Attending the sold-out house at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts last night for the Social Media Club of Richmond, listening to Gradon Tripp of Boston speak was a bit like watching a jello mold materialize: I had a feeling I knew what the message/outcome would be, but it was still fun and fascinating to enjoy. (OK, so maybe I don’t get out much!)
Watching Richmond’s top marketers, entrepreneurs, non-profit gurus plunk away on their iPhones (and for some of us old school folks, blackberries) as Gradon Tripp spoke was like a show in-and-of itself. Why use social media? It’s the new wave of marketing. How to brand oneself? It’s a conversation–listening as well as consistently branding your message is paramount. How to make the transition from branding to requesting donations (ie how non-profits exist)? Do it well, tie it to a campaign, and set a short time frame.
The after-conversations resonated with me, as a Board member of CHIP,experiencing the constant struggles of a small non-profit providing essential services to the Richmond community being consistently overlooked for donations.
To me the conversation leads to, Who will Richmond’s new philanthropists be? This question was posed by Jonah Holland That conversation has been rocking on Twitter lately, and has been bouncing around in my head this week. Philanthropy is not just the multi-million dollar estate left to charity, philanthropy is true engagement in the community in which you live; the giving of time, goods, and yes—money—to support non-profits that support communities and ultimately help individuals live to their full potential.
Philanthropy–and Social Good–is the ten dollars you put in the bucket, the crisp check sealed, stamped and sent, the day spent sweating and toiling, getting your hands dirty for someone else. It just happens to be talked about–or should be–on Twitter, Facebook, and new social media.
If you’re reading this message, have a PC, have a roof over your head, you’re a lot luckier than you think. You’re probably a budding philanthropist, too. If not you, me, then who?
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