The Future We’ll Make: TEDxChange Flickr Photo C...

TEDxChange: The Future We Make

On September 20, 2010 is TEDxChange, an event co-hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and TED. TEDxChange marks the anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals.

Ten years in, the question remains where do we stand in the work to save and improve lives around the world? And what will the future hold?

The future isn’t fixed. We can all have a hand in making a better world. To coincide with TEDxChange and the tenth anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals, the Gates Foundation is asking you the following question: What is the future we will make?

They want you to help put a personal face to some of the world’s most pressing issues and envision a future where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy and productive life.

To participate, follow these four steps:

Download and print the sign

Personalize the sign with your own message. (Remember: Your sign must relate to one of the Millennium Development Goals to be included.)

Upload your photo to the foundation’s Flickr group.

Join the conversation on our Community Page.

Passion and purpose are important in looking forward and I also believe the role of education for girls globally will continue to impact how developing countries grow and seek to eradicate poverty. That being said, here’s my photo!

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Enter Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits Twee...

I’m not joking when I say not a week goes by that I don’t mention Blackbaud. Either online or in conversations, I doubt they know what an evangelist that have in little me – but I’m serious when I say this is the Rolls Royce of donor management and CRM services. Just last week, I left a comment on Fred Wilson’s blog about Blackbaud when he wrote about his need for a service targeting family CRM. Since Blacklabud was the first system I used when I started in development and fundraising, it’s been hard to use other services. I was then thrilled to see that they have a Twitter contest/giveaway going on for their upcoming nonprofit conference happening in Washington DC in October.

I’m hoping to attend, let me know if you’ll be there! In the meantime, enter their contest today. It closes on the 31st so there isn’t much time left.

You can win one of four free registrations to Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits with the Blackbaud INSPIRE Tweetaway! They are giving away free passes to four nonprofit professionals that participate in the Blackbaud INSPIRE Tweetaway.

So, how do you win?

1. Follow Blackbaud on Twitter.

2. Tweet how you inspire supporters with social media by @replying Blackbaud on Twitter and tagging it #BBSocial.

3. Eligible participants who work at a 501c3 organization can enter daily for a chance to win – the contest will run from August 16 at 9 a.m. ET to August 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The winners will be announced on August 31.

My tweet from today:
@blackbaud I create conversation online and build microsites to help drive fundraising campaigns around disaster relief. #bbsocial

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SOCAP10 Impact Challenge...

Every year I pick a new conference (or two) that I really want to attend because I’ve heard it will blow my mind, because I want to connect with new people, because I know it’s good to stretch the mind and the soul. This year, it’s SOCAP.

In looking into the conference, I stumbled upon a post by my friend Emily about a contest where you can win a pass to the conference! Yes, the contest has some element of voting but it’s not everything (thankfully) and regardless of if I win, I like the question they’re asking.

The Social Capital Markets Conference (SOCAP) is a gathering of investors, entrepreneurs, and innovators at the intersection of money and meaning. SOCAP has spent the last two years defining the social enterprise movement. This year, more than 1,200 investors, donors, entrepreneurs, and innovators will decide: What’s Next?

A recent report by Hope Consulting on Money for Good revealed there is a $120 billion untapped market of individual investors looking to make a positive environmental and social impact with their dollars. With deserving entrepreneurs looking for funds to make that impact, the challenge is to discover:

What’s Next? How will social enterprise unlock the $120 billion market opportunity for impact investment?

SOCAP will be exploring this question throughout the conference, but they want to hear from you.

The challenge? Tell them (in 500 words or less) what’s next in social enterprise to unlock the $120 billion market opportunity for individual impact investment, and you could win a scholarship to this year’s SOCAP, valued at $1195, as well as the opportunity to be published in TriplePundit – an innovative new media company pushing the conversation forward about sustainable business in the 21st century.
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Reflections From The First International CrisisCon...

