Chapter 5 struck a alot of familiar chords with me, particularly in regards to our current projects promoting awareness about Safe Harbor. Developing relationships with professional and citizen journalists (on the web and in person - page 58) is stressed as being crucial to the success of a developing organization. This summer I was an intern for the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce in Seneca, SC. I was responsible for sending out press releases to a slew of local papers, including the local paper in Seneca. Due to my regular contact with these individuals, I began professional relationships with them that were incredibly beneficial to my completion of various tasks and projects with the Chamber. Today, I sent a press release to my contact, Brett, at the Seneca paper, and he was more than happy to help. I was also able to get in touch with several other contacts from my media list with the intership, and several of them also agreed to run the release. This will aid in our goal of spreading awareness not only to Clemson University students, but also to the surrounding communities. What's more, builidng rapport with local media figures can also lead to additonal connections which may further spread awareness about our client, Safe Harbor.
When my classmates and I were first instructed to research our client, I feel confident that many of us turned to a major search engine such as Google to provide us with information regarding domestic violence statistics and the like. Chapter 5 discusses the impact off the internet on nonprofits in that the majority of information regarding these organizations can be found online in the form of websites, social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, and blogs. Safe Harbor has all of these things. Aside from having an incredible impact on individuals' daily lives, the internet is also re-shaping the role of journalism in society. Information comes at a more rapid rate, and news is delivered almost instantaneously. Twitter is now being used by major corporations as a news reel constantly providing and updating information for consumers. I found this article on PR Daily and I found it really interesting. It discusses Google's new position as the third-largest social network, and what this status means for the future images of corporations around the world.
Check it out:
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/9627.aspx
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Valuable Info Strikes Home
I found the information provided in the readings (chapters 3 and 4 in SCfN) to be incredibly useful and relevant to the goals we as a class are trying to accomplish. Chapter 3 discusses conducting research and reaching target audiences. In regards to our client, Safe Harbor, I think it would be very beneficial to employ the idea of thinking up segments or "clusters" (page 36) to more accurately determine our audiences. Different groups of people have different agendas, and we need to work on reaching all of those dynamics in order to raise awareness about our client and succeed in our goals. In particular, we want to reach full-time college students. This is a dynamic of individuals who has little to no awareness about the ugly truths of domestic violence-not to mention they make up the majority of the population in Clemson-so they are an ideal candidate.
The information pertaining to qualitative and quantitative research struck a familiar cord with me because I am currently taking a qualitative research methods class. I always find it interesting when materials from my different classes overlap.. learning the information is easier if I can see it in action in various settings in life. One of the main facets of qualitative research is polling or interviewing individuals so that conclusions about a topic can be drawn from the data. One of the other types of research listed was online research, which we all do on a daily basis. In fact, we as a class employed online research for our first blog post regarding statistics about domestic violence in our state and country. It may even serve us well to get to know our client better through the use of some of these research tactics.
The values that people hold near and dear to their hearts is something that we need to explore in order to more effectively reach our target audiences. Obviously, our client is one that already utilizes an emotional appeal to reach out to the public for support. However, the individuals who lack awareness about domestic violence also have personal values that need to be discussed. Page 46 of the text lists primary and secondary values that people hold. These values influence beliefs that they may have, and decisions that they may make. I found it interesting that most of these values can potentially tie in with the mission of our client, Safe Harbor. Some of these may include responsibility to care for others, honesty and integrity, fairness and equality, and personal liberty. If we appeal to the values of Clemson students, we should be able to successfully pull off whatever projects we decide on.
At the same time, we want to make sure that we don't make our projects seem too outlandish so that our audiences don't experience the "glazed over" effect (page 50). We need to concentrate on making our audience feel like they CAN help us accomplish our goals, and that the projects themselves aren't too overwhelming. I feel like many large nonprofit organizations experience this at one point or another, particularly when dealing with a problem that is unpleasant or uncomfortable for the public to talk about (such as domestic violence, rape, etc.).
I found this public service announcement on YouTube.. It's graphic but I think it definitely pertains to the emotional appeals we need to reach with our audiences.
