Yesterday at BlogWorld in Los Angeles, I had the awesome privilege of working with Stacey Monk (founder of Epic Change) and Danielle Brigida (Social media Einstein at NWF) on a panel about ways orgs can be more successful with social media.

The session went very well, but it was the ending that left everyone speechless and/or in tears.

From Tanzania to Los Angeles

Stacey invited Mama Lucy, Gideon and Leah from the Shepherds Junior in Tanzania (an Epic Change project) to share their hopes and dreams with the attendees.

• Mama Lucy shared why building a school with love is way more powerful than building a school to help “poor sick kids”.
• Gideon (on my left) wants to be an astronaut (and rocks at Angry Birds).
• Leah (on my right) wants to be a pediatrician and the first female president of Tanzania.

When I heard them speak, I couldn’t help but feel that they will achieve those dreams. Dreams that I’m part of!

Epic Change creates genuine connections for all their people

I have been an avid supporter of Epic Change precisely because their cause is personal to me:

• As a dad I naturally have a passion for supporting kids (I’m also a huge Kids Are Heroes fan).
• Stacey’s story has been an infinite source of personal inspiration.
• They always tell me I’ve made a difference for these kids.

Epic Change use social media to nurture connections

Epic Change makes every effort to connect me directly with Mama Lucy and her students with social media. And now meeting them (pictured above) was a dream come true!

Here are two examples of how Epic Change uses YouTube to connect supporters to their work:

How do you connect your people?

Following an exchange I had with my friend Manny who I blogged about last year. He’s launched another round of the Big Blue Test, a diabetes awareness and fundraising campaign and naturally I was curious to see how things have progressed between last year and now.

For those who don’t know, what is the Big Blue Test?

Manny: The Big Blue Test is a diabetes awareness program we started in 2009 to encourage exercise in managing diabetes. This year, every time someone participates in the Big Blue Test and shares the experience on BigBlueTest.org, a donation of life-saving supplies will be made on his or her behalf to someone in need. The campaign takes place every November, leading up to World Diabetes Day – November 14.

How successful was the Big Blue Test last year?

Manny: Very successful – and we learned a ton. In 2010, over 120,000 people watched the Big Blue Test video. The video views triggered a $75,000 donation from Roche Diabetes Care for humanitarian diabetes charities. We were ecstatic about the viral movement of the video. But we thought there was an opportunity to make the Big Blue Test program itself as successful.

How is the Big Blue Test different this year?

Manny: This year, we’re tying the donation to doing the Big Blue Test; not watching the video. So it will take people a bit more effort (14 to 20 minutes of exercise, to be more precise) and sharing their experience on BigBlueTest.org for the donation to be activated.

In 2011, the total donation from Roche will be split between Life For a Child (one of the two programs that received the donation last year) and five US-based charities that run programs in underserved or rural areas with a very high incidence or risk of diabetes. We estimate up to 8,000 people will benefit from the donations that will be made.

When you combine all these elements, the Big Blue Test message this year is this:

“When 8,000 people with diabetes do the Big Blue Test, 8,000 people in need will get access to insulin and other life saving diabetes supplies. Do the Big Blue Test: help yourself, help others!”

In the above photo, you see Fatima. She lives with type 1 diabetes and she will do the Big Blue Test.

So is this campaign only for folks with diabetes?

Manny: Diabetes is everywhere. One of the odd things about the disease is its invisibility, until complications occur, and the isolation people feel who are living with it – any form of it. What we want to do with the Big Blue Test is to bring awareness – not only to the value of exercise in living day-to-day with the disease, but to bring people with diabetes together. Participating in the Big Blue Test as individuals collectively changes the lives of others with diabetes. Do something for yourself – do something for others. Unite the community.

What does exercise do for people with diabetes?

Manny: In the last two years, just 14 minutes of exercise decreased participants’ blood sugar level between 15 and 20 percent. This is why exercise is such an important component of diabetes management.

How did you select the charities that would receive the Big Blue Test grants?

Manny: Earlier this year we assembled a volunteer fundraising committee of professionals in various roles related to nonprofits. One of our committee members suggested Diabetes Hands Foundation put out an RFP for local (US) charities impacting people with diabetes.

