Presented by the David Brower Center
with International Rivers and the Madera Group

Thursday June 10
Panel Discussion: 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.,
in the Goldman Theater
Opening Reception: 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.,
in the Hazel Wolf Gallery

Artists and Activists: A Dialogue about Water and Human Rights

Photographers Robert Dawson and Roberto Bear Guerra – both featured in the exhibition – will discuss the artist’s experience and unique role in highlighting the connection between rivers, dams and human rights. They will be joined by Steve Rothert, California Director of American Rivers, and Aviva Imhof, Campaigns Director of International Rivers, activists on the front lines of the struggle for healthy rivers and human rights in California and around the world. This conversation will be moderated by Patrick McCully, Executive Director of International Rivers.

Then join us for a public reception to celebrate the opening of Water, Rivers and People / Agua, Ríos y Pueblos, a photographic homage to those who fight to defend rivers and the people who depend on them. With striking imagery by celebrated photographers, the exhibition charts inspiring examples of rivers that have been protected by citizen action, as well as community-led efforts to provide water for people in affordable, sustainable and effective ways.

Both opening events are free and open to the public. To RSVP, click here.
For more information on the exhibition, visit Upcoming Exhibition.

Today, I read a great blog post that made me realize that I have been missing a very important dimension about slacktivism. It’s not just about people being too lazy (though there sure is some of that involved): there’s an element of acknowledging the fragmented attention span (and wallet depth) that most people have these days. As a result, if you can engage millions of people for a short period of time and get them to sign a petition (and pass it along to tens of others) or have millions of people to TEXT a $10 donation, you CAN make millions of otherwise seemingly pointless contributions VERY meaningful.

But “The Art of Activating Slacktivism” by Kari Dunn Saratovsky goes one step further. He introduces the “teach a man how to fish” concept:
“Nonprofits spend too much time trying to figure out how to use social media tools to entice new donors to give them $10, when they should be figuring out how to empower their existing donors to leverage social media tools to raise money for them.”

How do you see yourself empowering slacktivists to further your cause?

• Online revenue grew by 46% in 2009 compared to 2008.
• The two largest months for online giving were December and May.
• The final three months of the year represent the largest amount of online giving to nonprofit organizations.
• In 2009, 46% of online revenue was processed during October, November, and December.
• The month of December accounted for 30% of revenue and 18% of the transaction volume.
• The average online gift in December 2009 was $244.17.
• The average online gift in 2009 was $144.72. This represents a 5% decline from 2008, but remains significantly higher than other fundraising channels.

Read the full article

The majority of our clients have begun year-end fundraising campaigns — the last and most important financial push of the year.

For many non-profits, especially front-line social service organizations, a successful year-end fundraising season can mean the difference between continuing to serve their communities or closing their doors.  

In this tough economic climate, how do you decide to give, much less which organizations to give to? The choice is never easy, especially when you, too, might be watching your finances.

My advice remains the same:  Give! Give to the causes that you’re passionate about, and that inspire you to make a difference. Give to start-up organizations like the Diabetes Hands Foundation, a group that builds community among people touched by diabetes (those with diabetes and their families) and raises diabetes awareness. Give to food banks and low-income health clinics whose funding and charitable gifts have dropped in the last year. Making a charitable donation of any size matters, and your contribution will help attract more attention to these causes in the future.

If you haven’t read President Bill Clinton’s book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World, get a copy for yourself, or give it to a family member or friend. The President’s compelling description of the power of giving has transformed many of my friends from occasional donors to committed supporters of their communities.

And if you’re already involved with a non-profit, talk to us about how The Madera Group can help you cultivate and build your donor network, so your own year-end campaign can meet the needs you’re so committed to serving.

Thank you for all that you are doing and please enjoy this season of giving!

All my best,

Kath Delaney, CEO

P.S. Whether it’s giving, fundraising, or even starting a giving circle in your own community, I’m always happy and excited to discuss ways that The Madera Group can provide guidance and support. To learn more, please email me at kdelaney@maderagroup.net.

DHF fosters a supportive environment where people touched by diabetes can connect with each other, hold informed discussions and share their experiences. As a result, their members find comfort in not feeling alone and together they promote a better understanding of life with diabetes. Since 2007, they have launched two social networks: TuDiabetes.com (in English) and EsTuDiabetes.com (in Spanish). Through their online communities, they’ve developed diabetes awareness initiatives such as Word In Your Hand, Drawing Diabetes, Diabetes Supplies Art, No-Sugar Added Poetry and the 14,000 People With Diabetes Test-in.

