Ericsson Gets Me to Ask: How Come? October 28, 2011

Our lives are jam-packed with meetings, chores and random stuff. I’m not sure about you, but I rarely get a chance to ponder the simple things. Oddly, the solutions to big problems, often lies in simplicity.

While at Mashable’s Social Good Conference about a month ago, Ericsson, the title sponsor of the event, asked me to take a second to ask a ‘How Come” question.

Their initiative, Technology for Good, which is led by their VP of Sustainability, Elaine Weidman Grunewald, is built on the belief that technology can play an instrumental role in areas such as disaster relief, global poverty, access to universal education and healthcare. Their latest initiative encourages a networked society.

Take a look at my  “How Come?” question and I encourage you to share your own.

 

The Problem With Facebook ‘Solving’ the Job Problem October 24, 2011

I think it’s great that social media platforms are taking a look at the big issues that we currently face and then working towards solution. Hey, if innovation can’t be used for good, in my mind it’s useless. But more on that another day. Given my opinion, you’d think I’d be jumping for joy at the recent announcement that Facebook, the U.S. Department of Labor and an an array of non-profits have launched an initiative to help people find work through social media. However, I am not.

At the heart of the initiative is the launch of a central Facebook page that will host resources designed to help job seekers and employers. Facebook says it will release public service announcements on the site to promote the page in the 10 states with the highest unemployment rate, and Puerto Rico, which has an unemployment rate of 16%. Additionally, it will sponsor research to learn more about the ways job seekers, career centers and recruiters and explore ways to post new jobs virally throughout Facebook, at no charge to employer.

There are a few reasons why this may not work. Mainly, the Facebook brand isn’t established as one that is percieved seriously for broadcasting yourself as a professional. It may have had lofty goals to be that some years back, but it just isn’t today. People go onto Facebook to network with friends and family, not present themselves as professionals. Futhermore, employers use it to spy on potential employees. A recent article via Mashable.com points out that 76% of employers use Facebook to screen candidates (next to Twitter and LinkedIn) and 69% of them reject candidates for what they read on these very same social networks. What that says to me is that Facebook may not be a job seeker’s friend. In fact it may do more hurt than good.

My advice for job seekers? Make the most of LinkedIn, which was built to support you in all things related to jobs. That means you should keep your profile current, make use of updates and network like mad. It truly is one of the best places to feature your work and get recognized for it. Reserve your Facebook profile for pictures of your parakeet.

Facebook, pick an identity and stick to it. I beg of you. And if you want to really resolve the issue of unemployment: 1. Hire more diverse teams; 2. Use your resources to educate 3. Turn down the volume of brands on the platform.

Courtesy of Mashable.com

How Starbucks Made My Birthday Great. October 10, 2011

I just got back from the West Coast after a few days of Birthday R&R.

One of the first to wish me a “Happy Birthday,” (besides my little sister) was Starbucks. The company sent me a card for a free drink – any flavor, any size. They also sent one for a free New York Bagel. They were on a roll. Before that, I got a bit of good CSR news involving their commitment to one of my favorite communities.

As part of the company’s commitment to the communities where it does business, Starbucks announced that it will introduce a new community model in the neighborhoods of Harlem, New York and Crenshaw, Los Angeles– where community organizations will share in the profits of a store in each community. Starbucks will donate a minimum of $100,000 to each organization for the first year of the partnership as it assesses the success of the program and gathers learning in hopes of creating a new type of corporate engagement in communities, potentially providing a model for other companies to consider emulating.

In Harlem, Starbucks is partnering with the Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC) to create a, “new kind of private sector engagement with these organizations that have a proven record in creating progress for disadvantaged communities.” The location at 125^th Street and Lenox Avenue is among those which will also serve as the hub of Starbucks community service and additional training programs in the area, and  provide leadership job and life skill development, positive learning environments, and overall health and wellness.

That deserves a b-day toast.

