non profit

New Video: Shiawassee Community Foundation – Celebrating 45 Years

45 years ago, the Shiawassee Community Foundation started out as a small group of people wanting to make a difference. Over time, it has turned into a much larger community outreach program. Food drives, grants, scholarships, and caring for the environment are only a few of the ways they are helping serve their community. Congrats on 45 years!

To learn more about the Shiawassee Community Foundation:
https://www.shiacf.org/

#BetterCallPaul on Business Rap: Marketing Your Non-Profit Organization Part 4

In the last and final segement, our creative video strategist, Paul Schmidt, Cindy Kangas of the Capital Area Humane Society and Todd Ross of the Michigan Osteopathic Association talk about the tools you should have in communicating your non-profit’s message

► Subscribe to the #BetterCallPaul Channel Here:
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Paul has been a visual storyteller for as long as he can remember and decided to turn that into a career. He chose video as his medium and his award winning style has been seen nationally as well as praised locally. A self-proclaimed community proponent and pro-Michigan advocate, he owns and is creative video strategist for UnoDeuce Multimedia which is celebrating its 6th year in Lansing. Paul was just recently awarded the 2015 Entrepreneur Institute Micro-Entrepreneur of the Year.

Don’t forget to
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Thank you for watching this video. I hope that you keep up with the weekly videos I post on the channel, and just so we couldn’t keep this channel going without your support, so please comment, like and share.
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Also Subscribe to the main UnoDeuce YouTube Channel Here to see the client work we are putting out up to 3 times a week!

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#BetterCallPaul – #GivingTuesday Video Giveaway 2017

It’s that time of year again, and I’m joined by Erik Gillespie of the The Giving Jar to give you the ground rules for this year’s Video Giveaway on #GivingTuesday.
To nominate your non-profit go to www.givingjar.org to vote!
Plus go to the UnoDeuce Multimedia YouTube Channel to see the past winners! Don’t forget to vote!


► Subscribe to the #BetterCallPaul Channel Here:
http://bit.ly/2jbP69q

Paul has been a visual storyteller for as long as he can remember and decided to turn that into a career. He chose video as his medium and his award winning style has been seen nationally as well as praised locally. A self-proclaimed community proponent and pro-Michigan advocate, he owns and is creative video strategist for UnoDeuce Multimedia which is celebrating its 6th year in Lansing. Paul was just recently awarded the 2015 Entrepreneur Institute Micro-Entrepreneur of the Year.

Don’t forget to
—-
Thank you for watching this video. I hope that you keep up with the weekly videos I post on the channel, and just so we couldn’t keep this channel going without your support, so please comment, like and share.
—-

Also Subscribe to the main UnoDeuce YouTube Channel Here to see the client work we are putting out up to 3 times a week!

http://bit.ly/2jklgle

Guest Post: Charity Spotlight – Helping Women Period.

Helping Women Period removes barriers of self-sufficiency that many homeless and low-income women face daily. They provide feminine hygiene products such as sanitary pads and tampons to women in and around Lansing, Michigan.

In this charity spotlight, I spoke with the Founders of Helping Women Period, Amy Stephenson and Lysne Tait.

Origin Story
Early in 2015, Amy and Lysne discovered that WIC and SNAP (food stamps) cannot be used to purchase sanitary pads and tampons. They were shocked that such a basic need was not supported by state and federal aid programs. This was also a matter of dignity. Homeless and low-income women without running water had no way to take care of basic feminine hygiene.

The two friends decided to organize a fundraiser. They hoped to raise $500 to help provide women in need with feminine hygiene products. Their small fundraiser blew up when it was announced on Facebook, though.

Suddenly facing over 100 attendees, Amy and Lysne had to find a new venue. With so much support, they also decided to start a nonprofit. Within five days they had gone from fundraiser to founding Helping Women Period.

Today
Helping Women Period now provides feminine hygiene products to charities in the tri-county area for distribution. They have a great partnership with MichCo that allows them to purchase products at the best price, and they hold regular fundraising events and product drives.

In addition to pads and tampons, Helping Women Period provides handmade bags that allow products to be carried discretely. They also have donation boxes at various businesses in Lansing.

Big Wins
In their first year, Helping Women Period raised $14,000 and donated $8,000 worth of products. Considering the original fundraiser had a goal of $500, providing this much aid to women was a major victory.

They also partnered with several local charities to help distribute the products they acquire. These partnerships will continue to be vital to the growth of Helping Women Period.

To Nonprofits
If you are starting a charity, start something you believe in and make sure it is needed. Be organized from the very beginning and be accountable for your work. Leverage your strengths, collaborate with others to leverage theirs, and take care of your volunteers. Make it fun for them and thank them when they’re done.

Goals
Going into their second year, Amy and Lysne are confident that Helping Women Period can raise $20,000. This would be an extraordinary 40% increase over their first year.

They are also working on a handbook that would open up a Helping Women Period affiliate program. These affiliations would be a great way to provide aid to women in cities beyond Lansing. Long-term, Amy and Lysne would also like to help women in other countries.

To Donors
If you like a charity’s cause, reach out to them! Try volunteering. Charities really appreciate volunteers and they will take care of you!