The information pertaining to qualitative and quantitative research struck a familiar cord with me because I am currently taking a qualitative research methods class. I always find it interesting when materials from my different classes overlap.. learning the information is easier if I can see it in action in various settings in life. One of the main facets of qualitative research is polling or interviewing individuals so that conclusions about a topic can be drawn from the data. One of the other types of research listed was online research, which we all do on a daily basis. In fact, we as a class employed online research for our first blog post regarding statistics about domestic violence in our state and country. It may even serve us well to get to know our client better through the use of some of these research tactics.
The values that people hold near and dear to their hearts is something that we need to explore in order to more effectively reach our target audiences. Obviously, our client is one that already utilizes an emotional appeal to reach out to the public for support. However, the individuals who lack awareness about domestic violence also have personal values that need to be discussed. Page 46 of the text lists primary and secondary values that people hold. These values influence beliefs that they may have, and decisions that they may make. I found it interesting that most of these values can potentially tie in with the mission of our client, Safe Harbor. Some of these may include responsibility to care for others, honesty and integrity, fairness and equality, and personal liberty. If we appeal to the values of Clemson students, we should be able to successfully pull off whatever projects we decide on.
At the same time, we want to make sure that we don't make our projects seem too outlandish so that our audiences don't experience the "glazed over" effect (page 50). We need to concentrate on making our audience feel like they CAN help us accomplish our goals, and that the projects themselves aren't too overwhelming. I feel like many large nonprofit organizations experience this at one point or another, particularly when dealing with a problem that is unpleasant or uncomfortable for the public to talk about (such as domestic violence, rape, etc.).
I found this public service announcement on YouTube.. It's graphic but I think it definitely pertains to the emotional appeals we need to reach with our audiences.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Ideas that I find Ideal
I really enjoyed reading all of the ideas posted by my fellow classmates for projects that promote Safe Harbor and domestic violence awareness.
Myself and others suggested a purple drink night in downtown Clemson that may reach out to our peers. I do still maintain that we should encourage patrons to wear purple and possibly receive a discount on their drink or food purchase(s) at establishments like the Esso Club, 356, Tiger Town Tavern, and others. I know many sororities, fraternities, and other campus groups utilize this idea often for philanthropy purposes and it seems to be successful.
Another idea that I thought would be awesome was the one posed that we encourage a purple out in favor of promoting the color that represents domestic violence awarenss for the month of October. This might be a bit tricky to pull off and would require us to start planning immediately, especially since September is already halfway over. We would need to speak with coaches or other people of authority in the athletic department. We could also talk to sorotities and fraternities who are pomping floats for the halftime show and encourage them to include the color purple, a purple ribbon, etc. to raise further awareness. This would reach out not only to Clemson students, but also everyone else at the game (and as we all know, attendees come from all over).
Finally, making progressive moves to re-vamp Safe Harbor's Facebook and Twitter pages is a crucial project we need to take on, and soon! These would be fantastic tools to raise awareness in the form of event invitations, sharing pictures from events, or providing statistics and facts about domestic violence. We must realize that we would reach not only our Clemson network, but addionally networks around the country. We have students from all over the globe. If their friends in their network see what we post or what is re-posted, upcoming events, etc., the awareness raised would be substantial. Additionally, these social media tools would allow us to be more ogranized as a group when tackling these projects for our client Safe Harbor.
Myself and others suggested a purple drink night in downtown Clemson that may reach out to our peers. I do still maintain that we should encourage patrons to wear purple and possibly receive a discount on their drink or food purchase(s) at establishments like the Esso Club, 356, Tiger Town Tavern, and others. I know many sororities, fraternities, and other campus groups utilize this idea often for philanthropy purposes and it seems to be successful.
Another idea that I thought would be awesome was the one posed that we encourage a purple out in favor of promoting the color that represents domestic violence awarenss for the month of October. This might be a bit tricky to pull off and would require us to start planning immediately, especially since September is already halfway over. We would need to speak with coaches or other people of authority in the athletic department. We could also talk to sorotities and fraternities who are pomping floats for the halftime show and encourage them to include the color purple, a purple ribbon, etc. to raise further awareness. This would reach out not only to Clemson students, but also everyone else at the game (and as we all know, attendees come from all over).
