1. The Networked Nonprofit:
Theory and Practice
Beth Kanter, Beth’s Blog
June 28, 2010: Annie E. Casey Foundation

2. Read Blogs
Watch Videos
Write Blog
Create Video
Facebook
Twitter
Personal
Professional Learning
Part of Job
Mixed
Stand up, Sit Down

3. Just three words . . .
When you think about social media
and nonprofits, what comes to mind?
How would you describe how you feel
about social media?

5. The Agenda for the Day
The Networked Nonprofit:
Part 1: Overview - 9:30-10:30
Part 2: Deeper Dive – 10:45-11:30
Visiting Scholar at Packard Foundation:
Capacity Building Work – 11:30-11:45
Networked Nonprofit in Practice
Effective Social Media:
Strategy and Tactics – 1-4

6. The Networked Nonprofit
Launched on June 21st
#108 of all books on Amazon
#3 in Business Books
#1 in Nonprofit Books

7. http://networkednonprofit.wikispaces.com
Definition: Networked Nonprofits are simple and transparent organizations that outsides
in and insiders out and use social media effectively …..

8. Why become a Networked Nonprofit?

9. Complex social problems that outpace the capacity of
any single nonprofit organization
Photo by uncultured

10. In a networked world, nonprofits need to work less like this
Source: David Armano
The Micro-Sociology of Networks

11. And more like this ….
With apologies to David Armano for hacking his visual!
Source: The Micro-Sociology of Networks

12. The Networked Nonprofit
BE DO
Understand Networks Work with Free Agents
Create Social Culture Work with Crowds
Listen, Engage, and Build Learning Loops
Relationships
Trust Through Transparency Friending or Funding
Simplicity Govern through Networks

13. Some nonprofits are born
networked nonprofits, it is in
their DNA ….

14. Social Culture: Not Afraid of Letting Go Control

15. Simplicity: Focus on what they do best, network the rest

16. Other nonprofits make that
transition more slowly

17. Red Cross: Making the Transition to A
Networked Nonprofit

18. Listen: Monitor, Compile, Distribute
I took an American Red Cross class I thought was
less than satisfactory. […] The local chapter
director. called me to talk about it honestly.
They care about me and they’re willing to go the
extra mile. I am now significantly more likely to
take another class than I was before.” - Blogger

19. Listening Drove Adoption

20. Influencer
Customer complaining …
Relationship
service
building
issue

21. Scale

26. January 11, 2010
Robust and Agile Listening
and Engagement System
Objective: Stakeholder
Empowerment
Social Content
Rule Book
Internal Capacity Building
Wendy Harman, Red Cross

27. Social Media’s Role in Disaster Relief Effort in Haiti

28. Are your grantees transforming
into networked nonprofits?
What resonated?
What have you thought about
before?

29. It has taken five years, but the Red Cross
is slowly but surely becoming a
Networked Nonprofit. They are less of
Fortress and also working with free
agents . . .

31. Use social media
tools to organize,
mobilize, raise
funds, and
communicate
with constituents
but outside of
institutional walls
#netnon #freeagent

32. The Nonprofit Fortress

33. The
Unfortress
Transparent

34. Transparent
nonprofits consider
everyone inside and
outside of the
organization
resources for helping
them to achieve their
goals

35. Nonprofit Fortress
Free Agent

36. “I can’t single-handedly end global
poverty, but I can take actions and
inspire others.”
Shawn Ahmed

38. “the problem isn’t social media, the
problem is that YOU are the
fortress. Social media is not my
problem: I have over a quarter
million followers on Twitter, and 2.1
million views on YouTube. I have a
hard time having you guys take me
seriously. “

41. Part 2:
Social Culture, Experimentation, and Capacity

42. Social Culture
Uses social media to engage
people inside and outside the
organization to improve
programs, services, or reach
communications goals.

43. Loss of control over their branding
and marketing messages
Dealing with negative comments
Addressing personality versus
organizational voice (trusting
employees)
Make mistakes
Make senior staff too accessible
Perception of wasted of time and
resources
Suffering from information overload
already, this will cause more

44. Making a strong business case

45. Leaders Experience Personal Use

46. Challenge the Default Settings

47. Make Learning in Public Less Stressful

48. Codifying A Social Culture: Policy
• Encouragement and support • Best practices
• Tone
• Why policy is needed • Expertise
• Cases when it will be used, • Respect
distributed • Quality
• Oversight, notifications, and
legal implications • Additional resources
• Training
• Guidelines • Press referrals
• Identity and transparency • Escalation
• Responsibility
• Confidentiality • Policy examples available at
• Judgment and common wiki.altimetergroup.com
sense
Source: Charlene Li, Altimeter Group

49. Be professional, kind, discreet,
authentic. Represent us well.
Remember that you can’t control it
once you hit “update.”

