Event Details

Common Knowledge, NTEN and ThePort Network present a four-part webinar series examining the state of social networking in the nonprofit sector.  Framed around the 2010 Nonprofit Social Networking Benchmark Report (2nd Annual), we extract the key findings and statistics from the comprehensive survey presented in the report, and based upon responses from more than 1,000 nonprofits and higher education institutions who were asked about all aspects of their use of social networks.

In each webinar, the key report findings are paired with an in-depth interpretation of the results and strategic trends, along with case studies and practical examples.  Keeping things lively, we’ll take your questions, and encourage each webinar participant to share her individual experiences.

Inspired by our session at 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference (where a packed room contributed to a free-flowing, energetic and insightful exploration of the report) we present the four main themes from the report:

1. Commercial Social Networks: Facebook got bigger while MySpace plunged.  Get all the details and find out what happened with LinkedIn and Twitter.
2. Fundraising on Social Networks: Raising money on social networks is doable… by a select few.  Discover who’s doing it right and how.
3. House Social Networks: Overall adoption is down, but community size is up. Learn how the high-performers are growing big communities on their own site.
4. Vertical Segments: LinkedIn is big in the education sector, while international and animal welfare/environmental groups are big users of Facebook.  See how your segment is using social networking.

Series Sessions Include (All sessions are 60 minutes and begin at 11:00 am Pacific / 2:00 pm Eastern):

• May 19: Nonprofits in Social Networks: We deep dive on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace.  We’ll talk about usage by nonprofit sector, average community size, marketing, fundraising, staffing and plans for the future with these uber-large communities.  We present nonprofit examples of successful Facebook pages, applications and advertising, Twitter streams, and LinkedIn groups and then round out the discussion with a short list of best practices for getting successful via social media.

• June 2: Social Networking: Friends as Fundraisers: Who’s raising money on social networks? What’s their profile and how much are they raising? Which sectors are raising the most? How many employees and how much budget do these organizations dedicate to social networking? We offer up several nonprofit case studies along with a glance at how things have changed since last year’s report.  We take your questions and highlight attendee observations during this session.  Stick around until the end and you’ll catch our summary of best practices for being successful with fundraising on social networks.

• June 15: Build Your Own: Why Create a Private Social Network?: Facebook has 400 million members, why build your own social network?  We look at who’s taking the plunge to implement house networks, what they’re using them for, who’s fundraising and how much it costs to build their own.  We weave in the top ten reasons for building your own vs. doing it on Facebook, and highlight a whole bunch of case studies of nonprofit private communities.  We’ll keep it interactive throughout, fielding your questions and highlighting examples from attendees, and talk about the special sauce necessary to grow a large community.

• July 8: Case Studies from the Field: In this final session we’ll segment results by vertical sector including arts and culture, associations (professional and trade), education, environment and animals, health and healthcare, higher education, international, and others.  We’ll highlight which sectors are outperforming the industry norms, what’s working in each segment, and present examples of organizations who are successfully building large, online, social communities for advocacy, fundraising, membership, volunteering, and more.  We’ll touch on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, private networks, and simple social enablement tactics.  Bring your anecdotes, facts, results, and lessons-learned at your organization to share with the group as we keep the discussion lively and participative.

And don't forget to Download the2010 Social Networking Benchmark Report now!

Presented by: Jeff Patrick, Common Knowledge 

Jeff Patrick, Over the past decade, has assisted more than 100 nonprofits with their Internet fundraising, marketing, communications, and advocacy initiatives. Working with large national and international organizations, Jeff started his work in the nonprofit industry by pioneering the tools and software for online constituent relationship management, and today leads Common Knowledge in the nonprofit industry’s work to harness social networking for good. Tappingover 25 years of broader national and international professional experience in the commercial software and consulting sectors, Jeff approaches each client and project with both business and analytical skills. In addition to general company management responsibilities, Jefffocuses on assisting clients with strategic planning, executive briefings, and organizational audits.

Event Materials