nonprofit geek

Get that Grant!

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I just finished presenting a series of classes titled “Get that Grant!” It has been a wonderful experience sharing time with nonprofit professionals who are looking to take their grant writing skills to the next level!

Thank you to the Center for Nonprofit Studies at Austin Community College (aka Nonprofit Austin) for presenting these virtual classes.

This “Get that Grant” series will be offered again (virtually) in July 2022. And the tickets are available on a sliding scale! I hope to see you then!

Susannah Erler (presenter) is with the title slide for the Get that Grant series of virtual classes.
Get that Grant: A series of virtual classes presented by the Center for Nonprofit Studies.

Announcing: GGS has a QR Code!

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Somehow the notion of having a QR Code feels so…”big time.” Yet, here we are. Greater Good Strategies (GGS) is pleased to announce: We have a QR Code!

Big shout out to Philanthroforce – provider of the QR code. Philanthroforce “matches the right nonprofit to the right consultant.” And Greater Good Strategies (Susannah Erler) is listed on this platform. Check it out!

Oh, and here is another fun and easy way to check it out! An awesome QR Code! (So psyched. Further evidence that we’re nonprofit geeks).

Greater Good Strategies has a QR Code!

Philanthropists Offer Grant Tips

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Do you have an idea for the next innovation in education and wonder if it could win a grant? A panel is being proposed for SXSW EDU 2020 that would help education practitioners, administrators and nonprofits who are searching for project funding.

The proposed panel is titled Get that Grant: Tips and Trends from Philanthropists. And we need you, the public, to show your support for this idea during the community voting period (Aug. 5 – Aug. 23, 2019). Please go to panelpicker.sxsw.com , log in and vote-up and comment on this proposal if you’d like to see it at the next SXSW EDU.

One very exciting bit of news is three very strong and knowledgeable philanthropists have already committed to participating! Their perspective and information will prove to be indispensable to grant-seekers. The grantmakers who have committed are:

These philanthropists will demystify the grant funding process during this proposed panel. They will describe what makes a successful project and how to make your grant request shine. You’ll learn what innovations today’s education funders are looking for, how to propose your project ideas and what you need to do to Get that Grant!

Please take a look at the video describing the details; and vote and comment here. Thank you very much, and we hope to see you at SXSW EDU.

Nonprofits: Get that Grant!

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Grant Writing Class at Austin’s Center for Nonprofit Studies

I am excited about helping nonprofits achieve their missions. Similarly, I love helping nonprofit orgs get grant funding. So I am thrilled to let you know here that I’ll be presenting a day-long Grant Writing seminar at Austin’s Center for Nonprofit Studies on June 26th, 2019. I hope you’ll join me!

Get ready to look at grant writing in a new way – and energize your fundraising efforts! We’ll cover the basics of applications that support nonprofit organizations. We’ll cover:

  • Overview of grant funding
  • Your “success compass” – Top-line information about three key areas will point the way to a strong application. In this class we will focus on what you need to know and how to gather that information.
    • Know your organization
    • Know your potential funder
    • Know yourself (and your job)
  • The application journey – Once you have the facts above, you are ready to take the application journey. A strong application process will help you build a successful application. This class will teach the essential activities of going from step to step to step.
    • Step one: Our Nonprofit Organization has a Dream
    • Step two: We Have Found a Potential Grant Funder
    • Step three: We Have Turned in the Application
    • (Step four: Celebrate Success!)
  • Key tools for success – Now that you have the outline of what you need and how to proceed, this last section will give you practical tips, tools and hacks for crafting a successful application.

I have been writing grant applications since the 1990s and have raised over $11 million in grant funds for recipient organizations.  I also hold a master’s degree in Business with an Arts Administration (Nonprofit) specialization, and am Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).

Here is the link for tickets. I hope you’ll join me to learn more about successful grant writing on Wednesday, June 26th, 2019 from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at ACC Highland Business Center, 5930 Middle Fiskville Rd, Austin, TX 78752.

Image: Cutrer

The Benefits of Conversations

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ManyChat 2018

Most of you know me as The Nonprofit Geek. But in order to spread the word about the importance of nonprofits – one needs to be up-to-date on social media uses.

So, I attended the Conversations 2018 Messenger Marketing & Chatbot Conference powered by ManyChat.

There is a recently-introduced marketing channel called Messenger Marketing. This channel developed when Facebook opened the opportunity (in 2016) for companies (such as ManyChat) to develop tools to interface with Facebook Messenger.