We shared this RFP with the Diabetes Programs in all 50 US states and received nearly 80 applications. We picked five nonprofit organizations running programs with small budget, focused on helping underserved areas with a high incidence/risk of diabetes.

The five US groups that will receive a Big Blue Test grant are: LIFT For Teens/Walk and Play For Wellness (San Rafael, CA); Pecos Valley Medical Center, Inc. (Pecos NM); St. Anthony Medical Clinic (San Francisco, CA); and rural clinics operated by the Schools of Pharmacy at University of Colorado, Denver and Auburn University, in Alabama.

In the case of the Auburn University group, they are directly serving people that were affected by the tornado that devastated parts of western Alabama in late April 2011. You can see some of the people that will benefit from the Big Blue Test grant on this photo. In spite of the time that has passed, the devastation is still very much there.

We need the support of the diabetes community to make this happen! We need at least 8,000 people to DO the Big Blue Test, and each of these groups will receive $10,000 to help people with diabetes in need.

Spread the word about the Big Blue Test!

501 Mission Place, an online community for nonprofit leaders, was born as a conversation between close friends. Now, almost a year later, that conversation has continued each week, focusing on the following questions:

• What do nonprofit leaders really need to fulfill their missions?
• How can we (Rob, Mac and I) provide a an even more venue for collaboration with other nonprofit leaders?
• How can we all be happy in the process?

Seeking to answer these questions, we have revamped what 501 Mission Place provides (and added a fresh coat of paint in the process). Check out what’s new at 501 Mission Place.

On a Tuesday afternoon after several conference calls, I glanced at my twitter feed and saw this:

And so began a journey fueled by Twitter and Facebook that allowed us at REACH a Child to ship 2 pallets of children’s books to Joplin, MO.

We had to take action now!

After seeing that tweet and realizing the true magnitude of the devastation caused by a tornado that tore through Joplin, MO on Sunday May 22nd, I quickly realized that REACH a Child needed to send books.

After a series of tweets with people trying to organize assistance for Joplin residents, it seemed we would have two complications in delivering books:

1. First would be the freight to Joplin and this was easy to remedy.
2. Second complication was how to find a local individual to accept the freight and then distribute them to kids throughout Joplin.

Crowdsourcing volunteers on Twitter and Facebook

Just a few tweets later, @SheilaGunlock offered to use her company vehicles to deliver them and had a warehouse that could easily accept the freight.

I put out an appeal for volunteers to help us pack boxes of books on Twitter and Facebook and by the next day more than a dozen people packing up books for the children of Joplin.

Through volunteers, the generous contributions of freight transportation and the local media that helped spread the word we are able provide a little reprieve; allowing these families to have a moment of normalcy, reading with each other and spending time together as the begin to rebuild.

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Like Reach A Child on Facebook and follow Reach A Child on Twitter.

When most businesses and non-profits start using social media, they start with “small talk” with their communities. They politely reply to tweets, express appreciation to donors, respond as quickly as possible to customer support issues, and generally try to add value to their network.

But all to often, they fail to move beyond the “small talk” and create meaningful discussions that their communities are dying to have.

Then, after a few months pass, they express some level of disillusionment about the value of social media for their business, and eventually retreat to passive monitoring and pleasant tweeting with current fans. Meanwhile, the board members wonder why being nice wasn’t enough.

Engaged conversations

My customers are often surprised when I first ask them: “So, what are you going to talk about with your customers?”.

They’ve spent resources building up their profiles and blogs, and have spent a few weeks tweeting and replying to comments. But when I ask this question, they get a little confused. “Well… we’re responding to comments and answering questions that folks have on Twitter. We think we’re being responsive and engaged. Aren’t we?”

More than small talk

I’m seeing organizations starting to understand that there’s more to engagement than simply talking. And that when folks are truly engaged, the community blows the bugel, not the company.

The American Cancer society has a great conversation strategy. They’ve created an entire community around achieving victory over cancer by talking about “creating a world with more birthdays.” These conversations are both engaging and meaningful because they touch on a basic desire we all have: To celebrate a happy life.

Share Our Strength has one of the most passionate communities I’ve met. They care profoundly about the stake that they’ve planted deeply in the ground: End childhood hunger by 2015. This mission is immediate, heartfelt and simply stated. It’s the prime point of their conversation strategy.

