Category: Managed Services

You ask 100 nonprofit professionals, you’ll get 100 answers.  Aside from one thing, working WIFI 😉

This week’s Inaugural AFP International TechKnow Conference did nail that one.
They also nailed the headliner closing session -Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak.  More on him in a bit.

But did AFP’s REWIRE TO INSPIRE hit the mark this week in Orlando?

Depends on who you ask.  Certainly I know attendance was less than hoped, but given this was a first-time event & our economy is less than stellar, not all that shocking.

Truth: You can never please everyone.
Another truth? We’re not all in the same boat.

Can you imagine if conferences added stipulations like, ‘Only nonprofits with budgets between 5 and 10 million should attend” or “Educational institutions will gain the most from this conference” – absolute craziness.   We can’t expect one conference to be the holy grail of learning, particularly with technology, where drastic changes are happening quarterly, if not faster.

Given these challenges, establishing an ideal balance of content and depth is no easy feat.  Tech conferences today need a mash-up of tactical and conceptual.  Some attendees need to understand the WHY as well as the HOW.  They need to understand how drastically our world is changing and why technology must be adopted to survive as a nonprofit moving forward.

Cisco’s Carlos Dominguez laid it down straight:
“I don’t care what business your in – you’re being re-booted”.

In other words, what once worked no longer applies.  The old rules of having a decent website and a big mailing list to solicit to simply don’t cut it.  Cisco is having conferences with hologram’s – showing people onstage in India having full conversations with folks “LIVE” –  when they’re actually in the US.  While extreme and irrelevant to most nonprofits – my point is – the flip MUST be switched.

Here’s what I’d like to know:

Can we somehow use technology to port board members & executive directors (those pesky buggers who hold the purse-strings but don’t know it’s time to get on the train before it leaves the station) – to these conferences?

I heard a lot of fear  and downright frustration about this fact from nonprofit leaders this week.

One woman from a Florida nonprofit who will go un-named said:
“I’m learning so many amazing things here, but it’s discouraging to go back and not be able to implement anything innovative.” 

This problem is not the Association of Fundraising Professional’s job to fix.  Or is it?  In my estimation, AFP did a good job of covering today’s technology and how to engage, manage and reach donors more effectively as the world goes whizzing by.    Perhaps a bit heavy on the social media side since social media channels don’t directly raise large amounts of money. Unless I missed it, I didn’t see a session listed on selling technology investments to leadership and boards. (I sense a piece from me on that soon) THAT would have been a packed house, don’t you think?

But hey, the good news is, it’s the first one and only has room for improvement.  The important thing is that AFP sees the need to offer a conference to it’s members that is exclusively dedicated to technology and it’s impact on fundraising and engagement.

You’re On The Air!

A great event enhancement  was the live radio shows,  reaching those unable to attend TechKnow.  I enjoyed talking about nonprofit mobile strategy as a guest with Jonah Halper & Brian Reich on Charity Radio Show  (who by the way have an amazing & FREE show next week with Guy Kawasaki) along with Laura Howe of American Red Cross and Carlos Dominguez of Cisco.   This and Ted Hart’s Radio Show added to the atmosphere and brought learning outside of Orlando’s Gaylord Palm Resort.

Back To The Woz

The co-founder of Apple Computers had some great one liners & quotes.  I clipped a short video of The Woz talking about his start with Apple and uncanny ability to poke fun at himself.   Enjoy!

Finally, I met some amazing and genuine people who made my conference experience fantastic including, Josh from the Palm Beach School for Autism, Ashley Hansen of Care2 a fantastic organization helping nonprofits generate online leads, Ghazal Vaghedi with Engaging Networks &  Justin Ware with nonprofit strategic consulting firm Bentz Whaley Flessner – just to name a few.  Thanks!

I’d love to hear constructive feedback on what others thought of the conference.  Are you ready to tele-port your board to the next one?  I’m inspired to create a toolkit calling “Sell Mobile Technology to Non-techie Leadership”   Who’s In?

I”m feeling very energized (and admittedly a little frazzled) after conducting mobile strategy sessions with half of our 12 mobile grant contest semi-finalists over the last week.    Hopefully they are all busy making amateur videos the public will begin voting on in just a couple short weeks!

Amazing causes, vibrant & dedicated people, it makes my heart sing when I’m fortunate enough to engage with humans who give so much of themselves to others who need it.
It’s easy for people to turn a blind eye or complain about how wrong and bad our world is.
These people do something about changing what is to what they want it to be.

Mobile technology and marketing offers countless ways to better lives.  Jon and our leadership here know this.  It was a prime motivator to launching our “Gives Back” Mobile Grant Contest.   I’d like to highlight a couple of our semi-finalists, share the ideas behind how they might use our coveted $25,000 in mobile marketing and mobile technology grant:

Project Renewal .  This NYC human service agency provides mental and physical health resources to community providers, as well as direct services, to the homeless and at-risk of New York City.  On any given night over 40,000 men, women and children are sheltered.  No permanent home.  Many of these individuals have mental health and addiction issues that, if helped, can become productive, happy citizens in our society, with homes and jobs.  This is Project Renewal’s mission.

Project Renewal’s mobile medical clinics provide direct services where they are needed most, at the shelters, soup kitchens and on the street.  Through an innovative and engaging service delivery model, their four vans provide primary healthcare to nearly 3,000 homeless New Yorkers annually.  The program also includes what’s called a scan van, offering free mobile mammograms for women over 40 without health insurance – many even with jobs do not have.   Early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer among at risk populations remains a big issue in our Country.

So how could Atlantic BT’s 25K Mobile Grant be used to help?

Project Renewal’s MobileMed program would focus exclusively on these mobile medical clinics. A mobile site focused on van schedules and locations would enable community providers to connect homeless New Yorkers to critical and potentially life-saving medical services, including mammograms and HIV testing. Using MobileMed, users would enter their zip code to access the nearest location and time of a medical van visit.  Not only would this be utilized by providers who partner with Project Renewal, but many New Yorkers who lack health insurance but own smartphones as their sole source of Internet could find and utilize such services they didn’t otherwise know existed.  Everyone has a right to lead happy productive lives.  If funded, MobileMed would help more people do just that.

Mobile Grant could bring Cancer Support Services to North Carolina’s Poor Communities. 

Cornucopia Cancer Support Center is a Durham, NC based organization whose mission since 1995 has been to offer a place where anyone touched by cancer can find support and resources to Live Life to the FULLEST™.
People drop in for yoga, a support group, maybe even a wig or to check out a book from their extensive resource library- all FREE of charge.  But looking at long term growth, leadership realizes they have some challenges.  Fortunately, North Carolina’s Curtis Media Group has been instrumental at helping launch a new program That Cancer Show, whereby those affected by cancer can call in and ask questions from guests on the show.  Topics may include well known research doctors or patients who share their journey of finding resources to help maintain their quality of life.

The show itself reaches the entire state of North Carolina and can be heard in another 13 states.
The show is recorded and MP3’s are available on Cornucopia’s website.  Since starting the program in April, site traffic specifically to the show’s landing page has gone through the roof.   But in order for this program to really take off and help more people who are touched by various types of cancers in less affluent and resource-rich communities, technology has to be enhanced and mobilized.

That’s where Atlantic BT’s Mobile Grant comes in.  Using the grant, Cornucopia would build out “That Cancer Show” to it’s own identity, landing page and mobile site.   The mobile optimized site would enable people to download recorded cancer shows onto their own devices by making them available as iTunes or similar podcasts.  The project would also include creating a clear strategy to help increase listener-ship and awareness of the educational program in more poor areas of North Carolina where few resources exist like they do here in the Triangle.  Cornucopia could develop and offer program sponsorships to continue funding the program once the grant funds were depleted.

The  needs of someone struggling through a cancer diagnosis goes well beyond what family and friends can provide.  Spiritual and emotional cancer support and services are important yet challenging to find in under-served communities.  Imagine the potential number of lives enhanced whereby people wouldn’t feel so alone?
Elevating the reach of this show via mobile technology and awareness campaigns would be a game-changer for Cornucopia.

Do you have a favorite cause that mobile might help like the potential seen with Cornucopia & Project Renewal?
Please share here or on Twitter.

While it’s still up for debate how Facebook (FB) stock will fair, one thing is for sure, there’s some pretty unhappy folks.

I can’t go a day without seeing an article or tweet about their lack of mobile strategy,  or how they will monetize mobile in the long run for investors.   How they’ve gotten as far as they have without an IRON CLAD mobile strategy based on today’s mobile tsunami is beyond me.

For the last 3 years I’ve been passionately educating nonprofits on the need to go mobile.  And I get it.  Technology has still been evolving, platform partners haven’t been as aggressive as they should in adopting a mobile strategy for thousands of nonprofit clients.  And while the Facebook’s of the nonprofit sector, National Wildlife Federation, Susan G Komen and the like have adopted mobile technology and marketing, the overwhelming majority have not.

Frankly it’s starting to get under my skin!

Here’s why:

If nonprofits had to answer to shareholders, those shareholders would look at 1 primary goal:  Show me the money.

In theory, if Facebook is getting slammed by analysts and investors for not having a mobile strategy because that’s where users are – why should we not be looking at our nonprofit organizations the same way?

Now, mind you, I’m all for what nonprofits do to support our communities. I’ve been on that side as a fundraiser.   However, if you simply look at viability to stay in business and move to engage where customers are, then look at what 80% of nonprofits are doing to mobilize their fundraising, advocacy, program and operational areas (ps, answer is NOTHING) I can tell ya:  I would NOT be investing in these nonprofits!

People can balk at my comments all they want, but it won’t change the truth.

Excuse of no resources for mobile investment no longer works. Find it. 

• Dig though that budget and see what’s being spent in areas such as direct mail, promotion, supplies.
• Find partners in your community that care about your cause, are forward thinking smartphone owners & have the capacity to give.
• Research and submit proposals with innovative foundations who get it.

They are not taking a gamble here.  A full 50% of US adults own and use Smartphones – the number jumps to over 75% for those under 44 years old.  These numbers are only going up and will continue until near saturation hits.

If nonprofits believe waiting another 6 months, year or more to make this investment and think this inaction won’t impact their bottom line, I’ve got more news.  You may not see sharp declines right away, but the longer you wait to develop and execute on a mobile strategy, the more people will dis-engage with your cause, diminishing your brand.  Evolution really – survival of the mobile fittest.

Last week’s release of donorCentrics Index of National Fundraising Performance – paints a sobering picture.   Overall, donations are down.  So are new donor acquisitions, a critical issue as large donors continue to cycle out.

The only type of nonprofit that saw an INCREASE in new donors last year were Social Benefit nonprofits.  What do they do?  Lots of Advocacy.    Online petitions have enabled acquisition of multi-channel donors.  Younger, social, mobile donors.  

But What if it Doesn’t Work?

To elevate this discussion and create mobile buzz amongst nonprofits, we’ve launched our Atlantic BT 25K Mobile Grant Contest.  So many are fearful of screwing up – of spending budget on mobile, then not seeing ROI (Return on Investment).
But it’s really nothing more than the following:

• Conduct your research
• Set your Goals – (new advocates/donors, more clients served, more money raised etc)
• Create your mobile strategy
• Execute the technology
• Market & measure
• Adjust accordingly

Will your mobile strategy and results be without flaws? Will Facebook go bankrupt?  Of course not!   Mobile marketing and mobile technology is still evolving (will be for awhile) technology partners are catching up, roads are still being paved.   So jump on!  Or soon, your “investors” will be asking “why have you not?”

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I’m speaking on mobile engagement and strategy at  AFP’s TechKnow Conference June 4th in Orlando, FL.  Join me, tweet me or reach out directly at tonia.zampieri(at)Atlanticbt.com and let’s talk about your nonprofit’s mobile strategy.

~Tonia

Congrats to Autism Society of North Carolina as our 4th & final mobile grant contest spotlight entry.

Who is Autism Society of North Carolina?

ASNC was founded in 1970 by a group of parents who were concerned about the lack of awareness, acceptance, and services for their children.  ASNC is the only autism-specific advocacy organization in North Carolina working to directly improve the lives of individuals and families affected by autism throughout the state. Our mission is to provide support and promote opportunities that enhance the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum and their families.

Addressing a growing problem

Like many disease-specific statewide organizations,  the majority of funds raised by ASNC go directly to families dealing with the struggles of autism.  With state funding dropping, successful community fundraising initiatives remain vital to offer continued support.   Peer to peer fundraising events are popular and successful at raising large amounts of money from supporters spanning all ages & incomes,  half of which religiously carry  smartphones.  A mobile solution could impact fundraising effectiveness tremendously.  

How would Atlantic BT’s 25K Mobile Grant be utilized?

“ASNC currently hosts five signature Run/Walk for Autism events throughout the state each year. Proceeds from these comprise a large portion of our budget.  Our largest and most financially successful Run/Walk is the Triangle Run/Walk for Autism.  Last year’s event raised more than $240,000 to support programs in North Carolina’s autism community. We would utilize the Atlantic BT Grant to develop a mobile app that would enable us to grow our fundraising to those with smartphones. 

Our Run/Walk websites are hosted on the Blackbaud Sphere platform, which works well on a PC.  However, the experience is not optimal for mobile devices. This grant would allow us to create a mobile interface that promotes engagement and integrates with our database seamlessly.   Our initial goal would be to increase team building, runner participation, and donations for Raleigh’s walk, eventually offering mobile app functionality for all Run/Walk events.”

Mobile Strategy Assessment

Peer to Peer fundraising event platforms are perfect tools to mobilize.  Participants who can fundraise seamlessly via their smartphones will raise more money, more quickly with mobile apps & mobile optimized pages.  Today’s technology enables companies like ours to build mobile extensions of today’s robust content management and fundraising platforms.  Strategies like this ensure fundraising growth & more sustainable nonprofits.

Often, a network administrator will need to block a troublesome user agent that’s causing load or security issues. If you are using junOS firewalls with an IDP subscription, you can craft a custom attack rule that blocks these users at the firewall itself.

Let’s craft a custom attack policy to block Baidu, a common troublesome web spider that doesn’t obey robots.txt rules.

Let’s begin by connecting to your border firewall using CLI. Enter the configuration mode and issue these commands:

set security idp custom-attack Baidu-Spider recommended-action close-client
set security idp custom-attack Baidu-Spider severity minor
set security idp custom-attack Baidu-Spider attack-type signature context http-header-user-agent
set security idp custom-attack Baidu-Spider attack-type signature pattern .*Baidu.*
set security idp custom-attack Baidu-Spider attack-type signature direction client-to-server

Next, add your newly crafted custom attack rule to your existing IDP policy that polices your incoming HTTP traffic.

You can modify the signaturepattern using regular expressions to block other user agents as well. If you are comfortable with junOS’s command line interface, this is an easy way to protect all of your webservers from this user agent. Your millage may vary, and you should follow Best Practices when making changes to your firewall configuration.

Only 3 days remain to submit an entry for Atlantic BT’s Mobile Grant Contest.   Deadline is this Friday at midnight Eastern Time.

 Great causes providing excellent ideas on how mobile can better lives have poured in.  From fighting cancer to declining high school dropout rates to preventing deadly disease in Brazil, and many many more.  A lot can be accomplished with a grant this size, along with talent of an established technology firm like Atlantic BT.

How about your nonprofit? How could having a mobile website, mobile application or mobile marketing campaign improve your mission?  All submissions stand an excellent chance of winning 1 of 12 free mobile strategy sessions.

Here’s the lowdown:

1.  Simply enter by filling out an initial entry form . Basic contact info, mission statement and a paragraph on how mobile could help your cause is all it takes.

2.  With help from our esteemed judges – 12 nonprofits will be chosen as grant contest semi-finalists.   These will be announced Tuesday May 22nd.  Each semi-finalist will receive a free mobile strategy session with our mobile team.

3.  Our 12 “Gives Back” Grant finalists will have 2 weeks to create & submit their short, non-fancy video sharing how Atlantic BT’s 25K mobile grant would be used if won.

4.  Starting June 5th – public voting on videos will take place – each participating nonprofit will promote their video to drive voting. The 4 highest number of votes become grant finalists.

5.  June 25th official announcement of grant contest finalists.  They will be paired up with 4 Atlantic BT internal teams.

6.  Just like reality TV,  final teams will do a “LIVE PITCH”  held at Atlantic BT headquarters July 12th.  Not in Raleigh or NC for that matter?  No problem!  We’ll be live-streaming and using Google+ hangout during our finale live event!  Anonymous voting will take place (details coming soon) on site.

7.  Atlantic BT “Gives Back” 25K Grant Contest Winner Announced!  3 runner ups receive 25% off any Atlantic BT mobile project.

Our weekly spotlight entries provide mobile application examples.  Read Inspiration Station and apply by Friday night for your chance at $25,000 in Atlantic BT mobile solutions.