Strategy

Michael Richards writing (MCS Intern, MBA in non-profit management at Brandeis University's Heller School):

MCS is planning a couple of informative summer lunchtime
programs, and an exciting fall schedule of training and education events,
including the “Networked Non-profit Series”, a leadership development program
for IT managers and leaders, and a new series on “Information Technology for
Non-profits”.

Please be sure and bring your lunch for our first summer
brown bag networking and education lunches ("Drowning in Paperwork") on Wednesday, July 16 (there are 3 deli’s within half a block
of MCS, 6 Beacon St., Beacon Hill) from noon to 1:30pm, and again on Wed.
August 13 (exact title coming soon). Look here on the MCS web site
for discussion groups regarding these lunchtime programs.

Nonprofit leaders are becoming more familiar with the 2.0 tools and strategies that are creating a new paradigm for constituency engagement.  A simple look at a nonprofit employment website shows a proliferation in new positions with titles such as "online community manager" or "new media communications associate".  Even if an organization has yet to adopt the new technology, there is a growing awareness of a brave new world in which the organization must seek to engage.   

MCS hosts leadership groups for nonprofit leaders. The group asked me to develop a list of terms for an upcoming training so that we're all starting from the same page. I figured it would make for a good blog post. Here's the cheat sheet:

Over the last couple of months, I have seen more and more job postings from innovative nonprofits that are hiring for online community manager positions. This is a welcome sign that we are fast reaching an inflection point in the adoption of 2.0 technologies. Whether creating new positions or adjusting current positions, nonprofits are adjusting their human resources to meet the growing demands of building online community.

There a number of skill sets that one ought to look for when hiring the online community manager:

Tagging and social bookmarking are topics that are frankly fairly new to me. I have heard a lot about this new phenomenon, but admittedly have spent relatively little time engaged in developing and executing strategies around these Web 2.0 technologies. Given my lack of knowledge I started experimenting. Here’s what I have found out so far.

Tagging

Review of CRM solutions and strategies for leveraging your data to enhance your communication strategy

Sign up for the seminar on November 14

Whether a spreadsheet with names and addresses or a sophisticated corporate CRM solution, almost all nonprofits have some mechanism to track their donors, volunteers and other stakeholders.