Never Underestimate the Power of Trivia

"Internet Trivia" image via ical wiki

I had a phone conversations recently with a couple I've known since the 80s. They've never been great at staying in touch and I was struck by the difficulty we had in finding things to talk about. We could talk about our mutual past and we could talk about our larger worlds of politics, etc. But our infrequent communication has left us largely ignorant of the trivia of each others' lives and that was the problem.

Social media (Twitter especially) is often made the butt of jokes as being about life's trivia: "I'm at Starbucks having a mocha latte" kind of thing. And sometimes it IS like that. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's the trivia we share that helps make for community, a sense of being part of something larger than one's self.

There's a tendency for nonprofits (and for profits) to focus on their bigger accomplishments - feeding 2,000 homeless a healthy lunch or providing art classes for 200 underprivileged kids - or the bigger challenges - finding the funding for those lunches or classes. But don't overlook the smaller stuff: the results of an exploratory meeting, a few of the changes made by staff since the budget cuts, what an intern saw while volunteering to teach ESL in Mexico over her vacation. These are things that will help your community understand your mission and its challenges and rewards. Give them a chance to comment and you open the door to a whole new level of association and you might even get some good tips that will make life in a small nonprofit just a little bit easier.

Silent NonProfit Assassination Attempts

image via 901am New Media News

Sorry for the lengthy lag between posts - dealing with some personal stuff, so the sitch might continue a little longer.

Anyway -

The Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County puts on one of the best known and most well-run artist studio tours every year. Called the "Open Studios Art Tour," it features nearly 300 artists. That is more artists than anyone can visit in the Tour's 3 weekends in October, but nearly every year, at least 100 to 200 artists more than that will apply.

We're talking about art, which is a reflection of the way the artist views the world and the way the viewer receives the artist's vision, so basically we're talking emotions here. And some people don't deal well with rejection.

A few years ago, this really became evident when a series of posts started showing up on Craigslist, accusing the CCSCC and its Open Studios Committee of being elitist and showing favoritism to a small group of artists. Then it segued into a really nasty diatribe that used a lot of phrases and terms familiar to neo-nazis and others and made the accusation that the Tour was being controlled by a particular religious group.

Fortunately, a local artist saw the posts and flagged them as being against Craigslist's policy about using their space for hate speech and they were removed fairly soon. Still, the posts were up for a few days. Whether they had any effect other than to incite disgust is unknown, but the situation points up the need for nonprofits to do two things:

• be aware of possible negative spins others can put on your programs and services (in this case, elitism and favoritism and be able to address them in a positive way
  
  
• keep an eye out for what others are saying about your nonprofit and be proactive about addressing it

Doing a search for the name of your nonprofit in Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, etc. isn't something that just the big nonprofits or for-profits need to do. In fact, I would argue that if you're a small nonprofit operating primarily for the benefit of your local community, bad social media press can hurt you more in the long run than the other guys.

Combining Text and Graphics in a Flyer

(Advice for the Accidental Designer)

*Please note that I'm not advocating for, or supporting any causes in the flyers used as examples in this post*

The first thing to remember when you're creating an event flyer is the balance. Personally, I think balance is something to think about in everything, but we're only talking about flyers here. Everything used should be balanced - the graphics should not overpower the text or vice-versa. Try to keep that in mind as you construct it.

What is the Reason for the Flyer?

The main reason for an event flyer would seem to be about informing them that the event is going to happen. But, no. The main reason for the event flyer is provoke an emotional response that will cause people to want to attend the event. Giving information about it is secondary.

A Good Example of an Emotional Appeal

The example for "tearfund" is a good example of what I mean. It's pretty simple in terms of graphics, and the "The World Can't Wait" headline provokes an immediate emotional response from the viewer: curiousity. You can't keep yourself from reading the text below, which is nicely set off in a clean white box.

And in case the reader wants more information about the event, the website is clearly set off at the bottom in its own black box.

Typefaces Should be Carefully Chosen & Limited

Another thing to notice is that only two typefaces were used, though there's variety through the different fonts, maybe a light and a medium condensed of one and a heavy or a display face used for the headline. This keeps the message from getting muddled and reinforces its severity.

Graphics are Great, But Don't Over-do Them

Only two graphic objects are used: the logo and an illustration of an alarm clock and the colours used in the illustration and for the text echo the colours in the logo, tying the whole thing together.

Your event probably won't be able to get away with a flyer like this. For one thing, this event was obviously internet-based; people were asked to take an action, but they didn't have to be in a central location to do so. For another thing, you've probably got SPONSORS. Cue the music - Dum, dum, DUMMMMMMM!

