Social Entrepreneur blog for the world changers
Archive for February, 2009
14 Advanced Twitter Tips
Feb 27th
Twitter Like a Pro
The last two articles Tweet or Not to Tweet and Tweet Tweet Nonprofit should have gotten everyone up-to-date on the basics of Twitter.  Now that you have your twitter account set up and hopefully following a few people as well as being followed I wanted to take this space to give you some tips to get you tweeting like a pro as well as being well mannered in the twitter arena (etiquette). Read on to get some more advanced Twitter tips.
1. Hashtags
Hashtags (#) are a way to create or follow a stream on Twitter. By typing a word with a hashtag in front of it (#airplane), your twitter message can be followed and added to by anyone who is also interested in that particular subject. Thousands of hashtags are already established and are easy to join into or add to conversations about a particular topic or industry. For example, if you’re interested in fundraising, #fundraising is a hashtag you can add into your twitter message and can be followed easily by anyone else interested in fundraising. The same goes for thousands of topics. Many times fast breaking news can be followed more closely on Twitter than even news channels. Because millions use twitter, eyewitnesses can tweet details, pictures or information quicker using Twitter than it takes for a news crew to get to the scene of the story and get information to the TV or internet. The way you follow hashtags is either by creating a search on tweetdeck with the hashtag you want to follow or following it on http://search.twitter.com , http://twemes.com/ or http://hashtags.org/
You can create your own hashtag to tweet about your live fundraiser or event so that others can follow the developing story from anywhere in the world. You need to make sure the hashtag you create is unique and not already being used or else your tweets will be mixed into another ongoing conversations. This way everyone can stay up-to-the-second connected to what is happening at your event.
2. Following Keywords
To follow topics you are interested in, it is not necessary to even find a hashtag for the subject. Many times you can go to http://search.twitter.com and type in the subject or word (i.e. giants, newborns, etc.) and instantly see all the tweets that happened around the world that include those words and subjects.
3. Etiquette
This is a huge topic and to my knowledge there is no definitive guide to the etiquette on twitter. There are some things you should and should not do as a manner of politeness and to make Twitter a better experience for everyone. I will list a few obvious ones below.
Ongoing Real Conversations- Twitter is meant to be a tool to facilitate real-time ongoing conversations. Engage in getting to know those you follow and let others that follow you get to know you. Twitter can be very fun and engaging; however, if you follow too many people there will be no way to keep up with all the conversations. A good rule is to follow 250 or fewer people and to keep your posts and replies real. Your posts should be like you’re having a conversation, not like your posting billboards. The reason you want to keep who you’re following down to a number of people you can actually know is because think if all 250 people all posted one tweet during the day, that’s 250 tweets you have to keep up with. Follow some people you find interesting and if you find later they are not interesting, unfollow them and follow some that are. Your tweets do not have to be profound, instead make your conversations and tweets like real conversations. Imagine you answered the phone and your friend asked you “What are you doing right now?”
No spam- Keep your conversations real and try hard not to always be focused on getting your message in everyone’s face. Once you build some relationships there will be plenty of time to let them know how they can help. Sometimes it is unavoidable to send people to your web site or info if they ask for it. It is important they know what you do and why you do it, just don’t plaster them with that type of information. Remember, Twitter is supposed to be a social conversation and many are following you because they want to get to know you and even your nonprofit.
Following and Being Followed- Do some searches on http://search.twitter.com for subjects that you are interested in. Find those that seem interesting and follow them. As you get involved with conversations others will follow you. Above all enjoy the conversations. Make it a habit to tweet several times a day and let people know (what you are comfortable with) what you’re doing, thinking, information you found interesting, etc.  Don’t worry if those following you, unfollow you. They simply moved on to other conversations. Another way to find interesting people is by looking at the profiles of the people that follow you to see who they are and might be interesting to follow.
Virtual Water Cooler- Remember that Twitter is like a virtual water cooler. You don’t have to camp out at it all day spouting off everything that is going on in your life and listening to everyone else. It is a good way to take breaks throughout the day and talk with a few people. It is also a great way to ask questions about things you need answers to. For example, “Where is the best place to eat in Dallas?” People will let you know what they think. Throughout the day I tune in for a couple minutes as I am taking coffee or water breaks to see what everyone I follow is up to, then it is back to business.
Here are 101 great dos and don’ts from Lauren Rothwww.laurennroth.com/?q=node/227″ target=”_blank”>
4. Twitter Clients
There are a lot of Twitter apps that can make your Twitter experience a lot more pleasant and you may want to take a look at each of them and decide it they are for you. I will briefly go down a few and let you make your determination on whether they are helpful to you or not.
Tweet Deck- This is one I highly recommend. Once you begin using it I believe it will make the whole twitter arena more interesting and manageable. 
In a future post I may do a video of how to use TweetDeck. Tweet deck will even translate tweets in other languages if you have friends in other countries.
Twirl- another desktop app for Twitter. Very simple but keeps you from needing to go to the web to tweet.
Twitpic- is an app that is quickly accessible in TweetDeck or on its own. It allows you to share pictures of anything on a tweet.