50. Testing the policies: Refining, Educating

51. Operational guidelines need to be specific
and include examples

52. Don’t moon anyone with a camera, unless you hide your
face ….

53. Capacity: Taking Small Steps

54. You want me
to start
Tweeting too?
They make it a habit …..

55. Staffing
Free Integrated Staff
• Intern • Tasks in • Full-Time
• Fans Job • Part-Time
• Volunteer

57. Don’t do this to your intern ….

58. How many are hands-on with social media?
How many think it is a time suck?
ADOLAS

59. Oh Look, A Squirrel!

60. 9:15 • Monitor RSS
9:30 • Twitter
10:00 • Content Creation
10:15 • Social Networking

61. Squirrel!

62. Launch small pilots and
reiterates using the right
metrics to understand
what is and what isn’t
working.
Networked Nonprofits approach Social Media like
Thomas Edison inventing the storage battery

63. Results! I have gotten a
lot of results. I know
what doesn’t work and
won’t have to be tried
again.
storage battery

64. Pick the Right Result
Tangible Intangible
Donations
Leads Insights about what works
Subscribers Interaction
Members Engagement
Saved Time Reputation
Saved Costs Loyalty
Increased page rank
Satisfaction
Increased media attention
Sentiment
Signed petitions
Calls or emails to government Feedback
officials
Objective, Audience, Strategy, Tactics, Time investment,
KD Paine

65. Identify the most important metric to measure
it!

66. Spreadsheet Aerobics

67. Joyful funerals

68. Squirrel!

69. Visiting Scholar: Packard Foundation

70. Social Media and Nonprofits: Effective Use
Year 1:
Coaching Grantees one-on-one
Grantee Convenings – Network Effectiveness
Internal coaching, meetings
Book
Blogging
Year 2:
Peer learning groups of grantees: Effective Social Media Practice
Workshops
Coaching
Blogging

71. The Social Media Lab: Peer Training

72. Social Learning With Social Media
If two minds are better than one, what about a
hundred?

73. Overview
Goals:
-Create effective social media strategy that supports and enhances
communications objectives
-Design and implement low risk, focused experiment
-Method for individual learning and improving
-Social Learning with social media
April-May
• Strategy • Share
• Tactics • Check-In Learning
• Experiment • Advice
• Support
March June/July:

74. Expectations

76. The gift of time: Shoulder to Shoulder Learning

83. The Dance Floor and The Balcony:
Social Media Strategy and Tactics
Zabara Tango

84. Social Media Strategy Blocks
Movement
Building with
Multi-
Generate Channels
Social Buzz
Content
Engage
Listen
Integrated with Overall Communications and Internet Strategy
Drives Offline Action, Change of Behavior, or Impact Outcome

85. acticaches
Social Media: Picking Tools
Movement
Generate Building and
Social Buzz Multi-
Content Channel
Listen Engage
10hr 15hr 20hr
Crawl ………..……Walk …….…….. Run ……..…………….Flyl
Less Time

86. Share Pairs
Are you in the crawl, walk, run, or fly stage with your social media?
What does that look like?
What’s needed to get you to the next stage?
#excelsm
Photo by Franie

87. Strategy
Aligns social media with communications
and program objectives.

89. Communications and Program Assessment
• Who do you want to reach?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• Where can social improve or
supplement programs, services, or
communications?
• What’s our available budget/time?
• What opportunities to pilot?

90. Charting: What are your planned events,
content, and opportunities for the year? What
to socialize?

91. Strategy
Uses actionable listening
techniques to develop a deep
understanding of your network

92. Source: Communications Network Listening Presentation OSI Foundation

93. Strategy
Uses conversation starters to
engage audience.

94. Conversation Starters
Audience O Audience
Twitter Facebook
B
What are they saying J What are they saying
that is relevant that is relevant
to/engages? E to/engages?
C
How can you rework How can you rework
your message as a T your message as
response or response or conversation
conversation starter? I starter?
Follow up Content V Follow up Content
points points
E

99. Strategy
Uses social network analysis to
identify influencers and build
relationships on social media
spaces

104. Strategy
Use social media to close the loop
between online and offline action

105. Closing the Loop with Social Media

107. Tweet Ups

108. Strategy
Your web site content has a
social life.

109. The Social Life of Content
Co-Create
Branded
Branded Social Social Content
Content Outposts Content
Social
Outposts
Fly
Engage Spread Remix

110. Give yourself some link love

111. Engage Spread Remix

112. Engage Spread Remix

113. Co-Created Branded
Social Content
Content
Social
Outposts

114. Co-Created Branded
Social Content
Content
Social
Outposts
Social Media
Outposts

115. Co-Created Branded
Social Content
Content Web Site
Social
Outposts
Curated Social Content

116. 1. Refine Objective
2. Identify Audience
3. Brainstorm Strategy Using Principles
4. Reflection: First Steps

117. Thank you!
http://www.bethkanter.org
http://bit.ly/networkednp
Virtual Launch Party
June 21st
4-5 PM EST