Philanthropy 831 Blog

ComNetwork Monterey Bay Ready To Blast Off!

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 21:50:28 GMT

Meetups for Social Sector communications!

I'm a big fan (and paying member) of The Communications Network!

The Network is one of my handful of go-to places for expert help and connections with other communications professionals.

To see what I mean about the value provided check out one example: The Case for Communications, the series running in partnership with the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

I got even more jazzed when the Network rolled out ComNetworkLOCAL. It's a way for Network members to form self-managed local groups under the organization's umbrella.

These locals have sprung up in San Francisco, Denver, Miami, Washington DC and other places.

Last fall, I said to my workmate Kim East, Let's do it! Let's start one here!

We called our communications colleagues at the community foundations for San Benito and Monterey counties, Sharlene VanRooy, Amanda Holder and Cristina Medina Dirksen, and asked them, Want to join us?

We met over lunch last December and settled on a tri-county venture, with plans for at least 3-5 meetups a year to be hosted by one of our three community foundations.

The Network gave us a small stipend for expenses and help from staffer Emma Lister, who set us up and got us rolling.

Now we're asking you, Join us!

a winning formula!

We feel we got it!

The power of The Network

+ Support from our three community foundations

+ You (your voice, skills, ideas and buy-in)

= An energized local network of social sector communications practitioners wanting to learn, grow, have fun and share together!

Seventy people have already found out how easy it is to join ComNetwork Monterey Bay by jumping on board.

And, it's free!

There's no membership costs to be part of our local or to tap into the free online resources offered by The Network. (Though, you may decide, like I did, it's worth becoming a paid member of the Network for event discounts and access to the members-only area.)

We know there are other Monterey Bay area marketing and communications meetups and professional networks that delve into communications.

We believe our formula, with a focus on philanthropy and a three county approach, will compliment what already exists. Yet, if after the first year you tell us the local doesn't deliver we'll happily fold up shop. But, we're banking on that not happening.

March kick-off meetups!

You can RSVP for the first meetup in Santa Cruz County at our community foundation, Wednesday, March 8, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The after-work agenda includes pizza, beer, social network speed dating and the announcement of our next MeetUp in Santa Cruz County.

You can RSVP for the second meetup in Salinas, at the Community Foundation for Monterey County, Wednesday, March 15, 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

An informal info and recruiting effort is taking place in San Benito County as we plan for their first public meetup.

We hope you find value in this, for you and your communications work.

Got some ideas? Bring them to the one of the first meetups or use the comment field below.

Luis Chabolla is the communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter. You can also follow ComNetwork Monterey Bay on Twitter.

Easy Stocking Stuffers for Your Favorite Nonprofits

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 23:35:40 GMT

#GivingTuesday and Santa Cruz Gives provide you with easy, quick ways to make a charitable gift before year's end to one or more of your favorite nonprofit organizations in Santa Cruz County.

The #GivingTuesday fun happens today, November 29!

Launched in 2012, by the Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact at the 92nd Street Y, a cultural center in New York City, it offers a global giving alternative to the shopping frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

#GivingTuesday is more of a happening, with no central organization collecting or distributing contributions. There are no fees charged to the participating charitable groups, who individually collect and manage their own giving.

In 2015, more than $117 million was raised online, with participation in 71 countries around the globe.

In Santa Cruz County, I counted over 40 local groups rallying behind #GivingTuesday.

You'll find familiar nonprofits (using the online search tool) seeking your support during the one-day fund drive in Watsonville, Aptos, Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Felton and Boulder Creek.

Have you heard the buzz around Santa Cruz Gives?

It's a local project of Good Times Santa Cruz, the free weekly newspaper, in partnership with the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County, doing more than their fair share of the heavy lifting.

Now in its second year, Santa Cruz Gives follows (and goes beyond) an earlier effort we spearheaded with Ron Slack, the former publisher of the Good Times, that raised nearly $900,000 for local nonprofits, between 1996 and 2013.

The easy-to-navigate online platform provides you with all you need to give to one or more of the 33 local nonprofits raising funds between now and December 31.

Santa Cruz Gives is similar to another worthwhile regional partnership fundraising effort, Monterey County Gives!, led by the Monterey County Weekly. It benefits from a fund the weekly established at the Community Foundation for Monterey County, which also provides administrative support.

Great Ways to Give Local

With these easy ways to give online, today or through December 31, let's do it! Let's put some gifts in those online holiday stockings, for nonprofits and the people they serve!

Luis Chabolla is the communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Created by the team at the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at the 92nd Street Y—a cultural center in New York City

3 Reasons to Love Santa Cruz County BoardMatch

Mon, 26 Sep 2016 15:21:54 GMT

Reason #1: Builds Your Résumé

Want to add volunteer community leadership, civic engagement and nonprofit governance skills to your résumé?

