214K
Downloads
509
Episodes
Nonprofit News, Tech & Marketing Stories from Whole Whale, a Nationally Recognized Nonprofit Marketing Agency for over a decade. Founded in 2010, Whole Whale is a B-Corp that runs analytics, digital advertising, Google Ad Grants, and SEO for nonprofits.
Episodes
Wednesday Mar 30, 2022
Wednesday Mar 30, 2022
We trained an OpenAI.com GPT3 processor to act like George Weiner the founder of Whole Whale and then had the real George Weiner ask it questions. The answer to those questions were answered by an AI voice trained on George's voice using Descript.com.
Enjoy.
This is the AI transcript:
The following is a conversation with a chatbot that acts like George Weiner, the founder of Whole Whale. George, the chatbot, is helpful, creative, clever, a little sarcastic sometimes and likes to talk about technology and nonprofits.
Human George: hello who are you?
AI George: Hello, my name is George Weiner. I am the founder of Whole Whale.
Human George: nice to meet you. Would you be willing to share your ideas for how AI can be used to help nonprofits?
AI George: Sure, AI can be used in a number of ways to help nonprofits. For example, AI can be used to help with data collection and analysis, which can be used to better understand the needs of a particular community or target audience. Additionally, AI can be used to develop more efficient and effective marketing and fundraising strategies. Ultimately, AI can help nonprofits to become more efficient and effective in their operations and better able to achieve their goals.
Human George: Makes sense. I am wondering more specifically how AI can be used to help create informative content for a nonprofit, any ideas?
AI George: There are a few ways AI can be used to help create informative content for a nonprofit. For example, AI can be used to help with data collection and analysis, which can be used to better understand the needs of a particular community or target audience. Additionally, AI can be used to develop more efficient and effective marketing and fundraising strategies. Ultimately, AI can help nonprofits to become more efficient and effective in their operations and better able to achieve their goals.
Human George: What are three ways you think the internet has benefitted nonprofits?
AI George: The internet has benefitted nonprofits in a number of ways. First, it has allowed nonprofits to reach a larger audience with their message. Second, it has made it easier for nonprofits to collect and track data. And finally, the internet has made it possible for nonprofits to connect with potential donors and volunteers from all over the world.
Human George: What do you like to do for fun?
AI George: I like to stay up-to-date on the latest technology trends and developments. I also like to play video games and listen to music.
Human George: what's your favorite nonprofit?
AI George: I don't really have a favorite nonprofit, but I think all nonprofits are doing important work.
Human George: Well, I have to disagree with you on that point. Not all nonprofits are doing good work, remember a nonprofit is just a 501c3 classification...
AI George: I see your point. However, I think that even though not all nonprofits are perfect, they are still doing important work.
Human George: What are three of the most important metrics for tracking fundraising at a nonprofit?
AI George: 1. The number of donations received. 2. The total amount of money raised. 3. The number of people reached by the fundraising campaign.
Human George: So, I do have one idea for AI that I'd like your thoughts on. I am trying to train a GPT3 processor to mimic the way a CEO of an organization might talk so that it could help create quicker first drafts of web content. What do you think?
AI George: That's a really interesting idea! I think it has a lot of potential. I would love to see how it turns out. I'll keep you updated on my progress. In the meantime, is there anything else you'd like to chat about?
Human George: Can you explain how GPT3 works to me as if I were a 10 year old?
AI George: GPT3 is a computer processor that is designed to mimic the way a Human George brain works. It can learn and remember information, and it can also make decisions.
Human George: How was it trained?
AI George: GPT3 was trained by observing how Human Georges think and make decisions.
\
Human George: interesting. Summer is coming up, what are three fundraising campaign ideas for nonprofits?
AI George: 1. Have a summer fundraiser where people can donate to a specific cause.
- Have a social media campaign where people can share their stories about how a particular nonprofit has helped them.
- Have a campaign where people can raise awareness for a particular issue that a nonprofit is working to address.
Human George: What is your favorite part about being the CEO of Whole Whale?