Sponsor Logos Are Important

Sponsors are usually good guys. They don't generally expect you to put their businesses front and center in your event flyers, and they will often overlook amateur mistakes in a small nonprofit that they wouldn't tolerate in a commercial event because they mostly likely are local and really care about what you're doing. Show them you appreciate this by doing two things - knowing where you'll be placing their logo and using a nice clean copy of it. Here's a nice example: 

The Sponsor or Partner logos are shown small enough to allow the focus to stay on the event, but large enough to be recognizable and clean (not fuzzy or distorted) to show the event organizers are proud of the association. If you don't have a clean logo on hand for a sponsor, ask them for one. At some point, I may do a post on using small graphics in a flyer, but in the meantime, if you don't know anything about computer graphics, invest some time in educating yourself. If you're going to be doing this kind of work, even if it's only off and on, you'll want to do the best you can and you'll the confidence you'll gain in this and other areas will be worth it. Books and online there are lots of resources; here's just one: MyDesignPrimer

Keep it Simple and it Won't Look Stupid

Don't let all of the design power go to your head. Professional designers train and work for years to get their results. Your best results will come from sticking to a clean and simple layout using limited typefaces and graphics. And limited text. Remember that the more you stuff in there, the more likely the flyer will end up looking like a big blob, uninviting and therefore, unread. Step away from the design every so often while you're putting it together. Print out a copy and look at it from a few feet away, which is how most people will see it. If it doesn't make you want to get closer, it probably needs work.

End Notes

This post is - obviously - not a primer on graphic design. Or flyer composition. I could write successive posts for weeks and still not come close to encompassing the nature of good design. My purpose here is only to open your eyes a little to what a successful event flyer incorporates. You'll learn the most by trying, experimenting, and failing, and then trying again. The results will probably not be a pleasing as if you could afford professional help, but when your small nonprofit is short of cash and you have to undertake designing the flyer yourself, I'm hoping that you won't feel totally overwhelmed and panicked.

Full disclosure - here's a picture of the flyer I did most recently. It's only what I would call serviceable, but I needed to include a lot of information and create it in a format the (very) small nonprofit could use several times over. I used MSWord, since that's what the agency had that they knew how to use, employed two common typefaces, and created one graphic.

Offer

I'm not a professional graphics artist, but I have done years of graphic design in technical writing, marketing, and for nonprofit causes. So if you've got a flyer you'd like me to take a look at, I will. I won't re-do it (that isn't the point), but I will tell you where I think you went right and where you might have veered off track and ask a few questions that might help clarify things for you.

Email me at robynmcintyre@gmail dot com or find me on Twitter.

Write Arm - Farmed Out

When you can't farm it out, you have to work it

One of the most horrendous things ever to come weasling its way into my ether landed in my inbox last month. It was a one page flyer for a nonprofit event and it was... scary.

It was nothing but text, lines and lines of text in Times New Roman (typeface) 11 point (font), all centered, and a liberal use of CAPS.

I know, huh?!

My fingers itched to take it apart, yet I was repelled at the same time. It was just too awful.

So let's talk about it.

Most of the time, when I want to talk about a flyer, it's usually the graphics I want to discuss - and we'll get to that - but right now I want to talk about how a small nonprofit handles an event flyer when their economics suck too much to be able to hire a graphic artist.

First, you need the basics

You may think you know them, but you'll save yourself a lot of irritation and do-overs if you have in writing and keep nearby for referral:

• What the event is called (you can always use a placeholder, but be sure and note every place it's used)
• When (date and time) and where the event is taking place (ditto the remarks above)
• What it's for (don't just say "to raise money" - raise money for what? Be specific)
• Who you want to attend (big spenders, grandmothers, general public? This will determine how you word things, graphics, etc.)

Only one person should be in charge of the finished product. You can have 20 reviewers and 50 approvals required (shudder), but only one person should be allowed to touch the file.

Word Processing or Graphics Program?

You may have a kick-ass graphics program at home you use for making posters and scrapbooking, but if no one has it at the office, don't use it. Stick with something everyone has got. That way, if you aren't around, they can still update it or change it. And even if you have a graphics program at the office, if you're the only one who knows how to use it, forget it. If you plan to release the flyer into the wild to be used by other people, create it using something that most everyone else knows how to use, even if it's the stupid slideshow program.

Now, about those pretty display typefaces...

You may have some nifty typefaces installed on your computer (I know I do), but try to resist the urge to use them in favor of more standard typefaces, unless you'll be converting the file to a PDF (a good idea if you're planning a wide distribution). If you use a typeface that others in the office don't have installed on their machines, their version of the software you used will substitute something else and that something else may not fit the same way, let alone look like it. And even if you are converting to a PDF, not all typefaces can be embedded in a PDF, so substitutions can be made and the results may not be pretty. If you don't know what I'm talking about when I mention embedded fonts, then definitely use more standard typefaces.

Now you can start working on the flyer. And even though you can't run wild with creativity, it can still be attractive - which I'll address in next week's post.