5. Tweet From Your Mobile Phone:
iphone:
Twitter Mobile- straightforward interface
PocketTweets – robust application
iTweet- good straightforward application
Hahlo 2.0- Great robust application
Blackberry
Twitterberry- Hands down the best on the blackberry (if you can’t afford an iphone)
6. Posts, Replies, and Direct Messages
When you post a tweet, the tweet goes out to everyone that is following you and can also be searched by searching your username on sites like http://search.twitter.com. Likewise when you reply (@scottringo), the message still goes out to the public but the person you replied to will receive it as a reply. If the recipient is using TweetDeck, they will get the reply in a separate window that is easy to identify.
However, there is another way to send and receive messages that are not so public- Direct Messages. If someone is following you and you want to reply to their tweet only to them and not in a public way you can Direct Message them. This is accomplished by putting a “D” in front of their user name (D scottringo). If the recipient is using TweetDeck, the Direct Message (DM) shows up in a separate window from public messages or replies. Many have their DM messages set to also come into their email or phone. So a good rule of thumb is only to DM if it is confidential or urgent. This way your conversations stay more public, but if you need to get a sensitive message to someone, you can.
7. Search
There are a lot of ways to search topics, subjects and messages on Twitter from the web. If you use TweetDeck, the search can be done right in the application. By far one of the easiest searches is done on search.twitter.com; others are twitscoop and twemes.com. Play around with the searches and see what you can find.
Twitter Search – search for topics, subjects and areas of interest
Twitscoop -search for topics, subjects and areas of interest
Twemes -search for topics, subjects and areas of interest
Some other searches to explore:
TwitterFall- TwitterFall is the coolest way to read all or filtered posts on Twitter like a waterfall. BEWARE addictive
Retweetist - the freshest, most often Retweeted items
Twitt(url)y – Twitturly counts links posted on Twitter and then ranks the content.
Tweetmeme – shows Blogs, Images, Video and Audio that are linked to popular tweets
TweetLists - the most popular links over the last 24 hours
Twitter Search – most popular way to search for anything Twitter
8. Twitter in FaceBook 
If you are a FaceBook fan, you can automatically update your Facebook account through Twitter which keeps you from going back and forth between accounts. By updating your Facebook account with Twitter, your friends on FaceBook will know what you are doing throughout the day.
9. Blogging for Nonprofits
If your nonprofit has a blog, which I highly recommend, http://oceangrand.org/top-10-reasons-nonprofits-should-blog/, you can post your blog articles automatically to your twitter account using twit_this and then also updates your FaceBook profile. That’s three “birds” with one stone.
10. Upload All Your Friends
Twitter is way more fun if all your friends, supporters, donors, board members, etc. are on Twitter so that you can tweet back and forth. From your Twitter settings, click on “Find Friends”. Once there, you have the option to find friends who are already on twitter by typing in their name. With the next tab “Find on Other Networks” you can upload you address book by first importing your address book to gmail if it is not already there and then Twitter will check that against all the people in your address book. Once found, you can add who you like or everyone. With the third tab, “Invite By Email”, you have the option to invite all those you know who are not already on Twitter by entering their email addresses. Adding your friends to Twitter will make Twitter a blast and easy for you to keep everyone you know and those interested in your nonprofit up-to-date.
11. Pace Yourself on Your Posts
Too many posts promoting yourself, your organization, or your nonprofit and people will get turned off. Also, spending too much time on Twitter can wreck havoc on your work ethic. Take it easy and find your groove on Twitter. Beware- it is addictive.
12. Retweet
Retweet (RT) is a way to tweet again a post that someone tweeted that you think is interesting. By putting a RT in front of the tweet either by copy and paste, or if you’re using TweetDeck, there is a button that automatically fills it all in, you can retweet others’ posts. People love it when you retweet their posts. It is a way to gain people’s affection and loyalty.
13. Spend Time on Your Profile 
Spend some time on your profile and make it interesting so people will want to follow you. You might also want to get a customized Twitter background on your profile which will give you more room to give people information, plus it just makes you look cool.
14. Have a Blast!
So now you have some advanced techniques and how to get the most out of Twitter. This is certainly not an exhaustive list of ways you can use Twitter, but it is a good start. Above all, have a blast and don’t get overwhelmed. Twitter is a powerful application that when used consistently and with moderation can get you well connected to those you love and those you may not yet know you love. Once you get connected, follow us at @scottringo and let the games begin.
Subscribe to our RSS feed or email subscription to learn more about how to start, fund, and run a nonprofit successfully. We will be giving you some tips in the coming weeks about how you can do a “Tweet Up” as a fundraiser for your nonprofit.
Other Articles on “How to Be a Social Media Pro:”
Tweet or Not to Tweet
Tweet Tweet NonProfit
10 Reasons a NonProfit Should Blog
Change the Web Challenge
Feb 26th
We’re excited to be part of the Change the Web Challenge.
Basically, the contest is to create a plugin, widget, mash up, hack, or other variety of web application that helps people find and share opportunities to take action. The grand prize is 50 benjis, and the best WordPress plugin will also be featured in the Plugin Directory. But the real prize is spreading a little more love in the world.
Click here for all the details.
“Writing a Plugin” in the WordPress Codex is where I got started when I needed to get hooked in to WordPress. Others might like to grab one of the over 4,000 open source WordPress plugins and tweak the source. If in need of a little help, the Plugins and Hacks forum is full of friends to assist you wrap your head around the code or debug a problem. Social Actions also has provided some developer resources.