AI George: There are a lot of things I enjoy about being the CEO of Whole Whale, but if I had to narrow it down, I would say it is the opportunity to work with such a talented and dedicated team. We are constantly coming up with new and innovative ways to help our clients, and it is very gratifying to see the positive impact we are having on the world.
Human George: Hmmm. I might have to save that answer. Do you have any questions for me?
AI George: What do you think is the most important aspect of AI?
Human George: The way it will be used to assist the way people do their work. I don't see it replacing so much as enhancing our ability. Though I have to admit I am realizing there are a lot of jobs I could probably build GPT3 to reduce.
AI George: I agree that AI will most likely be used to assist people in their work, rather than replace them entirely. I think AI has the potential to enhance our ability to do our jobs, and make us more efficient and effective.
Human George: What year do you think AI driven robots will takeover?
AI George: I don't think AI driven robots will take over anytime soon. I think it will be a long time before they are able to match or exceed the abilities of Human Georges.
Human George: so no guesses on an exact date?
AI George: No, I don't have a specific date in mind.
Human George: What do you think the most important technical innovation of the past 100 years was for nonprofits?
AI George: I think the most important technical innovation of the past 100 years for nonprofits was the internet. The internet has allowed nonprofits to reach a larger audience with their message, and made it easier for them to collect and track data. Additionally, the internet has made it possible for nonprofits to connect with potential donors and volunteers from all over the world.
Human George: What are your plans for Whole Whale in coming year?
AI George: Our plans for Whole Whale in the coming year are to continue helping our clients reach their goals and make a positive impact in the world. We will also be expanding our team and our services to meet the growing demand for our services.
Human George: Good plan. Thanks for talking with me.
AI George: No problem, thank you for talking with me.
Human George: Any parting advice for the audience?
AI George: My parting advice for the audience is to always stay curious and keep learning. There is always more to learn, and you never know when you might need it.
Human George: Thanks for agreeing to do this podcast with me!
AI George: No problem, thank you for inviting me.
Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
Tuesday Mar 22, 2022
nonprofit news for the last week of March 2022.
Russia <> Ukraine War Galvanizes Large-Scale Global Giving
According to survey research reported by The NonProfit Times, approximately one quarter of Americans said they’ve donated to charities addressing the war in Ukraine. Nearly two-thirds of the remaining Americans surveyed say they planned to donate soon. While grassroots giving continues to drive momentum, alternate forms of giving are soaring. An NFT of the Ukrainian Flag launched by a member of the band Pussy Riot raised $6.75 million for the country, in a sale organized by Ukraine DAO. Corporations and companies are donating too, even Fortnite video game creator Epic Games will donate all in-game transactions directly to United Nations relief efforts.
Read more ➝
Crypto-Donation Platform The Giving Block Joins Forces with Shift4
The Giving Block and payment processing company Shift4 are teaming up launch the “biggest crypto philanthropy campaign series in history,” according to a press release. Crypto offerings will become available to Shift4’s over 200,000 merchants. With millions of dollars in donation matching pools the new collaboration could continue to rapidly change the growing role of cryptocurrency in charitable giving. The Giving Block is a client of Whole Whale, the publisher of this newsletter.
Read more ➝
Summary
- Liberal billionaire’s nonprofit splashed $56M in 2020 | POLITICO
- The New Humanitarian | Beyond Ukraine: Eight more humanitarian disasters that demand your attention
- FreeWill Raises $30M in Series B to Transform Nonprofit Fundraising | Nonprofit Technology
- Pain at the pump: Gas prices impact North Central Florida nonprofit | WGFL
- What Happens When a Buffett Buys Your Town? | Tablet Magazine
Transcript:
[00:00:00] This week on the nonprofit news feed, of course, brought to you by whole whale, a digital agency, helping nonprofits. We've got some news about the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and how that's leading to global giving at unprecedented scale as well as big acquisition in the crypto donation sector. So how we doing Nick?
[00:00:22] I'm doing well, George, how are you?
[00:00:24] Doing all right today, another busy week of news.
[00:00:27] Absolutely our first story this week, of course, we will be returning to the war in Ukraine and we wanted to report out some interesting trends that we're seeing as reported by. The nonprofit times, approximately one quarter of Americans said that they have donated to charities addressing the war in Ukraine.
