PhilanTopic

A 'Flip' Chat With Helena Monteiro, Executive Director, Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support

(This video was recorded as part of our "Flip" chat series of conversations with thought leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. You can check out other videos in the series here, including our previous chat with Courtney O’Malley, vice president of the Starr Foundation.)

Founded in 2000 by a group of philanthropy support organizations, Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support, or WINGS, today comprises a hundred and fifty philanthropic "infrastructure" organizations representing fifty-four countries that work to strengthen philanthropy and a culture of giving through mutual learning and support, knowledge sharing, and professional development. Among other things, the network, which is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, hosts a global peer-learning event every four years and provides its member organizations with an online community where they can connect and share resources, including research reports, news, and capacity development opportunities.

In partnership with the Foundation Center, WINGS also is working to build a global data platform that provides a comprehensive view of:

• the size, scope, and characteristics of the infrastructure for philanthropy;
• global trends in institutional philanthropic giving; and
• how data can be used to support global philanthropy.

Last week, PND sat down with WINGS executive director Helena Monteiro to discuss the Global Philanthropy Data Project, the challenges associated with developing a standardized global data collection system, and the importance of supporting philanthropic infrastructure.

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(Running time: 6 minutes, 19 seconds)

Have a thought or comment you'd like to share? Use the comments section below....

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With Courtney O'Malley, Vice President, Starr Foundation

(This video was recorded as part of our "Flip" chat series of conversations with thought leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. You can check out other videos in the series here, including our previous chat with Jennifer McCrea, a senior research fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations and the originator of the "exponential" approach to fundraising.)

Established by Cornelius Vander Starr, an insurance entrepreneur who founded C.V. Starr & Co. and other companies later combined by his successor, Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, into what became American International Group (AIG), the New York City-based Starr Foundation is one of the biggest foundations you've never heard of. Chaired by Greenberg, the foundation, which earlier this week announced a $50 million gift in support of the Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative (Tri-SCI), a project of Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Rockefeller University, and Weill Cornell Medical College, ranks forty-ninth on the Foundation Center's list of the largest U.S. foundations by asset size and forty-fifth by total giving but keeps a relatively low profile.

Earlier this month, PND sat down with foundation vice president Courtney O'Malley, one of ten full-time staff at the foundation, to talk about the foundation's history and areas of interest, its no-unsolicited-proposals policy, and its approach to transparency.

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(Running time: 6 minutes, 2 seconds)

 

The Foundation Center has an entire Web site, Glasspockets.org, dedicated to foundation transparency. To learn more about our efforts to bring transparency to the world of philanthropy, check out this Powerpoint presentation narrated by FC president Brad Smith.

Have a thought or comment you'd like to share? Use the comments section below...

-- Mitch Nauffts

On 'Exponential Fundraising': A 'Flip' Chat With Jennifer McCrea, Senior Research Fellow, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations

(This video was recorded as part of our 'Flip' chat series of conversations with thought leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. You can check out other videos in the series here, including our previous chat with Big Duck principal and founder Sarah Durham.)

On Monday, the Nonprofit Research Collaborative announced findings from its latest report on charitable giving. Among other things, the Nonprofit Fundraising Study, 2011 (47 pages, PDF) found that 53 percent of the 1,602 charities surveyed saw donations increase in 2011, while 70 percent said they expect to see additional growth in 2012. Even so, the economy remains a concern for many nonprofit organizations, with about a third of respondents saying economic issues, nationally and globally, pose the greatest challenge to the success of their fundraising efforts in 2012.

Absent a tooth fairy or mega-millions lottery for charities, fundraisers in the nonprofit sector must use a variety of techniques to boost their organization's income in these uncertain times. Enter "exponential fundraising," an approach coined by Hauser Center senior research fellow Jennifer McCrea that aims to alter the buyer-seller dynamic that often characterizes donor-fundraiser relationships.

"We get very stuck in....this transactional mindset of 'what have you done for me lately', instead of actually having real conversations with people," explains McCrea. "Our work is so much more powerful if we can remove that buyer-seller dynamic and we can actually allow our passion for making a difference together shine through…."

