From Consumers to Creators

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Four Lessons from the Kiva Debate

My post on the Case Foundation blog this week sums up the debate over Kiva and person-to-person fundraising. Plus audio, for your pod-listening pleasure.

Social cause innovation - More, please?

Geoff Livingston responds to Kristin Ivie and my previous posts about new nonprofits.

Post: Think before you leap: Four truths about starting a nonprofit

Kristin, my colleague at the Case Foundation, has some good advice for folks thinking of starting their own nonprofit: think twice. http://www.socialcitizens.org/blog/start-nonprofit

Post: Why nonprofits are afraid of online communities

Eric Ries on the power of online communities –

When does engagement lead to donations?

One of the most popular questions nonprofits ask our Giving Gurus is “Where’s the money in social media?” (Sometimes folks say ROI, but they usually mean fundraising.)

Post: Could lean startup techniques work in the social sector?

In the lean startup, product and management team build quickly, then iterate based on statistics gathered from real users (that’s Eric Ries’s excellent description below). When Seth Godin gripes about lack of vim in the nonprofit sector, this is the approach he’s missing.

The Point (of #DCTwestival)

Talk about social media. Last night’s Twestival in Washington DC raised funds for Miriam’s Kitchen, which provides meals and support for DC’s homeless. While the organizers have yet to announce how much money was raised, Miriam’s Kitchen says that last night they received enough to provide more than 10,000 meals for the homeless.

Using Flickr Creatively: 3 Arts Organizations Innovate

Flickr combines the power of visual storytelling with the very nature of a social network - engagement and conversation. Three arts organizations (Houston Ballet, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and Luce Foundation Center for American Art) are innovating ways to use Flickr creatively, and in the process offering backstage passes to the organization, amplifying programming, and engaging stakeholders in real decision-making.