On January 18, 2009, as part of the US presidential inaugural celebration “We are One,” the Sam Cooke civil-rights song A Change is Gonna Come was sung by Bon Jovi and Betty Lavette. It was incredibly moving, just before the first African-American stepped into his role as the 44th President of the United States, to hear an historical song that became an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement. History plus time equals, well, in this case, tears of joy.
Switch to a very different song in celebration of the same history-making.
A wild and wonderful (or smashing!) mashup was created to highlight Obama’s journey to the White House. Barack Obama–The Remix was produced by Peter Bochan of All Mixed Up, a radio show that airs on WBAI 99.5 FM New York City. The remix or mashup is introduced by Robert F. Kennedy and features Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, John McCain, Chris Rock, Colin Powell, George W. Bush, Sarah Palin and others.
As more and more User Generated Content is created and as users/creators become more confident with using the new and accessible technologies, I predict more organizations will choose mashups as a way to deliver important–sometimes globally significant and historically poignant–messages to their communities.
Mashups speak to our creative need to assess, categorize and interpret human experience, to sometimes connect past to present and see where we are and how far we’ve come. Having the technology and various media at our disposal allows us to create and invent. It is really about the act of playing to arrive at something fresh in both form and content.
Jon Pincus (of Microsoft) does a good job of explaining what mashups are and how they may be used.
I keep a life list which is just about every bird I’ve ever seen. I keep a dream list also. Not every dream I have involves birds, but sometimes there are birds in my dreams and generally they’re identifiable so it’s probably around fifty species.
In this engaging and pithy podcast, 14-year-old Luke Seitz, a top birder in Maine talks about how he got started birdwatching and why he loves it so much. In the background, the listener hears birds singing in the trees, Luke walking and “pishing” (attracting birds by mimicking their calls). In A Young Birder’s Field Guide, Luke explains how his hobby has made him more aware, and that his passion for birds has in a sense, created who he is, and maybe even helped him get to know himself better. Yes, and at 14!
This story and others in the series are in keeping with the Conservancy’s mandate to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. Each story looks at the lasting, positive impact the natural world has on humans, underlining the importance of preserving these special places for future generations.
The podcasts in this series are created in collaboration with Public Radio Exchange and others. Visit this social network site to see how other groups are looking to podcasts to give voice and song to their organization’s most identifiable traits.
It’s hard enough for not-for-profits to be noticed by prospective funders, new members, and their target markets. With this latest spiral into shaky economic territory (as shaky as the Great Depression of 1929 say many economists), charities are wondering how to grab the attention of potential supporters when those same individuals might be losing money and starting to more closely evaluate what charities they currently support or would like to support in the future.
Keeping with the theme of the Great Depression, OK so… Wall Street crashed, there was debt deflation, trade decline, rich vs. poor, mass unemployment. During all this, people started going to the movies like crazy. In 1930, motion pictures in the U.S. experienced an all-time high of 80 million attendees per week. People were craving entertainment to transport them from food stamps and Spam (spiced ham, not annoying email). They wanted comedy and dancing, the Marx Brothers’ vaudeville antics and Ginger and Fred’s “Waltz in Swing Time.”
So what does this mean for not-for-profits? Infusing your message with lightness, hope, and maybe even tasteful humour might be just the thing during difficult economic times to attract new supporters to your worthy cause.
Two projects/campaigns whose messages are strong, but whose methods are lite
FreeRice is a UN World Food Program website whereby visitors play a word game to win rice for the world’s hungry. For each right answer, 20 grains of rice are donated by sponsors.
The Global Campaign for Education uses a simple, colourful layout on its website to illustrate the inspiring ways that the organization is working to increase the level of education among children in the world’s poorest countries. Photographs of children accompany personal stories with quotes by the children about how receiving an education has contributed in a positive way to their hopes and dreams for the future.
It’s been a couple of years since the book trailer for Londonstani by Gautam Malkani came out, and people in the book industry were divided as to whether such a thing could take off in the famously slow-to-change publishing world. Well, it’s been a slow ride, but it now seems as if many companies, big and small, are producing these low-cost trailers, including Canadian publisher Cormorant Books.
Now, these trailers can work in any number of sectors, including the not-for-profit one. They’re cheap to produce (no actors necessary!) and they can convey any number of messages, from the visceral and emotional, to the hard-hitting and newsy. Is your organization launching a new product or service? Can you embed a YouTube video on your website, blog, and Facebook profile? Think about how a video can introduce a new identity for your not-for-profit, and contribute to a flashy launch without draining your budget.
Whether you’re a doctor, an architect, or a restaurant owner, there are many ways to integrate your values into what you do and satisfy your human desire to affect positive and lasting change. It seems design is no exception.
Social Design blog was recently initiated by a group of designers from SocialDesignSite who are committed to using design as a tool for social change.
One thing I like about this blog is the way posts are arranged on the homepage. Five or more posts present with a title and visual, and a link to click on if you want to READ MORE. As designers they’ve found an appealing way to present information without bombarding the reader. For the most part, social designer bloggers write concise posts with useful links to other design sites, social design projects, and related books and films.
I just love it when a smart idea translates to more funds for a charity. If I had to pick one smart idea from the loads of incredibly smart ideas not-for-profits generated in 2008, it would definitely be the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) television campaign to raise funds for animal welfare.
One of the videos that aired this Christmas in British Columbia is the fourth in a series of spots featuring award-winning singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan sitting by a lovable (though apparently somewhat restless) golden retriever who was abandoned at the shelter before being adopted. Viewers see a kitten with needy eyes and a limping dog among its cast of sad, but pet-worthy critters. The video begins with McLachlan’s song Angel, followed by an appeal by McLachlan, winner of three Grammy Awards and eight Junos, for viewers to help abused animals. Donors receive a photo of an animal who has been helped, a free subscription to their publication and a tote bag.
The two-minute video has helped the BC SPCA chapter raise one million more than the year before and has helped animal welfare groups in Canada and the United States raise millions of dollars, far exceeding the amount they hoped for.
The video shows up on TV, on the SPCA’s homepage and appears on McLachlan’s own website where she asks fans to post the commercial on their preferred social networking site.
Why not make 2009 extra special and have one of your organization’s resolutions be to come up with one winning fundraising idea (ahem, using social media…) that would blow 100 so-so ideas out of the water? At this time of economic uncertainty nothing beats a good idea that starts out small and grows.
