For the past few decades I’ve worked with non profits on community development projects.

These projects varied.

They ranged from working with neighbourhoods on resident driven initiatives to working with a community of youth workers on building their skill capacity so young people experiencing  poverty and homelessness would have more relevant services.

Now that I’m helping non profit groups create their online communication strategies, I am learning how community development and social media work are so closely connected.

Here is how I  see social media and community development strategies overlapping in the pursuit of social change.

In both cases you:

Approach the work with an attitude of respect for the the community’s (or client’s) ability to learn and find solutions to their challenges;

Support the community’s (or client’s) desire to make improvements or changes to their situation by listening deeply and as non judgmental as possible;

Provide the community (or client) with a larger and more detailed (organized) vision of their challenges and an outline of possible strategies;

Help the community (or client) identify their strengths and the assets of the key people that can address the challenges in a way that will lead to a high degree of success;

Help the community (or client) identify and understand on deeper levels the barriers and limitations to the challenges they face;

Help the community (or client) define their vision, mission, values, strategies and goals (using legacy documents if available) that will act as an infrastructure or solid platform for implementing strategies;

Help the community (or client) define their policy for addressing their challenges and create clear procedures for using any tools in the strategy;

You assist the community (or client) in identifying what success might look like and then help them create a monitoring tool to measure their progress;

Foster and encourage the community (or client) adopting a culture of learning, listening, innovation, experimentation, adapting and openness;

Help the community (or client) adopt practices that lead to deepening authentic relationships with their peers, supporters, partners and stakeholders;

There are no doubt many more values and principles that apply to working in a social media and community development framework. What strikes me the most as I put this list together is the lack of any reference to social media strategies/tools or community development.

Do you see anything in the list that I left out? Please add your ideas in the commenting panel.

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This is a  beautiful picture that showcases the grandeur of the Alberta prairies and the important role that the farming industry industry plays in this part of Canada. I’m posting this picture because we used it in a a day long social media strategy session that my partner Mark (Mark Holmgren Consulting) and I facilitated.

Mark and I are assisting a group of communities in southern Alberta called Return to Rural (R2R). We are helping them develop their social media strategy and supporting them as they learn why, how, who, what, when and where of the social web landscape.

R2R is a ground breaking initiative that is re-branding their community as a place where young people and young professionals can reconnect with their rural community roots and values. It’s more than re-branding of course. It’s a long term community transformation process that will take careful nurturing by the lead organization, the  SAMDA Economic Partnership.

For generations, young people left their rural country communities to find work, new experiences, fame and fortune in the bigger cities across Canada.  For many their move to large urban centers worked out, but for others, their search for a place to call home didn’t materialize. In general terms, many of these immigrants to the big city felt a pervasive sense of disconnection from from that special, hard to put your finger on feeling of belonging to a home community. R2R is calling to them with a message that rural life is an economic and socially satisfying option, an option that once chosen, can reconnect you to that special belonging feeling.

Return to Rural is an ambitious and timely project with great promise for success. The issues faced by members of Return to Rural are shared by small farming communities across Canada. I am very keen to chronicle the lessons learned as I believe the Return to Rural story can be a very useful aid for many community leaders who are who are seeking innovative solutions to complex challenges in their rural community.

Stay tuned, I will  be posting again about the progress that Return to Rural is making as they engage their constituents inside and outside the SAMDA catchment areas.

Oyen Inland Grain Terminal [1 of 3], originally uploaded by neutralhills.

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Here is a short and crisp video about online fundraising in Canada. Non profit organizations will be turning more and more to social media strategies to financially support their Mission. This video captures the key data and the trends – well worth a few minutes viewing.

Did You Know CH.O from CanadaHelps on Vimeo.

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Net Change Week 2010 – Robert Egger keynote from MaRS Discovery District on Vimeo.

My charity rocks, it’s a rooting tooting, awesome, knock em dead, rock and roll, sweet baby James of a charity. Maybe not his exact words, but Robert’s genuine passion, sincerity, pride, anger and commitment flowed through every word he uttered in his keynote.

I was guest blogging at the Net Change Week and was lucky enough to sit in on a speech that altered my view of the social benefit sector and has re-stocked my own passion for change in my community.

Robert Egger is the Founder and President of the DC Central Kitchen, the nation’s first “community kitchen”, where unemployed men and women learn marketable culinary skills while donated food is converted into balanced meals. Since opening in 1989, the DCCK has distributed over 20 million meals and helped 700 men and women gain full-time employment.

