Last month, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel at the 2nd annual YNPNdc [Young Nonprofit Professional Network of DC] Social Media Summit, on the topic of Social Media and Social Change. 

The daylong Summit was an opportunity for nonprofit leaders to come together to assess both the tools, but- of equal importance- the strategy behind incorporating social media into the mission and cause of an organization and/or cause. 

I spoke specifically about some of the ways in which myImpact.org has been able to use social media- coming from the perspective of a start-up social enterprise organization. We started with just a vague idea and, during one of the toughest environments ever for raising seed capital, turned to social media to introduce ourselves, build our following and our brand. 

We started a Twitter feed- giving information about the national service movement during the passage of a landmark piece of Congressional legislation. 

We started a YouTube Channel with video interviews of volunteers who we met, asking them to tell us their story- why they serve.

We started a Flickr Stream with photos from the various events, conferences and volunteer projects that we attended. 

And we started a Facebook Cause, first among our friends and then among our core group of supporters- and used it to raise $800 in 24 hours last October, during our inaugural fundraiser- America’s Giving Challenge. 

All of these efforts came full circle in February of this year when we participated in the Pepsi Refresh Project, and earned thousands of votes during the month to finish in 4th place- and a $25,000 grant.

This is the myImpact.org story. And incumbent in our mission is being an advocate to other nonprofits in how to effectively use social media. Last year, we published a paper in a General Services Administration journal titled “A Millennial Model of Engagement” describing three basic principles to engage young people both offline and online- simplicity, scalability, and being social. We believe that social media tools embrace these principles and that a social media strategy must embody them. 

The YNPNdc Summit got coverage in the Washington Association & Nonprofit Journal, BISNOW including a picture of the Social Change panelists. 

Additionally, the powerpoint presentations used at the Summit are available online for download through slideshare.

YNPNdc is a great organization working very hard to empower young nonprofit leaders in the DC region. myImpact.org is proud to be a part of this group! 

Yesterday was a good day of publicity for myImpact.org with two articles that we didn’t expect to see when we woke up in the morning!

First, we were profiled on the Rocketlance Blog as a tool that corporations should consider for their employee volunteerism programs. We’ve always thought that myImpact.org answers this need well and will be exploring opportunities for us to include a corporate volunteer program in our beta phase. It was an honor to be included right alongside some of the biggest names- and most respected services- in the volunteering space: VolunteerMatch, Idealist and DoSomething.org. Thanks to Cole Winans, CEO of Syneticus, LLC and a strong supporter of myImpact.org for including us! 

Also, the Washington Association & Nonprofit Journal BISNOW published a great write-up of last week’s 2nd Annual YNPNdc Social Media Summit. We were excited to take part in the day, learn from some of the experts in the DC Social Media Community, and contribute to a panel discussion on Social Media and Social Action. 

Check out both of our news hits and be sure to visit our online platform- which crossed 100 users last week. 

It’s hard to believe the summer is winding to a close. It’s time to give a progress report on where we stand with the development & roll-out of myImpact.org.

In June, we announced the release of the beta version of our online platform and a Twitter-based application for the recording, sharing and tracking of impact measurements. Keeping with our principles to be open and transparent throughout the entire development process, we went ahead with our announcement despite finishing up some last minute technical kinks with the platform. In all, we launched at about 90% total functionality.

In the time sense, we’ve worked to identify and correct the remaining 10%, and continued the work of promoting our idea, both conceptually and technically, to a wide audience. At the same time, we undertook the deliberations any organization endures around strategic planning and organizational development. Benefiting from the feedback and recommendations of many trusted advisors, our plan for the rest of the year is both ambitious and solid. 

In the next few weeks, look for us to roll out more technical features- especially those related to how organizations can use myImpact.org to track the impact of their volunteers. We’ll also begin working with several partner organizations in our pilot phase and undertake a platform adoption campaign. 

As always, following us on Twitter is the best way to keep up with our progress- but also be sure to “Like” our Facebook Page and keep an eye to our blog. 

Using myImpact.org offers solutions for volunteers- to record, share and track their impact.

In less than 2 minutes, you can create an account and get started. 

Sign up today!

myImpact.org has posted two internship opportunities for the Fall 2010 Semester. See below for more information and please pass along the listings to those who may be interested:

myImpact.org, an online platform for volunteers in national and community service programs, seeks a full-time intern for the Fall 2010 semester to join its team in Washington, DC.

When selected, a qualified candidate’s job description will be customized to include the following:

•   Administrative responsibilities including scheduling, event planning, correspondence and record keeping
• Social media management including Facebook, Twitter and blogging
• Partnership building through bi-weekly and monthly updates
• Special projects to include fundraising, research, writing, presentations

The candidate must possess interest, passion and knowledge for and of social media and social change.

Time commitment: 30-40 hours per week.Candidates may be eligible for small stipend. Interns will join an exciting, dynamic start-up organization working at the intersection of the national and community service and social media fields and will gain relevant experience. 

For more information, contact Chris Golden, chris.golden@myImpact.org, 202-470-2459.

myImpact.org, an online platform for volunteers in national and community service programs, seeks a part-time intern for the Fall 2010 semester to join its team in Washington, DC.

 When selected, a qualified candidate’s job description will be customized to include the following:

•  Fundraising research, donor recruitment and proposal drafting
• Construction of dynamic pitches using new media
• Weekly blogging
• Special projects to include writing, presentations, research and events

The candidate must possess interest, passion and knowledge for and of social media and social change.

Time commitment: 15-20 hours per week. Candidates may be eligible for small stipend. Interns will join an exciting, dynamic start-up organization working at the intersection of the national and community service and social media fields and will gain relevant experience.

For more information, contact Chris Golden, chris.golden@myImpact.org, 202-470-2459.

Each week this month, myImpact.org is continuing its workshop series at the National Young Leaders Conference (NYLC) with a one-hour presentation entitled, “Serving America: Volunteering in the Age of Facebook and YouTube”

NYLC brings thousands of high-school age student leaders to Washington, DC for a weeklong conference exploring politics, government and the critical issues facing our generation. The goal is to engage students in problem solving strategies that they can then bring back to their communities- including leadership training.

For the last year, myImpact.org has hosted a workshop that has evolved from a discussion into an interactive presentation that includes individual skill-building exercises, group works, icebreakers, facts and figures, critical thinking, group discussion and questions/answers. It is a fast-paced and engaging hour-long crash course into citizen service, volunteering opportunities, social media and Democracy 2.0. 

There has been a lot of buzz of late about measuring and tracking the impact of volunteer service – the main focus of myImpact.org’s online platform. And so it was quite interesting to me, in the course of some research today, to realize it was also an area of focus during the days of USA Freedom Corps, started under President Bush. 

When the President was describing the idea to the public in a March 2002 speech, he said: 

“If you’re interested in recording, not only for yourself, but recording for your family or a child, perhaps, what you’ve done to make America a better place, this is a good go-by. This is a good opportunity to bring a little discipline into your volunteer service.  When I looked at this, I envisioned kind of an interesting diary that can be passed from one generation to the next. I can’t think of anything more interesting than a mom or a dad volunteering, recording his or her thoughts, giving it to a child who gives it to a grandchild.

So somebody is sitting there [reading] about what it was like to live in the 21st century, and how to help a neighborhood in need, for example, or how to help a person in need.  I also want you to know that you can do the same thing through an on-line tracking system on the USA Freedom Corps web page.“ 

And reflecting back on his administration’s service initiatives in late 2008, President Bush again stated, “Another key component of USA Freedom Corps is our effort to keep track of Americans’ service to others. I mean, it’s one thing to talk about it, it’s another thing to measure, to kind of see how we’re doing.” 

USA Freedom Corps and its Web site may no longer exist, but there still remains that interesting thought and practical benefit of volunteers recording for themselves and their own posterity how they are giving back to improve their country. We hope myImpact.org will answer that potential…which isn’t so new after all.

Hard to believe we’re already in July- and the summer is heating up at myImpact.org. 

We made four trips to New York City in June- the latest last week to attend the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Check out our archived Twitter stream to see the kind of social media presence that we had at the conference! It was an amazing opportunity to connect with many people who have made our work possible to this point- and meet folks who are doing great work in the volunteering & service space from around the country. We can’t wait for next year’s conference- in New Orleans!

Now we’re back in Washington and back to work. Look for more updates soon- and keep submitting feedback on our beta pilot phase. We’re making a note of all suggestions and delivering them to our development team.

Hi Michael- thanks for asking through Tumblr! We’re looking into that issue- and I just sent you an e-mail!

Chris