Paul Massey

What does it mean to be a catalyst?

I’ve been in a number of conversations recently with leaders in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector where the term “catalyst” is starting to feel like the term of the moment.  It’s not a new one, certainly, but it did get me thinking: What does it mean for an organization to be a catalyst? And, how has an explosion in social media enhanced nonprofits organizations’ ability to be a catalyst?

First, some context.  Most often, the term is used as follows: We want our organization to be a catalyst for social change.  Meaning, we want to bring resources and expertise to bear on an issue, and we want to enable and inspire others – individual advocates and allied organizations – to take action that brings about measurable impact and outcomes on a social issue. 

To deliver on this promise, organizations need to show audiences what it means to be a catalyst in practice.  They need to provide insights, data and stories about their missions, theories of change and programs, plus how they empower partners, capture lessons learned and measure success.

That’s where social media has such a powerful role to play.  Through social media, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or another platform, nonprofits that frame, and live, their work as catalysts can show how they are fulfilling that vision by providing timely, relevant and accessible content.   And they can do this far more immediately and consistently via social media than any other communications channel.  By its very nature, social media is about connectivity, giving nonprofits a platform not only to showcase their work, but to bring people together to rally around issues they care about.

In subsequent posts, I’ll be looking at great examples of organizations that leverage social media to showcase their impact, and to strengthen their standing as, you guessed it, a catalyst. 
 

Crowd sourcing innovative social change

Social Impact attended the SxSW Interactive Festival to listen and learn. We’re sharing insights from the experience on our blog.

The Crowd Sourcing Innovative Social Change panel, moderated by Beth Kanter, with Amy Sample Ward, Holly Ross, David Neff, and Kari Dunn Saratovsky covered a lot of material, including discussion of the definition of crowd sourcing and some creative examples of crowd sourcing from nonprofits including Open Green Map, Seattle Free School and Invisible People. Check out Marcia Stepanek’s blog post for a great recap of these examples.

The discussion I enjoyed most, however, focused on this question: Does crowd sourcing add value? In other words, do the ideas and input generated from the crowd contribute to a lasting outcome? Or is it, as some people have joked, an example of how organizations can get others to do their work for them? 

My take?

Crowd sourcing is appealing for a number of reasons – it surfaces new perspectives, invites people from nontraditional sources to contribute, and infuses real energy into the process of generating ideas and content.  It can also be empowering – creating opportunities and platforms for people to give voice to ideas and to contribute to social change efforts. It’s a way to build engagement and relationships with new audiences – to open up organizations.

Yet, above all, crowd sourcing only works when it’s used in service of the right outcomes. In other words, as several of the panelists noted, you can’t crowd source an organizational strategy.  (Amen.) 

Crowd sourcing works best if it:

• Focuses on a well-stated challenge
• Links to clear, well-articulated outcomes 
• Balances input from non-experts with guidance from “experts”
• Targets communities with particular perspectives or experience, rather than general crowds
• Makes clear how participating will be valuable for the crowd

Corporate responsibility: why it’s about collaboration

When it comes to corporate social responsibility, our perspective is that the most effective programs are developed in close collaboration with employees, partners and stakeholders from the nonprofit sector.

It’s a clear path to creating real value — corporations benefit from the insights of employees and nonprofit advocates, and build important relationships, while employees and nonprofits have an opportunity to help corporations scale programs and policies that lead to social change.

With that in mind, we’re proud to say that our agency was named the top corporate responsibility advisory firm by CR Magazine, a magazine for Corporate Responsibility Officers (CROs). The ranking is based on data and feedback from CROs and clients responsible for corporate responsibility. Weber Shandwick received the highest scores on every dimension of the survey.

As a Social Impact team that specializes in working with nonprofits and foundations committed to advancing social change, we’re delighted with the recognition of our agency’s track record of helping corporations build innovative sustainability and citizenship programs.

Where Do You Stand on Social Media?

At Thanksgiving last month, my 92-year-old grandfather and I had a great conversation about Twitter.  That’s right, in between catching up and eating, we talked about social media and the latest ways that people are connecting, sharing information and building and strengthening relationships.  He knows it’s a topic that I’m interested in – particularly how nonprofits and foundations are innovating and experimenting with social media. 

Around the same time, the fine people at the Bulldog Reporter asked if I would write a piece on a recent survey we launched with KRC Research on the value and benefits of social media for nonprofits and foundations.  And, well, I thought the only fair place to begin the piece was the conversation I had with my grandfather. 

The piece posted this morning.  It talks about what we learned in our survey, some social media success stories from the Case Foundation, CARE and Do Something, and what implications the evolving social web has for strategic communications professionals.   I hope you’ll check it out in between your end-of-year projects at work and finishing your holiday gift shopping.