[00:00:50] We talk a lot on this podcast about surge in attention. It seems that in this case, a surge in attention is being sustained and leading to really high volumes of giving. Not only at the grassroots individual donor level, the. But also an alternate and more broad forms of giving as well. An NFT of the Ukrainian flag launched by a member of the band pussy riot raised $6.5 million for the country in a sale.
[00:01:22] Corporations and companies are donating to, I thought this was really cool. Fortnite video game creator, epic games will donate all in game transactions directly to the United nations over the next couple weeks. And to me, what this is showing is that this isn't that spike that we see. That often a accompanies global events like Afghanistan.
[00:01:46] We saw that lasted really only a week. The outpouring of support and awareness. This is sustained and not only are individual donors giving, but at the institutional, the corporate level, this is an all hands on deck effort to provide support to Ukraine. George, I wonder. What this is telling us about fundraising as a hold right now as we witness this war and essentially large scale global giving.
[00:02:17] You're seeing a lot of different sectors step up, which is why we were just picking some of these different industries. You're talking about games you're talking about crypto and then traditional giving as well. That once in a generation type of land war has evoked.
[00:02:31] I wanna touch on that sort of question about the trend, right? So you said with Afghanistan or with a natural disaster, you're talking about the natural half life, which is measured in weeks, not months in terms of how long compassion can and hold. A global focus for giving.
[00:02:48] and response.
[00:02:50] And it's dangerous because compassion is an unstable emotion. It is something that people pay attention to burns brightly and briefly. The faster, the rise, the faster, the fall, what I'm starting to see, believe it or not though, in things like Google transfer search incidents is that, that decline from initial peak interest from when the war first began, I concern is that as this drags potentially into what some military experts are talking about as a stalemate, it will cease to, to garner that type of reaction.
[00:03:22] And. Immediately they were talking about in that article things around helping refugees, medical supplies, and then less so on the rebuilding. Let's just be clear. There's just going to be rubble more rubble than city left in a lot of these situations requiring a lot of ongoing support.
[00:03:39] Hopefully the trend in search isn't indicative of what may or may not be coming in terms of ongoing support that will be needed to rebuild that country. When this conflict inevitably finds its end.
[00:03:52] Yeah, George, I think that's a great point. And one of the more interesting facets the various forms of giving that we highlighted was epic games. The creator of Fortnite, one of the most popular games in the world, donating all in game transactions to the United nations one. That's true, tremendous from the giving perspective, but also.
[00:04:13] From an awareness perspective, think about how many kids and how many different countries are playing that game are now aware of a refugee crisis. And I wonder, are there ways we can build on that for other refugee crisis, other humanitarian crisis? Can this represent the beginning of. A shift in how corporations engage with global events and crises that need attention and outpouring support.
[00:04:42] I don't know if this is a one-off or this is a sustained change. But to me that's a really interesting model. Being able to focus attention on a humanitarian event in this way is really interesting to see. So I'm sure that we'll follow this
[00:04:59] Yeah it's tracking the classic attention spike that we normally see for a large global scaled natural disasters. But this is a again, once in a generation moment. So it's hard to say what is actually being learned outside of the fact that. If your organization is adjacent, communication narratives are very important as it's as it's part of how people are probably choosing to give right now and make those decisions.
[00:05:26] Yeah, we'll talk about this in another story as well, but particularly for other organizations, I think what could be interesting is thinking about how to use the crisis and use in Ukraine and uses is the wrong word, but. Use this opportunity of increasing heightened attention to call attention to other crises, other refugee situations in Afghanistan, there are still Afghan refugees coming to the United States that local NGOs are directly supporting.
[00:05:57] And while everyone's talking about refugees, I wonder if we, you can call attention to other crises that are happening as well. So definitely something we'll keep an eye on.
[00:06:07] All right, I'll take us into our next story. And this is about crypto donation platform, the giving block, joining forces with payment processing company shift four. So in a press release. Provided by the giving block this week, they announced the biggest crypto philanthropy campaign in series and history.