It was great to learn about a cutting-edge trend. And even if you don’t use the Messenger Marketing channel (yet) – there were lots of great marketing tips shared at #Conversations2018.

Here are my notes from Day One of #Conversations2018 (including the names of the experts credited with sharing these nuggets of super wisdom). Enjoy!

  • The average open rate for email is 20%; for messenger is 70-90%;
  • The average click through rate for email is 2.4%; for messenger is 20-30%;
  • A person checks smart phone 110x a day on average;
  • People naturally want a feeling of progress – so remove obstacles for them;
  • Listen to your audience: what are they asking; what progress do they want to make; where are they hanging out?
  • People like learning about themselves. Create some quizzes to help them (and learn about them at the same time);
  • Success requires measurement;
  • Create irresistible content and promote it;
  • Include an incentive to engage;
  • Create custom audiences of engagement;
  • Learn about and use Facebook custom audiences;
  • Craft your narrative first;
  • Questions can be boiled down to just 8: who, what, when, where, why, how, which and I (will I?/ should I? / can I?);
  • Instead of asking “Do you have any questions?” or “How can I help?” try asking a ‘binary’ question (i.e. yes or no answer or just two answer options).
  • If you are starting out – start with just one business objective to solve (don’t get too complicated).

Thank You Sources: Mikael Yang, CEO ManyChat, Molly Pittman, ManyChat; Dan Gamito, ManyChat, Ryan Deiss, DigitalMarketer, Brian Bagdasarian, HubSpot, Rachel Miller, Moolah Marketing, Stefanos Loukakos, Head of Messenger Business at Facebook

 

PanelPicker Submissions: SXSW and SXSW EDU 2019

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Hello!

Greater Good Strategies has submitted Meet Up applications to SXSW and SXSW EDU 2019 via their PanelPicker® process.

Please check out these proposal videos – and vote! Please tell your friends and make comments in the comment section. Thank you.

Here are the links: Nonprofit and Social Sector Meet Up and Educators Who Tweet Meet Up

Meet Up: Nonprofit and Social Sector

(PanelPicker® application for SXSW 2019)

SXSW is for those who think, dream, move, and create. So are nonprofits! Bring your ideas and questions to this meet-up of nonprofiteers.

The people you meet here will have ideas, answers and most of all empathy and support for the hard work you do. We’ll provide a framework and activities for networking – to ensure you connect with those from around the globe who can help and inspire you as you strive to improve your communities.

Whether you call it working for nonprofits, charities, NGOs, CSOs, or social good – come be uplifted by people like you who are making the world a better place.

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Meet Up: Educators who Tweet

(PanelPicker® application for SXSW EDU 2019)

 

Twitter can help you teach, learn and engage. Educators have used Twitter to connect with other teachers, as a learning network and as part of lesson plans. How have you used twitter? Let’s Meetup and exchange tweeting ideas and best practices. Got a hashtag or chat you love? Let’s share. Come, and you just might see someone in real life who you’ve met on Twitter.

 

Credits Video Images: Phelps, Explee, Rodman, Community Archives, Ioachim, Bibliothèque de Toulouse. Levy.

Award-winning Poems About Nonprofits

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For Nonprofit Geeks, like me, who follow the excellent and super-funny blog about nonprofit life titled “Nonprofit with Balls” (NWB), you know that this week the “Nonprofit Poet Laureate of the Milky Way Galaxy” was crowned. Some background: NWB (written by Vu Le) had a nonprofit poetry contest this spring. Over 250 poems were submitted; 15 were picked for awards (and the top poet was deemed Nonprofit Poet Laureate of the Milky Way Galaxy). I encourage you to read the results. They truly are top-caliber; ready for a literary magazine or a liberal arts college poetry class or an emotional movie montage.

I entered the contest. Though I did not win, place or show – I will share the entry here. One note: a running joke in the NWB blog is that hummus is a staple at nonprofit events and functions. I thought by including a running joke, I would win favor with the judges. (Nope).

If you want to be inspired and moved, read the winning entries. Alternatively, read the poem below.

My Dog
My dog runs to greet me at the door when I come home.
Does he seem so happy because I submitted a 36-page grant application on time?
Or because I successfully executed a mail merge for a fundraising appeal?
Or because I typed the monthly board minutes in record speed?
Does my dog show me so much love because he knows I am trying to save the world?
No.
My dog knows not the cares of the nonprofit staffer.
He only knows that I feed him, I walk him…
And I smell like hummus.

