Bryan and I spoke at New York University to a group of MBA students enrolled in “Development for the Visual Arts,” a course which examines fundraising opportunities for not-for-profit organization. Our talk focused on Social Media and its applications for fundraising in the not-for-profit world. We discussed everything from brand building to execution and how social media, when used well, can open real dialogue between organizations and the community or, in other words, to “Stop marketing and start talking.”
The talk is best summarized in the letters we received from a number of students thanking us for our time. Below is one of my favorites.
“Thank you so much for coming in to speak with our class last night. It was fascinating to hear you both talk about the importance of social networking for organizations. You made an interesting point that doing this is not necessarily to sell the audience, but rather to get your name out and connect with your audience. It was inspirational, to say the least, to see that your work comes from a genuine desire to be innovative, be honest, and connect people. Like you said: Make a promise to your audience, and then keep that promise.
Not only was it fantastic to hear you two speak, but I must admit, I was a bit star struck when I discovered that I was in the presence of two people behind one of my favorite childhood memories, “Natalie’s Backseat Traveling Webshow.” I was nine years old, and insisted that my father show me how to start a “webshow” of my own…on Microsoft Word. My offline writing about my travels around my living room may have only lasted a week, but here I am, fourteen years later, with a blog.
So, again, thank you so much for coming to speak to our class. It was truly a privilege to receive advice from such sincere and successful people.”