John Kenyon, Nonprofit Technology Specialist

In her recent report for the Overbrook Foundation, Allison Fine quotes a grantee who expresses what many think about emerging Web 2.0 tools: "I think I'm missing something really big, but I don’t know what it is or how to find out what it is."

If you or your colleagues feel the same way, take heart. Every day, organizations find new ways to bring their stories to life through digital media and the internet. Nonprofits are exploring new ways to build and strengthen personal relationships with volunteers, activists, and donors by connecting them more directly with their work.

Two great examples of successful nonprofit blogs are Doctors without Borders/MSF and the Jane Goodall Institute.

According to the Doctors Without Borders/MSF website, “Bloggers continue to write and produce the most popular MSF content on (our) site! Over the past 11 months, we have had 12 bloggers writing from field missions in Bangladesh, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Papua-New Guinea, Sudan, and elsewhere”.

The Jane Goodall Institute’s Gombe Chimpanzee blog integrates with Google Earth to bring far-away places to life by including coordinates in their blog posts that take visitors right to the places they are working. This creates a direct connection between the public and the program that is much more powerful than the traditional letter from the development department describing work done over the past year.

Personal relationships are at the heart of engagement and fundraising. The more people feel connected to an organization’s mission and programs, the more likely they are to volunteer or donate. New ways of presenting and delivering information are being used, from customizable maps, to “tagging” content with relevant labels, to games that engage and teach youth about important issues.

For instance, just reading an article about the top polluters in your state is nowhere near as engaging as what Planet Hazard has done using Google Maps.

They have created a map of the top pollution sites in the US that is clickable and interactive. Visitors to their website are able to click on a pollution site near them and see a map of all of the schools, parks and other buildings that are located near these toxic areas. Knowing there is a polluted site 3 blocks from your child’s school is much more compelling than simply knowing there is a polluted site somewhere in your city. This transforms the information into something more personally applicable, relevant, and visually engaging than a mere list of top polluters.

There is a brave new world emerging where users geneate content, new ways of engaging and interacting with information are being created, new communities formed based on personal interests and affiliations, and digital media used to tell stories. From blogs to wikis to streaming audio and video content to downloadable podcasts, information is available in a variety of new forms. Content is more customizable, more personalized, and more flexible than ever.

At the same time, personal fundraising networks are taking on a new life online. An appeal for engagement or a donation from a friend or colleague is much more compelling than an appeal from an organization. Using the new generation of web-based social networking tools, individuals are able to tap into their personal networks in ways never before possible.

Learn more about these exciting new trends and tools, see examples from real life, and talk to experts who can help guide you. Join web superstar Beth Kanter and I for our session “The Next Latest Thing - The Future of Technology in Nonprofits” at the NTC in New Orleans and find out what you may be missing. See you there!