For almost a quarter-century now, McCrea has worked to share her approach to fundraising with others -- most recently through a year-long course she teaches at Harvard's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, as well as on a one-to-one basis with nonprofit leaders from a wide range of fields.

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(Running time: 6 minutes, 41 seconds)

Do you raise funds for a nonprofit organization or charitable cause? What's working for you in this uncertain post-recessionary environment? And has anyone tried McCrea's "exponential" approach? If so, we'd love to hear what you found worked (and maybe didn't). Use the comments section below....

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With...Sarah Durham, Principal and Founder, Big Duck

(This video was recorded as part of our 'Flip' chat series of conversations with thought leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. You can check out other videos in the series here, including our previous chat with Annie E. Casey Foundation president and CEO Patrick McCarthy.)

At a recent Foundation Center event, Big Duck founder Sarah Durham explained that her book Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications was written for small nonprofits that do not have the budget to hire an outside consulting group like her New York City-based communications firm.

Yes, the principles behind effective communications are pretty basic. But because most nonprofit leaders aren't well versed in marketing/communications strategy, they often have trouble following through on them, says Durham. For that reason, Brandraising seeks to show executive directors how to raise funds and increase the visibility of their organizations using approaches developed by some of the most successful fundraisers in the country.

Before the event got under way, I had a chance to chat with Durham about the different levels of "brandraising," the role young staff members can play in the strategic planning process, and how Big Duck measures its impact. On that last point, Durham said her colleagues set measurable goals at the start of each project and then, after implementation, sit down with the client to compare notes and see whether they were on target.

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(Running time: 4 minutes, 1 second)

What do you think? Do you agree with Durham that mobile is "the next big thing"? Has your organization started collecting cell phone numbers? Feel free to share you brandraising success stories in the comments section below.

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With...Patrick McCarthy, President and CEO, the Annie E. Casey Foundation

(This video was recorded as part of our 'Flip' chat series of conversations with thought leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. You can check out other videos in the series here, including our previous chat with NYU Wagner School of Public Service senior fellow Gara LaMarche.)

Earlier this week, I had a chance to chat with Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which for the past sixty-plus years has worked to "foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families." A newly minted member of the Foundation Center’s board of trustees, McCarthy was in town for the November meeting. Before he headed back to Baltimore, we sat down to discuss the latest editon of the foundation's KIDS COUNT Data Book (88 pages, PDF), which reported, among other things, that the child poverty rate in the United States rose some 18 percent from 2000 to 2009 and that, in 2010, one out of every five kids in the U.S. was living in a household whose income was below the federal poverty level.

Research shows that poverty rates are highly correlated with negative outcomes for children. And a new study from Stanford University finds evidence of a widening opportunity gap in the United States. According to that report (33 pages, PDF), the share of Americans living in either the poorest or most affluent neighborhoods more than doubled over the last forty years, from 15 percent in 1970 to 33 percent in 2007, while the share of families in middle-income neighborhoods fell from 65 percent to 44 percent. The findings in both reports suggest a "worsening of trends that have been going on for some time," McCarthy noted during our chat.

As McCarthy suggests in the video below, much more needs to be done to address the root causes of poverty in the U.S., which last year reached the highest level since 1993. At the same time, we need to work towards getting "children on a path towards economic success and...building the kinds of technical skills and intellectual cognitive skills that they need to be successful tomorrow."

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(Running time: 8 minutes, 3 seconds)

Do you agree with McCarthy's take on the Occupy Wall Street movement? And what advice would you give to funders seeking to address poverty in the United States? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With...Gara LaMarche, Senior Fellow, NYU Wagner School of Public Service

(This video was recorded as part of our 'Flip' chat series of conversations with thought leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. You can check out other videos in the series here, including our previous chat with NextGen:Charity co-founder Jonah Halper.)

In conjunction with the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I attended a Philanthropy New York event last week titled "Balancing Civil Rights & National Security: A Debate Led by Gara LaMarche."