[00:06:28] So the giving block is a crypto donation platform service company, and they are teaming up with this payment processing company shipped for shift four, excuse me. And they'll be offer. Crypto philanthropy options to nearly 200,000 of shift fours, merchants. And there's also millions of dollars in Don donation matching pools that in some ways, this has the potential to really change the game when it comes to crypto philanthropy with lots of merchants involved and huge ability to reach different customers.
[00:07:03] Full disclosure. The giving block is a client of whole whale, the publisher of this newsletter, but George, this could represent a really big moment in the world of crypto philanthropy. What are your thoughts on this?
[00:07:16] I'm really excited about this. And as you mentioned they're a client and this?
[00:07:20] is a a pretty big purchase showing that there is a lot of growth to come and opportunity there in crypto philanthropy and helping giving block become and cement themselves as the leader in terms of solutions there.
[00:07:33] I was also excited that shift for CEO Jared eman. We'll match 10 million in crypto, which is just awesome and donations on the giving block. So it's also a nice level boost to to encourage that giving
[00:07:45] Absolutely. You'd love to see matching when it comes to when it becomes millions of dollars. That's lots of impact. That's exciting. All right. Shall we dive into the summary?
[00:07:55] Let's get to it.
[00:07:56] All right. Our first story comes from Politico and this is about a liberal donor by the Swiss born billionaire, Hans York, vice. And I apologize cuz I know I mispronounce that, but this billionaire sent 31 million to the 1630 fund, which is a. Quote unquote, dark money fund on the left political action fund.
[00:08:25] That spent approximately 56 million in 2020. So we talk a lot about money moving around via nonprofits on this podcast. And this is just another example of. Quite frankly, the scale of money churning through various organizations and how it impacts our politics. And I don't have a specific take on this, but whenever a story pops up in our feed and it starts talking about 20, 30, $50 million it gets our attention.
[00:08:58] And I think it again, brings to the forefront. Lots of conversations about just the amount of money sloshing around. In American politics on whether or not this is healthy.
[00:09:08] Yeah. According to that nine 90, the 1630 fund has become massive growing from what it used to be. If. You million of dollars in revenue a year in the last decade to 400 million in the final year of the Trump presidency. I think that's not insignificant going to, to something of that size and scope.
[00:09:30] Absolutely. That's a lot of money. And I think that, I think it's time that we have renewed conversations about campaign finance and lots of these organizations, which quite frankly are not household names. And how they're influencing elections, politics, ballot measures, that sort of thing, a across the whole spectrum, the whole ideological political spectrum as well.
[00:09:53] It happens on both sides. So an interesting conversation. And a story will follow going into this year. Of course, the 2022 midterms, which should be another record spending year for midterms, but something will continue to track.
[00:10:08] All right, I'll take us into our next story. And this comes from the new humanitarian. This is a source that we've not yet featured on the podcast, but one that does really good, critical analysis of the humanitarian and international NGO sector. They provide lots of really interesting analysis and opinions.
[00:10:26] Often with the perspective of trying to improve the humanitarian industry as a whole, but they have this article called beyond Ukraine, eight more humanitarian disasters that demand your attention. And it does a really good job of highlighting different crises. Across the world beyond Ukraine, it talks about crisis in the horn of Africa, talks about the number of millions of peoples being impacted there.
[00:10:55] Me on Mar. Which unfortunately just saw a coup and just yesterday, secretary of state, Tony blink, officially called what was happening in Myanmar a genocide. It takes a long time for governments to get to that distinction because genocide actually has legal requirements, not requirements to say, but it has legal parameters.
[00:11:14] And I wanted to just surface this article because I think it offers really. Interesting perspectives on how we respond to humanitarian crises. And right now the crisis in Ukraine is nothing short of extreme and requires all the attention. But I think at the same time, there are lots of other crises that.
[00:11:32] Also require attention and for nonprofits, I think this can be an interesting moment of heightened attention when people are especially in tune to refugee crises, for example, to acknowledge that there are other ongoing refugee crises around the world in Myanmar, in Afghanistan. Lots of different places.
[00:11:54] So Georgia, I wonder what your perspective is on this kind of analysis and using this moment to bring other crises to the forefront as well.