Back in January, when the earthquake happened in Haiti, I felt like I do in all catastrophic disasters. Sick to my stomach. Human suffering is always hard to see, but for me, I’ve always been really sensitive to the suffering of others, and my whole life these instances had left me feeling like what could I do to help. Me, only one person.

As I’ve grown into my activist and humanitarian roles, technology has helped me find a place where I feel like I belong in the response. It’s not my primary profession, per say, in life. But it is a place where I feel like I can make a difference.

How?

Sometimes, from using our voice. Our voice online has the ability to multiply and make a bigger impact. Using your voice on the internet (and this could be Facebook or your own blog) is a way of standing up for what you believe, asking questions, and seeking answers.

That’s what happened to me in January. The earthquake happened and I turned to the Internet to see what the response would be. I had heard of Transparency Camps happening last summer, but only pieces, as I had been in the Philippines on my Kiva Fellowship. I had heard more about CrisisCommons from friends like Alex Rose and Chad Catacchio and with my incessant need for information learned more about the Camps. I started to see them pop up around the country and people were reaching out to me, since I now lived in New Orleans, asking to connect with people who had been instrumental in the response for Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and wondering when there would be a CrisisCamp in New Orleans.

From the bottom of my cause-filled activist heart, you could say this is how I was roped in to creating CrisisCampNOLA.

I was helped by Robert Fogarty, who himself has a nonprofit focused on evacuation techniques called Evacuteer.org and by Barrett Conrad, who leads up a monthly developer event in New Orleans and could tap into those networks to get developers to attend.

So I had Alex and Chad rooting me on, and Robert and Barrett partnering and helping shoulder the load, and the local New Orleans community donating space (LaunchPadNOLA), food (Naked Pizza) and press/promotion (New Orleans Tech) and all of the pieces were coming together. But more than all of that, all CrisisCamps would be remiss not to mention Heather Blanchard.

Heather’s passion for creating CrisisCamp and moving CrisisCommons into a viable entity were never far off from the overall goal of having a successful campaign.

http://www.vimeo.com/9385869

We held CrisisCampNOLA, we invited local Haitians to come and tell their stories and we built a local response and also helped on the national scale. It was, by all means, a success.
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What Mobile Application Would Change Your Life?...

I’m on tour! It’s not quite the Cause It’s My Birthday madness that Doug Campbell and I created last fall, but it’s an exciting opportunity to meet and connect with EXCEPTIONAL techies (along with friends new and old) in five cities this summer. It’s an opportunity to help promote a company and a product we believe in, and help make the launch as viable as possible by sparking conversation and creating content with influencers and those most apt to purchase and develop this product.

The concept went something like this. Erica O’Grady and I wanted to create a unique opportunity for a company to get in front of their target audience, minus the top-shelf sponsorship cost. After all, what does “sponsoring” an event mean? It’s creating a place to get in front of the people that matter to you, right? So if we could do that for you, circulate a room and find the influencers and voices you wanted to reach, evangelize your product, sing your praises and back your endeavors, provide your with leads to follow up with after events that can lead to the same quantifiable ROI, what kind of sponsorship opportunity would that create?

The Party Crashers was born. And for our first project, we are party crashing Mashable’s 5-city SummerMash where awesome-super-amazing-client Microsoft has sponsored us to promote the Windows Phone 7. At each party in Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, New York City and Chicago, we’re asking the question (and capturing your answer) to the question:

“What Mobile Application Would CHANGE YOUR LIFE?” (more…)

Groundswell Growing for Gulf Coast Benefit Concert...

This Thursday, July 1st, music venues and activists worldwide will unite to benefit those directly impacted by the Gulf Coast Oil Spill. Proceeds from all participating venues will be donated to The Gulf Restoration Network, a nonprofit committed to uniting and empowering people to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf Region for future generations.

This is the beginning of a blog post that I am seeing coming flying into my google alerts and into my inbox. It’s the start of a groundswell for tomorrow night’s Gulf Coast Benefit concerts.