Let’s show them how we change the web the WordPress way!
Top 10 Reasons Nonprofits Should Blog
Feb 25th
Top 10 Reasons Every Nonprofit Should Have a Blog
Part of the Series “Be a Social Media Expert Series” here.
When you start and run a nonprofit, you’ve just signed up to become the best storyteller in history. If there is anything you need to do well, it is to develop your story and then tell it over and over and over again. See http://oceangrand.org/a-simple-fundraising-formula/ for a step-by-step on how to develop and tell your story. Telling your story needs to happen in all kinds of ways, shapes and forms and in this article I am going to explain why your nonprofit should have a blog and be telling your story on it. Read on and I will break this complicated subject down into 10 bite-sized pieces.
Blogs and Web Sites
Blogs are not much different than web sites anymore except for a couple of critical differences. Web sites contain mostly “static” information which is information that you or a webmaster puts on the site, but once there, rarely changes. It resembles a brochure on the web more than anything. On the other hand, a blog has pages also, but the “blog page” (like what you are reading here) has ongoing posts or stories that are easily changed and updated. The blog gives you the ability to quickly post new information without needing the help of a webmaster. The other pages on a blog can also easily be changed. So in essence a blog is a web site with multiple pages that are easily changed with the addition of an area that has ongoing new information posted to it. It much better resembles an effort to tell an ongoing story. There are a lot of added benefits to having a blog rather than a static web site, that I will outline 10 reasons below, and then take you through the 10 reasons to set up a blog for your own nonprofit.
Blogging Benefits
I get asked a lot if every nonprofit should have a blog and I personally believe they should. Every nonprofit understands the benefits of having a newsletter whether it is one you design, print and mail or one that you put together on the web and send out in an HTML email. A blog, if done well, can serve as the newsletter for your nonprofit with constant updates, success stories, pictures, and needs that are accessible by more people in more ways. When I say accessible in more ways, I am referring to RSS and email subscriptions which we will cover below.
Benefits of a Blog For Your NonProfit
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Easy to Update
Blogs are much easier and quicker to update for the average person. A new article or change can be updated and be live on the web as fast as you can type and push the publish button. This gets your most relevant information to the web and in front of the world quicker than any other method. No more static web pages; instead, every page on your site will be relevant and up-to-date with the latest information about your organization.
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Blogs Increase the Traffic
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important part of getting your web site or blog ranking better in search engines like Google. Many blogs are automatically better optimized for search engines, which can take a lot of guesswork out of trying to get your web site closer to the top of web search engines. More traffic equals more people who know and are involved in your nonprofit work.
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RSS and Email Subscriptions
Getting your message out in multiple formats helps people subscribe to your constant updates easier and in the format they prefer to read them. Blogs can instantly give you multiple ways to deliver your message without you doing any other work. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way that many prefer to read information from the web because it allows them to subscribe and see the information as soon as it is updated.
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Email Subscriptions
A blog makes it easy for people to subscribe by email to your updates and is very easy to set up. By updating a blog you are in essence writing a constantly updating newsletter that is live and accessible to anyone at anytime. Unlike a printed newsletter that only gets published and mailed every couple weeks or once a month, your blog is always up-to-date and gives people the ability to read the stories and info in bite-sized chunks. Images are also easy to share with people. RSS and email subscriptions have definite advantages for getting your supporters information and are easy to set up if you use a blog.
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Help You Build the Relationships
There is no substitute for building personal relationships with volunteers, board members, donors, grant makers and anyone that is interested in your nonprofit. Like in a previous article http://oceangrand.org/building-nonprofit-relationships-equals-success/,the ability to build relationships is something that we are born with; however, many times while growing up we forget the fundamentals. Relationships are the life-blood for your nonprofit and to dismiss them as unnecessary is a fatal mistake. A blog is more of a relationship builder and can be an ongoing conversation with those that are involved in your nonprofit. Building relationships is much easier on a blog than a web site and people will feel more connected to you.
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Gives You Feed Back
Blogs are more like conversations because they have an area where people can comment on each article or post. This gives followers the ability to be a part of a conversation about your information, projects and fundraising. Blogs give you an automatic feedback mechanism through these comments and anyone can subscribe to the comments to keep up-to-date on the conversations. These comments and conversations can be powerful as it keeps all those involved in your nonprofit interacting with each other in real time.
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Connects All the Social Media
In our Social Media articles and How-to’s, we have covered how important it is to have other Social Media avenues open such as Twitter and Facebook. A blog can easily connect all those other avenues of Social Media. Each time you post a blog article, a blog can update your Twitter stream with the article and simultaneously post the article and URL to your FaceBook profile. This way no matter how people follow your organization (Twitter, Digg, FaceBook, RSS, email, etc.), they get your new content and information the way they prefer it, but it all connects back to your blog. Your blog becomes the “hub” of all your nonprofit information and updates and sends it out to multiple publishing avenues.
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Easily Embed Video
Video has arrived as an important part of keeping people up-to-date with nonprofit organizations. By taking even the most primitive video of a project, those supporting your organization are instantly “teleported” there. Embedding video on a blog is fairly simple now. By using video services like vimeo, viddler or utube, you can take a video and upload it to the web and have it embedded in your blog in a matter of minutes. Even those with the most basic computer skills can embed a video in a blog post, whereas doing the same in a web site would be challenging.