Another way you can reach out is to ask your employer about sponsoring a charity. A business sponsorship is a big deal for many charities. Sometimes it’s as easy as starting a conversation.

 

Erik Gillespie is a software developer and semi-pro advocate of amazing things. He founded Giving Jar, a blog and upcoming donation platform for Lansing charities, and helps people learn how to create websites and other software at Lansing Code Lab. He’s kind of obsessed with board games, too.

Guest Post: Nonprofit Communications: A Few Basic Tips

Organized communications with streamlined and consistent messages are essential for every organization and business in today’s climate. The need to explain to people what you’re doing and why it matters can help you reach those you are seeking to serve, connect with funders and raise awareness to the general public and politicians about the issues. In many cases, nonprofit organizations have additional challenges around capacity and general expertise on the subject. Unfortunately, this usually means that organizations don’t prioritize this task and it isn’t done as well as it could be. In this post, I will outline a few primary priorities that will really help steer your communications in a better direction as you evaluate and develop a strategy for the future.


Getting Started

Chances are, you are already performing this function to some extent within your organization. When you aren’t starting from square one, you have the opportunity to evaluate your current situation and make it better, which can be considerably easier. Start by making a list of all of the different tools that your organization has and uses, along with any existing scheduling, resources and staff accountability associated with it. This includes everything from a logo and tagline, to structured emails that go out to a list, press releases, social media accounts, business cards, marketing materials and more. Once you have this list, look at them and evaluate whether or not they are consistent, represents the values of your organization and follows basic general rules for brand recognition. Again, it’s much easier to discard materials that are obsolete or ineffective and update those that are. It’s also a much better use of your resources, which everybody can appreciate. Further, it is essential that you evaluate your all of your communications and work on an ongoing basis so that you can prove that your efforts are worth it. Using email, website and social media analytics, surveys, and attendance numbers are just a few easy ways to check in on your work. Don’t feel bad if you have to revamp things – learning more about our clients helps us to serve them better.

Brand Recognitionphoto2-branding-image
People often misunderstand brands and think they only apply to businesses and cor
porations, but people and organizations have them too, whether they realize it or not. A brand is the articulation of a set of values, goals and p
romises a group represents and hopes to portray to the rest of the world. More than a logo, the consistency of your messages, styles and practices packaged together make a brand that b
ecomes recognizable over time. Moreover, the professionalism in which you exhibit throughout this process, from how you answer the phone to how you describe what your organization does should complement all of the other printed and digital materials. The more you put out with your brand elements on it, the more people will begin to recognize your organization and make associations based on their experiences with you. Consider this when you are going through your materials in your original audit and make sure that they are consistent and representative of your brand.

photo3-audienceSpeak to Your Audience
Are you putting out communications that your audience is receiving? Are they in the correct format and pushed out on communication channels where they visit? It is most important not to spread yourself too thin and try to be everywhere all the time, especially if these different tactics are beyond the personnel skillset. When you are making your list of all of the different assets that you currently have (logo, marketing materials, etc.) make a note about where you distribute and publish these items. Then think about the different opportunities for distribution and make sure that is in alignment with where your audience is located.
For example, if you are hosting an event that would appeal to a young professional demographic, you might not be as lucky by posting flyers at the senior center. Think critically about how you might find your audience and utilize your resources to have a presence there. Moreover, using graphics and messaging that resonates with your intended audience is more likely to increase their interest.

Defining a Strategy
Planning your communications and your overall strategy has a lot of moving parts, and involves a variety of skills, resources and buy-in for it to be effective. If you have a full campaign ready to launch but you can’t get the rest of the organization to use it, then it has a higher likelihood of falling flat. The tips described above are really just a start and a way to tighten up what you already have, and I do highly recommend working collaboratively as a team and with a professional to develop a strategy that everybody is proud of and can use to hit the ground running. CEDAM hosted a recent webinar for members and Main Street communities in August that outlines the process of getting started more thoroughly. Listen to the recorded webinar here for more tools to create a better and appropriate strategy for your organization.

 

Lisa lisabenckAssenmacher is the Communications & Training Specialist with the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) in Lansing. CEDAM is a nonprofit membership organization supporting community-based economic development in Michigan. At CEDAM, Lisa supports both the organization and members through marketing, graphic design, communications and educational resource development. She possesses a Bachelor of Science in Urban & Regional Planning, an Associates in Applied Arts in Graphic Design and an Masters in Business Administration. Learn more about CEDAM and a CEDAM members at cedam.info.

 

#GivingTuesday Web Video Contest Deadline 5 PM today!!!

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All selections for our #GivingTuesday web video give away contest are due by 5 PM today. The winner will be announced at 10:30 AM tomorrow right here on the home page. Stay tuned and get your selections in! Email to: info@unodeuce.com

Mid MEAC Refugee Development Center

Refugee Development Center has two grants through the Community Reinvestment Fund.

Project 1: Creating a positive learning environment for refugee children, exposing students to government planning opportunities and supporting families as they engage in local neighborhood associations, school boards and community leadership roles.

Project 2: An innovative community gathering and educational approach with soccer (or “football” as the rest of the world knows it) as the mechanism for engagement opportunities with refugee families placed in the Lansing area, RDC will work to engage new residents in planning focusing on neighbhorhood associations, parent teacher organizations and other local planning bodies.