a home where she’ll be an “only dog.”
Now, it’s quite possible this is a result of Darby’s recent stress, and her strong prey instinct (which is what the manager/trainer at Townhouse Pet Care Center, where she’s currently being boarded told me she probably has) could be trained out of her over time.
After all, if your “dad” had suddenly disappeared, and you’d been in a kennel for 3 weeks+, you’d be pretty ornery too… if you were still sane.
(Disclaimer: Much as I love them, I’m not an animal trainer or behaviorist, so I’m providing the information given to me by people who are more qualified than me in this area.)
I’ve been trying to contact a few different rescues in the Portland, Ore., area (which is where Darby is), but so far we haven’t had any luck placing her; I had a potential home for her which fell through when we heard about the aggression issue, which I was heartsick over. Several of my friends and family have received an email plea for me. Some of my Tweeps have been trying to spread the word.
Well, now I’m throwing it open to YOU. Can you help get the word out about Darby? Forward this post, tweet it, share it however you can.
The folks most likely to adopt her will, of course, be in the Portland area; can you activate your network(s) to see if we can reach people there? Perhaps even the media?
Those are horrifying statistics in a country where almost two-thirds of households have pets.
I don’t want Darby to become another statistic.
Can you – the embodiment of social media – help find Darby a home? Anyone who’s interested, or wants to know more, can reach me at info (a) shonaliburke.com.
We would be so grateful. And I truly believe our uncle’s soul would be at rest.
Many thanks to the inimitable Susan Ragan for her great photographs of Darby, and to the folks at Townhouse for taking such good care of Darby while we try to place her.
Through a Lens, Richly
Communicators: how do you use your lens to impact the world?
While channel-surfing a couple of years ago, I came across the documentary “Born into Brothels.” Having been born and brought up in Calcutta (now Kolkata), I was instantly captivated by the story. More than that, I was touched by Zana Briski’s commitment to these children born, through no fault of their own, on the wrong side of the street; and her covenant to open their eyes and bring them the riches of hope – through a camera lens.
The original Kids with Cameras. Source: Kids with Cameras
The Communicator’s Lens
When “Slumdog Millionaire” swept last week’s Golden Globes, I was reminded of the “kids with cameras,” and the power an image has to convey what, often, 516 words cannot. That is the essence of what we, as communicators, should aspire to, isn’t it? To convey a message to our audiences in such an efficient and impactful way that they are moved to action, enabling our clients or organizations to achieve their goals.
As communicators, we each have a unique lens through which we reach out to, and touch, the world.
Just in the last several days, I have come across many passionate communications professionals putting their networks to work for the greater good. Take Beth Kanter, who raised more than $3,500 for the Sharing Foundation which helps kids in Cambodia. Or Danny Brown, who’s initiated the incredible 12 for 12K campaign. You need look no further than your e-mail inbox, Twitterstream or Facebook friends to find countless examples of how an image – coupled with the power of connection – can change lives forever.
As my tribe that has overwhelmed me with birthday wishes today, I’m asking you to use the power of your lens to make a difference for the kids with cameras. You can:
- Join the Facebook group for Kids with Cameras. (We can’t donate to them via Facebook right now, but we’ll find a way to help them.)
- Donate whatever you can – whether it’s $5 or $50, directly to Kids with Cameras. If you’re clicking through from this post, please select “Hope House,” since Avijit is already in the U.S. If you’d like to make the donation in someone else’s name, just check that box (and if you want to make it in mine, I’d be more honored than I can tell you; just make a note of that in your comment below so that I can send you my email address).
- If the amounts in option #2 above don’t work for you, you can make a donation of whatever amount is comfortable for you by either calling or emailing them a check.
- If you’re unable to donate or join the Facebook group (I know it’s a tough time) but would still like to help, just send me a note. We’ll find a way to put our talents to work for them.
- If this cause touches you, please tell your family, friends and colleagues about it. Spreading the word is the greatest power communicators have!
You can change the world through your lens. How you do it is up to you.