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Makes it Easy for Others to Share Your Info
When you use a traditional web site, you can share the URL, but then people have to actually go there. When you print and mail a newsletter, the people you mail it to get the newsletter but what about all the others they would like to share your information with? However, with a blog, it is not only easy for you to share information with others, it also makes it easy for them to re-share your information. When people want to share your information that is on a blog they have a library of ways in which to do so. At the end of each post, your article can have a “share” button that will transport your article to any number of hundreds of social media sharing sites. In addition, they can forward the emails or RSS feeds, print the articles, or even publish references to it on their own blogs (called trackbacks). This allows you to post information and allow others to share it in the way that best fits their preferences. Every time you make it easier for others to share your information, you win.
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Easy for the Beginner and Pro Alike
When I was the VP of Business Development for an internet company, several years ago we used to develop our web based software for a fictional user we lovingly dubbed “The Gray Haired Lady”. The Gray Haired Lady was a typical grandmother who was not terribly internet savvy. She did however want to learn and would stick it out as long as things made sense. We thought if we could get our software simple enough for her to use, practically anyone could use it. Many blog software companies must develop around the same type model because updating a blog is just about as simple as writing an article in word processing software. Yes, you have to learn a little but there are a ton of people willing to help. So whether you are a Gray Haired Lady or a teenager, blogging is very simple.
Whatever you’re doing in the nonprofit world, my stance is you should have a blog. If you have a web site, then you should also have a blog. A blog gives you so many benefits and other than maybe not looking as flashy as a flash site, they look good and work great. You would never want to compromise looks over how well a tool gets your information out there and known. If you need some help figuring out how to get your blog up and running, subscribe to our RSS or email feed by clicking here. In further articles in the next weeks, I am going to take you step by step through the set up and use of a blog for your nonprofit. Stay Tuned and tell others about our Social Media for the nonprofit series.
Catch the rest of our “Be a Social Media Expert Series” here.
Grab our RSS feed so you don’t miss out on any of of the articles
Digging for “Good” News
Feb 23rd
Americans must like being afraid. Every poll you here says that we are frightened. According to CNN, “73 percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday say they're very or somewhat scared about the way things are going in the United States. That's six points higher than in an October poll.”
Whatever happened to the great politicians like Franklin D. Roosevelt who told us: “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” Americans needed to hear that message and believe that there was a grown up at the helm and that there was hope for the nation. What we need is a plan that each of us can stand behind with each person doing his/her part to turn things around. We need to hold steady, try to find ways to save time without slashing jobs. By over-reacting we contribute to the frenzy.
What are ways that you can keep afloat? Technology can be a great way to get more accomplished for less. Invest in technology savvy systems, like content management systems where information can be found easily, repurposed and reused.
How can you stay the course? Rather than laying-off experienced workers, why not look at ways to keep them still working while trimming expenses. Getting rid of the experienced will only add to the downward spiral by cutting into the stable parts of our economy.
Find your courage nonprofits! Be the creative problem solvers that you know you are. Get out your shovels and start digging for good news. It is there. People are ready to help one another. Volunteers will still give of their time for worthy causes.
What do you think will turn Americans around and spur them into taking courageous action? Your thoughts.
Tweet Tweet Nonprofit
Feb 23rd
How to Twitter for Nonprofits
So you are ready to Tweet? Great. If nothing else, give it a try and see if it is for you. As a nonprofit or any business, the more avenues in which you can make yourself available to others the better your chances of developing relationships that stick. For more on building relationships that stick, read http://oceangrand.org/building-nonprofit-relationships-equals-success. Twitter is an avenue that can make a huge difference in your knowledge about how to run a successful nonprofit and is a great way to stay in touch up-to-the-minute with supporters, donors, volunteers and grant makers. Read on to learn how you can use Twitter to make a difference in your nonprofit.
Last week we talked about whether “To Tweet or Not to Tweet”, read that here. Hopefully you’re reading this because you have decided to tweet. Take it from us, for an organization that stays in touch with lots of people, nonprofits and others all around the world on a minute by minute basis, you can’t get better than Twitter. By using Twitter, we can keep in touch with all the nonprofit news, initiatives, info on nonprofits we work with, while keeping all that want our information informed up to the second. It’s awesome and once you get the hang of it we believe you will agree. I will briefly run through the benefits to you and your nonprofit using Twitter, then list the steps on how you can get started “Tweeting” yourself.
Real Simple
Twitter is messaging that uses only 140 characters per message, called Tweets. It is easy to send and receive tweets from your computer or mobile phone. Because the messages are short, reading and writing them are quick. People that want to keep in touch with you “Follow You” and receive your tweets. You follow people that you want to keep in touch with. Several short tweets a day is all it takes to keep everyone up-to-date with what you or your nonprofit is up to. Twitter is short conversations that keep everyone in your life connected.
How it Could Help You
As a nonprofit, keeping your supporters, donors and volunteers up-to-date with daily updates and many times minute by minute reports have huge benefits. The more you can keep your organization in front of those that are involved with your nonprofit the more they will be involved with you. Likewise, staying transparent and keeping people more informed will let them know exactly the kind of help you need and when you need it.
