For Nonprofits

Manny Hernandez President, Diabetes Hands Foundation

Co-Founder TuDiabetes.com, EsTuDiabetes.com Author, Ning For Dummies

Personal Background

•  Web Product Mgmt, Social Media – 10+ yrs •  Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes – Oct. 2002 •  Worked for Ning - Jan. to Apr. 2008 •  Nonprofit management - Apr. 2008 to today

Timeline

•  Mid-2006: social network for “higher purpose” •  Late 2006: look at platforms (Drupal) •  Mar. 2007: launched TuDiabetes on Ning •  Aug. 2007: launched EsTuDiabetes on Ning •  Apr. 2009: 11K total members (15% growth/mo)

What is Ning?

•  Ning provides a platform for anyone to build their own social network.

“The true power of a social network lies in its ability to foster and solidify connections offline.”

In the words of Tom Watson: “… after all the clicking, emailing, viewing and posting, people need to get up from their chairs and step outside.”

Why a social network?

Why a social network?

•  A social network changes the way nonprofits engage with members.

•  It helps nonprofits to fulfill their mission in new ways.

Setting up a network on Ning

•  No need to be a “geek” •  Wizard-like process •  Resources to grow it and manage it

– Up to a few 100’s members, one person can do most of the management

Advantages of Ning

•  Affordable: – Free basic service – Premium services

•  Solid product •  Customizable: appearance and features •  Network and member privacy controls

Disadvantages of Ning

•  You can’t “host” the network yourself: – You depend on Ning being “up” – You depend on Ning being “in business”

•  Members are also members of Ning.com

Popular features

•  Chat: synchronous communication •  Forum: discussion topics •  Groups: interest groups, regional groups •  Videos, photos: activism, campaigns

Uses of Ning for Nonprofits

•  Communication: blogs, forums, videos •  Outreach: sharing mechanisms •  Activism: events, groups •  Fundraising: through widgets •  Growing your list: export member data

Sample networks on Ning

More than 8,000 members

Sample networks on Ning

More than 21,000 members

ASPCA network integration

Sample networks on Ning

Growing your social network

•  Through your members: –  Invitations, badges, share, slideshows, videos

•  Through network RSS feeds – TwitterFeed to Twitter

•  Through bloggers •  Through existing offline efforts

Raise funds through the network

•  Donations: from members, others •  Grants: foundations, government •  Ads: unrelated business income

Ning Resources

•  http://blog.ning.com •  http://help.ning.com •  http://networkcreators.ning.com •  http://developer.ning.com •  http://is.gd/p7kv: Ning for Nonprofits chat

Contact Info

manny AT tudiabetes DOT org @askmanny