February 2, 2010
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Business and Technology Center (Palm Center)
5330 Griggs
Houston, TX 77021

For more information, to register for the class, or if you are a person with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation, please call the City of Houston’s Mayor’s Office of Affirmative Action and Contract Compliance at 713.837.9043 (Relay Texas 1.800.735.2989 or 711). You may e-mail your registration by sending your name, company name, address, telephone number, and the name of the class to Juan Padilla at juan.padilla@cityofhouston.net.

December 5th, 2009
7:00PM - 11:00PM
Caroline Collective: 4820 Caroline St., Houston, TX 77004

RSVP at the Facebook event page >

Come out and meet movers and shakers in the Houston community… Learn some DIY Brewing tips from Houston home brewers, take part in live silk screening, learn about upcoming Sustainable Projects, witness live graffiti, participate in live video and interactive demos, and watch for more surprises to come.

As always, there will be plenty of refreshments provided by our wonderful sponsors and our local hackerspace - TX/RX Labs - will be on the scene.

Guests & Organizations:

Grace Rodriguez of AYN Brand presented the following workshop for the Houston Arts Alliance “National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP)” education and training series, to help nonprofit boards, staff and volunteers explore online tactics they can immediately implement:

In addition to presenting 40 things you can do this week to start connecting with audiences, members, volunteers and potential donors, this workshop features five fundamental steps to developing a successful online strategy:

1. Clearly define your goal, objectives, and how you’ll measure success.
2. Research potential allies, target audience demographics, and resources.
3. Develop and structure your team, systems and procedures, and tools.
4. Engage: Join the conversation. Listen, respond, and call people to act.
5. Evaluate your results against your metrics and refine your strategy.

1. You’ve heard about social media, but don’t know what it is, exactly.
2. You love it and don’t know how you managed without it in the first place.
3. You dismiss it.

The third attitude stems from a variety of issues. Maybe you think it’s over your head because you’re “not a techie” person. Maybe you think it’s “just for kids.” Maybe you think it’s only a passing fad. But it’s not. Social media is a fundamental change in how we communicate. It’s multi-directional. Everywhere. All the time.

This YouTube video from Socialnomics09 shows how social media has become integrated into our lives and culture; and makes a jaw-dropping case for why you need to join in the online conversation and start engaging audiences through social media:

To accomplish your nonprofit organization’s goals, here are are ten things your website should have in order to immediately grab a reader’s attention and successfully motivate them to support your organization:

1. Clear, intuitive navigation. Your website should be organized to immediately appeal to and easily be understood by the people who visit your website. Your audience is looking for more information about what you do, why they should care, and how they can help. If it’s difficult for them to find that information, they may get frustrated; and peace of mind is just one simple browser/tab close away.

2. A visible “Donate” button for people ready to give. Don’t be afraid to ask for donations on your website. People are visiting your site to find out why and how to support you: make it as easy as possible for them to do so.

3. Something that tugs the heartstrings. An arresting image, a disarming question, a bold statement, the start of an incredible story…these elements immediately capture people’s attention and draw them into the website to learn more Connect to your Web visitors on an emotional level to hook them into the rest of your content. When you show that you align with what they care about and can relate to, you’re starting a conversation.

4. Your organization’s elevator pitch. This 2-sentence statement should sum up who your organization is and what it does. It ensures that anyone glancing at the page “gets it” right away. (Note: This is not your mission statement. That should be included on your “About Us” page.) This sound bite should differentiate your nonprofit from others and show the value of its unique work.

5. A quick case (or link to a case) for your organization. Make a succinct case for why your organization deserves each visitor’s support. What are you doing distinctly or more effectively to address your cause? What’s special about your mission, services, constituents, volunteers, programs, events, etc.? There are more than 1.8 million charities in the United States right now. Many probably already do work similar to yours. Stand apart: Make your case!

6. A third-party endorsement. Consider including ratings from GuideStar and Charity Navigator, or a testimonial from a constituent, beneficiary, volunteer, or other distinguished person about your nonprofit’s services. The effectiveness of the endorsement depends on the messenger. When you compare “My organization rocks” to “That organization changed my life because…” you can sense which one is stronger. Let others help you build your case.

7. A way to enlist supporters. Don’t let your visitors abandon you. If someone visits your website and gets interested and engaged, make sure there’s a way for them to sign-up for more information and updates so you can capture their contact information and recruit their support.

8. Something people can share. Research has made it clear that nonprofits are increasingly experimenting with social media. Be sure that all those hours tweeting, blogging, bookmarking, podcasting, vlogging, etc., don’t go to waste: Provide links to your social media profiles, and make it easy for supporters to grab content and share/re-post it. (For example, provide a few lines and link promoting a campaign of yours that they can retweet, or a fundraising widget they can include on their own social networking profiles, blog, or site.)

9. Something to show where the money goes. People appreciate transparency: it prove you have nothing to hide. Share information, or links to information, about where the money goes and how their donation(s) will be used. Show what percentage of donations goes directly to mission-related activities. Make a connection between donations and services provided. One of our favorite examples is from Charity:Water: “Each $20 monthly gift can provide one person with clean, safe drinking water for 20 years, and each $100 monthly gift can give a family of 5 clean water for 20 years.”

10. Links to events and other opportunities for participation. One shoe does not fit all: Give your visitors a variety of opportunities to get involved and stay connected. Maybe there’s a petition they can sign, a pledge they can complete, or an event they can attend. As your site evolves, include conversation and feedback opportunities: polls, surveys, comments, message boards, and so on.

Think you’re good to go? Take a moment to think again. If you’ve worked your way through this list and think you’ve got everything taken care of, take a moment to pause and reflect on the home page’s usability. Test the site to make sure that it’s as easy to navigate, find key information, and respond to calls-to-action as you think it is. Ask a couple of volunteers, donors, board members, stakeholders, and others in your target audience to try it out and provide feedback to make the finishing touches. Then launch and blast away!