During the event, LaMarche, now a senior fellow at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service and until this summer the president and CEO of the Atlantic Philanthropies -- a New York City-based foundation that endeavours "to make lasting changes for people who are disadvantaged by their economic situation, race, nationality, gender, age, disabilities, immigration status, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religion" -- moderated a discussion on how the Bush administration's efforts to protect Americans after 9/11 led to an increase in civil rights violations around the country.  LaMarche also invited the panelists -- American Civil Liberties Union board president Susan Herman, author of Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy; Eric Ward, program executive for the human rights and reconciliation initiative at Atlantic Philanthropies; Rosa Brooks, a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center; and Karen J. Greenberg, visiting fellow and director of Fordham Law School's Center on National Security -- to weigh in on what future administrations (and the current one) could do to protect and extend civil liberties while keeping the country safe from terrorist attack.

After the session, I had a chance to chat with LaMarche about the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, the successes and failures of the "war on terrror," the philanthropic response to 9/11, and some of the big challenges confronting the United States today.

(If you're reading this in an e-mail, click here.)

 

(Running time: 12 minutes, 46 seconds)

What do you think? Has the "war on terror" outlived its usefulness as a metaphor? To what extent does "national security" involve more than just physical attacks on the homeland? And, in an increasingly interdependent world, what should organized philanthropy be doing to help defuse the many threats to security confronting the U.S.? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With...Jonah Halper, co-founder, NextGen:Charity

(This video was recorded as part of our 'Flip' chat series of conversations with thought leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. You can check out other videos in the series here, including our previous chat with Kiva president Premal Shah.)

Inspired by TED, the conference series that serves as a megaphone for "ideas worth spreading," Jonah Halper started NextGen:Charity with Ari Teman as a way to promote innovation in the nonprofit sector. With support from nonprofit and media partners, including Fast Company, GuideStar, Charity Navigator, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and Network for Good, Halper and Teman mounted their first conference last year and were delighted by the sold-out response. To be held in New York City in November, this year's conference will see Craig Newmark (Craigslist), Charles Best (DonorsChoose.org), Marc Ecko (Ecko Enterprises), Nancy Lublin (Do Something), Peter Diamandis (X Prize Foundation), and others present talks related to the theme "Educate + Inspire + Impact."

I met up with Halper in July at the Nexus: Global Youth Summit,
a four-day conference in New York City organized by Search for Common Ground, a D.C.-based group that works to transform the way the world deals with conflict. It was a lively gathering, and Halper was eager to talk about his young organization and the paradigm change his generation hopes to spark in the philanthropic sector.

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(Running time: 4 minutes, 37 seconds)

My few minutes with Halper got me thinking about the conference format and its potential to spark positive social change. Have you attended a TED conference or something like it? Were you inspired by the program? Did it motivate you to take action on an issue that you might not have engaged with otherwise? Is the proliferation of TED and TED-like conferences a positive development? Or are they starting to drown each other out? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below....

-- Emily Robbins

A 'Flip' Chat With...Premal Shah, President, Kiva (Parts 2 and 3)

(The videos below were recorded as part of our 'Flip' chat series of conversations with thought leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. You can check out other videos in the series here, including our previous chat, with Big Duck VP of client relationships and strategy Farra Trompeter.)

In part one of our three-part video conversation with Premal Shah, president of the online microlending site Kiva, we asked Shah to explain how Kiva works, where it fits into the microfinance landscape, and how it has been received by more established players in the field of philanthropy.

In part two (below), we ask Shah about the SMART campaign, a global effort to create and promote agreed-upon principles for the microfinance industry; the difference between profiting from and exploiting the poor; and Americans' awareness of microfinance in general.

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(Running time: 5 minutes, 43 seconds)

And in part three, Shah talks about Kiva's growing presence in the United States; the obstacles to the continued development of microfinance in this country; and what he's most excited about as he looks ahead a year or three.