I Came. I Saw. I Conquered.: Wrap Up of Mashable’s Social Good Summit. September 23, 2011

As I sit here at my desk typing with a steady flux of rain pounding at the window, I’m kind of sad that Mashable’s Social Good Summit is over. The past four days have been some of the best of the year.

Turns out, I wasn’t the only one impressed by the convening. The Summit which, is jointly hosted by Mashable, the UN Foundation, and 92nd Street Y, and was sponsored by Ericsson, drew more than 1,600 new media notables and innovators registered for the in-person event, including three Nobel Prize Laureates, world leaders, activists, U.S. government officials, movie stars, business leaders, bloggers, and journalists. Organizers estimate more than 100,000 have watched the Livestream of the Summit proceedings to date, totaling more than 1 million hours of footage watched.

Making surprise appearances at the Summit were Dr. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, First Lady of the Dominican Republic, and actor and activist Richard Gere.

Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Lance Armstrong, Founder and Chairman of LIVESTRONG, Tony Bates, Chief Executive Officer of Skype, Barbara Bush, CEO and Co-founder Global Health Corps, Beth Comstock, Chief Marketing Officer and SVP, GE, Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBS, Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director, Ted Turner, Chairman of Turner Enterprises, Inc. and Founder and Chairman of the United Nations Foundation,  Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Serena Williams, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and countless more hit the stage with ideas for the future of change and social media.

I am pooped but but pleased.

Earlier in the week a rep from Ericsson asked me if the future for change and tech looked bright. How could it otherwise with all of the energy behind it? I just lucky that every day I get to play my part in it all.

For more on the wrap up on Mashable’s Social Good Summit, go here.

Who Run the World? Girls. : Day Three at Mashable’s Social Good Summit September 22, 2011

As I plow through the last day of the Social Good Summit, it is only girl power that is keeping me sustained right now. I’m serious.

Yesterday it was all about women and girls.

Madam Tobeka Zuma, Founder and Patron of the Tobeka Madiba Zuma Foundation and Dr. Ida Odinga, Managing Director of East Africa Spectre set off the fun discussion,”First Ladies, First Tweets.” One of the strongest quotes from the chat? “It is not fair for a woman to die when giving life to another human being.”

Indeed.

Later on, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was engaged in a conversation around the transformative power of human connections online and off. He advised; “Let girls be girls and not brides.” Child marriage affects an estimated 10 million girls each year,

the donors said. About $1.5-million has been raised so far for the effort. The Elders, a group of world leaders dedicated to improving human rights, is spearheading the new partnership.  And yes folks, he is on Twitter (@theelders).

Girl power wasn’t just uptown at the 92ndY. It seemed like feminine energy was all in the air yesterday:

• Merck, the pharmaceutical giant, announced at the Clinton Global Initiative a $500-million commitment over the next decade to cut by 75 percent the number of women who die in pregnancy and childbirth. Details of the plan are forthcoming, but the company says it will work with Save the Children, among other groups.

• Donors including the Ford, Nike, NoVo, and William and Flora Hewlett foundations announced a new partnership to reduce the number of girls who are forced into marriages before the age of 18.

•  The nonprofit group PATH announced a $25-million grant to improve women and children’s health in Mozambique and South Africa. The money comes from BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities, the nonprofit arm of BHP Billiton, an Australian mining and gas company.

•  The Exxon Mobil Foundation is giving $1.5-million to the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women to study how mobile-phone technology can help women entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses.

• Melinda Gates, head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, official joined Twitter yesterday as @melindagates. Her goal? “I’ll be using Twitter to pass along stories that inspire me.”

As I sit in the Digital Media Lounge and watch the final event of the day, the Startups for Good Challenge, I can’t lie, I am rooting for my sisters who will present. I’m proud to be a girl.

For more on what happened on Day Three, go here.

Wisdom from Elie: Day Two at Mashable’s Social Good Summit September 21, 2011

Yesterday, Mashable’s Social Good Summit was took it up a few notches. The irony of it all is that the focus of most of the discussions involved offline engagement. Tennis great Serena Williams was named UNICEF’s newest Global Ambassador and tech giant Ericsson went into great detail about how SMS can be used to resolve some of the most pressing issues in the Horn of Africa. I will say the best insights came by way of Eliezer “Elie” Wiesel, President of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.