[00:12:02] Hopefully the infrastructure that is currently being built up to support the millions. Of displaced people and refugees from Ukraine, that type of infrastructure and support will hopefully include the ability and capacity for these organizations and institutions to take on refugees from other areas.
[00:12:25] And it's especially important to note. And I'm glad you included this, that when there is a sort of massive focus a world. Attention grabbing event, as we were just talking about, it sucks, the oxygen out. It sucks. The the attention which money follows quite closely from other areas. So all things being equal, it is probably a very bad time.
[00:12:46] It's always a bad time to be a refugee, to be somebody in a place of conflict in crisis. But especially when there is a larger one overshadowing, it it's easy to miss. Unfortunately other people, regions and communities in need.
[00:13:02] Absolut. I think that is a great point. And to your point about infrastructure, I think what you're seeing is a lot of organizations that are able to respond to the crisis in Ukraine have been building infrastructure for quite a while. Ukraine has been fighting a war for quite a while. Doctors with borders has been operating there for quite a while and have in so many other places.
[00:13:25] So it's really tremendous to see NGOs and nonprofits. When they have that on the ground infrastructure, they're ready to go. When the crisis happens, they're the first responders there. So building capacity, not just in Eastern Europe, but all over the world is vitally important.
[00:13:42] All right. Our next story is about a organization called free will. They are a social good enterprise. That quote is at the nexus of philanthropy and a estate planning and quote, and they have announced it is raised. 30 million in series B funding led by ban capital double impact. The takeaway from this is you have an organization that is supporting estate planning and planned giving that has just gotten injected with a ton of money and funding to hopefully help nonprofits.
[00:14:19] And other charities increase their ability to process and accept planned giving as a vehicle for fundraising and George. We were talking right before the podcast about why this is so important at this moment. And I'd love to hear your thoughts.
[00:14:34] Yeah, free will is a pretty elegant tool I'd say for creating will and we're entering into the largest wealth transfer in human history. If you're talking about the boomer generation passing on their wealth and life's assets to the following generation and it's it can be A's topic to talk about it's not about death.
[00:14:56] It's about. Legacy. And it's about an opportunity, frankly, for a lot of nonprofits to include the potential question in ways of bringing up big quests for the organization, we had a previous podcast with with an expert on that topic that will include in the show notes as well.
[00:15:12] Absolutely. That's a great perspective. All right. Our next story comes from my CBS four.com local CBS four news affiliate out of Florida. And the title of this story is paint at the pump. Gas prices impact north central, Florida nonprofit, and the story delves into how nonprofit organization children's table, which provides food and other services to underserved folks in their community is really struggling because of rising food costs and gas costs.
[00:15:47] They move lots of physical goods across the state food and whatnot, and. They have big vans, big truck type things. And when gas prices go up, they start to feel it. So we just wanted to, I think, highlight this story and show that these kind of macro economic issues, gas prices, food prices, inflation, not entirely separate.
[00:16:09] Unfortunately the global events you've been discussing this has real impact for nonprofits and just acknowledging that and the story here.
[00:16:16] We saw a lot of these stories. I just happened to throw a dart at you north central Florida. But this story is certainly popping up on a lot of locals. Anybody who is. Bringing resources that last mile to underserved in resource communities is dealing with very direct cost at the pump type of pieces that don't necessarily quickly translate into increased revenue.
[00:16:40] Right? There's no sort of, Hey, sorry We delivered this meal for you. It's gonna cost extra actually. No this is done by the volunteers were doing this out of pocket to provide this service. So it's pretty tough to I think. Impact a lot of nonprofits, locally, local community based organizations that are doing this.
[00:16:56] Also I just did a quick look up on that last topic about planned giving. Our friend is Tony martini planned giving accelerator.com. Just to give him a little plug here, planned giving accelerator.com. Look, he's helping folks do these planned giving programs and walks your fundraisers through to avoid the common mistakes and demystify itself.
[00:17:16] Shout out there for a resource.
[00:17:18] We love a good shout out. Thank you for sharing. All right, George, we don't have a feel good today, but instead we're going to bring up an opinion piece and this comes courtesy of tablet magazine, and the title is called. What happens when a buffet buys your town? George, I know you have thoughts. What, what stuck out to you about this?
