Non profit and social service organizations are challenged to evolve into a social organization.

The challenge is real. There is no choice. It’s a forced evolution.

Our non profit world, composed of community members, users, and supporters has irrevocably changed. The social web is not a trend that your organization may or may not take part.

As Seth Godin says, “social media is an event, not a process”.

To view the social web as a trend is just poor judgement.

If you are a non profit board or an Executive Director, transitioning your social service organization (or business) to the social web is a requirement, not only for your organization’s survival but to retain relevancy to your non profit cause.

Non profits that first examine their organizational dynamics and communications will have a stronger base for their transition to the social web.

Using social media tools to connect and engage your stakeholders is important, however transforming your organization’s culture is more than using Twitter or a YouTube channel.

I applaud non profit leaders for making a conscious choice to engage their constituents online. They are farsighted and have conducted a sound assessment of the new realities of the business world.

Many non profit leaders who chose to look inwardly at their organization took this path because they had a vision as what their organization could accomplish.

They saw a future where their organization could operate in a realm of possibilities instead of like a fort under siege, struggling for its very existence.

I believe once a vision is crystallized and a decision made to transform the organization, the next step is to create an online communications strategy (organizational change process) that addresses the elements that keep the organization operating as a silo.

This is tough but very necessary work. The benefits far outweigh the cost as the organization will eventually be aligned and engaged at all levels, internally and externally with their stakeholders.

One long lasting sustainable benefit (there are many more) is that the organization will have created online policies, guidelines and procedures that protect their organization, yet empower their employees.

This past year I’ve been fortunate to work with several non profits that chose to look inwardly at its internal communications. They looked at their programming, team work, governance communications and especially how their web platform delivered on their organization’s business goals.

These organizations chose to be strategic with their online communications and are becoming a more authentic social service agency, with social as an active verb rather than a weak adjective.

There is a huge difference between engagement in social behaviour and becoming a social non profit.

Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power. Lao Tzu

What do you think?

When you begin questioning how your organization can use social media to engage your constituents, this simple graph below is a good place to start. Better yet, go out and buy The Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.

In an earlier post I wrote about the Groundswell book and how well it documented how organizations are learning to initiate conversations with their constituents. This graph (below) can be used to think about your constituents (clients, donors, volunteers, funders, members etc.) and how they are using social media on the web.

First start by examining where and how your constituents are participating on the social web. On the graph scale, think about where your constituents are most active. Are they totally inactive, spectators, joiners, collectors, critics or creators?

Once you learn more about what your constituents are doing on the social web, start by listening carefully to their conversations and thinking about strategies to engage them.

Say, this doesn’t sound too much different to basic community development work. Do your research, learn from your community’s behaviour, initiate communication, build trust, form mutual rewarding relationships, demonstrate your authenticity and transparency, help them solve their problems – not yours.

Related Posts:

Within the Groundswell – Learning to Navigate
Mastering Web Skills for Social Change