Once requiring a handwritten check and postage stamp, charitable donations now need just a few mouse clicks or a cell phone text to submit. The evolution of online giving allows nonprofit and aid organizations access to a vast syndicate of potential donors and enables those donors to instantly research and donate time or money to desired causes. STRONGER VIDEO PRESENCE The time-worn adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" stands as true today with the advent of Internet videos. These visual recordings not only capture a greater emotional element than still photographs or articles, but their content compels an elevated awareness that more readily translates to financial support. Video snippets give patrons vital information in a palatable format that can swiftly turn into mission support. MOBILE DONATIONS Text messaging has become much more than just a way to carry on conversation; in the context of charitable giving, it's a direct line to financial support. The swell of text donations began in earnest with groups reporting $1 million dollars of mobile funds in 2010 and grew exponentially with the onset of disaster; relief organizations responding to Hurricane Sandy and the Haiti earthquake garnered record-breaking donations via mobile devices to the combined tune of $85 million. SOCIAL MEDIA An active presence on Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets is an essential resource tool for organizations to reach the global community. This instant interface facilitates the communication of needs, issues and events, and expands organizations' reach by enabling people to further circulate the information by sharing it with their own personal networks. Groups that hesitate to create a social media profile will likely miss out on an important channel that engages potential supporters from all walks of life. LOOKING AHEAD Despite the significant growth of online contributions, this particular mode of private giving constitutes a mere 2.1 percent median of most large nonprofit budgets, according to a recent "Chronicle of Philanthropy" study. Some groups, however, have reaped up to 30 percent of their total donated funds via Internet and mobile devices. Charitable organizations have their sights set on making mobile giving a much larger fundraising component -- between 10 and 20 percent -- by encouraging benefactors to enroll in monthly or quarterly direct withdrawal programs. Originally written for and published by Demand Media Photo credit: Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
Finding money for organiza-tions is a career choice that offers considerable satisfaction; whether private or public, the recipients of grant monies can further projects and endeavors that might otherwise never come to fruition. Along with possessing solid communication, research and writing skills, grant writers are also often required to have a college degree and experience in the industry. Education A key ingredient of good grant writing is the ability to persuade, which makes all the difference between mediocre and stellar proposals. According to The Education Portal, earning a degree in areas such as English, journalism, marketing or public relations provides the communication nuts and bolts, and fine-tunes additional techniques that aid in crafting eloquent, engaging proposals. Specific Course Work Once you have strong and detailed writing skills, it's time to cultivate a greater understanding of the proposal's specific nature. Knowing the proper format and expectations for each grant application is critical to the final outcome; submissions that do not conform to each funder's unique protocol are often dismissed without consideration. Moreover, The Education Portal points out that grant topics can be individualized to a particular organization, which requires an additional layer of knowledge to maneuver through those conditions. Joining professional grant writing groups provides opportunities to network with others for continued education and job prospects. Cultivate Experience Nothing speaks greater volumes about an individual's aptitude than having a track record; it's not unusual for employers to overlook your lack of a degree when your past experience is strong. If you are just starting out and need to build your portfolio, you'd do well to approach smaller organizations that cannot afford to pay a grant writer and offer services pro bono, according to The Grant Adviser website. Steadily continue to move up the ladder and demonstrate diversity in the size of grants you seek and the types of industries. Interning within a desired industry places grant writers directly in the cross-hairs of potentially permanent employers. Industry Experience If all of your previous grant writing experience has, for example, been securing monies for a family owned preschool and you're now seeking employment with a Fortune 500 company, it's likely the latter will not consider that level of procurement to be a transferable skill. By the same token, employers prefer to hire grant writers who have a working knowledge of the general industry, if not also specific understanding of how that particular company operates. Fund-raising for a small nonprofit that needs seed money to build a homeless shelter is quite different from securing multimillion-dollar funding for a groundbreaking technological prototype. Originally written for and published by Demand Media
Wikipedia, an online portal that has earned the disputable reputation of being a valuable cyber resource, represents one of the major caveats for information seekers: be careful whose knowledge you trust. By its own admission, Wiki is the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit, which immediately flushes its credibility right down the toilet. The Information Age has created a double-edged sword in relation to the value and accuracy of data dispensed to the public. Cyber "experts" use bias, opinion or outright fabrication to push a particular viewpoint and lead people to accept erroneous information as being correct.Determining truthfulness and merit assures you are getting the truth.