Several tweets a day from you can:
- Update those following you on on projects status
- Tweet your fundraising and program events for those that cannot be there (play by play)
- Let others know of fundraising needs
- Keep grant makers updated with progress
- Quickly find volunteers
- Find others who would like to involved with your nonprofit
How You Can Start Tweeting
When using Twitter, “less is more†and keeping track of your and other people’s tweets can be managed easily on your computer by using TweetDeck http://www.tweetdeck.com. Throughout the day, “tweet†several times and let people know what you’re up to; you will be amazed at how interested they are in the little things you do each day.
Twitter Steps:
- Go to http://www.twitter.com.
- Sign up and create an interesting profile. Definitely add a photo.
- Use the site’s “find friend” feature to search your email address book for people you know.
- To find people you maybe interested in following, go to Twitscoop http://www.twitscoop.com/ and search topics you’re interested in.
- Search websites that you are interested in to see if they have a “Follow Us on Twitter” link.
- You may find more people to follow by reading the posts of those you are already following whose conversations seem interesting.
- Keep the number of people you follow to less than 150 so that you can actually keep up with all the posts.
- The number of people you allow to follow you depends on you but the more people following you, the farther your tweets will go out to the masses.
- Try to think of ways to allow those that follow you to get to know you and your nonprofit.
- Think of ways that you can introduce what your nonprofit is doing without giving a sales pitch.
- Get all your donors and those interested in you and your nonprofit (donors, volunteers, board members) signed up and promote your Twitter link so people can connect to you.
- Put your Twitter link on your email signatures, your web site, your literature and every place you, can making it easy for people to follow you.
- A few “What I am doing†updates a day goes a long way. Likewise, reply and respond to other people’s updates.
- Give it a couple weeks to find those to follow and to find a “following”
Above all have fun and see what Twitter can do for you and your organization.
Later this Week in our Twitter Series: Tweet Like a Pro (sign up for our RSS so you don’t miss an article)
Advisory: All the information, pictures, video and updates on Twitter are able to be seen by all your followers and your profile can be seen by anyone, so keep that in mind when you put information on the internet.
Start NonProfit
Feb 22nd
Starting a NonProfit Could Not Be Easier
Half the battle starting a NonProfit is setting up the company, filing all the right forms and then doing all the paperwork. It takes many people months or even years to figure out how to start a nonprofit, then longer saving up to pay to get the nonprofit set up. (cause it is usually expensive). You know what I mean if you have ever ran across one of those lengthy pages explaining all the steps to starting a nonprofit.
However, now there is a simple resource that have many nonprofit set up and doing business in about 4-6 weeks. Just a quick application, and you are on your way to running a brand new shiny nonprofit.
The Faster and Easier Way to Start a Nonprofit
The great news is not only is the setup quick even all the accounting and bookeeping is taken care of. All you have to focus on is fund raising, and running a successful programs rather than becoming overwhelmed with paper work, filing reports, and bookkeeping. You still have all the benefit of a nonprofit but with non of the hassle.
“Simple Nonprofit” explains the lessor known, but least expensive way to set up a 501c3 . The process allows your nonprofit to focus its attention on your projects, fund raising, and running a successful nonprofit rather than becoming overwhelmed with paper work, filing reports, and bookkeeping. The book “Simple Nonprofit” explains Fiscal Sponsorship and how to get it set up which is much less expensive and easier than going through traditional channels that can take 6 to 8 months. Many times through fiscal sponsorship your 501c3 status can be completed and operational inside 4-6 weeks. The best of all is it is possible to get your nonprofit set up in under $400.
Many times, all of the following are included in Fiscal Sponsorship programs:
- Administration
- Bookkeeping
- Banking
- Staying within the IRS guidelines
- End of the year taxes
This book is in PDF format so that you can download it immediately and begin using it today.
“Simple Nonprofit”
For a Limited Time: 1 Hour Consultation Included with Each Purchase
Would you like to:
- Easily Set up a 501c3 Nonprofit in less than 6 weeks?
- Everything you wanted to know about Fiscal Sponsorship & how to get it set up
- Set Up a tax exempt Nonprofit for under $400 rather than thousands?
- Quickly Learn all you need to know about which kind of nonprofit you need?
- Have a free hour to ask a nonprofit expert anything you want?
We have helped hundreds upon hundreds of nonprofit all over the world with step-by-step help bypassing the headaches and hassle of paperwork and waiting while saving them thousands of dollars.
“Simple Nonprofit” will teach you in just a few hours what has taken its author Scott Michael Ringo 12+ years to acquire, making it easy to set up a 501c3 tax exempt nonprofit in less than 6 weeks for under $400.
Click the Google Checkout button to get immediate access to the download.
Quick and Easy Nonprofit Setup
Every person who desires to set up a nonprofit wants learn how to set it up right, in as few steps as possible and the least expensively. Many spend thousands on attorney fees and months attempting to set up a nonprofit. However, this new resource from Scott Michael Ringo shares how he has helped thousands around the world to set up a functioning 501c3 for just hundreds of dollars in under 6 weeks.
