The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change opens with a simple but powerful example. Authors Beth Kanter and Allison H. Fine prepare readers for a book filled with illustrations like this one, in which the Surfrider Foundation utilizes the concept of social networks. By recruiting volunteers for beach cleanups and environmental events through Twitter, the nonprofit reaches a large and driven audience while still maintaining its overall simple conservation goals. The example ultimately sets up Kanter and Fine’s argument: for nonprofits to reach and empower a social generation by adopting a strong social media policy.
Separated into an introduction and two parts, The Networked Nonprofit begins by laying a foundation for the potential impact of social media. Kanter and Fine introduce a series of issues and misconceptions revolving around social media’s ease and relevancy. They address the majority of these concerns with a resonating example of a middle-aged woman using Facebook for the first time to raise over $100,000 for research for a genetic blood disease. Then, by breaking down the philanthropic and technological nature of the Millennial generation, the authors showcase the enormous opportunity of reaching a very driven and connected audience.
Part One of the book is a series of ways to become a networked nonprofit to reach and engage this audience. The Networked Nonprofit launches on a tutorial for creating strong ties to the various connections between people and organizations through network weaving. This concept stresses relationship building in multiple ways, ranging from face-to-face, authentic conversations to working with groups of bloggers. Adopting a social culture as an organization reaches out to these networks for help and paves the way for two-way communication. Whether presenting examples of social media policies or how nonprofits can react to consumer feedback online, Kanter and Fine present a clear route to becoming a social nonprofit.
In Part Two of The Networked Nonprofit, Kanter and Fine delve further into what organizations can do once they become networked nonprofits. After teaching the basics, the book discusses a deeper social media potential and ideas for the future. Topics ranging from crowdsourcing, which draws on groups to collectively organize projects, and learning loops, an analysis tool, only begin to showcase the potential for event organization and fundraising.
Overall, I feel that The Networked Nonprofit would be a great supplemental reading to the nonprofit section of our Public Information Strategies class. My only concern would be the timeliness of the social media platforms discussed in the book. Just two years after its 2010 publication, the book’s lengthy discussion of MySpace and limited inclusion of Twitter would be a problem for classes moving forward. Still, its in-depth discussion of the ways social media can drive impact will be relevant regardless of what is current as technology progresses. I was left with a takeaway of just how much a nonprofit can do by utilizing a few social tools with the right direction and research. The foundation for social media’s potential impact on a nonprofit will be an immensely useful learning tool to those interested in philanthropy in the digital age.
MEGAN WALSH
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Separated into an introduction and two parts, The Networked Nonprofit begins by laying a foundation for the potential impact of social media. Kanter and Fine introduce a series of issues and misconceptions revolving around social media’s ease and relevancy. They address the majority of these concerns with a resonating example of a middle-aged woman using Facebook for the first time to raise over $100,000 for research for a genetic blood disease. Then, by breaking down the philanthropic and technological nature of the Millennial generation, the authors showcase the enormous opportunity of reaching a very driven and connected audience.
Part One of the book is a series of ways to become a networked nonprofit to reach and engage this audience. The Networked Nonprofit launches on a tutorial for creating strong ties to the various connections between people and organizations through network weaving. This concept stresses relationship building in multiple ways, ranging from face-to-face, authentic conversations to working with groups of bloggers. Adopting a social culture as an organization reaches out to these networks for help and paves the way for two-way communication. Whether presenting examples of social media policies or how nonprofits can react to consumer feedback online, Kanter and Fine present a clear route to becoming a social nonprofit.
In Part Two of The Networked Nonprofit, Kanter and Fine delve further into what organizations can do once they become networked nonprofits. After teaching the basics, the book discusses a deeper social media potential and ideas for the future. Topics ranging from crowdsourcing, which draws on groups to collectively organize projects, and learning loops, an analysis tool, only begin to showcase the potential for event organization and fundraising.
Overall, I feel that The Networked Nonprofit would be a great supplemental reading to the nonprofit section of our Public Information Strategies class. My only concern would be the timeliness of the social media platforms discussed in the book. Just two years after its 2010 publication, the book’s lengthy discussion of MySpace and limited inclusion of Twitter would be a problem for classes moving forward. Still, its in-depth discussion of the ways social media can drive impact will be relevant regardless of what is current as technology progresses. I was left with a takeaway of just how much a nonprofit can do by utilizing a few social tools with the right direction and research. The foundation for social media’s potential impact on a nonprofit will be an immensely useful learning tool to those interested in philanthropy in the digital age.
MEGAN WALSH
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill