Changes at Flickr

Just a quick note to voice my support for the recent wholesale changes at Flickr.  Despite the moaning and groaning (and pouting) from an extremely vocal minority, the site is much better looking and easier to use.  The changes are long overdue.  Quite frankly, I was considering leaving Flickr up until the changes were rolled out.  The old site was clunky, ugly, and uninspiring.  So, just my opinion.

The IRS and the Real Scandal | Common Dreams

Just a follow-up to a previous post regarding the IRS scandal.  This continues the systemic destruction of any useful public oversight of actions and policies affecting the people of the United States.

The IRS and the Real Scandal | Common Dreams

Dan Pallotta - TED Talk

Dan Pallotta's messages in this TED Talk are powerful, persuasive, and make a lot of basic sense.  I can tell that his opinions and messages come not only from critical deep thinking, but also from painful personal experience.  The public fascination with nonprofit overhead costs is killing the sector and leaving behind shells of organizations that cannot hope to collectively cope with the needs of our world.

Unfortunately, as Dan points out, the uneven and nonsensical attitudes towards a nonprofit's ability to build capacity and truly grow to fully address the need is deep-seated in our culture and probably impossible to ever completely change.  This means we have a lot of work ahead of us.

Have a look -

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong.html

Mobile Marketing

Below is a great article running quickly through some strategies to tailor an online presence for mobile users.  Quite frankly, smaller screen devices probably have more impact than the desktop experience.  You will catch users when they can make time to consider your message and take action.  This time may be in the waiting room, train, lunch, or simply a work break.  It is important to design the message to reach maximum impact within seconds of viewing.  It is also a good idea to allow the user to take simple and meaningful actions immediately, without effort or very deep thought.  Your organization can then follow-up with a more in-depth response and call to action.  This is how relationships are built.

http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/six_essential_mobile_marketing_strategies_for_nonprofits

The Children of the Tea Party and the IRS

I find myself a bit conflicted over the latest scandal over the IRS scrutiny into "Tea Party" 501(c)(4) organizations and their exempt status.  I understand the highly political and sensitive nature of the issue, and the IRS certainly lacked the simple foresight to understand their exposure, but to say the issue is overblown is an understatement.

As the "Tea Party" and related ultra-conservative organizations spawn, the workload on the IRS to process applications increased.  Rather than boost personnel, the IRS developed a strategy to categorize applications and apply increased scrutiny.  I'm sure the strategy made sense on an organizational level, but it now seems a bit politically tone deaf.

My fear is that the consequences of this scandal will mean the IRS steps back from their watchdog and policy generation role in the nonprofit sector.  The IRS is a vital partner in ensuring the the cooperative system between nonprofits and the public is healthy, reliable, and well-regarded by the citizenry.  Pulling back on oversight presents the risk of fraud, abuse, and distrust.  New organizations will feel free to primarily engage in political activities because the IRS is shy about challenging these organizations.

The IRS needs to find a healthy way to address this issue and develop an efficient oversight system.  They play a crucial role and organizations, whether they are aware of it or not, need reliable oversight and guidance to be successful.

For more information: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-center-for-public-integrity/irs-nonprofit-division-ov_b_3272234.html

My visit with Food Gatherers

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to tour the Food Gatherers distribution facility in northern Ann Arbor.  I also spent some volunteer time in the warehouse to better learn how the operation works.  Food Gatherers performs a daily miracle in distributing thousands of pounds of largely wholesome and healthy food to those in need in Washtenaw County.  It is amazing to see firsthand the logistic juggernaut it requires to collect unused food from local restaurants, grocery stores, and generous donors.  They then evaluate and repackage that food for later distribution to local soup kitchens, pantries, and nonprofit organizations in the county who offer food to their customers.

Food Gatherers takes on a monumental task, one that many of their partner organizations could not hope to fund or perform, and make life and operations easier for partners.  Due to their size and renown, Food Gatherers can leverage better bulk prices and negotiate more comprehensive donation deals.  The partner organizations can then focus on serving the food to their customers and attend to other problems they may have in life.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time, and I have a better appreciation off the effort necessary to pull off a miracle each and every day.