A Map is Worth a Thousand Words

Today John Kenyon was the opening speaker at our annual Open House program on the topic of Engaging Donors Using Web 2.0 and Digital Storytelling.  His session was such a big hit that we asked him to write a guest blog for us for the benefit of those who were not able to attend. You can also access a copy of the Power Point slides that accompanied John's presentation here.

I  spoke at the Foundation Center-San Francisco's Open House about engaging donors and prospects. One of the examples I gave in my presentation was about using maps to more closely connect donors with your work. A picture is worth a thousand words and a good visual can have much more emotional impact than a letter with statistics about your work.

As an example, I showed the map used by PlanetHazard.com. When you go to their site you see a list that includes Top Ten Polluters. Clicking on this link brings up a map where you can click on one of the polluter sites to get more detail on the specific pollutant and emissions. Also in the information box is a link to “Map nearby schools and other locations…”. Clicking on that link brings up a map of the polluter site and all of the nearby schools, as shown in this example.

                                                                                                        

It is one thing for your donors to know there is a toxic site nearby, but quite another thing for them to see that their child is going to school 2 blocks from that site and that their friends child goes to school 4 blocks away from it. This connection helps donors see more clearly how your work affects them and why supporting your organization is important, which is often more likely to prompt a donation than just a text explanation.

There are a variety of free mapping tools including Google Maps, Google Earth,  Frappr and the open source Generic Mapping Tools (GMT). If there is information your organization could present to donors online, be it the locations where you provide service, the area of impact of your work, or trouble spots in a region, consider including maps on your website to give donors another way to view your work – and another excuse to donate!

  JOHN KENYON is a technology educator and strategist who’s worked with nonprofits for over 18 years providing advice, teaching seminars and writing articles about technology. He authored the Effective Online Communications chapter in the soon-to-be released book Managing Technology to Meet your Mission. John’s consulting practice concentrates on strategic uses of appropriate technologies with a focus on effectively leveraging the internet. He recently helped build and deliver the We Are Media workshop on social media for nonprofits.

He is an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco and has been a featured speaker across the US, England, Australia and online. For updates and to learn more, visit www.johnkenyon.org.

Comments

[Kristen C.]

I attended John's presentation today and it was incredibly informative. Additionally, he has a great presentation style. I was particularly interested to hear about using mapping tools like Frappr, especially since a number of the organizations I work with conduct their programs in countries around the world. It is sometimes a challenge to present this international work to U.S. based donors. However, I learned a number of ways to overcome that challenge today. Mil gracias to Mr. Kenyon and the entire Foundation Center staff for a great open house!

[John Kenyon]

Thank you Kristen!

As I said at the presentation I personally love maps and I'm not alone. Many people are visual learners so they take in information much better when it is presented graphically than in text. I look forward to seeing what you do.

[Britta]

John, thank you so very much for your presentation. I found it invaluable. I would like to share it with my Board and was wondering if there is an electronic copy/pdf of your presentation we could download? My copy has scribbles all over it:-)

[Britta]

John, I found your presnetation invaluable. Thank you! I would like to share your slides with my Board and was wondering if there is a downloadable pdf version of it? My handout has scribbles all over it:-)

[Teri Tith]

Hey John, I wanted to let you know I have 30 minutes at the next board meeting to present Web 2.0 and how we could use it. Thanks especially for the pointers on determining readiness.

Creating a blog and doing Facebook opens the big scary door of two-way communication! We thought we'd first start with a patron survey...

You really did a great job divulging a ton of information yesterday and successfully avoided answering questions that would take you down a less focused tangent.

I agree with one of the survey recipients that the FC did, this workshop could be a much longer presentation, a whole day perhaps. On that note, what's your next engagement?

[Windy]

I am a video producer, writer and director who specializes in working with non-profit and "aware" for-profit organizations.

I enjoyed John Kenyon's presentation and look forward to helping other organizations implement their Web 2.0 strategies to increase their audiences and fund-raising potential.

To date I have helped such organizations as Teach For America and New Leaders for New Schools achieve their video production needs. Please contact me if you are interested in learning how video and digital media can update your web and fund-raising presence.

Thank you,

Windy Borman
Producer, Writer, Director
DVA Productions
http://www.dvaproductions.com
info@dvaproductions.com

[Janet Camarena]

You can access a copy of the Power Point slides that accompanied John's presentation at: http://tinyurl.com/9xa94o.