-Susannah Erler

P.S. You should know that I don’t actually have a dog. Including a dog was another (unsuccessful) attempt to win favor with the judges.

15315494043_9044d98949_m.jpg

Photo: National Library of Australia, 1910

 

3 Austin Resources for Strengthening Your Nonprofit Organization

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When you think of people who chose to work for nonprofit organizations, what comes to mind? You probably picture someone with a big heart.

big heart

But a big heart is not the only requirement to for helping others. If you fill your brain with tips and specialized nonprofit knowledge, you can help even more people. There are a number of organizations in Austin that provide excellent assistance to community sector professionals. But there are three that I “geek out” at when I visit them or take a class from them – and I think you will too.

Center for Nonprofit Studies at Austin Community College (CNS @ ACC)

Check out CNS @ ACC’s web site for their list of services. But as a nonprofit geek, I’d like to focus here on their learning opportunities. I have enjoyed offerings such as grant writing, social media, and team-building. One thing I like is that they have classes of various lengths and price-ranges. I have seen free brown bag lunchtime offerings and I have seen multi-week classes culminating in a certificate. There is something for every nonprofit professional at CNS @ ACC.

The Regional Foundation Library (RFL) at the University of Texas at Austin

Do you ever wonder what the secret to obtaining grant funding is? Stopping by the RFL is the first step toward finding out. For more than 50 years, the RFL has served as a bridge between the grant-seeking and the grant-making communities. The staff at the RFL can answer your questions about ways to approach grant giving organizations. But this geek’s favorite tool at the RFL is the Foundation Directory Online Database. You can use it to search for the foundations that are most likely to give you grants. The RFL staff can coach you on the best way to use the Foundation Directory Online and their other free tools.

Greenlights

Greenlights’ mission is to strengthen nonprofits for extraordinary performance and impact. This 501(c)3 organization provides management consulting services, professional development, customized training, in-depth research and more. Visit their site for examples of what you can learn; but one example of a recent Greenlights research report is On the Verge: Value and Vulnerability of Austin’s Nonprofit Sector. This study reports the surprising facts that: Austin is home to nearly 6,000 nonprofits – but 72% have less than $100K in income – and less than 15% have ANY paid staff.

If you start building your knowledge of how to help a nonprofit organization succeed, then visit any or all of these resources – and tell them the Greater Good Geek sent you.

brain

Fill your brain with information about nonprofit organizations – Resources:

Center for Nonprofit Studies at Austin Community College (formerly known as Center for Community Based and Nonprofit Organizations – CCBNO): 5930 Middle Fiskville Rd, #414, Austin, TX 78752, (512) 223-7051; http://sites.austincc.edu/npo/

The Regional Foundation Library: At UT’s Community Engagement Center, 1009 East 11th St., Austin, TX. A call is recommended before visiting: (512) 475-7373′ http://ddce.utexas.edu/foundationlibrary/

Greenlights (formerly known as Greenlights for Nonprofit Success): 8303 N MoPac Expy Suite A201, Austin, Texas 78759, (512) 477-5955; http://www.greenlights.org/

Questions:

Have you used any of these resources? If so, what did you think? Are there other resources that you have found helpful?

Image Credits: S. Erler (first image); Internet Archive Book Images (second image).

Ever heard of a Nonprofit Geek?

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Many of you know computer geeks or math geeks. But have you ever met a nonprofit geek?

“Just what do you mean by a ‘nonprofit geek’?”

Picture the computer geeks you know – what are they like? They could spend hours thinking about computers, right? The math geeks could tell you the difference between the K Theory and the Algebraic K Theory. (I agree: snore).

They know their stuff

The bottom line is, just like the other geeks you know, nonprofit geeks know their stuff – about nonprofit organizations.

Geek Images

And what other images does the word geek bring up for you? Are you picturing a smooth Casanova used car salesperson-type. No way!

Not a wolf in sheep’s clothing

wolfinsheepsclothing

A geek is someone who is most interested in facts, truth and accuracy – and being approachable about it. Once you got to know those geeks in high school, they turned out to be nice, welcoming and loyal, didn’t they? Plus, if you invited them to a party they would help you with your homework too.

Like trusted scouts

So a nonprofit geek is an approachable expert about the community sector – someone who wants to be helpful.

Scouts

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Image Credits: J.W. Barber (first image); Adolph B. Rice Studio (second image).

Blog questions: what do you think of when you hear “nonprofit geek?” Do you imagine someone helpful and knowledgeable? Have you ever known a nonprofit geek? And if so, what were they like?