Social Media creates possibilities for NPO's

We've heard time and time again how effective social media is at connecting people, getting our messages out and listening to what people are talking about. But, how many times have we sat and really listened to what someone is trying to say, and discover that they were asking for help, without openly asking?

This is what pretty much happened almost a year ago on social media site Twitter; @JamesHancox had been talking about his passion for photography and his desire to do things for others in the community. His goal was to set up a charity that would do both.

James’ goal was to establish a charity that would be able to offer photographic services to charities and not-for-profit groups in the community, not just his home city of Auckland (New Zealand), but nationally and ultimately globally.

Having been involved in charities and the not-for-profit sector, I offered to talk with James more about what it was he wanted to do. After a few tweets, emails and txt messages I met with James and we talked about his goal. There was definitely something in his eyes that told me this guy has what it takes to get this off the ground. All he really needed (apart from seeding capital) was the nudge to get it up and running, the encouragement and positive reinforcement that what he had in mind was needed.

After a while James’ passion started to come to life, and it wasn’t long before James’ passion @PhotoCharity was born. Through the power of social media he had connected with a graphic designer who worked on the logo, a web designer to put together the website; then the projects started coming in, many of these have come in through social media connections and word of mouth.

Since the inception of Photographers for Charity, James has done a number of projects; and is starting to build a reputation for someone who knows not just what makes a good photograph, but as someone who brings passion to any project; this is truly evident in the work produced to date.

If you’re looking at starting something, perhaps a new service to add to what you already do, or just want to start something from scratch; don’t be afraid to put it out there. You will almost certainly have people in your networks who will help, it’s simple just ask. You may be surprised just how willing people are to help.

It’s important that no matter where we are, what we want to do or what we need, we will never get anything or perhaps anywhere unless we are prepared to ask. Use your social media connections to build, grow and expand what you have now, use it to help develop new projects or events; you will likely be pleasantly surprised at the results that can be achieved.

This is a re-post of the article on PfC by Graeme Russell of Adage Business & Media Services, and published by Socialize Your Cause