Current stand is 60 Meetups, about 45 which are music venues and the rest are awareness get-togethers. It’s grown to 5 countries too (shout out to the Montreal and Paris contingent in particular)! 100% of online donations and the ticket price at venues is going to Gulf Restoration Network. Those who know me, know that I look to inspire others to find ways to give back and this benefit series is speaking to the passionate resolve we all have to help others in times of need.

How can you get involved? Make a donation, whatever amount you can give. Every dollar counts. Then, how about asking 5 friends to match you? Send an email or post to your Facebook wall and say something like:

I just donated $10 to support Gulf Benefit Concerts, will you match my donation?

You can attend. Full listing of venues is on the Meetup Everywhere page.

You can blog about the events. This takes our message to your fans, supporters and friends. A blog post goes a long way! An article in your local paper helps tell more people about what we’re up to. To give you inspiration, here are links to some of the most recent press we’ve gotten. (And huge thanks to everyone below).

• Antiquiet Interview with Co-organizer Casey Phillips:
  

  New Orleans has been in a fight for survival for the past decade. In terms of the deep musical spirit of the area, what’s the general atmosphere among local artists in relation to this crisis?
  
  The strength of the NOLA musical community is a force that some may have doubted before Katrina, but few question anymore. They have lead by example these past 5 years by refusing to let our musical heritage disappear. To me they represent pillars of strength for others to draw inspiration from. The cajun culture of the bayou regions is as important to Louisiana’s heritage as jelly-roll jazz. Right now the future for the fishing communities looks bleak, however, but I can say with certainty that the cajuns are proud people, and the backbone of Louisiana – we will not let them down.

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Nationwide Gulf Benefit Concerts July 1st to Benef...

I’m really excited to officially announce that I’m part of the team producing a series of nationwide benefit concerts July 1st benefiting the fishermen & wildlife affected by the Gulf Coast Oil Spill called Gulf Coast Benefit Presents Coast to Coast. < -- VISIT THE WEBSITE!

What to help and GET INVOLVED? Read more or skip to the get involved part!

Along with Nic Adler, owner of The Roxy on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, CA; Megan Jacobs of The Roxy, Casey Phillips, talent buyer for venues including Tipitina’s in New Orleans and Viper Room & The Mint in Los Angeles, and a terrific support team, we have over 25 venues on board nationally to support this effort with 100% of proceeds going DIRECTLY to the Gulf Restoration Network (@healthygulf on Twitter) and their community-based effort called Gulf Future.

Daryl Hannah, Dave Faustino, Ed Begley Jr., Rebelution, Nicky Avalon and venues like The Roxy, Viper Room, Spaceland, The Echo, The Mint, Fais Do Do, The Comedy Store, Tipitina’s, Press Room and more are involved have enlisted their efforts to help! Volunteers in each city and music industry heavy-hitters are jumping in. Now it’s YOUR TURN!

Is it ambitious to gather music venues around the country to donate ticket sales on July 1st and create an online giving platform that encourages donations to the relief efforts? You betcha. But the people, wildlife and wetlands affected need our support and we’ve combined efforts and networks to make this successful and meaningful for those in the Gulf Coast.

Revenues from ticket sales will be donated to help the fishermen and their families along the Gulf Coast cope with this disaster and aid wildlife and wetlands restoration for the Gulf Coast. Over 25 venues have been confirmed and more are being added every day. Artists performing include national as well as local acts across the US.

“We know through music and the generosity of people that we can help make a difference in the Gulf Coast.” Adler says. “We hope this inspires others to make a donation, attend an event and get involved.”

The wetlands and wildlife are in desperate need of our attention now and we can’t wait for BP to take care of those in need. Many of our fellow Americans will have no livelihood, are preparing to leave their homes and are now lining up for food handouts. With hurricane season on the horizon, there is reason for great concern and it’s crucial the affected communities be prepared for the worst.

What YOU can do! (more…)

Building Community Using the Next Generation of We...