 

(Running time: 6 minutes, 3 seconds)

What do you think? Is Kiva changing the way the world thinks about the billion or so people at the bottom of pyramid (BoP)? Will the organization's first-mover advantage continue to insulate it from meaningful competition? Does microfinance have a future in the United States? What could or should Kiva be doing to have even more of an impact?

Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

-- Matt Sinclair

A 'Flip' Chat With...Premal Shah, President, Kiva (Part 1)

(This video was recorded as part of our 'Flip' chat series of conversations with thought leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. You can check out other videos in the series here, including our previous chat, with Big Duck VP of client relationships and strategy Farra Trompeter.)

For much of its existence, Kiva.org -- an online platform that enables people to make small loans to poor people in developing countries -- has been one of the coolest nonprofit Web sites around. Founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley in 2005, the organization capitalized on its Silicon Valley connections -- its current president, Premal Shah, was a product manager at PayPal -- and the Web 2.0 boom to become the darling of social change activists and the DIY philanthropy crowd in just a few years.

Indeed, by the end of 2009 the organization had won a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and a Webby People’s Choice Award, had been named one of TIME’s “50 Best Web Sites” (2008), had registered more than 250,000 users, and had facilitated over $100 million in loans.

That same year (2009), the organization announced that it was piloting a program in the U.S. to allow individuals across the globe to make small loans to U.S. entrepreneurs through its field partners, ACCION USA and the Opportunity Fund. A year later, with unemployment hovering in the low double digits, Kiva announced a $1 million contribution from Visa to expand its reach within the U.S. generally -- and, through the addition of ACCION Texas-Louisiana, the largest microfinance institution in the country, the Gulf Coast specifically -- and further empower small businesses.

Having been named one of Oprah’s Favorite Things of 2010, the now five-year-old organization continues to expand. During the recent Microfinance USA 2011 conference in New York City, PND spoke with Premal Shah about the state of the microfinance industry, how the field of philanthropy has responded to Kiva’s emergence, and the status of the organization’s efforts in the U.S. Part one of our chat with Shah is posted below; parts two and three will follow tomorrow.

(If you're reading this in an e-mail, click here.)

 

(Total running time: 5 minutes, 36 seconds)

What do you think? Is Kiva changing the way we think about the billion or so people worldwide at the bottom of pyramid (BoP)? Is the organization's business model sustainable? What should it be doing to have even more of an impact?

-- Matt Sinclair

A 'Flip' Chat With...Farra Trompeter, VP of Client Relationships and Strategy, Big Duck

(This is the sixth and last video in a series of videos, recorded as part of our "Flip" chat series, that explores how various nonprofits -- and the consultants they hire -- are using "social media for social good." You can check out our previous chats, with the National Wildlife Federation's Danielle Brigida here, Small Act's Casey Golden here, Idealist's Julia Smith here, NTEN’s Amy Sample Ward here, and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's Renee Alexander here.)

As you think about how your organization should use social media, be sure to connect your social media strategy to the organization's mission, says Big Duck vice president of client relationships and strategy Farra Trompeter (@farra) in the final installment of our "social media for social good" series. Among other things, be sure to consider "your [nonprofit's] goals around raising money, creating change, [and] getting people to engage...and participate in programs or become a volunteer."

According to Trompeter, nonprofits should also pay attention to the following:

• Examine your organization's culture. Can employees watch videos on YouTube, check Facebook, or update Twitter during office hours? If not, you're probably not ready to launch a social media campaign.
• Check out the competition. What social networking sites are your competitors using? Chances are good your audience is there, too.
• Assemble a dream team. Identify the people in your organization who are passionate about social media and put them in charge of implementing your social media strategy and tracking the results.
• Draft a social media policy. Create a set of guidelines for staff to follow that includes advice about how to handle specific situations (e.g., a tweet or Facebook comment that puts your organization in a negative light).
• Be willing to experiment and fail. Experimenting with different tools is the best way to learn what works and what doesn't. 

(If you're reading this in an e-mail, click here.)

