Can language transform your organization?

One of my favourite bloggers, Nancy E. Schwartz, recently referred to an outstanding presentation (free for download) by career fundraiser, Tom Suddes. The title, The Language of Change: 20 words and Phrases that Impact Attitudes, Actions and Funding, immediately had me clicking through to read the transcript. Tom’s message struck a chord with me as I’m a big believer that the language we use shapes how we perceive our world.

One of Tom’s first points characterizes the tone and content of his presentation:

The first big insight is the idea of being a not-for-profit. I mean, think about that just a little bit. Is there any reason at all for you to call yourself a not-for-profit, to define yourself in the negative? I believe no. I believe the answer to that is no. You or your staff, your board, nobody wakes up in the morning and shouts, “Yeehaw! We don’t get to make any money today!

So, I want to help change your mindset here. You’ve got to stop defining yourself in the negative. You’ve got to stop begging for money. You’re not a charity. People don’t give to you because you’re tax-exempt. It’s all about an impact – your vision, your message. And that’s where I’m hoping that you’re able to go with this.

We so often use “deficit” language emphasizing need that we overshadow the message of hope and success towards the goal of our cause. So, Tom advocates for cause organizations to move away from “mission statements” and towards communicating the essence of what the organization is all about. What is the impact of your organization and how can people become involved with that?

Other words/terms he takes on include “sustainability” “development officers” and even the word “appointments” when describing meeting with a potential “donor”—another term he urges us to change.

The change in language isn’t just for the purpose of the organization’s audience, it also changes the attitudes of board members, staff and volunteers.

Language evolves, so I don’t expect that organizations will instantly change the terms and words they use to describe their work. But even the act of examining why we use the terms/words we do and how that influences our approach and attitude is a worthwhile exercise.

Much of what Tom puts forth in this presentation challenges the entire culture and orientation of the nonprofit world. Well done!

Was this post helpful? If so, why not subscribe to this blog to get updates right to your email inbox?

Key to repeat event sponsors: Evaluation

Winnipeg in the summer is a seemingly endless series of festivals and free concerts. The winters are cold but summers rock!  In addition to heavy hitters such as the Jazz Winnipeg Festival and Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, there are also smaller events taking place across the province. These events grow as their sponsorship programs grow. Successful organizations carefully foster those corporate relations through accountability and the demonstration of results.

Corporate sponsorships, unlike charitable donations, are part of the company’s advertising strategy. I’ve written about this distinction as well as what corporations should look for in a sponsorship opportunity in a previous post.

As with any advertising, one of the things sponsors look for is ROI (return on investment). They want to know that they’ve invested their money wisely. Although the  sponsor has the ultimate responsibility for determining ROI, an event that wants to grow and maintain sponsors needs to help in this area.

An absolute must is a post-event evaluation report that includes the following:

1. Number of attendees as well as demographic information – Get an accurate count of attendees so that the sponsors know how many people were exposed to their logos and messaging. Demographic information is helpful as well. What age group attends your event? Is it primarily families or young , single people? What is their educational background and  income level? Do a survey with attendees, if possible, to get this kind of  information. This helps sponsors target their advertising more precisely.
2. Itemize where and when  sponsor logos or messaging appeared at the event - Take photos or video to include along with a narrative description in the report. Provide screen shots of the event’s website and include the number of hits and any other relevant numbers.
3. Evaluate media coverage – Outline the media coverage obtained and include any available audience or readership numbers. Include news clippings and copies of advertisements—particularly where the sponsor’s logo or name has appeared.
4. Include feedback from attendees and volunteers – Sponsors want to be part of successful events that people feel good about. Testimonials or survey feedback from attendees and volunteers can be part of demonstrating success as well as areas for improvement.
5. Outline plans for next time – If it is a recurring event, demonstrate to your sponsors that you are interested in its improvement. Itemize what you plan to refine or change for next year for an even better event and/or larger audience.

Package the above information in a nicely designed report that demonstrates the professionalism of the event and your appreciation of sponsor participation. You can also use the info  in this post-event summary to position your event with new sponsors or for an increase in contribution for returning sponsors.

I know from organizing a number of charitable events that once the event is over, the tendency is to sigh with relief, roll up the banners and forget about it until it’s time to plan the next one.  But the event’s not over until you complete the evaluation. It’s not only crucial in terms of relationship-building with sponsors, it’s necessary for your own organization’s decision making as well.

Still not sure about Web 2.0? My vacation with Twitter might convince you

I’ve been away from my blog for awhile. I spent last month in Paris. It was a remarkable experience. Interestingly, even though I spent most of that time away from work, technology and social media played key roles in my day-to-day life. It left me even more convinced about the incredible potential of Web 2.0. I know many people remain skeptical about just how useful the likes of Twitter and Facebook are. Some can’t get their heads around just how it all works or why to bother. Perhaps the story of my month away will get you to reconsider.

After almost a year of planning, my husband Steve and I visited Paris for the month of May. We did a lot of research.  After “virtually visiting” various neighbourhoods using Street View on Google Maps, we decided on an apartment rental.  We planned restaurant visits, bike tours and museum trips all via the Internet.