If you or someone you know is interested in setting up a nonprofit, this incredibly simple resource is just the ticket to help do that without frustration. “Simple Nonprofit” will guide you step-by-step through the set up of a 501c3 organization and teach you how to have it completely functioning in under 6 weeks. Never before has the process of setting up a nonprofit been broken down so simply that anyone can do it. Scott brings his 12+ years in developing successful nonprofits and 26+ years in the business arena to the forefront to present easy to understand and follow steps to implement a nonprofit’s creation.
Free Consultation
Upon the purchase of “Simple Nonprofit”, Scott includes one hour of consultation absolutely free (a $100 value). The consultation can be used immediately or at anytime in the future. This resource for $49.95 can save you thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in setting up your nonprofit.
As the founder of Ocean Grand, Scott’s hands-on approach to helping nonprofits all over the world raise the funds they need is is written down so anyone can understand and implement it. Instead of wondering how to create a nonprofit or paying someone thousands of dollars to create one, a few hours in “Simple Nonprofit” will help you instantly begin creating your own nonprofit.
After reading “Simple Nonprofit,” with basic effort any individual can finally tap into the nonprofit arena, quickly and easily. Everyone attempting to create a nonprofit needs this book in their library. A simple read and you gain over a decade of experience in nonprofit creation and success.
Great Holiday Gift Idea
Act now because for a limited time, a certificate for One hour of Consultation is included with each book purchase ((a $100 value).
This is the only place that you can get your copy of “Simple NonProfit” and the bonus gift of one hour of consulting is for a limited time.
Purchase your PDF copy of “Simple Nonprofit” by clicking the button below. Immediate download.
NonProfit Set-up
Are you interested in starting your own nonprofit? “Simple Nonprofit” will help you get your nonprofit set up in just weeks very affordably.
What People Are Saying
My non profit will have great recognition and to know I don’t have to worry about paper work and to have professionals working and mentoring me is a great comfort to me. I would recommend your work to others. Scott, I thank you so much.
Danielle, magnificent butterflies, inc.
Setting up a non-profit project with the help of Ocean Grand is as fast, easy more then one can imagine!
Clinton Ezeigwe, Sign of Hope
I love your way of not forgetting your old friends.
The greatest thing you did for me was to help me set my organization… you also helped me to fundraise online.This was so good too.
Rose Nabisalu, Luteete Women of Uganda (Uganda, Africa)
Building NonProfit Relationships Equals Success
Feb 21st
The Forgotten Element = Relationships
On a phone call today I was asked what I believe was the most important factor in the success of a nonprofit that most forget. For me that is an easy question and one I believe is also the same for any business. In this day and age of email addresses, usernames, and twitter accounts many forget that relationships are golden. Whether you are in business for profit or not-for-profit, if you are not devoting a large percentage of your business toward building relationships, you are missing one of the most important aspects of marketing. If you build the relationships with your volunteers and donors and forget the rest, the finances, programs, and success will fall into place. Read on and let me show you how to build loyal relationships that can make all the difference in your business. I will start out with explaining the why and give you practical how to at the end.
The Missing Puzzle Piece
In this day and age more than ever people want to be known. It is a need that we are all born with, that we want people to know who we are. Think about it for a minute, when you walk into a room of strangers, doesn’t it feel great when someone knows you? Sure it does, it feels awesome. It does not matter whether you are in a room of strangers, in the cyber world, or walking into a restaurant for lunch. When someone knows you or wants to get to know you it makes you feel really good. Imagine what it must feel like when you are in one of those venues and everyone in the room or restaurant knows you. Everyone wants to be known and it feels even better when they know you because of something good you did.
I believe it was the main reason that the sitcom “Cheers” was so successful and intriguing to America. The tag line was “Where everyone knows your name.” When I used to watch “Cheers”, I too wished I had a place, even if it was a bar, where everyone knew me and I could share life with them. In the age of suburbs and cyberspace, it is getting tough to get to know people and for them to get to know you. We get up in the morning, jump in our car, drive out of our neighborhood to work without encountering even one person we have to say “good morning” to. We arrive at work and spend most of our day in a cubicle, eat lunch at our desk and have few conversations even emailing the person in the cube next to us. At the end of the day we jump back in our car, drive into our neighborhood and into our driveway, walk into our house and still rarely have to encounter another human being outside of our immediate family. Sure you say “hi” to the neighbor across the hedges, which will be tall enough next year that you can ignore them, while you’re cutting your grass on the weekend. However, it is possible to go an entire week with very little interaction with others. It is one of the huge reasons that facebook, twitter and online chat rooms are so popular. People are searching for a way for others to know them. Do you really think that people would put up personal profiles with all types of information and jot 140 characters about their lunch fare on twitter to thousands of complete strangers if they were not screaming out for someone to know them? Those that are involved in your business or nonprofit also have a need to be known and it is your job to see that they are. I will give you some tips below on how you can attract and keep loyal clients and donors by simply taking an interest in them more than the other guy.
Building Relationships that Stick
Building relationships can be simple. However it is an art that is quickly being forgotten, especially in the business world. Starting from the premise that most people in this world want to be known, we can focus a majority of our attention on building relationships, even if it is through social media, to form strong loyalties. Relationship building should start immediately when someone shows interest in getting involved with your nonprofit/business. Each person is different in the level in which they want to build a relationship and respect should be given to them to build that relationship to the level of their expectations. True, if you have thousands involved, there is only so much of you to go around but there are easy ways to make more of you go around than you may have thought. The key is to extend yourself out to others in as many avenues as you can and let each individual choose the level and avenues that are comfortable to them. However, most of your volunteers, donors and grantors of funds want to be acknowledged at some level and most likely want to form more of a relationship than you will ever realize. Now your challenge is how can you acknowledge those involved in your business enough while still having enough of yourself and organization left to do the projects that you are involved in. If someone does not want the acknowledgment or relationship, they will make that apparent by giving an anonymous gift or letting you know up front.
