An information-age conference for the ages

Thank you to the Knight Foundation for the priceless experience of attending your annual Media Learning Seminar.

I am thankful because Knight generously holds this annual conference for free (attendees pay for travel expenses to their headquarters town of Miami). No, not hazard duty in February, but somebody’s got to go! It’s priceless because of the exposure to best practices and thought leadership and for the hundreds of ideas churning in my head.

How can I distill the experience of drinking from a fire hydrant?

I am going through my notes and looking in the margins at all of the stars, exclamation points and arrows: to “JTW” (our CEO and my boss); to “Patrick” (NCCF IT Manager); “Sally” (Community Leadership Director) and “Affiliates” (our network of 60 foundation partners throughout the state and the regional associates who help to lead them).

That group’s potential reach is not just a cast of thousands. Is there anyone who isn’t touched by the need for information?

It’s what drives Knight: information as it relates to freedom and communities and democracy. If that’s not a mission that will set your hair on fire, I can’t think of one that would.

Information and our sector’s access to information is what set us in the community foundation world apart from commercial funds and others who share our philanthropic space. What differentiates us is our sense of place and knowledge of community and its corresponding needs and opportunities.

That knowledge comes with a big responsibility -- to share and use that information and knowledge for the common good. This Knight conference was all about inspiring us to think about this responsibility in new ways, while continuing to use the old strategies that work.

As a former print journalist cum PR/marketing guru, I was fascinated by all the new people spinning new concepts and dropping new terms:

Phone journalism: not just a way to reach younger generations but also those often classified as “disenfranchised.” Even those who can’t afford computers and monthly internet hook-up usually own at least a mid-level “smart” phone that allows connection, instantly. Twitter uprisings don’t even need to be defined anymore.

Ironically, however, it’s easier to get news from your phone about what’s happening in Syria than it is to find out what’s going on in your local community, spawning another new concept:

Media 3.0: it’s about access, not distribution. With the local newspaper undergoing a metamorphosis, redefining itself in the digital age and a bad economy, community foundations in many locations throughout the country are stepping up and partnering with other institutions (libraries, universities, places of worship, formalized groups of displaced reporters -- the list goes on) to help make local information accessible.

While a Knight event is of course heavy on “new” – technologies, social media, digital concepts, it was so refreshing to hear many speakers get up and talk about the “old.”

The head of MIT’s Civic Media program reminded us not to forget about the importance of  paper. If your audience doesn’t have access to a computer or a smart phone or a local library (also sadly closing in droves in this economy), finding out where and how they access info is tantamount to your message delivery.

One research project discovered that the residents of an underserved neighborhood got most of their info at the grocery store. Placing paper news inserts into grocery bags provided access to information that residents needed and weren’t getting.

“Youth journalism” is a trend that allows local partnerships with a generation keen to produce content and tell their stories. Ironically, research shows that young people nationwide like to see their articles, poems and artwork in print. Maybe growing up as digital natives makes digital distribution passé on some levels.

Does that make everything old new again? It certainly keeps some old concepts relevant:

While those of us utilizing social media outlets constantly analyze who we are hearing from, is the more pointed question: Who aren’t we hearing from?

And we really need to stop aggregating all social media as though it were one outlet. Facebook demographics are aging and female. LinkedIn is mostly male. Twitter is one-quarter African American, with a high percentage of educated Hispanic female. Pinterest is largely female in the U.S., but interestingly enough, not in the U.K.

While social media outlets have certainly proven invaluable in the communications toolbox, they are just that – a set of tools, a few channels out of many, that we need to continually employ to tell our story -- and more importantly, to open up the conversation.

The days of top-down communication are over. Information exchange, creating spaces for dialogues and truly engaging with communities on their needs and their futures are keys to our value as community foundations.

That really boils it all down to the most useful, civil and oldest of communications concepts: listening.

From Darwin to dial-up and digital natives

I was really pumped to attend the annual Institute for Emerging Issues at NC State last week. Honestly I am still processing some of the things I heard. There was so much to get excited about!  

NCCF board leaders James Narron, Stuart Dorsett and Kel Landis were there too, part of a standing-room-only audience of more than 1,200.  We heard challenging and thought-provoking speakers who also engaged us in a dialogue about engaging up-and-coming Generation Z.  

Generation Z includes today’s 9 to 21 year-olds. In the year 2022 these young people will be 18 to 30 year-olds and the emerging core of our state’s workforce. That is if we are lucky enough to keep them in North Carolina. This is not a done deal in some of our rural counties, where a mass exodus of young talent is an ongoing challenge.

This generation works and thinks differently than past generations.  This is the most ethnically diverse and tech-savvy group in our state’s history.  Their hopes and dreams are different too.  I live with this generation, so I get it. I still want to tell the story of when I got my first computer (after college!) or the party-line we had when I was growing up -- but I do get it.

So what does this mean for NCCF -- a community foundation that plans to be around in perpetuity?  This is what Bob Safian, editor and managing director of Fast Company said: “More than 150 years ago, Charles Darwin foreshadowed this era in his description of natural selection: It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." 

Foundations are often accused of not changing or not changing fast enough. I beg to differ. We embrace change here -- and take risks -- and challenge the status quo.  We value employees who ask questions and have good ideas. We like to get feedback -- good and not-so-good -- from our donors and fund-holders.

We also value and rely on the vision of our founders and volunteer leaders, on our statewide board and throughout our affiliate network.  We value our deep, rich history and our strong foundation -- and want to make sure we are not changing only for the sake of change.  It is a balance.  Our chairman, James Narron, has convened a working group to look at some new ideas and to reflect on which ones will help us improve, while keeping the very best of who we are.

We are ready for Gen Z.  We want them to stay and share their talents with us all. We want them to work at NCCF, establish funds with us and put their own stamp on the power of philanthropy in North Carolina.

The passion of volunteers

A few events this week brought a powerful reminder about the passion of our many volunteers who are so generous in giving of their time, talents and treasures in support of causes near and dear to their hearts.

The first story this week comes as an important national charity is forced to withdraw a grant decision it announced earlier in the week. Both the Susan G. Komen and the Planned Parenthood organizations were impacted by the initial decisions, the outpouring of passionate responses to this decision (in record time), and the subsequent decision forcing the Susan G. Komen to reconsider its actions.

As a community foundation working with local communities across North Carolina, we strive to be diligent in responding to the community needs we serve, to the many nonprofit organizations seeking grants from funds we administer and in utilizing several methods to ensure grants are used in the manner they were approved.

My second reminder this week came in reflecting on the passion of one volunteer who helped to organize a local organization to support the unmet needs of children in Currituck County. Deborah Rorer was a steadfast, enthusiastic supporter and volunteer on this new board, even after her cancer returned. Her grace, courage and spirit were an inspiration to those fortunate to know her. She will be missed but not forgotten. Even in dying she asked for donations to support the work of Currituck Kids.

Nonprofit organizations are fortunate to have passionate volunteers supporting their work, and events this week remind us just how important it is to make decisions based on diligent and careful review of facts and mission. For Deborah Rorer and many others like her, we are grateful to them and appreciate their services every day.