 

(Total running time: 6 minutes, 11 seconds)

Now it's your turn. What would you add to Trompeter's list? And what's the most important lesson your organization has learned about social media?

For more on the "Social Media for Social Good" event, check out these videos.

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With...Renee Alexander, Social Media Manager, U.S. Fund for UNICEF

(This is the fifth in a series of videos, recorded as part of our "Flip" chat series, that explores how various nonprofits -- and the consultants they hire -- are using "social media for social good." You can check out our previous chats with the National Wildlife Federation's Danielle Brigida here, Small Act's Casey Golden here, Idealist's Julia Smith here, and NTEN’s Amy Sample Ward here.)

What's it like to use social media to raise funds for a nonprofit working overseas? What are some of the issues that these types of nonprofits should be aware of? And how does a traditionally bureaucratic, top-down institution deal with the decentralized nature of social media?

In this installment of our "social media for social good" video series, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's social media manager Renee Alexander (@luckyrenee) addresses all of the above -- and more. Alexander is no stranger to using social media to raise money and awareness for a cause, having recently helped the fund launch Haiti365, a year-long project that invites supporters to take action on behalf of Haiti's children.

(After you watch the short video below, be sure to check out this video from New Marketing TV in which Alexander goes into more detail about Haiti365 and UNICEF USA's social media efforts to help and support victims of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated coastal areas of northeastern Japan in March -- efforts that included building walls on the last day of this year's South by Southwest conference so that attendees could write or draw messages for children affected by the disaster.)

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(Total running time: 5 minutes, 01 seconds)

"No matter where you go there's unique sensitivities....We really have to think before we tweet," said Alexander when asked how the fund deals with the decentralized nature of social media. Although we couldn't agree more, we also understand that mistakes happen, especially in today's fast-paced digital world. Have you ever accidentally published a blog post or tweet that put your organization in a negative light? How did you and your organization handle the situation? What did you learn from the experience? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

For more on the "Social Media for Social Good" event, check out these videos.

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With...Amy Sample Ward, Membership Director, NTEN

(This is the fourth in a series of videos, recorded as part of our "Flip" chat series, that explores how various nonprofits -- and the consultants they hire -- are using "social media for social good." You can check out our previous chats, with the National Wildlife Federation's Danielle Brigida here, Small Act's Casey Golden here, and Idealist's Julia Smith here.)

"You run into trouble if you think social media is just Facebook or Twitter," Amy Sample Ward (@amyrsward), membership director at the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), said at the Foundation Center's "Social Media for Social Good" (#SM4SG) event last week. By lumping e-mail, newsletters, and Web sites into the same category, Ward added, nonprofits run the risk of looking at social media as "the solution" rather than as another communications vehicle. 

In this installment of our "social media for social good" video series, Ward explains why, in terms of your social media activities, not taking the time "to know where your community is" and approaching social media like any other broadcast channel or marketing vehicle can get your organization into trouble. She also explains why "social CRM" -- the ability to track customer/constituent information and engagement across social media platforms -- will be the next big development in the social media space. (For more on social CRM, check out this post from NTEN executive director Holly Ross.)

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(Total running time: 5 minutes, 28 seconds)

How about you? Are you measuring your organization's social media engagement? If so, how are you doing it and what, if any, lessons have you learned? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below.

And for more about DIY community engagement metrics, check out this post from Amy herself. 

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With...Julia Smith, Communications and Media, Idealist

(This is the third in a series of videos, recorded as part of our "Flip" chat series, that explores how various nonprofits -- and the consultants they hire -- are using "social media for social good." You can check out our previous chats, with the National Wildlife Federation's Danielle Brigida here and Small Act's Casey Golden here.)

Since 1995, Action Without Borders/Idealist.org has offered the nonprofit community a broad range of tools with the aim of helping to "build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives." Led by its founder Ami Dar, the organization has published numerous guides for young nonprofit professionals and sector-switchers and staged countless Graduate Degree Fairs for idealists. But for many, the organization's Web site (now in its third iteration) and online community (complete with job board and blog) has made the biggest impact. (For more on Idealist founder Ami Dar check out our very first "Flip" chat here.)