Likewise, the amount an organization or individual gives should not be a consideration for how much they need acknowledgment or desire relationship. For many a little is all they have but is proportionally bigger in their finances that the large gift from a wealthy individual. Everyone should be treated equally regardless of their gift or the time they donate to your organization. When the “rubber hits the road” the person that is willing to donate their Saturday to you may be worth all the finances your nonprofit has in the bank when you really need the help but have few to turn to.
Gloat!
A good rule to apply and hardly ever go wrong with is gloat continually on your donors and volunteers. If, by some strange reason, an individual want you to rant about them less they will let you know. However, in all my years in business I have rarely had someone say to me that I needed to notice them less. People love when you notice their efforts, donations and involvement and by doing so you secure people falling all over themselves to do things that you will gloat about.
Some things You Should Know
I will give you some basic things you should know about all your donors and then some ways that you can make yourself more accessible to them to allow them to decide for themselves the level of relationship they want to establish with you. You can never know enough about your donors and volunteers, period. Asking about these things I will list below will establish that you care enough about those that get involved in your nonprofit work to build relationships with them. Granted this is only a few things you can know and do to begin to establish rapport with them, but it is a fantastic start.
Things you should know about your donor and volunteers:
- Spouse and Children’s names and ages
- Birthdays- Spouse and children’s birthdays and acknowledge them on or before the date
- Special Interests - When you come across those hockey tickets you can’t use, give them to the one it means the most to.
- Special Skills- You may need to call on their special skills (construction, fundraising, scrap booking, making blankets, computer).
- There are a ton more but that will get you started.
Open the Relationship Avenues
There are many levels that relationships can happen on. Your responsibility is to open as many avenues to relationships that you can, then let your donors and volunteers choose the ones that best fit their lifestyle, technical skills and comfort level. Below are a few to get you started and then add more as they become available or you are comfortable with. Remember, you are now a public figure and when serving your community you are going to need to be somewhat open with the public about who you are and what you stand for. It may get scrutinized, but hey, how important is the work to you that you are doing? You will find that by being open you will gain loyal supporters and allies that will help you accomplish your dreams.
Avenues you should make available for your donors and volunteers to get to know you:
- Quarterly get-to-know-you lunch where people can “touch and feel you”
- Ability to “Follow you on Twitter” if you don’t know what this is, see http://oceangrand.org/tweet-or-not-to-tweet
- Ability to be your friend on Facebook- yes if they give blood, sweat and tears they are your friend
- Ability to subscribe to weekly or monthly email updates- yes, you need to have a monthly email newsletter
- Ability to subscribe to RSS feeds about your nonprofit
- Ability to give you feedback either by email or forum
- Consider consistently blogging about your nonprofit on your own blog
Your Touch
Now that your volunteers and donors can “touch and feel” you there is a minimum touch that you should extend to them. These are only minimum guidelines and the more you get to know them and they know you the better the support for your nonprofit you will have. Don’t put these primary “touches” off until the end of each month but do them immediately each time you have the opportunity.
Ways to reach out and touch your supporters when they have donated or put forth and effort to help your nonprofit:
- Personal handwritten thank you notes for any donation or effort to help your nonprofit
- Public acknowledgments for donations and efforts to help your nonprofit
- Periodic person-to-person lunches and meetings with each donor and volunteer
- Simple thank you gifts go a long way - nothing fancy just small inexpensive gifts
- Ongoing acknowledgment in newsletters of donations and volunteer efforts
Building Relationships is Easy
The ability to build relationships is something that we are born with; however, many times while growing up we forget the fundamentals. Relationships are the life-blood for your nonprofit and to dismiss them as unnecessary is a fatal mistake. Everybody wants to be know to some degree and it is the nonprofit’s job to cultivate the relationships and bring value to those people’s lives who are involved and giving their hard earned time and finances to it. No matter how hectic things get or how bad the economy becomes, when all the cards are down, if you have good relationships your going to be OK.
Rebranding the NonProfit
Feb 19th
Rebranding Has Been a Long Time Coming…
While I help people set up a lot of new nonprofts, I also get a lot of phone calls, emails, and tweets from nonprofits who have been struggling for years. The struggles come in all shapes and sizes but the most common struggle is fundraising. Successful fundraising for many nonprofits is an elusive dream that is overshadowed by many failed attemtps. Some in the nonprofit arena even believe the nonprofit market is too saturated and leaves no room for new nonprofits because of their lack of success raising funds for their nonprofit. This can be no farther from the truth and whether you are a new nonprofit start-up or an old one, in just a few simple steps, I can help you get on track to finding the nonprofit funds you need to see successful fundraising. Read on and I will give you some simple steps that you can follow to regain your faith in the nonprofit model.