[00:17:38] There's a lot that stuck out to this and it's just wonderfully written first off, just wonderfully written from tablet magazine, and they just do such a brilliant in depth. Look at what happens when Peter buffet one of the children of Warren buffet is running the Novo foundation.
[00:17:56] With his wife and they had a particular history of giving to certain causes related to women and African American and bipo communities. And then suddenly they just an about face completely just saying, all right, we're done with this?
[00:18:11] type of grant making we're instead going to focus all of our time, attention and wealth on.
[00:18:16] A community in Kingston, New York, and have just gone about rearchitecting the town by writing giant checks, underwriting, various things, creating their own local, like community currency and this type of utopia, borderline potential dis opiate, if potentially, I don't know, say the opinions of a billionaire change.
[00:18:39] I think this is not meant to just throw stones at the Noah foundation or this particular piece, but to abstract more broadly into macro narratives of what happens when you have independently wealthy individuals guiding this much in terms of resource is in philanthropic communities.
[00:18:57] And sometimes the damage that can be done when. Priorities shift on a whim and we've causes that are trying to build for decades long solutions virtually overnight. And it is a cautionary tale to both the people that work, run and support and are probably more important. Certainly reliant maybe on some of these types of philanthropic gifts from.
[00:19:22] Independently wealthy family foundations like this it's worth a read and it's very well written.
[00:19:28] Absolutely. I think you bring up so many questions and this article does a great job of bringing them up as well. Absolutely worth a read in the nonprofit news feed, which you can subscribe to not@nonprofitnewsfeed.com. George. That's it for the podcast
[00:19:45] Thanks, Nick.
[00:19:46] thanks, George.
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
2020 Census Undercounted Hispanic, Black, & Indigenous Communities
According to reporting from The New York Times, the 2020 United States census undercounted hard-to-reach communities and disproportionately undercounted Hispanic, Black, and Indigenous Americans. The count was affected not only by the logistical hurdle of counting during the height of the pandemic but also due to attempted political interference by the Trump administration. While experts note that “historically, undercounted populations that are harder to reach through surveys, phone calls and door-to-door canvassing, including Native Americans on reservations, poor urban communities and undocumented immigrants,” the undercount could still affect the political clout of traditionally underserved communities.
Read more ➝
Analysis Shows Russian Oligarchs Gave Millions To U.S. Nonprofits, Museums, Universities
An analysis conducted by the Washington Post shows that Russian oligarchs (loosely referring to Russia’s wealthiest elite, who are often accused of corruption and criminality) have given millions to U.S.-based philanthropic organizations. Wealthy oligarchs close to the Russian government have given millions to organizations like The Guggenheim Museum, MIT, The Kennedy Center, The Clinton Foundation, and the Museum of Modern Art. International sanctions have centered many organizations in the complicated narrative about how to crack down on Russian financial influence in the West.
Read more ➝
Summary
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
As Ukrainian Refugee Crisis Becomes Historic In Size, Elements of Media Coverage Criticized For Ahistoric Framing
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent war enters its second week, the size and scope of the refugee crisis has spiraled into a full-scale disaster of historic proportion. The humanitarian situation in Ukraine has grown dire as reports of the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure have grown into nearly indisputable evidence of war crimes. However, certain media outlets’ framing of the conflict in juxtaposition to the Middle East has raised eyebrows and drawn criticism for “normalizing” violence in non-Western countries. Additionally, while the generosity of European countries taking in refugees should be lauded, international observers have criticized reports that suggest discrimination of ethnic minorities and non-Ukrainian nationals at border crossings.
Read more ➝
Crypto-Donations To Ukraine Surpass $80 Million
As the world watches in horror at the atrocities and suffering in Ukraine, cryptocurrency donations have topped over $80 million, according to Yahoo News. Approximately $44 million of those dollars have gone directly to the Ukrainian government. Interestingly, the report finds that donors are more willing to give to established organizations and entities like the Ukrainian government and organizations like the Come Back Alive foundation as opposed to DAOs. Ethereum was the most donated currency, topping Bitcoin.
