Craigslist Boot Camp 2007

Prescott is becoming a full on on-site reporter. If you enjoy the following coverage of the Craigslist Bootcamp, make sure to check out his upcoming post about his experiences at the Clinton Global Initiative Conference. If you can't wait for coverage of CGI, check out onPhilanthropy Pulisher Tom Watson's live blogging over at our sister site: BUZZ.

Fellow FLiP Josh Moore and I have been forming nonprofit ventures. That is why we decided to wake up (way too early) last Saturday morning to attend the Craigslist Foundation Nonprofit Boot Camp at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Craigslist Foundation, whose mission is “helping people help,” has been offering its Nonprofit Boot Camp events across the country, pitched as “a day of knowledge, resources and networking, all focused on how to start and run a vibrant nonprofit.” Josh and I were not sure what to expect, but like most New Yorkers in their twenties, we put our faith in Craigslist.

The tone of the event was set early as a drum line from the Samba School for Social Justice introduced Craigslist Foundation Executive Director Darian Rodriguez Heyman. Heyman enthusiastically advised the crowd to reach out, partner, even steal ideas from each other, and prepare to be overwhelmed with information. And with 50 exhibitors, seven different educational tracks, 20 seminars, and over 1000 people in attendance, the day did have both a collaborative and overwhelming feeling.

Two key components of the event were the Exhibition Hall and the One-on-One coaching. The Exhibition Hall was filled with tables of smiling, pamphlet-carrying representatives from organizations looking to support nonprofits in some capacity, from recruiting volunteers to fiscal management and program evaluation. There were a notable number of web-based or technology-focused exhibitors such as Guidestar.org, VolunteerMatch.org, NYCharities.org, Stanford Scientific Magazine and FITA (Fiscal and Infrastructural Technical Assistance). It was obvious that the nonprofit sector, like the rest of society, is quickly becoming encompassed by technological infrastructure. Partnerships, funding, research, relationships, volunteers…it is all happening online. Welcome to the future.

When I went to sign up for the One-On-One coaching to talk with an expert about nonprofit start-ups, all the time slots were taken and the waiting list was already three pages long. Craigslist Foundation recruited experts to have private, 20-minute sessions with boot camp participants. Areas of expertise included Volunteer Recruitment, Strategic Planning, Fundraising, PR, Marketing and, of course, Technology. Judging by its popularity, this component of the event was a huge, helpful success.

Boot Camp's seven educational tracks included: Nonprofit Basics, Fundraising, Social Entrepreneurship and (you guessed it) technology. Each track consisted of three workshops that went into detail within the focus area. I chose to divide my time between the Fundraising and Nonprofit Basics tracks, while my colleague focused on the Technology and Marketing Track. Here is a key takeaway from each workshop we attended:

Introduction to fundraising: Fundraising equals friendraising. The donor cultivation process is disproportionately important when it comes to raising funds. Make it personal.

501©3 Tax Exempt Status: Get legal assistance if possible. Obtaining your 501©3 status can be a long, complicated and frustrating process.

The Reality of Starting a Nonprofit: Don’t do it unless you have to. Do your research, seek partnerships and consider collaborations. Why duplicate the efforts of other nonprofits already in the sector?   

Traversing the Grantor/Grantee Divide: Relationship building and communication between your organization and foundations is the key to sustained success.  Foundation grant managers would rather grantees be honest about issues, so they can help find solutions.

Free and Low Cost Tech Resources: Young nonprofits need not be burned by technology costs.  There are numerous opportunities for free technology, ranging from donor databases, to website hosting and management.  See www.nycharities.org.

Branding Strategies for Nonprofits: A brand should be focused, demonstrate leadership in your sector, should use language that differentiates yourself, should live up to its claim, and be consistent across all areas of your organization.

Lucky for you, almost every one of these workshops were recorded and are available online at http://www.craigslistfoundation.org/index.php?page=2007_NY_Nonprofit_Boot_Camp

As my day came to a close, I struck up a conversation with a fellow participant named Jean. I quickly found out that Jean lives less than a mile away from me and that we are working to create similar nonprofit organizations. We are meeting for coffee next week to discuss the potential for collaboration.  So in true Craigslist fashion, Nonprofit Boot Camp turned out to provide a space where people could be inundated with information while simultaneously helping each other. Although we weren’t helping one another find or sell apartments; we were helping one another change the world.

Comments

[vishal]

In India we dont have boot camps for activities like these...
we should have some 'Boot Camp' too...

Vishal
Web Designer and Logo maker
www.HugeH.com

[zhafran]

Advertising on Craigslist vs. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is another type of marketing which many business owners find to be both worthwhile and affordable. For many the appeal of affiliate marketing is the affiliates are not compensated for their efforts unless the business owner sees some type of gain from the advertising. This gain may be in the form of website traffic in the case of pay per click marketing, in the form of sales in pay per sale marketing or in the form of potential leads when a website visitor performs a specific action such as registering with a website or signing up for an offer.

While affiliate marketing is very appealing there are others who prefer advertising on Craigslist. The advantages Craigslist offers to advertisers is, of course, that the advertisers never pay for their business advertisements and the community receives a great deal of website traffic already so driving traffic to the website is not a concern.