Another new Online Social Network? The Giving Network

Water.org today introduced The Giving Network, a social media platform that empowers nonprofits to engage people in a more compelling, collaborative experience around social issues and causes while making it easier than ever to share those experiences with friends and followers across their social networks.

An open source initiative, The Giving Network will be made available to nonprofits to adapt and customize as needed to serve their key stakeholder communities and project goals. The platform was built using the Django framework and incorporates support for Facebook® Platform, Twitter OAuth and Google Maps while also integrating content from Flickr, Vimeo and WordPress. A first example of how it could be applied is our.Water.org, a beta implementation of the project that allows online communities to track clean water and sanitation projects in Tigray, Ethiopia. This site will serve as a user testing platform to collect feedback for future releases of the project.

“People don’t want another social networking tool. Instead, they’re looking for more meaningful ways to use the ones they’ve already embraced,” said Mike McCamon, chief community officer at Water.org. “The Giving Network connects to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to help people self-organize around key projects and interests in order to have a more meaningful social experience. This tool applies to every organization that wants to bring greater transparency to reporting on field-based work for management, partners and donors.”

Organizations like Habitat for Humanity recognize the importance of this concept. “Water.org’s online community is an ambitious effort to bring the donor closer to the work in the field, which is a concept important to us also at Habitat for Humanity International,” said Dave McMurtry, senior vice president of strategy at Habitat for Humanity International, after reviewing our.Water.org.

Since late last year, Water.org has built and deployed a variety of online engagement tools that integrate with popular social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. In October 2009, Water.org launched its Retweet tool, which allows users to donate their Twitter status to a cause. In March 2010, Water.org partnered with the ONE Campaign to build awareness of the safe water crisis during World Water Week by incorporating technology developed for this initiatve. As a result, more than 15,000 people “donated” their Twitter and/or Facebook status to the one-week campaign.

As recent events in Haiti have shown, the nonprofit community can leverage the power of social media to address short-term needs in crisis situations. The Giving Network was conceived and designed as a way to more deeply engage and sustain these valuable communities of support for the longer-term.

About Water.org

Water.org is a non-profit organization whose founders have transformed hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia and Latin America by providing access to safe water and sanitation. Co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, Water.org works with local partners to deliver innovative solutions for long-term success. Its microfinance-based WaterCredit Initiative is pioneering sustainable giving in the sector.

New Internship here in Austin – Spredfast

Editor’s Note: If you are a PR/Comm major here in Austin please check this out. James Young is a good friend of mine and would be great to work for. I promise!

http://spredfast.com/

Spredfast is an enterprise-class social media management system that allows an organization to manage, monitor, and measure its voice across multiple social media channels. Spredfast makes it easy to:

Monitor what is being said in the social media conversation about your company, industry, mission, etc.
Easily create, schedule and publish content to many social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn in addition to the company blog.
The intern will help launch Spredfast’s marketing and Customer Support efforts. Specifically, we need your help to think through the right way to communicate with prospects and clients, produce exciting collateral, web content and video content.

The internship reports to the VP of Products, James Young. He has 15 years of experience in developing and marketing high tech products with companies ranging from Compaq to small start-ups.

The internship will run the course of the summer, and could extend into the fall if desirable. We would need a commitment of 20 hours per week, and would love to have all 40. You would also need to work in our offices on East 6th St. for much of the time.

To apply, please send a resume to james@socialagency.com.

Do Non Profits Make Video? HELL YES

EDITORS NOTE: Taken from my post here. What’s the top thing you can do this year to engage your constituents? Both online and off? Quick, what springs to mind?

Well I’m here to tell you that it should be video. If you are going to do one new thing in 2010 to help get the word out about your organization’s mission, it should be to create a video.

Lights. Camera. Help.Now sure, as the creator and co-founder of my own nonprofit called Lights. Camera. Help., I may be a little biased! Lights. Camera. Help. is the world’s first nonprofit focused on helping other nonprofits do good through film. We do this through our education programs, volunteer match programs, screenings and our annual film festival. But what I am here today to do is share three tips to help you get your first project up and running.

1. Check out the Flip Video Spotlight from the folks over at Flip Video. This really cool program lets you buy cameras at a two-for-one price break. All you have to do is tell them, in under 500 words, why your nonprofit deserves to be in the program.

2. Now that you are starting to film, check out Creative Commons to find amazing work to build upon—not everything you shoot needs to be video. Find some amazing photos and even music to mix in for free over at http://search.creativecommons.org/. And, they are a nonprofit just like all of us!

3. Now that you are starting to put together your first video, you may be starting to think “Where should it go?” Check out the amazing YouTube Nonprofit Program. I think having your video on the #2 search engine in the world would be a good place to start, right? Just be sure to check out the rules they have for nonprofits and the types of videos they accept.

So what are you waiting for? In the meantime, check out the Lights. Camera. Help. Film Festival for a little inspiration. Our 2010 submission process is now open. Films are free to submit and we are having cash prizes for the best feature film, the best short film and the best PSA. So if you already know of some great nonprofit and cause-driven films please submit them today, or go out and start shooting your own!

Nation’s First Cause-Driven Film Festival Now Open to Submissions

Hey Readers! It’s that time of year again. Help us spread the word! Lights. Camera. Help., the premier film festival exclusively for nonprofits and cause advocates, has officially opened its doors for 2010 entries!

In its second year, the festival celebrates cause-driven films and their messages.

No other film festival brings together filmmakers and nonprofits to share their stories and promote their causes. Last year’s festival brought in over 140 submissions of documentaries, PSAs and short films focusing on cause-driven issues.

“We really want to foster the growth of this industry and offer a place where people looking to use their talents for good can collaborate,” said David J. Neff, creator and co-founder of the organization.

Submissions will be open until June 30 and the submission form can be downloaded at the Lights. Camera. Help. Web site. The festival will be held July 29-August 1 in Austin, Texas.

On March 27, Lights. Camera. Help. commemorated the opening for the call for entries by hosting their Reel-to-Reality party. Bringing together the filmmaking and nonprofit community to support cause-driven films, guests got to preview films by such organizations as Southwest Key, Consumers Union and the Scottish Rite Learning Center. Filmmakers behind the submissions discussed the creative process while members of the different nonprofits explained how cause-driven films have aided their missions.

“We believe that film and video are the best way for nonprofits and other cause-driven organizations to share their stories with the world,” said Rich Vázquez, Lights. Camera. Help. co-founder. “That’s the whole reason behind the film festival and, ultimately, the nonprofit organization overall.”

In July, Lights. Camera. Help. will judge the submissions based on the cinematic quality and the ability to tell the nonprofit’s story, among other factors. The winning films are then awarded the proceeds from the festival’s ticket sales.