Finally, making progressive moves to re-vamp Safe Harbor's Facebook and Twitter pages is a crucial project we need to take on, and soon! These would be fantastic tools to raise awareness in the form of event invitations, sharing pictures from events, or providing statistics and facts about domestic violence. We must realize that we would reach not only our Clemson network, but addionally networks around the country. We have students from all over the globe. If their friends in their network see what we post or what is re-posted, upcoming events, etc., the awareness raised would be substantial. Additionally, these social media tools would allow us to be more ogranized as a group when tackling these projects for our client Safe Harbor.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Chapter 1: SCfN
Prior to reading the first chapter of Strategic Communication for Nonprofits, I really had little to no knowledge about the details of what makes up a nonprofit organization. However, I feel that the reading provided a lot of helpful information that will come in handy when dealing with our client, Safe Harbor.
Having a strong familiarity and relationship with the media-as we also see in our other textbook, The Networked Nonprofit-is crucial to working with a nonprofit organization. With this strong relationship comes positive media exposure in a way that is helpful when promoting events, fundraisers, or raising awareness to the community about your cause. In my work with the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce this summer, we had great relationships with our local radio stations and newspapers. This allowed us to have (usually free) promotion of business after hours, ribbon cuttings, or other Chamber-sponsored events.
Additionally, making sure that you are aware of your audience is also a major key to success when working with or for a nonprofit. The text says that strategic communication is typically more effective with nonprofit organizations than those working for profit. This is partially due to the fact that nonprofit organizations are mostly about making our society a better place, working to find a cure for a disease, or aiding those in need. They are looked highly upon for their good work in communities, despite those individuals’ lack of profit for their work.
In terms of collaborative relationship mentioned in the book, I feel that we will be utilizing this term quite a bit this semester. With many of the ideas I have seen my classmates discuss in their blog entries, most of them include working with other groups. These may include Greek organizations, local restaurants and bars, and other campus organizations. Having relationships with these people will also aid in our success to helping spread awareness about domestic violence, as well as gain support for our client, Safe Harbor.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Safe Harbor Visit and Project Ideas
Visiting Safe Harbor was a very interesting experience for me. There were things I expected and things that I did not expect at all. My first reaction to the location of the shelter was one of surprise. I guess I was assuming-given the top secret nature of the shelter's whereabouts-that it would not be located in downtown Greenville. In fact, I was anticipating the shelter to be out in the country and not off of a main road. However, when I thought about it later, maybe there is a method to choosing that location. From what I gathered from my fellow classmates, they were predicting the same thing as I was initially. I was also expecting to see much more graphic evidence of domestic violence on the victims staying in the house. While I'm sure they are going through alot of personal issues that I cannot even begin to imagine, the atmosphere of the house was not nearly as depressing as I thought it might be. Instead, it was a very warm, welcoming place and I believe most visitors feel at home there.
Julie Meredith seems like a very sweet, compassionate person who thoroughly cares about the victims of domestic violence that stay at Safe Harbor. I think she will be a fun client to work with. The main thing that I took away from our Q&A session was that she wants to make progressive moves towards raising awareness about domestic violence in the upstate. Since education equals awareness, it seems crucial that there should be some kind of educational materials created that could reach out to various groups of people. Julie also stressed the importance of reaching out to the college-age crowd. She also made it obvious that she wants us to reach out and be the key educators about domestic violence for our peers.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The outline of events that Safe Harbor has created featured a pretty impressive lineup. I really like the idea of various restaurants featuring nights dedicated to awareness, and donating a portion of their proceeds to the cause. To reach out to a more college-age crowd, I think it would be cool if restaurants or bars specific to Clemson could participate. For example, The Esso Club (or another local Clemson restaurant) could sponsor a night in which all patrons wearing purple (the color for domestic violence awareness) could receive a discount on their purchase. Additionally, bars downtown could feature limited time specials on a purple drink that they created or also offer specials to those wearing purple. Of course there would also be promotional items set up in the facility for patrons to see. Most people are unaware that purple is the color for domestic violence awareness, so offering an event like this could raise a large amont of awareness amongst participants. We could use these promotional events in restaurants/bars to fund the next idea....
