What a day! Day 4, GES

April 15, 2009

Saturday’s workshops were my favorite. My first one was about Social Media Marketing—basically, using tools like Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, and Google to further the goals of our organizations. Elliot Greenberger, of See3 Communications, first gave an overview of the main players within each utility, so he outlined important social networking, information finding, and blogging tools. He encouraged us to carefully consider what our goals are, instead of just jumping in to a tool because it is popular or new. He also advised us to use one or two tools really well, instead of trying to use too many different tools. Social media marketing, he said, is about STAR: storytelling, transparency, accountability, and relationships. The workshop was informative, but not overwhelming, as I had feared it would be. I tend to be wary of new and complicated software, but I left the workshop excited about the new tools, ideas, and tool functions I came away with, ready to expand the web presence of Salud del Sol.

The second workshop was about Socially Responsible Media. Daniel Yang and Harish Patel of Project Focus, led a discussion about the questions to ask and things to consider in the advertisement that organizations like ours will do. The main take-away was general disdain for pictures of African children with pot-bellies and snot, but we delved a lot further into the purpose of non-profit marketing, and how the images chosen will go along with the purpose. We examined two advertisements, one from Aldo Fights Aids and one from the Peace Corps, in small groups, to pick out the positive and negative things about both ads. We generally concluded that, though it is so common among non-profit advertising today, pity and guilt should not be the emotions we try to evoke. Rather, our media should work to promote emotions such as empathy, compassion, and solidarity. I hope to keep this in mind when adding media to any Salud del Sol-related material, including the website or future mailings. I think we’ve done a good job with this so far, but I invite feedback to anything on our site.

All that before lunchtime!! During lunch, I was one of four people interviewed by Pivot Nonprofit Consulting. A year of pro-bono consulting from this Chicago-based firm was one of the possible outcomes for delegates, and our project was one of four projects chosen as potential candidates for this outcome. While we did not end up getting this outcome, it was a really great interview, and I was really encouraged that the autoclave was chosen and that the members of Pivot doing the interview were so enthusiastic about us.

The afternoon included some announcements and small group time. Catlin Powers of One Earth Designs, a fellow delegate and member of my small group, and I used the time to peer-review each other’s projects. Both of our projects are implementation-stage projects, so we were able to offer each other valuable input.

Then, the closing keynote of the Summit was given by Premal Shah, of Kiva!!! I have been admiring this organization from afar for a few years now, impressed by its conception and how it has helped to make micro-finance popular. To hear him speak, however, was even more inspiring! He began with a quote from Howard Thurman:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

But his speech was not just about inspiring us to continue the work we are doing.  He gave us practical advice on using the web to further our project’s goals.  He really encouraged full disclosure, first of all, calling us all to publically reveal all of our weaknesses.  This not only builds trust, but also allows us to get feedback and advice that could help us.  He encouraged connecting patrons to the cause as personally as possible.  He talked about the success of his organization, especially how it encourages a business relationship based on mutual dignity, not pity. 

I was inspired to keep going with the solar autoclave project, for Kiva struggled for years before serendipity striked and Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.  This sparked mass interest in social investment, and Kiva was there to guide the middle class in its investments.   Kiva has been the path through which he has connected vocation with avocation… very similar to my own experience with Salud del Sol, and I hope the experiences of the other co-founders.

Posted by | Filed Under Events, SdS Team 

Comments

2 Responses to “What a day! Day 4, GES”

  1. Elliot Greenberger on April 16th, 2009 10:51 am

    Thanks for the nice feedback, Lori. I’ve taken a look around your site, and I’m really impressed by how much you’re accomplishing. Keep it up!

  2. Lori Hanna on April 18th, 2009 1:11 pm

    Thanks for the encouragement, Elliot! I really appreciated your workshop… thank you for the valuable information and guidance.

Got something to say?





Tax Deductible Donations to Salud del Sol


The Salud del Sol Vision

Most Recent Posts