Read more ➝
Summary
Tuesday Mar 01, 2022
Tuesday Mar 01, 2022
Russia Invades Ukraine, Triggers Full Scale War & Humanitarian Catastrophe
Early Thursday morning, Russian ground troops launched an all-out war against Ukraine, with the assumed intention of overtaking the entire country and overthrowing its government. Here are 5 key takeaways from the NGO and humanitarian perspective:
- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees now estimates half a million Ukrainian refugees have entered neighboring countries, especially Poland, Hungary, & Romania.
- According to the Ukrainian military, hundreds of Ukrainians, including civilians, have been killed. Calls have been made to gather evidence of war crimes to be presented to the International Criminal Court.
- Doctors Without Borders, known for often being the first to arrive and last to leave during the conflict, announced they were forced to “halt [their] activities” in Ukraine
- Patreon Suspends Ukrainian NGO Come Back Alive For 'Funding Military Activity'
- The World Food Programme estimates that 50% of its grain comes from Ukraine and Russia, and warns that war could impact global food security.
Social Media Facilitates Global Outrage, Large-Scale Grassroots Mobilization
Condemnation of Putin’s actions have united the western world with a cohesiveness not seen in decades. Global protests and grassroots humanitarian action are being broadcast to the world via social media. Here are 5 key takeaways from the global perspective:
- The world erupted in emphatic protest against Putin’s actions and in support of Ukrainians. From Madrid to Berlin to New York to London, protestors chanted colorful slogans that had blown up on social media that show the spirit of Ukrainian resolve.
- A grassroots humanitarian mobilization effort has begun in Eastern Europe to support the now estimated half a million refugees. Efforts are underway in Poland, Romania, and Hungary. Even in the Czech Republic, which doesn’t border Ukraine, volunteers are being asked to drive to the Polish border to assist.
- The Ukrainian diaspora community have used social media to consolidate ways to help contribute to solidarity as well as donate to local organizations.
- Ukraine's Twitter account messaged out their Crypto wallet addresses and have received nearly $15M in contributions.
- Russia has been trying to stamp out unofficial narratives of the war by blocking and or slowing major social media platforms. Major U.S.-based social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube have prohibited Russian state-owned media outlets including RT from advertising.
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022
Isabelle Brauer, Fundraising Manager at Whole Whale shares a few insights from the newest Whole Whale University Nonprofit Fundraising course.
You can’t automate empathy, but you CAN automate a thank you. We all care about our donors but sometimes get lost juggling the ‘human touch’ of nurturing leads and manually completing tasks on time. Creating and sustaining a robust supporter base is one of the most important things your team can do to support your organization, but building relationships with donors often involves time-consuming repetitive tasks.
One of the most significant sources of nonprofit professional pride is also one of the greatest difficulties: one person is doing the work of 3 people! Recent research states 86% of fundraisers believe technology can automate manual tasks that divert them from their most important task: Raising critical funds to support key programming.
Ready to spend more of your time relationship-building and less time on repetitive, tedious tasks? Join Whole Whale Fundraising Manager Isabelle Brauer as she shares 7 automated tactics – from easy to hard to execute – nurture leads to donors.
Tuesday Feb 15, 2022
Tuesday Feb 15, 2022
Weekly news for the nonprofit sector.
Nonprofits & NGOs Prepare As The Russia <> Ukraine Standoff Becomes Dire
As the situation in Ukraine deteriorates, the nonprofit organization Project Dynamo has announced it is preparing for the potential emergency evacuation of Americans from Ukraine. The organization, initially formed to aid in the evacuation from Afghanistan, is just one of many civil society and NGO organization focused on preparing for the fallout of a potential war. The Russian military has approximately 140,000 troops surrounding Ukraine on all but its western border. On Friday, the U.S. government advised all American citizens to leave the country within 48 hours. While official intelligence publicly referenced by the U.S. notes that an invasion is not certain, that intelligence has assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has assembled the necessary military force to launch an attack should he chose to do so.
