Elijah van der Giessen

I help nonprofits build community.

Month: January 2011

Tootin’ my own horn: I’m off to Australia! — January 15, 2011

Tootin’ my own horn: I’m off to Australia!

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Connecting Up conference 2011 in Melbourne AustraliaI’ve won a scholarship to participate in Australia’s Connecting Up conference this June.

Whooo!

From NTEN:

NTEN is pleased to announce the winners of our mutual scholarship program with Connecting Up to share nonprofit technology knowledge across the Pacific. Through an application process, two NTEN Members were chosen to attend the Connecting Up Conference (CU11) in Melbourne, Australia, June 1-3, 2011 on a full scholarship!

The lucky folks are Elijah van der Giessen of David Suzuki Foundation and Tatiana Marshall of Oceana. We look forward to hearing about their nonprofit technology adventures down under!

The conference focuses on nonprofit marketing and technology, and my role in Vancouver’s Net Tuesday was key to my successful application, because one of the application questions was “How will you share what you learned when you get back home?” Yay NetSquared and Net Tuesday!

Related articles
Net Tuesday February 1: Should your nonprofit be selling merchandise? —

Net Tuesday February 1: Should your nonprofit be selling merchandise?

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CPAWS toqueDid your favorite nonprofit group send you an email over the holiday campaign season inviting you to buy a calendar, a t-shirt, or baby onesie? I certainly did.

As nonprofits struggle to adapt to changing donation patterns organizations like CPAWS, WWF and Pivot Legal are diversifying their revenue streams by selling merchandise to their supporters. But merchandise programs bring with them a host of new challenges, including inventory management, distraction from the core mission, and the potential to divert donors to a gift stream with lower net revenue.

But merchandise sales also bring lots of potential benefits. Join a panel of experts at Net Tuesday February and learn if selling merchandise is right for your organization.

Issues tackled:

  • Playlist for the Planet t-shirtsWhat makes for a successful sales program?
  • How do you determine your program’s goals?
  • How do you setup a program that will meet your goals?
  • Will merchandise clash with your organization’s values?
  • Can merchandise sales support other organizational goals besides fundraising? How can it be used as an employment creation program?

It’s gonna be an awesome evening, so please RSVP.

Date: Tuesday, February 1
Doors: 5:30pm
Duration: 6:00 – 7:30pm
Venue: W2 Storyeum, 151 W Cordova

RSVP on Meetup or Facebook.

Hope in Shadows 2011 calendar coverPANELISTS

Net Tuesday March 1: Location-based services —

Net Tuesday March 1: Location-based services

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RSVP

Have you recently “checked-in” or fought for “mayorship” at your favourite restaurant or retail location? With Facebook recently launching its Facebook Places and Foursquare partnering with (RED), location-based services are definitely one of the trending topics in social media right now.

Foursquare (social networking)
Image via Wikipedia

The topic for March is location-based services and how organizations can leverage the technology for social-change. We’re still in the process of curating speakers, so if you know anyone who is knowledgeable about these topics, please let us know at melody.yy.ma@gmail.com

Date: Tuesday, March 1
Doors: 5:30pm
Duration: 6:00 – 7:30pm
Venue: W2 Storyeum, 151 W Cordova

Special thanks to Melody Ma for volunteering to be this month’s event producer.

Net Tuesday April 5: Tips in Social Media Outreach in Culturally Diverse Communities —

Net Tuesday April 5: Tips in Social Media Outreach in Culturally Diverse Communities

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Social media has opened up an entirely new way for various ethno-cultural communities to connect and share their experiences that affect them. Through a panel discussion, we’ll hear relevant success stories from social media experts and also explore the commonalities and differences among the various communities using social media. We’ll also look at the way diverse communities consume social media (online vs mobile, for example) and what that means for the future. Come learn and share your experiences with us in this very unique session.

Tentative Schedule
630-7pm – people start coming to event
705-715pm – introductions
715-815pm – panel discussion
8-845pm – open dialogue (unconference format)
845-9pm – networking

Vancouver Public Library
Image via Wikipedia

Date: Tuesday, April 5
Location: Vancouver Public Library downtown branch

RSVP:

Background via @KetyE / Huffington Post

Special thanks to Ajay Puri and the Vancouver Public Library for producing this event with Net Tuesday.

2010 in review — January 3, 2011

2010 in review

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The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,300 times in 2010. That’s about 3 full 747s.

 

In 2010, there were 29 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 25 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was April 12th with 147 views. The most popular post that day was Net Tuesday May 4: Event-based fundraising.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, twitter.com, meetup.com, netsquared.org, and nettuesday.ca.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for facebook causes canada, facebook causes, netsquared, free friends asking friends fundraising platform, and facebook causes in canada.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Net Tuesday May 4: Event-based fundraising April 2010
3 comments

2

Facebook Causes donations no longer accepted in Canada May 2010
2 comments

3

Net Tuesday June: How to turn your party into an EVENT May 2010

4

About April 2010

5

NetSquared Camp Vancouver: not an announcement April 2010