There are a lot of people doing interesting and creative things on the internet related to philanthropy, and this is just another wonderful example. On Emily Chang - eHub Interviews, Emily talks with Tom Williams, the creator of GiveMeaning. Wonderful stuff. Just read it!
The Donor Power Blog has a good article on the reasons a non-profit should blog and the reasons they should not:
Donor Power Blog: Should your nonprofit blog?
So, what are our reasons for starting this blog? Well, for one thing, it was easy. Joell and I are comfortable writing, so that makes it easier for us (other than finding the time). The blog software we use, Movable Type, is very easy to use and provides all the sophisticated interfaces for syndication, plug-ins, authoring, comments and trackbacks. And now we're going to hook it more directly into our website so that it serves as regularly updated content there. Joell uses ecto, which is wonderful on the Mac, and I use Performancing and the Movable Type web interface because ecto on windows just doesn't work as well. (I can't WAIT to be off of my windows machine! But that's a topic for anotherposting.)
But mostly we started this blog because we wanted to capture more of the stories about what we do and what happens every day at Square Pegs. As we teach, learn about running and non-profit and note interesting trends and ideas, we hope people come to understand better what this is all about a are compelled to get involved. Maybe they'll send us a check, or maybe they'll volunteer. Or maybe they'll be inspired to go support some other cause that really has their heart. That's OK too!
The Donor Power Blog article mentions how few people are "reading blogs". But I don't think that's really a barrier. Your own supporters are your first customers for your blog. If they know you are blogging and are interested in your cause ( and have computer access), they'll come and read what you write. Make sure they like it, and make sure they believe that what you're writing captures the story of your organization.
I also believe that many people have read a blog but don't even know it. To them it's just a website. But folks (techies like me) get hung up on the specifics and on the buzz-words. Heck, our friend Joe Shelton has a blog, and doesn't even know it - because he just writes a new story every day on the front page of his website. No archive, no categories, no RSS feed, just great stories about life on a Horse Rescue ranch. I don't just call it a blog because he updates it all the time, but because it's all about the stories. That's the key - the stories.
I'm doing some planning for the second half of our fiscal year (January - June) and I'm finding it very useful to watch the "nptech" tag on Technorati. This allows me to easily see new blog postings and news regarding the use of technology in the non-profit sector. Check out the technorati listing here:
Technorati Tag: nptech
Since many of you are not really techies, I'll explain a little. A Blog is just a space for regular news or commentary, or items of interest. Some Blogs are very specific (such as Square Pegs blog). A specifically creeated tag like nptech allows the community to identify each other quickly and find new folks. Technorati is a service for "tagging" blogs and finding them according to how they are "tagged". The bookmarking/tagging service del.icio.us is another system that works a little differently.
del.icio.us/tag/nptech
The whole noptech idea came from some conversations on Omidyar Network, a wonderful community of people, all committed to making a difference
omidyar.net