I think his message was a bit like the Matrix movie. Take the blue pill and continue believing that the non profit (he hates that term – as I do) sector is just fine. Take the red pill and see how the non profit sector has being convinced into believing that’s all it can be and should be, as after all, it’s the business world that really counts.

Read more…

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Are you a leader in your social benefit organization? Are you interested in learning more about the basic building blocks necessary for supporting a dynamic, engaging web site that reaches out and deepens relationships with your stakeholders? Are you thinking about how to move your organization on to the social web dance floor but not sure where or how to start? Read on!

I’m sure you appreciate the impact social technologies are having in all sectors locally and around the world. Your leadership role now includes managing how your organization connects, networks, and collaborates with your diverse stakeholders. Also, your new role includes learning how to listen to your stakeholders in new ways so you can adapt and respond to a rapidly changing environment.

Read more…

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In 2009, after 20 + in the non profit sector, I hung out my shingle as a social media strategy consultant and formed my company, Social Media Tools for Work & Learning. Like others, I saw the communication and relationship landscape change across the world as social web technologies were increasingly used to engage and deepen relationships with service users, customers, partners, donors and supporters.

I recognized that it was time for me to combine my expertise in the non profit sector (herein called social benefit sector) with my passion and experience for using social media strategies and tools in my programs. I knew that organizations would need help in figuring out how to shift their thinking as they begin exploring how to adopt and integrate social media strategies and tools into their organization.

Read more…

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Here are a few snippet recollections I had from my participation in the live film streaming of the Multimedia Film Festival of York Region at Sutton District High School.

A little girl in the film made by a  grade 3 and 4 class from the Waabgon Gamig First Nation School on Georgina Island said – “Community is when we all stick to together; when you don’t stick together, your like a twig that falls broken to the ground” That line broke me up!

A young lady who spoke eloquently about how youth culture is actually saving civilization by taking control of and using technology to create, publish, solve and innovate. She said that youth culture is using technology to create while previous generations only wantonly consumed technology. Her comments contradicted the perspectives of the film makers who suggested that youth are obsessed and addicted to technology and are less for it….

Hillary Van Welter who engaged, joked, provoked, pushed and had fun with the student audience. She did a great job of connecting the schools to each other and coping with the minor streaming glitches.

The live art production that summed up the whole morning of films. It was a wonderful example of art voice in action. Their LOL and WTF acronyms were outstanding additions to the mobile art production.

The occasional cell phones going off as the discussion on teen obsession with technology was taking place.

A school board trustee who gave congratulatory props to the Family Services York Region Prevention Diversion Program for their work in schools around supporting, facilitating and celebrating youth assets and voices in the Georgina community.

Related Posts:

Michael Bowe – Chair, Multimedia Film Festival Council of York Region

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Charlene Li, author of the Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, is participating in the Question of the Week, sponsored by Nokia’s Idea Project. She posed a the question (above) and the responses are quite interesting. The responses are mostly from the corporate sector but have relevance for the non profit sector as well. You can post your responses and possibly win a Nokia phone. Here is the explanation of the Ideas Project, taken from Charlene’s newsletter.

“As social technologies change the way that leaders interact with customers, employees, & partners, what one thing should they do to prepare for this change?”

That’s right – ONE thing. Not a dozen good ideas, not a list of four starting points. What is the single most important thing a leader can do to deal with the change foisted upon them by social technologies?
To answer, visit http://bit.ly/aZkE3z to get directly to the Question of the Week. During the week, I’ll add to this post and also tweet out some of my favorite responses as we go along. To keep track, please use the hashtag “#ideasproject”.

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Seth Godin has a new book called Linchpins. I heard that it is outstanding. When I viewed this video I could understand why the book will be another bestseller. I think linchpin people are popping up all over as more and more workers are breaking out of the compliance mind set and getting creative. Here is what Josh Bernoff from Forester Research/the Groundswell says about Seth’s new book. “You need to read Seth Godin’s Linchpin. Or be a cog in the machine. Your choice.”

Jacqueline Novogratz on how to recognize a linchpin from Seth Godin on Vimeo.

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An interview with Will Davis on Social Capital and Digital Inclusion I have looked at and read many accounts of the UK online learning centres. In Britain, they are so far ahead of Canada in terms of understanding the importance of digital literacy for everyone, especially those that are disenfranchised, without family supports, the unemployed or those experiencing poverty and homelessness (or at risk of). We can learn from their experience.

Will Davies reflects on Social Capital and Digital Inclusion from Tim Davies on Vimeo.

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