Charting Violence in Kenya

I listened intently to Larry Brilliant’s conference call on investments made by Google.org last week, and heard about some pretty far-reaching goals using just a fraction of the search giant’s billions. But some of the best cause-related work in conjunction with Google is being done by its users. Witness Ushahidi, an online mapping project tracking both violent episodes and peace efforts in the sectarian disaster that is Kenya. Here’s how the site describes itself:

Ushahidi.com is a tool for people who witness acts of violence in Kenya in these post-election times. You can report the incident that you have seen, and it will appear on a map-based view for others to see. We are working with local Kenyan NGO’s to get information and to verify each incident.

What you can do is get the word out about Ushahidi so that it’s utilized to it’s full potential. This especially extends to talking to the people that you know who have seen things in Kenya and getting them to the site as well. You can also help by using the contact form to volunteer to help with the tracking and verifying of each incident.

Spend some time there and click on the some of the truly terrifying single incidents - I honestly didn’t have as much of a feel for what’s happening in Kenya before this site complemented the coverage I get in the Times. Something about a map and the personal stories of real people and citizen journalists. [Cross-posted from CauseWired].

Planning This Year's Appeals

By now, you are planning your organization's online appeals and campaigns for the year (still hungover from the holiday campaigns and a hopefully a nice vacation). You might be in a panic: Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Valentine's Day are quickly upon us, membership renewals are floating out the door, and you've been asked to think about next year's holiday campaign already. It can be overwhelming, but keep a few things in mind:

Not Every Holiday Needs a Mailer: You should assess your online audience interests and your own branding and bandwidth to see what holidays deserve an e-mail. Does Easter or Memorial Day really work for your mission? What about Flag Day (no kidding, it might)? Make a smart assessment of what will work for your organization. Use your offline marketing calendar and past successes as a starting point. Maybe Flag Day is the perfect day for your organization's appeal.   

Be Flexible: Create an annual calendar and prepare to have it go haywire by April. No big deal. Being flexible means doing a last minute appeal for the CEO, entering an online giving contest, or issuing a new corporate partner appeal. Of course, you may have disaster relief waiting in the wings at any moment. Planning is great, but nothing's set in stone. Creating an annual appeal schedule will help you stay focused, but bend, don't break.

Be Creative, Be Smart: Take the time now to think about your messaging, even if you don't build any creative yet. Think of the messages for each campaign and who you are trying to reach. Now, are there ways you can distribute mailings without inundating your housefile? Can we trim a few mailings here and there or segment your housefile down for more specific mailing topics? Be creative with not only your content, but how you reach out to others.

So, what should your schedule look like? Well, it can be as simple as a spreadsheet by month with the name of the mailing, the segment, and due dates for content, and the delivery date. You might want to assign duties or make notes for each campaign. However you format your calendar, remember to keep your appeal schedule focused and easy to change. And welcome to 2008, this could be a great year for your online program.