One of the most helpful resources we used to prepare for our trip was  Katia and Kyliemac’s Tourist Tips podcast. Each week, these two expats living in Paris host three separate podcasts. Tourist Tips doles out helpful info for the Paris traveller—everything from cultural differences and how to use the Metro to how to find public toilets. Their other podcasts cover what it’s like to live as an expat in Paris as well as lessons in French idiomatic expressions. Their engaging style and enthusiasm has garnered quite a following. They also have a blog, forum and Twitter profiles.

Steve is an IT geek who adores his iPhone and is rarely disconnected from the Web for longer than a night’s sleep. He’s also what they call an “evangelist” when it comes to extolling the virtues of technology. He has even been successful at getting his grandmother (80+ years) to visit his Twitter profile. Although she doesn’t “tweet” herself, she likes to check in on what Steve is up to. If you’re not familiar with Twitter, visit this previous post.

Throughout our trip, Steve took pictures and tweeted them along with comments. Although I sometimes got annoyed when we had to stop what we were doing so he could tap out his messages, it was a great way for interested family, friends and co-workers to see what we were up to in real time.

Sometimes these tweets led to unknown Parisians sending us direct messages. Once, Steve tweeted about problems we were having finding vacant Velib stations. The Velib is a public bicycle program in Paris that allows users to take a bike from one of the many stations throughout the city, use it and then return it to any another station. Sometimes, however, the station is full and you are unable to return the Velib and must find another station. Within moments of the tweet, someone sent Steve a  message directing him to a handy, free iPhone application called A Bike Now that displays all the Velib stations as well as which ones had vacancies for returning bicycles. Brilliant!

Another time, when I couldn’t find skim milk in my local grocery story, I sent a direct message to Katia (from the podcast) and she actually messaged back letting me know where I could find it along with the colour of the packaging so I could easily identify it. We also learned, via tweet, of a book signing event taking place at a local bookshop of an author we had read.

We instantly had this little Parisian community around us and it definitely increased the quality of our stay.

On our last day in Paris, feeling a bit sad about the prospects of heading back home and to work, we had planned to go out to a restaurant, get home early and pack for our  morning flight. Then, in the late afternoon, Katia and Kyliemac tweeted that they were organizing an impromptu picnic on the grounds of the Eiffel Tower and all of their followers were invited. The prospect of actually meeting these two women we had been listening to for months was too much to pass up. We bought a baguette, cheese and some wine, hopped on a Velib and made our way to the Tower. Not able to immediately find their location, Steve sent out a quick tweet and we saw a woman standing up waving her arms in the huge crowd of picnickers. It was Kyliemac. The evening was the perfect way to end our trip. About 20 people had assembled for the picnic—all of them expats living in Paris from various corners of the world. They were all listeners of the podcast. It was a remarkable evening.

I told Katia how useful the Tourist Tips podcast had been to us and how much we enjoyed listening. She told me that she and Kyliemac are constantly surprised at the large community that has come together around the show, both in Paris and abroad.

The story of my Twitter-infused vacation is not unique. Interesting and useful connections are being made via social media networks all the time. Yes, it takes some time and effort but the power it has to shrink the globe, create community and reach out to others is truly remarkable.

So, if you’ve been a skeptic,  are you now convinced to get on the social media bandwagon? Have you had a remarkable social media experience either professionally or personally? Please leave a comment.

“Re-branding” not just for companies gone bad

One of the nonprofits I’m working with is undergoing some changes to its logo as well as the look and feel of its website. When I referred to these two initiatives as part of a re-branding process, the client suggested I use a different term because she thought “re-branding” had a negative connotation. This surprised me as I’ve never thought of re-branding as something bad. Sure, some companies may use re-branding as a way to distance themselves from some wrong doing or negative press but organizations re-brand for a variety of reasons.

1. Upate an image - Organizations that have been around for a very long time might want to freshen their image, logo, look and feel. This might not be a complete re-branding but rather a tweak to the visual brand in order for it to appear more contemporary.

2. Reflect current business/mandate – Nonprofits and companies evolve over time. Product lines expand. Mandates change or become larger. Sometimes an organization’s present brand doesn’t fit this reality so re-branding is necessary.

3. Mergers/acquisitions – This doesn’t happen as often in the nonprofit world but if your company is becoming one with another, there will need to be a corresponding new brand.

4. Change in business practice or direction – Perhaps your organization has new management and a plan for improving services or products. That could mean a need to signal the new direction with a freshened or new brand image. A new brand in this case signals to the public that they can expect changes. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the old brand was part of something bad—it just indicates a change in direction.

Whatever the reason, re-branding is more than a new logo

No matter the reason for re-branding, it’s important to remember that a true re-branding involves more than just changing the logo and stationary. It also involves a new way of viewing the organization. It often means a new way of delivering services or meeting customer expectations. What is the new brand conveying to the public? Whatever it is, the organization must actually deliver what’s behind that image for an effective re-branding to take place.