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.