Rebranding The NonProfit
Over the years, the nonprofit arena has become complicated and just down right confusing to many who are already involved and even more so to those wishing to embark in it. I will not spend a lot of time speculating on why the industry has become so hard to understand, but I will give my two cents. I believe the majority of the confusion has come from an assumption that “it looks difficult, so it is difficult.” Many times new and old nonprofits make it much more difficult than it really is by making it complicated for themselves. You have heard the phrase that “you cannot see the forest for the trees”. I like to help nonprofits rebrand their efforts and focus on the individual trees and then they can stand back and enjoy the forest. Especially when it comes to nonprofit fundraising, simple is the best and once you make it simple it can be down right fun. There are 3 simple steps below.
KISS
(keep it simple, stupid)
When rebranding the nonprofit to make things simple the old adage “Keep it simple, Stupid” reigns supreme for me. Simple works, and helps those that are volunteers, employees and donors follow along easily. By keeping it simple your efforts are easily duplicated by others. When you discover the strategy that works, you simply duplicate it so that others can also do it. Then repeat, repeat and repeat those efforts. There is no need to make it any harder than it has to be. I think that many times those running nonprofits believe they have to keep adding elements to their fundraising efforts until they get so confused they cannot remember what worked in the first place. Let me give you an example that I will take from my article http://oceangrand.org/simple-and-effective-non-profit-fundraising/. There is no substitute for a stable donor base. A stable donor base does not come from grant writing, it comes from having a great story, building relationships with donors and retaining those donors month in and month out. Grant writing has its place, but not until you have the simplest form of support and that is individual donors and corporations that have a great relationship with you and your nonprofit. They are the ones that will come through for you time and time again. You build that loyalty in donors by cultivating real and genuine relationships with them. Building relationships with people + keeping them involved in your nonprofit work + them giving time and finances to your nonprofit= simple, stable and effective fundraising. If it sounds too simple it is because you have convinced yourself that funding your nonprofit has to be complicated and difficult.
Forget the Competition
Forget what the competition does to attempt success; instead do the things that you know will work. By trying to duplicate another nonprofit’s efforts, especially if theirs is complicated, you are setting yourself up for a complex matrix of activities. Instead stay simple in your efforts and focus on your nonprofit, your donors and your program.
Overrated Activities
Grant writing is overrated for most nonprofits, and instead of spending hours and hours trying to find a grant, capitalize on that time by building relationships with the people the other nonprofits forgot and left in the dust. Many very capable donors are left in the dust of the flurry the nonprofit makes in trying to find the “big money.” There is not a ton of competition in building relationships with donors. With a little effort you may be able to build genuine relationships with individuals, long forgotten by other nonprofits, who would love to donate more than any grant would provide. All grant funding organizations are run and founded by individuals, most of whom would enjoy finding a nonprofit who valued their relationship as much as their money. You never know where a solidly build relationship with a donor may lead. It is possible his best friend runs a successful grant funding foundation. Relationship building is one of those simple activities that most nonprofits forget. However, they are the key to great success when it comes to the continual success of a nonprofit.
Does your nonprofit need rebranding?
Whether you are just starting out in the nonprofit world or you have been at it for ages, nonprofit fundraising and work does not have to be complicated. My advice for anyone in any business would be if you do not have fun at it, find something that you can enjoy. Nonprofit work can be some of the most satisfying work (or play) you have ever done, but I believe simplicity is the key. Look at everything surrounding your nonprofit: administration, bookkeeping, fundraising, and programs. If the processes are too complicated, simplify them or outsource them. Make your nonprofit activities simple and straightforward and they will be fun. It’s the reason I switched to a Mac computer- it simplified my life and made sitting at a computer fun again. Above all, relationships are your most important asset. When all the “cards are down,” if you have good stable relationships, you will be ok. Have a blast living your nonprofit dream, and if you need some help getting back to simple, let me know.
Obama Signs Stimulus Bill
Feb 17th
Denver, Colorado - President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion economic stimulus package in Denver today after the Senate passed its version of the bill late Friday. We have been waiting, what seems like ages, for news of the plan passing meanwhile each day brought news of further job cuts and business failures.
In his weekly radio and Internet broadcast, Obama said, "I will sign this legislation into law shortly, and we'll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done."
He reminded us that, "The problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread, and our response must be equal to the task."
The struggle in the Senate lasted weeks, with lawmakers on both Democrat and Republican sides desiring to warm up the frozen credit markets and get lending going again. There are those who have begun to call some of the failing banks “zombies” because they seem lifeless and unable to get back to lending. It is everyone’s hope that this stimulus money will get the banks’ lending again.
The question is, what will it really take to get people spending? Opinions differ widely. However, this bill's tax cuts will come in the form of relief for 95% of Americans. The amount of $400 for individuals and $800 for couples will come in the form of diminishing payroll taxes by a small amount over time. Lawmakers believe that people will be more willing to spend the small addition to their paychecks rather than hold onto such small sums.
Also included in the stimulus was $70 billion to shelter upper middle-class and wealthier taxpayers from an income tax increase and two of Obama's initiatives; the expansion of computerized information technology in the health care industry and billions to create green jobs that will hopefully, begin to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
The nonprofit sector will see billions infused into schools and local governments to help prop up jobs. Will this stimulus package restore our faith in the financial system? We wait with expectation to see if this new administration can begin to defrost the frozen economy. What are your thoughts?
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