Epic Change is about to make history by talking about gratitude – not about their organization and why you should donate.

Creating a conversation strategy

Here are a few thoughts on how folks can create a conversation strategy. Please (and I do mean please) add your ideas in the comments.

• Understand why they buy. The real reason. The one that has nothing to do with price or product. I have an iPod because it makes me look cool and work smarter.
• Understand why they tell their friends. I’ve been telling all my friends about @foursquare because I want to be the first.
• Know what’s engaging the customers of your competition. Is there something they’re saying that’s not being heard?
• Talk to your employees. Beyond the paycheck and benefits – what’s the real reason they show up everyday at 8:30AM?
• Talk face to face. Have coffee with some of your customers. Get to know their whole lives, not just the pain points you address with your product.
• Listen. “It is so crucial to engaged conversations and so easily overlooked in our active, talk-focused society.” – Bonnie Koenig
• Polarize. Can you sincerely talk about your beliefs to an extreme? Think Greenpeace and the GOP.
• Use your divining rod. Find bloggers who are already passionate about that you do. How are they talking about it? How engaged are their readers?
• Plan. Talk often with staff about the business. Listen to each other. Map out why these conversations matter and how you’ll start talking.
• Be sincere. People can tell if you’re real. Make sincerity a key element in your strategy. And if it turns out that you can’t sincerely have conversations in a particular way, move on. Trashing a half-hearted conversation plan will save everyone headaches.

What else?

The sprouted seeds that create most non-profits are often powerful and personal stories. Stories that can revive a bored board meeting or fuel a fundraising event. They can be told with pictures, videos, or blog posts.

But sometimes they need to be told face to face.

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a meetup in Florida with Patience Salgado, Sanjay Patel, Liz Rosas, Shannon Aronin, Danny Brown, Stacey Monk, Jen Lemen, Vince Hunt, Charles McKeever, Avi Kaplan, Kira Siddall. Without getting into the details, the main point of this meeting was to deepen our connections with each other. We did this by sharing our stories and dreams.

I interviewed Stacey Monk a few months ago, so I was familiar with the Epic Change mission and their success with Tweetsgiving. But I wanted to hear the personal back story. I wanted to hear the “why”.

So when I had a minute alone with her, I asked: “Why did you start Epic Change?”

What followed was an exchange that helped me renew my own personal dreams and resolutions – my “whys”.

Six and a half years ago, Stacey’s brother died from a drug overdose, devastating his family and leaving behind his 4-year old daughter, Zoe. The morning of his death, Stacey went through photographs in her mind, including one of a double rainbow she snapped while flying over the Rocky Mountains.

Stacey remembered thinking how sad it was that her brother never had a chance to see such beauty. Five years after his death, she reflected “I think I travel so much now because I want to take him to all those amazing places that he missed. People often ask me why I went to Africa. I think I went to take Josh.”

Stacey realized that life is short, but the value left after one’s death is forever. A couple of year later, Epic Change was born.

I shared with Stacey my story as well, which I’ve shared throughout my blog. And in my heart, I renewed my resolution a behalf of my mom.

Do you think Epic Change has new meaning for me?

I used to think Epic Change was about making lasting, positive change in the world. But now I know that it’s much more than that. Epic Change is really about the change the Stacey made in her life – an individual human revolution as a result of tragedy. It’s about the epic changes I’ve made and will continue to make in my life. It’s about the epic change in your life too.

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One more question: Do you think I’m more committed than ever to see Epic Change succeed?

That’s why we need to share our story.

Following is an interview with Jeff Wiedner at Share Our Strength, who work to end hunger and poverty in the United States.

Based on your experience, what are the most important “building blocks” of social media fundraising strategy?

“When we began to ramp up our social media efforts, we got a great kick start from Scott Henderson (@Mediasauce) with the Pledge to End Hunger campaign and then from Danny Brown with #12for12k. They were very different approaches to campaigns, but I learned that you really need good relationships to make fundraising work in social media. In both instances, the strength of the networks drove the strength of the fundraising.”