The 83-year-old Romanian-born Jewish-American writer is a professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. Who has penned 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps.

When I say that hearing Wiesel speak today was an inspiration, it is because I have no other words to describe how I was touched.

He lives on the cusp of loving technology and social media but still having great respect and regard for the traditional forms of communicating. Here I share some of Elie Wiesel’s best insights from his chat with Mashable CEO and Founder, Pete Cashmore:

• There is no substitute for reflection.
• A machine doesn’t think; a computer doesn’t have all the answers.
• We have to provide young people the instruments they need to learn, engage and become passionate.
• Everything that you do must be conducted with ethics including social media.
• Social media is a tool and a tool is neutral…it’s up to the users to help, not hurt, humanity.
• We are so eager to arrive where we are going we are that we don’t wait for passion.
• Nothing is worse for a child than for him to realize his parents are hypocrites.
• The respect & regard for the “otherness” of people, the differences they have, is foremost for humanity’s survival.
• I come from very far in time… I write everything with a pen.
• Social media can be used for good or bad. It comes back to the person using it.

An inspiring time it was.  To get more details about Day Two at the Mashable Social Good Summit, go here.

Viagra, Texting and Measurement: Day One at Mashable’s Social Good Summit September 20, 2011

Fall Conference season started off with a bang at the 2011 Mashable Social Good Summit. Let me tell you, when good meets social media, I am a happy woman.

To say that I had ball on the first day would be an understatement. Year after year, the conference has proven to be the one of the best place to get the latest word on what’s happening in the social good and tech worlds. Here are my top take-aways:

Ted Turner is a Trip – The Chairman of Turner Enterprises, Inc and the United Nations Founder was feeling quite sassy and the perfect opening keynote. He offered insights into CSR, politics, Viagra and answered the question about the UN Foundation still being relevant. The best quote: We’re gonna kick their ass.

Young people aren’t slackers – I got a chance to hear from the UN Foundation’s very first UN Youth Champion, Monique Coleman. The girl is a beast. She has traveled to over 20 countries in the name of spurring young people to use social media to do great things offline and online. Check her out on Twitter @gimmemotalk

Charity Water Cares About Measurement – The organization that started as one big party showcased it’s new initiative, Dollars to Projects which takes accountability to the next level: you fundraise, they send 100% of your money to the field and when the projects are complete, they prove it. Can you imagine that? You actually get to see where your money is going! I predict this move will force the competition to step up their accountability game.

Intention Must Meet Action – Idealist.org Founder Ami Dar believes the world is full of amazing ideas but there’s a big gap between intention and action. Dar says that we need to address ‘Meta Problems’ to get there. His solution? Getting people online offline locally to impact change. He’s starting in NY. Check out idealistnyc.org.

Teens Text Too Damn Much – Always a treat, Do Somethings CEO, Nancy Lublin sang (poorly) and shared that teens text at the rate of 3,339 text per month with girls and minority youth at the helm. Furthermore, there is a 100-percent return rate (dayum)! Now, Do Something is using the power of texting to impact good through a new initiative which will launch this week. That’s BIG.

Kids, it was a joy. I’m off to my second day and looking forward to what it will bring. Want more on Day One? Go here.

Spring Goodness. May 13, 2011

Spring is in the air and the signs that come with the season have also appeared. Ah yes, the new leaves on trees; lighter layers of clothing; the season finales of my favorite shows…

And the flood of invites to fundraisers from my friends. Dinners. Galas. Benefit walks. Oh my!
“Don’t forget to tweet!; ‘Like’ and spread the word!; Check out our photo album and donate!” I’m exhausted and I’m not even the one soliciting support.