Collaboration = Innovation

Image via UserVoice at NextSpace in Santa Cruz, CA

Just a little while ago it was all about making every donated or grant dollar count. These days, it's more about making every penny count.

On FaceBook, in meetings, on Twitter, that's what I'm hearing from the small nonprofits. Most of them are hunkered down so far in their financial bunkers that they've forgotten what daylight looks like. And there in the dark, they are still seeking out ways of wringing every possible last drop of good from the budget.

On solutions, one thing I don't hear to often is about how they are collaborating with other small nonprofits. I always get looks of surprise when I suggest it. "But we are in competition with them for the shrinking donations and grants," they say. "Why and how would we collaborate?"

I've got a couple of examples of how collaboration between "competitors" can work. One comes out of my background. I represented the Cultural Council of SC County every year during the County's Payroll Deduction Campaign. Together with reps from United Way SCC, an environmental umbrella group, and a healthcare umbrella group. People from the umbrella groups were always delighted to work with us (doing as many as 4 presentations a day during October), because the vibe was different than in San Jose or San Francisco. We didn't compete; we supported one another. If someone couldn't make one of the meetings, we made their pitch for them and we made it with heart. We knew that people give from their emotions, what they care about. In the end, whatever they gave to whichever group they gave it to, the community would be the beneficiary, and it was the community we served. We all saw an increase in yearly donations over the years before and I believe it was because of the clear respect and affection we reps gave to one another and to the nonprofits we represented.

The second example is from the for profit sector - technology in Santa Cruz. In this great blog post, Jeremy Neuner of NextSpace talks about the the changes that have happened in Santa Cruz tech business because of a willingness of people to come together and work in support of one another to change the business landscape in the community. I subscribe to SC Geeks Google User Group and every day I see emails from these folks asking for and receiving information, leads, and support for their businesses.

Yes, donated dollars are in short supply. But it doesn't have to be all about competition. Find a complementary nonprofit and split the costs of a large ad. Loan out equipment or make meeting space available, or ask for the loan of equipment or meeting spaces - every NP likely has something another needs and only by talking will you find out what. 

The more you look for ways to collaborate with one another, the more innovative the solutions can become  and the better chance that everyone will come through the lean times. The wider the collaboration, the more chance your small nonprofit has of a smoother ride over the rough spots of the economy, now and in the future. And, of course, it's the community that will benefit the most.

Experienced Help for Your Small Nonprofit Through Social Media

Comic by Mike Bannon

Besides the Wall Street meltdown, one of the biggest news stories of this recession is the high percentage of unemployment. And for over-50 workers, the outlook becomes even more serious. 

Even if your small nonprofit is not hiring, you can still do these folks a good turn and yourself one at the same time. Many of these people have years of experience in business and a number of them want to remain productive while they're looking for employment. So they're volunteering. 

How many times have you thought that, with just a little of the right help, your nonprofit could be more productive in the way it serves its mission? But hiring a consultant isn't in the budget. Thanks to the recession, you now have access to people whose skills were previously unavailable. And you can find them using the social media tools they are using to network in their search for employment, like LinkedIn or Twitter. Or you may even find them within your own online community, if you have one. And if you don't, an online community may be one of the things your volunteer consultant can help you with.

Besides providing an opportunity to keep their skills fresh, your nonprofit can give these invaluable volunteers references and work history to add to their resumes. Beyond that, your nonprofit can be a source of comfort, pride, accomplishment and camaraderie.

Economic recovery is going to be a slow process - for all of us. Let's take every opportunity we can to help one another.

Social Media is About Them - Not You

artist unknown

Social Media is about being social. But before you say, "Duh," let me ask you to think about what the term social means to you. 

As a writer, I'm always concerned about defining terms. It's my belief that you can't have a real conversation with someone until you understand the thinking behind the lexicon.

To me, social means give and take - a conversation. On a lot of small nonprofit sites and social media accounts, though, what I see happening is a lot of me, me, me. Information about what the NP is doing, planning to do, hoping to do for the community, but not a lot about what the community itself is doing. Not a lot of interaction except from the viewpoint of the NP.

Posting information doesn't give your community anything to work with. To be engaged, involved, caring, they need a way to talk about your mission, explore your choices with you. Maybe that isn't possible on your website because you just don't have the resources - and it does take time and care to grow and maintain a community - but that doesn't mean you have to give up.

Instead of hoping the community will come to you, you can go out and find them. On Facebook, on Twitter, on Friendfeed, on Ning or on someone's blog. Find out where the conversations related to your mission are happening and interact: respond, encourage, help with tips and links. Add community links to your website and do everything you can to keep the conversations going. And keep at it. Social media is about trust - that your interaction is about the mission being served and not a marketing ploy - it will take time to gain trust, but once you do, the horizon will open up. The encouragement, support, and assistance you provide will come back to you in larger measure than you could have imagined.