“Based on that, we found the best approach to be focusing on relationships first, build conversations and connect with folks 90% of the time and only ask 10% of the time. Folks tune you out fast if you always have your hand out. So, we provide information about the issue, post news articles to build conversation, and help people understand the scope of the issue. We also help other organizations out as much as possible. There are a lot of great groups making a difference against hunger and doing cool stuff. So we try to help them get their messages out and share ideas and “lessons learned” from our experiences so they don’t have to take the same lumps we did.”

What impact has Twitter and Facebook had on your fundraising?

“We have a wide variety of fundraising platforms to engage our different constituents. They range from individual grassroots fundraising activities to culinary tasting events to engaging the restaurant community. But most of them are either completely offline or have an offline component. We’re finding that social media is allowing us to connect and support these fundraising efforts better than ever.”

“Facebook has been helpful for letting our folks have a “badge” that they’re supporting our mission. This helps get the word out about our organization to new audiences. Our fan page has also become a bit of a bulletin board, where folks can tell us what they’re doing and folks can give them some love for their efforts. We also use the Facebook events quite extensively to help fans find events in their area. But in terms of actually raising dollars, tools such as FB Causes have been nice, but we’re not see much usage by our folks so it hasn’t been a big focus for us.”

“Twitter has been especially important for us in our campaigning. We’ve tried various fundraisers through it, but it’s been more effective for outreach than anything else. Many people we engage with on Twitter have blogs and  like talking about our mission. These bloggers have helped us build targeted exposure for our offline events through their blog posts. But to raise funds, we’ve had more success engaging bloggers in using a ChipIn widget on their site to raise funds and have begun to promote that more than Causes.”

How do you stay passionate about Share Our Strength?

“My two personal “hot buttons” are kids and the environment. I’ve been actively involved in both areas for a long time. So helping kids get the food they need is a no-brainer for me. But a big driver for staying energized is that Share Our Strength is very entrepreneurial. There’s a lot of opportunity to experiment and folks are open to creative ideas. So there’s internal support for trying new things, experimenting and finding new ways to get our message out. It is really exciting to have that support and enthusiasm from the top.”

Thanks, Jeff!

More info about Share Our Strenth:

Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Obviously your organization is a local Chapter of one of the largest non-profits in the United States. How do you use social media to create awareness, fundraise and connect with donors locally?

We always use the line “this is YOUR Red Cross” to give people a sense of local ownership. Most of our stories posted revolve around what the local Chapter is doing and how we’re affecting the lives of friends and neighbors in Santa Barbara County. We are also big on providing pictures of what we’re doing – it gives people the opportunity to not just hear, but to also “touch” what we do everyday in their community.

It’s important for a Chapter to balance messaging for National projects or disasters with their own area. A great way to do this is through the stories of local volunteers who respond to National disasters. We can take these stories and share them with our local audience. It shows followers that the people in their community are talented enough to be responding to National disasters, so if anything happens at home, the best of the best will be responding. It’s a great way to blend the programs.

How does Givezooks help with those efforts?

I believe one of the greatest attributes of Givezooks is the grassroots fundraising tool. People now have an opportunity to not just give to the Red Cross, but to tell their friends, family, and colleagues what the Red Cross means to them – especially if their lives have been touched by our services. There is nothing more powerful than hearing a personal story. I think it helps that Givezooks is a local company helping local nonprofits. Santa Barbara County is extremely supportive of local business.

How do you unify that approach with the social media campaigns run by the National Red Cross?

Social media programs at the Chapter level and National level work incredibly well together. When there is a local disaster – which Santa Barbara County just experienced in May – National will post through their networks how people can get information via social media tools hosted by the Chapter. The same goes for the Chapters, if there is a national disaster, we will give updates and point people to follow the National accounts.

Thanks, Kristiana!

I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Gabe O’Neill of Kids Are Heroes a couple of weeks ago and was completely blown away by two things:

1. His unwavering sense of mission.
2. He uses only Twitter for social media actions.

Kids Are Heroes recently won the competition for Richard Branson’s first ever PitchTV show! In this video, I talk about my meeting with Gabe and the four success factors that contributed to his success:

1. Solid Sense Of Mission
2. Remarkable Content
3. Be Active With Social Media
4. A Reason To Fight

Follow Gabe on Twitter and watch Kids Are Heroes on YouTube.