One night over drinks, I asked my friend Byron how he was managing it all since I could barely keep up. He admitted that he was approaching his fundraising and recruiting goals at a steady pace but there was much more to be done and it was a lot to manage. I could imagine – he works full time as an Architect AND is trying to slay poverty on Twitter.
I then remembered another good friend mentioning BroadCause. There are many things I could say about the platform, but what you most need to know is its pretty friggin’ amazing for someone who needs people to rally around a cause and manage it on in a neat, simple way. For example, say you want to rally a team of young professionals who are from Brooklyn to participate in the upcoming AIDS Walk New York. No problem: you can put out the call to gather them then raise funds, promote on your social networks, set up ticketing for the prep and post parties (courtesy of Eventbrite) and thank them all from the same place.

I told Byron about this super tool and scored a free dessert.

Determined to earn more brownie bites, I shared the pluses of BroadCause during my session on social media at the New York Junior League’s Business of Doing Good Conference.

I didn’t get any desserts but there were a bunch of people who were impressed that the platform speaks to the pain-points of non- profits that are overwhelmed in such a simple way. Most were anxious to go back to the office and try out BroadCause for themselves.

What are you waiting for, go tell your friends. Or sign up yourself.

How about you? How do you manage your events? What challenges do you face?

Superior Service January 17, 2011

Across the nation, people are heading out today to service to commemorate to MLK Holiday. Folks are building bookshelves, painting murals, gardening (or as a colleague of mine would say, “digging ditches”) and much more. They are helping non profit organizations be better. Or so we would think.

What would you think if I said the time that they are putting in may not make a difference at all?

Now, I know many would give me the side-eye for saying that, but it very well might be the case. Here’s why: study after study has shown that the best type of service project for a non-profit organization may, in fact, be those that don’t involve using your hands to make them better but those that involve using your noggin’.

I could bore you with stats, but I won’t. Instead, allow me to serve up a simple example:

You decide that for MLK Day you’ll lend a hand to the local soup kitchen. You spend the day sorting cans and sprucing up their pantry. At the end of a long day, you and the other volunteers are pretty satisfied.

Three months later, the soup kitchen’s pantry is back in disarray and the problem they had with their website – site exists.

My point: while hands-on service is a must, consider how you can serve an organization for the long-haul. Are you an IT whiz? Maybe you can donate a few hours of your time to an org that is having major web issues. Love marketing? Help a non-profit that doesn’t have a clue. In the end, they’ll be a lot better for it.

Charity Navigator’s New Outlook on Success Helps Orgs that want to Look Good December 3, 2010

Charity Navigator, one of the largest online source for evaluating nonprofit groups, is tweaking their website in an effort to help organizations provide more – and broader – information about themselves and their impact. With year-end appeals and direct mail campaigns hitting donors doorsteps, it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for the orgs. Until recently, if I wanted to assess a charity, all I really have to go on are administrative-cost ratios and other financial metrics that, for the most part, make no sense to me.

Charity Navigator had been using a system of awarding one to four stars to charities based mainly on financial measures, like how much organizations spend on fund-raising and the ratio of their administrative costs to their overall revenue.

That focus, on an organization’s expenses in particular, rankled its critics, who contended that choosing a charity based on its administrative costs was a poor way of making sure donations did the most good.

Over all, there is a trend toward new ways to measure a charity’s effectiveness in delivering services or results. Over the next three years, Charity Navigator plans to add evaluations of a nonprofit’s accountability and transparency to its ratings, as well as research on its impact and research by other organizations.

Some individual charities have begun offering up more of their own information in public formats, to help benefactors make these assessments.

Now, the question is: will people give a damn?

One of the most talked-about surveys of donors this year suggests donors may greet these efforts with a big yawn. Only 35 percent do any research before making a gift, and only 10 percent use services like Charity Navigator as their primary source of information about nonprofits, according to research by the firm Hope Consulting.

Charity Navigator believes that by making the information easier to read and readily available, donors will become more interested.

At present, their  Web site, is on track to tally 4.7 million visits this year from some three million unique visitors. Traffic to the site has increased every year but 2009, a dip he attributed to the recession.

Check out Charity Navigator.