Tag Archives: social-media

Chicago AMA Convenes Marketers with a Mission

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chicagoamaThe Chicago AMA continues its tradition of inviting the larger community of nonprofit marketers to participate in open dialogue and identify key trends and tectonic shifts in the field for the coming year. This collaborative process will shape a vital program to support shared interests and hone high-priority focus areas for communication and development professionals. As with previous years, the outcome will be a series of dynamic conversations between thought leaders sharing ideas, best practices and resources to help them gain a fresh perspective, build relationships and develop innovative strategies.

The program comprises two distinct, yet related tracks: a think tank for marketers of nonprofit organizations and a think tank for marketers of higher education institutions. Participants begin their discussion with a starter list of topics. At the end of each think tank, they will have defined three to four major topics with talking points for the 2015 program year.

Below are the starter lists for each Special Interest Group (SIG), event details and registration links. Admission is free. Sign up today for one or both!

IMG_5576Chicago AMA Nonprofit Marketing Think Tank
 Tuesday, November 18, 2014
8:00 am – 10:00 am
The Chicago Community Trust
225 N. Michigan Avenue
Suite 2200
Chicago, IL 60601

Nonprofit SIG Preliminary Topics:

  • Content marketing tools and social media
  • Mobile & responsive website design
  • Personalizing donor communications
  • Big Data for fundraisers
  • Different types of gifts – from bequests to monthly giving
  • Direct mail & acquiring new donors
  • Bring media back to social media – producing videos, photos & infographics
  • Strategic planning & engaging your stakeholders
  • Why can’t we be friends?  Successful Executive Director & Development Director relationships
  • #GivingTuesday on December 2nd

Registration: http://alturl.com/iat5p

IMG_5535Chicago AMA Higher Education Marketing Think Tank
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
i.c.stars
415 N. Dearborn St.
Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60654

Higher Ed SIG Preliminary Topics:

  • How can cause marketing advance your institutions reputation?
  • Social media as a recruitment tool
  • From school rankings to student outcomes, what is most compelling?
  • Using your brand as a recruitment tool
  • How do you develop your school’s value proposition
  • Mobilizing the university to support your marketing efforts
  • Webcentric – What’s the outlook for web communication?

Registration: http://alturl.com/q2eeg

Podcast: Meet our Panelists

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Today’s broadcast highlighted a brief snapshot of each of the nonprofits who will share their stories on our social media panel discussion later this week: Who is the Face (and Voice) of Your Mission?

party934Thursday, May 16
5:30 – 8:00 pm
i.c.stars
415 N. Dearborn, Chicago

Listen to my hour podcast with some musical breaks on independent, nontraditional radio Party934.com. Hope it wets your appetite to join the conversation on Thursday. Click to sign up.

See you then!

Meet Taylor Shufford. High School Senior. Caught between education and survival.

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Sometimes, I walk in the middle of the road so that nobody will say anything to me or nobody will try to grab me or something like that.

bsf_taylorTaylor paints a vivid picture of her walk everyday to Our Lady of Tepeyac H.S. She is one of many voices in the Big Shoulders Fund short film, Invest in a Child.

The story begins from the perspective of Denise Spells, Principal of St. Ethelreda Elementary:

Everyday is a struggle…Children live lives that we never thought they would actually have to live. If you want to know where these kids come from, walk to the neighborhoods they have to go through. We need someone here to help us out, to keep these schools open. That’s the right thing to do.

Fr. Matt Eyerman, Pastor at St. Malachy Elementary School, gives an unwavering statement:

A vast majority of our families are either at risk or in poverty. People can give to lots of things in the city. And you can have your name on a plaque here. And have a chair named after you. But only with Big Shoulders can you invest in a child.

Other voices and other faces are woven into the narrative to reveal the real depth of the challenges faced by inner city Catholic schools, and to help people realize that they can work together to bring about real transformation.

Watch the 2-minute trailer[youtube=http://youtu.be/QHuZP2Sb_pA]

or the 8-minute short film [youtube=http://youtu.be/OS4k0FfjDJI]

On May 16, Juli Rossi from Big Shoulders Fund will tell us more about how they put a face and voice to their mission on our social media storytelling panel.

Thursday, May 16
5:30–8:00pm
i.c.stars
415 N Dearborn, 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60654

REGISTER TODAY and bring guests for free. See you Thursday!

May 16 is my day for storytelling. Could be yours, too.

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It begins with… bre003

a visit to the Chicago AMA’s morning session that will reexamine how you can effectively tell your story to the right people in the right place at the right time. NPO Marketers, Is Your Message On-Target? brings together a panel of seasoned communicators in the nonprofit sector for a dialogue about how to hone in on a specific segment of your audience with a focused message and call-to-action. 8:15–10:00am / Merit School of Music, 38 S. Peoria 60607

…and ends with…

an evening conversation about applying what we know about targeted messaging to social media. Who is the Face (and Voice) of Your Mission? highlights how you can be strategic in converting your audience in the virtual space into real supporters who are actively engaged with your cause. 5:30–8:00pm / i.c.stars, 415 N. Dearborn 60654

What happens in between is a whole lot of writing, but I shouldn’t bore you with the details!

Meet Sonja. Age 7. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

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arthritis_sonjaYes, kids get arthritis too! Sonja had a rare blood disorder and was to receive surgery at age four. About four to five months prior, her family and doctors noticed that she did not move too well and her joints were stiff. They thought that it may have been from the blood disorder. But a month after surgery when the stiffness didn’t go away, she was diagnosed. It has affected all her joints. She has even struggled with rheumatic fever during all this.

“At school when we have fire drills it is hard to walk fast,” says Sonja. “I have a special stroller to help me walk. I take lots of medicine daily at school. I go to see a doctor every three months to help me and to see if my arthritis gets worse. I also have to go to an eye doctor. I don’t like having arthritis because it always hurts all my joints and affects how I am able to do stuff.” 

Read Sonja’s full story and other stories of children as young as 16 months afflicted by juvenile arthritis. The Arthritis Foundation aims to put a face to the disease and get everyone connected to build a strong, active community–virtual and personal.

On May 16, participate in a dialog with our friends from the Arthritis Foundation about putting a face (and voice) to your mission. Register early and bring your friends at no charge.

Thursday, May 16
5:30–8:00pm
i.c.stars
415 N Dearborn, 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60654

REGISTER TODAY