In this installment of our "social media for social good" video series, Idealist's Julia Smith (@juliacsmith) discusses how the site has evolved into a social media platform. Smith, who helps Idealist with its communications and media strategy, also explains how the organization's engagement efforts online differ from its efforts offline and shares some tips for nonprofits looking to get the most out of their social media activities.

(If you're reading this in an e-mail, click here.)

 

(Total running time: 4 minutes, 17 seconds)

In short, Smith's tips include:

• Don't do all social media;
• Do engage in some social media (as Network for Good's Katya Andresen explained in a recent blog post);
• Don't be afraid to make mistakes (or share your lessons learned with the rest of us!);
• Do remember to have fun.

We couldn't agree more.

For more on the "Social Media for Social Good" event, check out these videos.

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With...Casey Golden, founder and CEO, Small Act

(This is the second in a series of videos, recorded as part of our "Flip" chat series, that explores how various nonprofits -- and the consultants they hire -- are using "social media for social good." You can check out our previous chat, with National Wildlife Federation digital marketing manager Danielle Brigida here.)

As keynote speaker Casey Golden -- founder and CEO of Small Act, a firm that helps nonprofits and businesses nurture their key online relationships through software and consulting -- explained at the Foundation Center's "Social Media for Social Good" (#SM4SG) event last week, social media represents the next stage in a communications revolution. Indeed, said Golden, social media is changing the way corporations communicate with customers and the way nonprofits engage their constituents. Never before has there been a communications medium "where you can actually build relationships" and "find advocates within your" network to keep your message going. Therefore, it is essential for organizations to be strategic in their approach to social media and to learn how to measure the right things.

That was just one of many takeaways from Golden's presentation and the panel discussion that followed, which included Julia Smith of Idealist, Farra Trompeter of Big Duck, Amy Sample Ward of the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), and Renee Alexander of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. (For more information about the event, check out this post from the folks at Nonprofit Bridge.)

In this installment of our "social media for social good" video series, Golden, an entrepreneur since the age of 11, discusses why it's important for nonprofits to embrace social media and shares what he believes will be the next big thing in the space.

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(Total running time: 3 minutes, 59 seconds)

What do you think? What would you add to Golden's list of tips for resource-constrained nonprofits looking be more effective at social media? (Golden suggested nonprofits be consistent in the amount of time they spend online and how they distribute social media responsibilities.) Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

For more on the "Social Media for Social Good" event, check out these videos.

-- Regina Mahone

A 'Flip' Chat With...Danielle Brigida, Digital Marketing Manager, National Wildlife Federation

(This is the first in a series of videos, recorded as part of our "Flip" chat series, that explores how various nonprofits -- and the consultants they hire -- are using "social media for social good.")

Last week, I attended a 501 Tech NYC event, "Ask A Social Media Strategist," that featured National Wildlife Federation digital marketing manager Danielle Brigida (@starfocus). For the last four and a half years, Danielle has been helping NWF engage with its constituents online through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, while also training internal staff on how to use various social media tools. Among other things, she is responsible for maintaining the organization's main social networking accounts, while more than twenty other staff members are tasked with monitoring online profiles related to their programs or departments.

Before the event got under way, I had a chance to sit down with Danielle to discuss NWF's social media strategy and how the organization divvies up responsibilities associated with maintaining its significant online presence. Danielle also offered a few tips for resource-constrained nonprofits looking to get the most bang for their social media buck.

(If you're reading this in an e-mail, click here.)

   

(Total running time: 3 minutes, 24 seconds)

During the event, Danielle explained how she sometimes has to talk NWF staff out of creating a Facebook fan page or other online profile for their program because creating a new one would be overkill. Since I didn't think to ask Danielle this question during the event, I thought it would be nice to hear from all of you about the metrics you use to determine whether a new program needs its own online profile or identity? And when do you say enough is enough? Use the comments section to share your thoughts....

-- Regina Mahone