Our BoardMatch program can do that for you. And more!

Volunteer board service is an excellent way to forge professional connections and grow your network for success. It also helps you give back to your community.

Being on a nonprofit board makes you an ambassador for a cause you care about and a local leader working for social good.

You’ll find BoardMatch can open doors to make it happen.

Reason #2: It Works

Is there a cause or issue you feel passionate about?

There’s probably a local nonprofit doing the work.

There are ways to find them, but how do you know it’s the right fit? And, what do you need to know before jumping in?

BoardMatch spares you the hassle, answers your questions and puts you in the driver’s seat.

In the past twelve years, we’ve helped over 150 people (like you!) get into first-time or new again board service through an inexpensive, simple and successful program.

Over two-evenings, you’ll get an overview of the nonprofit sector; learn the legal responsibilities every board member should know; practice being a board member interacting with colleagues in a real world decision-making situation; and, try nonprofit speed dating.

Reason #3: It's Fun

You’ve probably seen speed dating in movies and on TV. Or, heard the ads for Match[dot]com or other online services. Maybe you or a friend even tried it.

But, have you tried nonprofit speed dating?

We’ve taken the speed dating concept and created a fun way for you to quickly meet 3-4 nonprofit groups in a friendly, chaperoned (LoL!) and no-obligation setting.

Our speed dating lets you test the waters with eligible and ready nonprofits you select from a list we provide you.

During short meetups, you’ll get acquainted, schedule a second date (if it feels right) and get moving on the path towards making that big commitment.

Are you game?

Our next BoardMatch program is November 2 and 16, 2016. Register online today or call me at 831.662.2030 for more info.

Luis Chabolla is communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Does Your Nonprofit's Recipe for Success Include a Heaping Tablespoon of Mobile Thinking?

Thu, 23 Jun 2016 19:51:43 GMT

One of the three ingredients in our recipe for communications success (and my favorite) is promoting a mobile mindset.

Sound like a big dash of jargony gibberish, does it?

Maybe, but after you read what it means for our communications team I hope not.

We wanted a single phrase around which we could frame something we knew was timely and important: creating a better user experience for you when connecting via a mobile device. (Like the smartphone or tablet you probably have sitting nearby right now, yes?)

This has meant research and weekly exercise to build muscle behind promoting a mobile mindset, so it's not just another flabby and hollow expression fit for the jargon jar.

It also helps when we keep our sense of humor navigating the hurdles we, our colleagues or technology throw our way.

How We're Promoting a Mobile Mindset

Invested with Embolden for a responsive designed website and email template to improve your experience when using a mobile device.
Going all in on the practice of less is more, by cutting down on copy, keeping it simple and emphasizing the visual no matter the tool or method used—whether online, print or in-person.
Carving out time every week to do it, plus being available to help and talk with fellow staff and our board about branding, social media, audience personas and avoiding jargon.

Click Me Find Me Tweet Me Love Me

"Mobile technology is the growing communication preference worldwide, whether through simple feature phones, smartphones or tablets.”

We have our own data to back it up: From July 2015 to June 2016, online visits to us from mobile users, tracked through Google Analytics, increased 21.5%, when compared to the previous year.

Don't have the budget to invest in optimizing your online tools for mobile use?

Don't let that stop you. Dig into free resources to find things you can start doing this week with the help of TechSoup, Idealware, NTEN and the Communications Network.

Promoting a mobile mindset is something real for us. Make sense why it's part of our recipe for the future? Have you added it to your mix?

Luis Chabolla is communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Give Local America Comes To Santa Cruz County

Tue, 03 May 2016 16:04:08 GMT

[This post was written for Santa Cruz Volunteer Center's Blog, where it first appeared.]

Let's Give Local Today!

People across the U.S., hundreds of thousands of people like you and me, are giving back to their communities today, May 3, as part of Give Local America.

Give Local America is a single-day crowdfunding event for nonprofits and other charitable groups that raised $68.5 million for more than 9,000 nonprofits in 50 states last year.

It’s happening right now in Jacksonville, Florida and in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Today, businesses, families and kids are giving to animal shelters and youth development programs in North Platte, Nebraska and to nonprofits helping the environment in Missoula, Montana.

Here in Santa Cruz County, you can join me in giving to one or more of the 135 teams participating in this week’s Human Race and today’s Give Local America.

How This Happened

A majority of the May 3 giving days are coordinated by community foundations. Last year, we decided to give it a shot. Through a funding partnership with the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, we hooked up with Kimbia and their Give Local America so local nonprofits might benefit, too.

In sharing our idea with the Santa Cruz Volunteer Center, we agreed to join forces and back the Human Race, a program they’ve successfully run for over thirty years.

We committed funds, including grant funds we had from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and logistical support for the next three years to help the Volunteer Center, by 2018, reach its single year goal of raising more than half a million dollars for local nonprofits.