One way to ferret out inaccurate or false material is to ask yourself: 1) who wrote the piece and how is he/she qualified to be an expert on the subject; 2) what type of information does the author provide; 3) where did the author obtain his/her sources; 4) when was the piece written and has new data been discovered that makes this information obsolete; 5) why did the author write this piece: personal agenda or an impartial impact; and 6) how much detail is offered or does it just skim the surface of important factors?
Advocate for yourself; don't be afraid to question everything you hear, read, see or are otherwise being convinced to believe. The fact that someone has uttered some words or written a particular bit has little bearing on whether that information is credible, leaving it up to you to probe for prejudice, embellishment, vagueness or disregard for known truth. The rule of thumb is to always corroborate facts with other sources to ensure accuracy and value.
Ricky Ricardo would have a field day with social media.
Who'd ever imagine his adorable (if not redundant) home videos of little Ricky waving would actually earn him the adulation he so craved. But did Ricky Jr's baby antics truly have what it takes to go viral in today's unpredictable market?
A Special Recipe Like a classically trained chef who can coax the most amazing flavors from a turnip, marketing executives are eager to discover the elusive viral recipe to extract greatness from an otherwise ordinary idea. Even the most prestigious advertising companies fail to replicate that ambiguous formula as they feverishly try to anticipate what will lead to the domino effect just a few "share" clicks can create.
Clearly, it's an organic phenomenon that follows no set guidelines, and the more marketers try to force their hand, it seems the more they fail. While Old Spice stumbled upon viral gold by keeping audiences transfixed with an alluring mystery man who effortlessly moves from one venue to another, rolling dice still seems more of a sure bet these days. Digital consultant Chris Smith duly notes:
The fundamental thing to remember about viral marketing that everyone seems to constantly forget is that it doesn't revolve around brands. It revolves around content.
Human Emotion Tell me something. Have you ever been so enthralled with a commercial that once it was over, you had absolutely no clue what product was being advertised? That's an example of what Andrew Burnett, a successful Scottish social media marketer, identifies as the one common denominator of this viral trend: human emotion. Animals and babies are shoo-ins with the "awww" factor. Always have been, always will be. But unlike Ricky Ricardo's uninspired clips, these particular viral videos are infused with a bit of magic that captures viewers' imagination.
E*Trade built itself a little empire of viral videos with a talking baby who gave viewers investment advice. But it's really the animals who have cornered this particular market with voiceovers that tread pretty heavily on our need to anthropomorphize critters. Patty-Cake Cats and Ultimate Dog Tease are just about the best examples of how humanizing animals is both endearing and viral-worthy (and these are just regular home videos). You'll definitely want to watch the dog several times to catch every subtle nuance of such low-tech genius.
Other people's misfortune and dangerous close calls are high on the ingredient list for viral videos. Take Jonathan Mak Long, for example. What began as a heartfelt tribute to a recently-passed technological icon quickly spiraled out of control in a bad way. Viewers who appreciated how Long incorporated Steve Jobs' silhouette in the Apple logo began sharing it; for a brief moment, he happily embraced the accolades. But they soon turned into angry shouts as his design traversed the globe and was spotted by those who knew of a very similar piece created just months earlier by British graphic designer Chris Thornley. The 19-year-old Hong Kong graphic design student was soon forced to apologize and prove his innocence not just to the man he was accused of plagiarizing, but to the entire world as well.
As you may have already figured, there is definitely money to be had for some of those who literally and figuratively trip into their 15 minutes of fame. The shock value of viral videos has spawned a new trend where teens purposely risk life and limb for fast cash. Even morality is sidestepped when people continue filming an accident rather than offering help with the hopes one of many viral sites or exploitive TV programs showcases their gruesome captures.
And last but certainly not least, there is sex, but that's a topic for another day. :)