Fund Raising Day NYC -

View more presentations from Sloane Berrent.

I was recently invited to speak at the Association of Fund Raising Professionals (AFP) Fund Raising Day NYC. It’s their largest single-day conference dedicated to the development and fund raising professionals and a huge honor. I was invited into the Internet and Technology track and presented on emerging technologies and tools that nonprofits could use to help fundraising online.

Full details:

Emerging Channels, Emerging Prospects: Building Community Using the Next Generation of Web Marketing and Social Networking Tools.

Questions like “Why aren’t you on Twitter? What’s your Facebook or YouTube strategy? How do we monetize our investments in social media?” are increasingly common. It’s not enough to just have a presence. Organizations need to have clear direction for maximizing their social media resources. Two experts in this emerging field will provide real world case studies for devising effective social media strategies and integrating these channels into your sustainable marketing efforts and what this all means for your budget and staffing.
You’ll Learn:

* To look at social media as part of your overall donor cultivation strategy.
* Strategy tips and case study examples for fundraising campaigns that have been a success, those that haven’t and the why & why nots.
* Tech tools, APIs and tools from the insider’s toolbox to use at your organization, no matter the size or bandwidth.

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We Need Your Vote! NOLAlicious is a finalist for T...

NOLAlicious has been named one of three finalists for best e-newsletter in New Orleans in The Gambit’s 2010 Web Awards. Click here to vote for NOLAlicious and check out the rest of the finalists where so many of our friends are nominated in other categories.

You can read more about the nomination on our Tumblr for NOLAlicious.

As many of you know, NOLAlicious is my baby. It’s my passionate side project. It’s one of my favorite things about 2010 and a creation I am deeply proud of. It’s a collaboration effort with two friends that is a daily learning experience and opportunity to share all the things we love about New Orleans with the rest of the world. To think of how far we’ve come in six months is incredible!

To those who don’t know…NOLAlicious is a free weekly email newsletter created with collaborators (and fellow new-to-New Orleans residents) Taylor Davidson and Carl Nelson. We give you five things to do, eat and see around town every week, through the eye of the tourist and the soul of native. We also give you job and travel tips and some pretty awesome photography each week too (if I may say so myself). It’s a little bit for everyone and for the native New Orleanians, recent transplants, expats living around the country, to those who have visited once and got bitten by the bug, NOLAlicious is your way to take a little bite out of New Orleans every week and explore, just like us.

Win or lose, we’ll keep sending the newsletter every Tuesday, but man, I really hope we win because I KNOW it would mean so much to everyone involved and we promise to keep growing and listening to YOU and giving you the best content we can find and deliver each week. Plus, we have new features launching soon that are amazing, so what do you say, can we have your vote?

Here’s what you can do:

1) VOTE
2) Post to your Facebook wall or Twitter this message:

I just voted for @NOLAlicious to win @The_Gambit ’s web awards for best e-newsletter. Your turn! http://bit.ly/GambitWebAwards

3) TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

Thanks everyone, and keep sending in tips for what we can do to make NOLAlicious better and ideas for what to feature. I love reading our emails from the community!

The Art of Networking...

Networking is not a four-letter word! I know many people feel that way in professional networking and career-related networking. As a connector, I often have talked to people about my methods in networking. The first place to start might sound obvious, but it’s often overlooked. It’s all about the PEOPLE! I truly care about people, their stories and what makes them tick, so for me “networking” is a hobby to me like playing an instrument. I keep up with people in my spare time.

But for introverts, those starting new businesses or those who aren’t comfortable in professional networking environments, I’ve created a talk and slidedeck that I go through with easy and tangible steps in networking 101 for the busy career professional.

I spoke this week to the 2010 Entrepreneur Class at Idea Village and my slideshare from that talk is above.

Making connections and building relationships is one of the most important things you can do to help your professional career. So next time you think about networking, replace the word “networking” with “connecting with people” and go get ‘em!