Using the Whole Whale - A Nonprofit Podcast

090.5 CFC drops $66M - news update from America's Charities

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) reported that $101M was raised in 2017 by federal employees, this represents a 40% or $66M decline in funds raised for nonprofits. In 2009, this same program raised over $200M has steadily declined over the past years and Jim Starr, the President and CEO of America's Charities helps us understand why in this interview. America's Charities is a leader in workplace giving and have a true pulse on the details and factors that led to this drop. 

090: CERN — Doing the things a particle can with James Beacham (Live from SXSW)

Science, y'all. Olivia is (at least in podcast terms) still at SXSW 2018, talking with Dr. James Beacham, who was part of the panel Decrypting the Universe: Science and Art at CERN last month in Austin. The Higgs boson particle? The Large Hadron Collider? That's all CERN.

After answering some of the big questions like, "What artistic patterns might data inspire?" and "How do we decode nature's messages?", James sat down to answer our own questions on how he and CERN have been using digital media to answer some of these questions. If you're a science nerd (like most of us here at Whole Whale), this is the podcast for you. And if you aren't a science nerd, spend a bit of time on CERN's social media, and you will be. 

089: Lean Data with Emma Lalley and Twisha Mehta (Live from SXSW)

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. 

088: WTF with Tim O'Reilly (Live from SXSW)

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

087.5: Things We Learned from Strata Data Conference

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. 

 

 

087: Things We Learned from SXSW

In the first of 2 episodes between Chief Whaler George and Account Strategist Whaler Olivia, we talk about (taco-bout?) our recent conference adventures, beginning with Olivia's time at SXSW 2018. There were discussions on digital sanctuary, empathy, VR, blockchain, and — of course — tacos. Listen in here, and check out more high points of SXSW Interactive (including audio files from some of the talks) on our website. 

086: Using the Thank You Strategy (short)

Short podcast on the topic of how to really leverage the way you say thank you to supporters of your organization. 

085: The Testimonial Tactic (short)

Short and sweet podcast with George Weiner talking about ways to rethink the way you manage online reputation through testimonials. 

084: Totally Uncorked with Nonprofit Branding Evangelist Elaine Fogel

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.

083: Amplifying talent in the arts — on both sides of the curtain — with 21C Media Group

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?).