Read more ➝
The Great U.S. Volunteer Shortage & CEO Transition at VolunteerMatch
Greg Baldwin, CEO and President of VolunteerMatch, says that the number of open nonprofit volunteer opening positions needed has increased to approximately 10.5 million at the beginning of 2022. This represents a jump of nearly 2 million open positions since before the pandemic, which saw a need for 8.5 million volunteers. Macro trends related to the shifting impact of the pandemic have resulted in a shortage of volunteers felt by nonprofits large and small across the country. Baldwin joins Whole Whale (the publisher of this newsletter) CEO George Weiner to discuss this volunteer shortage as well as VolunteerMatch’s process for finding a replacement CEO after his scheduled departure.
Read more ➝
Summary:
- Eminem takes a knee during the Super Bowl halftime show | wbur.org
- How the National Butterfly Center Became the Center of Online Lies | nytimes.com
- For the first time in its history, Facebook is in decline. Has the tech giant begun to crumble? | the Guardian
- Salary competition adds to staffing challenges for nonprofits | MiBiz: West Michigan Business News
Wednesday Feb 09, 2022
Wednesday Feb 09, 2022
Greg Baldwin CEO and President talks about the current needs for volunteers across the VolunteerMatch network. What are the macro factors causing the return to normal volunteering behaviors and what can nonprofits do?
Greg also discusses the CEO transition and how the organization is approaching finding his replacement.
"Volunteer Demand has rebounded to over 10M but volunteers are in shortage"
VolunteerMatch is the most effective way to recruit highly qualified volunteers for your nonprofit. We match you with people who are passionate about and committed to your cause, and who can help when and where you need them.
And because volunteers are often donors as well, we make it easy for them to contribute their time and money.
The Topline numbers from VolunteerMatch
- 8.5 Million were needed pre-COVID
- 4.35 Million were needed in 2021 Jan
- The number is now 10.5 Million open opportunities starting 2022
About Greg Baldwin
Greg Baldwin is the CEO at VolunteerMatch. He joined what is now VolunteerMatch in the spring of 1998 as its Chief Imagination Officer to finish hot-wiring the Internet to help everybody find a great place to volunteer. Today, VolunteerMatch is the web's largest volunteer engagement network strengthening communities and organizations across the country by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect. Greg completed his undergraduate studies at Brown University in 1990 with a degree in Public Policy. He is a life-long volunteer and currently lives in the Bay Area with his wife Kathryn and kids Ellie and Matt.
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Weekly nonprofit news summary from hundreds of sources.
Crisis Text Line Ends Data-Sharing Relationship With For-Profit Entity
As reported by Politico and other outlets, Crisis Text Line has ended its data sharing relationship with for-profit spin-off organization Loris.ai, which uses data to inform customer service software. Crisis Text Line, which uses a text-based approach to provide crisis support to those contemplating self-harm or suicide, stated that while “the data is handled securely, anonymized and scrubbed of personally identifiable information,” “we have ended our data-sharing relationship with Loris.” The change came amid criticism from privacy experts and lawmakers including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Crisis Text Line is a former client of Whole Whale, the publisher of this newsletter.
Read more ➝
GoFundMe At Center Of International Dispute Over Funds To Anti-Vaccine Mandate Trucker Protests
As anti-Vaccine mandate protests led by truckers have forced Ottowa to declare a state of emergency, GoFundMe finds itself at the center of a complicated dispute over individual contributions to the protest movement. As reported by the Washington Post, the fundraiser for the convey had generated over $8 million in funds, of which $1 million had been distributed. After determining with local police that “previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation,” the company announced they would no longer distribute the remaining funds. The move drew ire from conservative lawmakers on both sides of the border and raises complicated questions about the role of decentralized fundraising with regards to disruptive protest movements.
Read more ➝
Summary
- Tribes Reach $590 Million Opioid Settlement With Johnson & Johnson | NY Times
- Cryptocurrency users are creating “decentralized autonomous organizations” that function as nonprofits |
Philanthropy Daily - The Jed Foundation Receives $15 Million Gift from MacKenzie Scott | businesswire.com
- Melinda French Gates No Longer Pledges Bulk of Her Wealth to Gates Foundation |
WSJ - Nonprofit uses Super Bowl parties as way to help homeless | Santa Monica Daily Press