Click here to learn more about The Diabetes Hands Foundation and to make a donation to support this important initiative.

Last month, Center for Ecoliteracy hosted an evening talk with Daniel Goleman, the father of emotional intelligence , who spoke about ecological literacy. Goleman is an internationally known psychologist and science  journalist, whose reporting and books have appeared on The New York Times bestseller list for many years. His latest work, Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything, explores how new information technologies can teach us about the environmental, health and social consequences of what we buy.

Click here to learn more about the author and his impressive work.

In addition to office space, the David Brower Center houses seminars, lectures, films, workshops and other events each month, allowing a multitude of nonprofits and community organizations to engage in advocacy, while at the same time facilitating cross-sector communication and partnerships.

To learn about more upcoming events at The Brower Center, please visit at www.browercenter.org, and be sure to stop by and see us in suite 250.  The building offers free public tours of the building, Fridays at 11 a.m.

Here’s her list of ten tools and strategies:

1. RSS Feeds
2. Use the Add This widget
3. Pick Two Social Networks
4. URL Shorteners
5. Care2’s Petition Site
6. Google Grants
7. YouTube Nonprofit Program
8. Listservs
9. Create widgets to share content or actions
10. FreeCause Toolbar

Read the detailed article after the jump

Matt mentions several nonprofits that are seeing good results with mobile advocacy, such as American Federation of Teachers, The Humane Society of the United States, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. For example, “NCLR had a lot of success tweeting out messages asking people to text “nclr to 69866” to sign up to get the California Supreme Court’s ruling on Prop 8 via SMS the moment it was ruled upon. The advantage of the SMS is that, like your email list, you can then own the data on your list, you can segment your list, and you can start building a relationship with individuals who have opted-in to your list.”

Read the full article

Success in social marketing and fundraising means making our clients visible in a crowded online marketplace. Our agency works with clients to develop a strategy that not only uses social networks, but also persuades others to pass the word on. That means creating inspiring and thoughtful messages that work for both email inboxes and social networking sites. It means telling a story that communicates the meaning of the work we are describing, and showing the results that come from it.

The desired goal is to have the public, or the media, pick up a story and carry it even further — a bonus that is the reward for hard work and creative thinking.

Even better, is when an agency partners with a once-in-a-lifetime client who needs no introduction to the social marketplace — in our case, President Bill Clinton and his foundation, the William J. Clinton Foundation. On August 19th, President Clinton celebrated his 63rd birthday. To celebrate, The Madera Group collaborated with his foundation staff to launch an online birthday card fundraising campaign with the culminating message sent by his beloved friend Nelson Mandela.

By the way, it is not too late to send President Clinton a birthday wish and make a donation.

Happy Birthday President Clinton! We thank you and your foundation for all that you are doing around the world to fight climate change, eliminate childhood obesity, and give access to HIV/AIDS medicines to millions of people. Your work is an inspiration to us all.

Last month, President Barack Obama spoke to people of Ghana about opportunity, responsibility, and the important role each of them has in determining their country’s future. His message was clear: “The world will be what you make of it.” Obama’s words challenged and encouraged the people of Ghana to take control of their own destiny – Africans have already shown their capacity and commitment to making change, and now is the time for them to use those tools to create new opportunities for themselves, he said.

Since 2003, Dana Dakin has been helping to bring opportunities to life for Ghanaian women. Dakin is the founder of Womens Trust, a nonprofit group that works to empower women and girls in Africa through microenterprise, education and healthcare, and that has helped over 1,000 underprivileged women secure microloans and rise above unstable living wages. The organization’s U.S. team works closely with an on-the-ground staff in Pokuase, Ghana. The staff is responsible for loan administration and management of Womens Trust’s education and healthcare programs.

Madera Group is working with Women Trust to increase their online presence and visibility in the social media world. We recently helped launch a new Womens Trust Facebook page to promote future fundraising and social events this fall. Please visit the Women’s Trust fan page to learn more about their work and ways to get involved with the organization.

Photo: Founder Dana Dakin with Gertrude Ankrah, Program Development Director of WomensTrust in Pokuase, Ghana (photo by Suki Hill)