Last year, Clemson Football coaches promoted a "purple out" for one of our home games, and everyone was encouraged to deck themselves in purple to raise school spirit. Last week, many of us suggested that we discuss this idea with the coaches again, and take time during the halftime show to make an announcement about Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The announcer could even provide information regarding donations or volunteer opportunities with Safe Harbor. Additionally, we could work with Tiger Town Graphics (or another company like it) to have t-shirts promoting the "purple out" game and awareness about domestic violence to sell to students and faculty, with the proceeds going towards Safe Harbor. I think this might be a good idea, considering how much college kids love t-shirts. For this project to be most effective, I believe we should shoot for a home game in October, which gives us the option of the Boston College game on October 8 (could be problematic because this is also homecoming), or the UNC game on October 22 (could be ideal because it gives us more time to plan and we still be able to hit the month of October).
For both of these events, we could divide into small groups to accomlish tasks leading up to the events in question. This might cut down on the amount of time needed to carry out our plans. Ideally, we could promote events both on and off campus. High-traffic areas such as Library Bridge, Hendrix, the Union, etc. could potentially be good locations to set up a tent featuring educational infomration about domestic violence.
These are just rough-draft ideas, but I think with the right amount of planning and promotion, our class could definitely pull it off. We seem to have a great deal of enthusiasm, and with the guidance and support of Julie and the rest of the staff at Safe Harbor, we can help spread awareness about domestic violence to the Clemson area.
Julie Meredith seems like a very sweet, compassionate person who thoroughly cares about the victims of domestic violence that stay at Safe Harbor. I think she will be a fun client to work with. The main thing that I took away from our Q&A session was that she wants to make progressive moves towards raising awareness about domestic violence in the upstate. Since education equals awareness, it seems crucial that there should be some kind of educational materials created that could reach out to various groups of people. Julie also stressed the importance of reaching out to the college-age crowd. She also made it obvious that she wants us to reach out and be the key educators about domestic violence for our peers.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The outline of events that Safe Harbor has created featured a pretty impressive lineup. I really like the idea of various restaurants featuring nights dedicated to awareness, and donating a portion of their proceeds to the cause. To reach out to a more college-age crowd, I think it would be cool if restaurants or bars specific to Clemson could participate. For example, The Esso Club (or another local Clemson restaurant) could sponsor a night in which all patrons wearing purple (the color for domestic violence awareness) could receive a discount on their purchase. Additionally, bars downtown could feature limited time specials on a purple drink that they created or also offer specials to those wearing purple. Of course there would also be promotional items set up in the facility for patrons to see. Most people are unaware that purple is the color for domestic violence awareness, so offering an event like this could raise a large amont of awareness amongst participants. We could use these promotional events in restaurants/bars to fund the next idea....
Last year, Clemson Football coaches promoted a "purple out" for one of our home games, and everyone was encouraged to deck themselves in purple to raise school spirit. Last week, many of us suggested that we discuss this idea with the coaches again, and take time during the halftime show to make an announcement about Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The announcer could even provide information regarding donations or volunteer opportunities with Safe Harbor. Additionally, we could work with Tiger Town Graphics (or another company like it) to have t-shirts promoting the "purple out" game and awareness about domestic violence to sell to students and faculty, with the proceeds going towards Safe Harbor. I think this might be a good idea, considering how much college kids love t-shirts. For this project to be most effective, I believe we should shoot for a home game in October, which gives us the option of the Boston College game on October 8 (could be problematic because this is also homecoming), or the UNC game on October 22 (could be ideal because it gives us more time to plan and we still be able to hit the month of October).
For both of these events, we could divide into small groups to accomlish tasks leading up to the events in question. This might cut down on the amount of time needed to carry out our plans. Ideally, we could promote events both on and off campus. High-traffic areas such as Library Bridge, Hendrix, the Union, etc. could potentially be good locations to set up a tent featuring educational infomration about domestic violence.
These are just rough-draft ideas, but I think with the right amount of planning and promotion, our class could definitely pull it off. We seem to have a great deal of enthusiasm, and with the guidance and support of Julie and the rest of the staff at Safe Harbor, we can help spread awareness about domestic violence to the Clemson area.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)