April 20, 2018
When we see a conference session titled "Lean Data: How to Use Data to Drive Social Progress," you can bet we're signing up, and that's exactly what happened when Account Strategist Whaler Olivia Marlowe-Giovetti went to SXSW last month.
After a great session co-led by Emma Lalley of New Story and Twisha Mehta of Samasource (along with Yuliya Tarasava of CNote), Olivia sat down with Emma and Twisha to talk about the most pressing data questions asked by nonprofits without data departments and how the site traffic you're tracking in Google Analytics can lead you down the path of quantifying major social change.
Emma and Twisha are using the tools available to them towards finding scalable solutions to end global poverty. No big deal, right? As Global Impact Manager of New Story, Emma quantifies and understands the impact of the housing that the organization builds in the developing world. In her role as Senior Impact Manager at Samasource, Twisha handles a similar role in measurement and evaluation of the organization's mission to outsource digital work to unemployed people in the United States and impoverished countries.
April 12, 2018
In a special (perhaps Very Special?) episode of Using the Whole Whale recorded live in Austin, Olivia Marlowe-Giovetti speaks with Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media. If you're using the Internet today (and you are if you're listening to this podcast), you can thank Tim in at least some small part. He wrote the first popular book on the Internet in 1992. His site Global Network Navigator launched as the first web portal in 1993 (and sold to AOL in 1995). He's been behind terms like "open source software," "Web 2.0," and is now looking at how AI and the on-demand economy are transforming the nature of work and the future shape of businesses. This is covered in his latest book, WTF: What’s the Future and Why It’s Up to Us.
Not included on the recording: Olivia and Tim talking too loudly about data in the SXSW Press Lounge during the press interviews for Ready Player One and being asked to keep it down. #sorrynotsorry
April 5, 2018
In the second of 2 episodes between Chief Whaler George and Account Strategist Whaler Olivia, we talk about (taco-bout?) our recent conference adventures, wrapping up with George's time at Strata Data Conference in San José (where our Design Whaler Ann presented on Machine Learning and A/B Testing). Much like SXSW, tacos were had.
March 12, 2018
Short podcast on the topic of how to really leverage the way you say thank you to supporters of your organization.
March 2, 2018
Short and sweet podcast with George Weiner talking about ways to rethink the way you manage online reputation through testimonials.
February 5, 2018
If you think nonprofit branding is important, this podcast is for you.
We speak with author, speaker, marketer, brand and customer experience evangelist, educator, and consultant Elaine Fogel, president and CMO of Solutions Marketing & Consulting LLC located in Scottsdale, Arizona. A sought-after marketing and branding thought leader who specializes in small-to-medium businesses and nonprofit organizations, Elaine speaks to us about the elements of a strong brand:
- Purpose
- Consistency
- Professionalism
- Commitment
Elaine's background in working with celebrity spokespeople and corporate partnerships with the likes of Nike, Ford, Aventis, and Air Canada has also given her the expertise to write Beyond Your Logo: 7 Brand Ideas That Matter Most for Small Business Success (a 2016 Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards as well as the Next Generation Indie Book Awards). We talk about those 7 ideas and more.
We also love her blog, Totally Uncorked.
January 25, 2018
In M+R's 2017 Benchmarks Study, cultural nonprofits emerged as the MVP in several areas. Email list size growth was more than double the overall nonprofit average (21% compared to 10%). Website visitor signup rates were simiarly higher than average — 2.7% for cultural nonprofits versus the overall average of 1.1%. This sector also had the largest Twitter and Instagram audiences relative to email list size.
Rock on, culture!
With the arts making up a sizable portion of the nonprofit sphere, we sat down with 21C Media Group, a leading public relations, digital, and consulting firm specializing in the performing arts world whose roster of digital clients includes Plácido Domingo, Joshua Bell, and Yo-Yo Ma and on the institutional side they work with such nonprofit organizations as the Los Angeles Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and Music Academy of the West. (Also, the YouTube Symphony Orchestra? They had a hand in that.) One big question on our minds: How do you make classical music and the performing arts relevant in the digital age?
We pose the question Sean Michael Gross, 21C's Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, who has been with the company since 2007 and founded 21C's digital division in 2009. Fun fact: Sean was Account Strategist Whaler Olivia Marlowe-Giovetti's boss at 21C before she joined Whole Whale in 2017 (hashtag-battleofthebosses?).
January 3, 2018
Workplace giving contributes roughly $4 billion to charities in the U.S. each year. As the data show, there is a burgeoning interest in the workforce of aligning with organizations that share their personal values, and that includes giving back either through monetary contributions or in-kind pro bono work.
There's no organization better suited to talk about workplace giving than America's Charities (though we may be biased — George chairs the board). We sat down with their Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Lindsay J.K. Nichols, to learn more about the ways companies are giving back to the causes that matter most to their employees. Lindsay also shares data from America's Charities annual snapshot on how companies feel about workplace giving and why it matters.
December 14, 2017
Risk: Grey hair generator, or force for good? We talk with Ted Bilich, CEO of DC-based Risk Alternatives. Their mission is to build stronger communities by helping nonprofits and startups master risk management and process improvement, implementing a regular cycle to create a resilient culture. No one wants to talk about all of the things that can go wrong, but by making it part of our regular diet, we become more agile when spotting the icebergs ahead.