A customized crowdfunding platform was created by Kimbia for the local multi-day fundraising campaign, making it easy for you to give to a local charity.

Give Local America and the Human Race benefits charitable programs large and small, from Watsonville to the San Lorenzo Valley. It’s a great way to have your contribution matched and increased.

No excuses if you miss your chance to give today. You can still give to groups in the Human Race, through race day May 7.

Me? I'm giving today. Wanna join me?

Luis Chabolla is communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Holly Minch Reinforces Branding Is Bonding

Wed, 27 Apr 2016 23:09:57 GMT

A brand is a person's gut reaction about a service, product or organization.

— Source: Marty Neumeier, Brand Gap

One of the best things about my recent trip to New Orleans (besides being able to share with my wife Chris the music, oysters, gumbo, the Hotel Monteleone and the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden) was reconnecting after many years with Holly Minch of Lightbox Collaborative.

I'm on the volunteer steering committee of CommA, the network of communications professionals at community foundations across the U.S. and Canada.

Through the leadership of Eva Penar, and the event planning energy and skills of Nicole Paquette and Mary Grace Roske, CommA gathered in April with our community foundation colleagues for a joint conference with the Advancement Network and ProNet.

Holly was one of our presenters.

Our Brand is Our Reputation

If you or your colleagues are like my team, you may get lost thinking branding is about the logo or website.

Nope.

Our brand is the sum of everything we are, say and do.

No amount of blah blah can mask what people see and feel when interacting with us.

Why Do We Need A Strong Brand?

We live in an age of distraction
We need to be relevant
We need to focus our resources
We need to differentiate
We need to build loyalty and inspire action

In Holly's slide deck [PDF 28.2 MB], you'll see how to take her simple and straightforward concepts and put them into action.

It's easier than one might think and requires no paid consultant or elaborate document to make it happen. It does require teamwork, persistence, consistency and action.

And, if you do need help tap into the resources of Lightbox Collaborative, a group of real people helping foundations, nonprofits and individual do good.

When The Work's Done Take A Break

We did. We discovered the outdoor sculpture garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art and these seated sculptures by one of my favorites, George Segal.

I wouldn't be true to my personal brand if we didn't have fun, too!

Luis Chabolla is communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Who Said You Can’t Teach Old Dogs New Tricks?

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:42:14 GMT

I'm a middle-aged baby boomer not afraid of technology or its tools.

I use my iPhone, desktop computer and DNN (our website's content management system), as part of our community foundation's communications strategy.

I love Twitter, post on Facebook and LinkedIn and blog. But, when it comes to HTML, fixing a glitch, knowing a keyboard shortcut or fighting spam . . . Duh! Even setting up the DVR at home is a job better done by my wife.

I’m not a techie.

It's like my car. I can drive it, but can’t fix it. I love the car radio, but not much interested in talking about what’s under the hood, how it performs or the latest vehicle trends and models.

I'm more wanting the thing to get me where I want to go without problems.

So, what does that make me? I'll tell you.

I'm an old dog that learned some new tricks to help our digital communications.

Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) understands where I'm at.

With their mission on bringing together technology professionals they also offer people like me great stuff around leadership, digital communications and advocacy. Info beyond the tools that we can easily grasp and integrate into our nonprofit world.

That's why I became a paid member of NTEN. And, that's why I attended their latest recent global gathering, #16NTC, in San Jose.

STay Open to the Opportunities

Stay open to the opportunities was a message I heard loud and clear at #16NTC. So, here's two juicy bones this old dog dragged home that I want to share with you.

You Can Be A Google Adwords Hero

Mark Hallman [left] and Jason Shim [right], were great fun in their presentation, showing us how to increase traffic to our websites through targeted keyword messaging and tapping into Google AdWords Grants for Nonprofits.

For eligible nonprofit there's up to $10,000 per month to spend as part of an online strategy you can use to boost campaigns through Google Ads.

It's something that requires time and energy for success. You need a plan. But, if you or your team are ready it's a good opportunity and one that we're going to follow up on here.

The Hidden Secrets of Google Analytics

I'm looking forward to uncovering Hidden Secrets of Google Analytics #16ntcGAsecrets. Last day #16NTC pic.twitter.com/BjCobje2Jz
— Luis Chabolla (@cfluis) March 25, 2016

We use Google Analytics, but it's a complicated beast.

Our Web team at Embolden helped us set up a customized dashboard and tools to track our blog traffic.

There's so much more. Two years ago Ann-Marie Harrington gave me a copy of Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics, but I wonder if I'll ever read it.

At the Hidden Secrets of Google Analytics, Devon Smith and Julia Robinson re-inspired me. They clued me into something I've been curious about, goals in Google Analytics.

You can configure goals to determine if visitors are doing what you hope they'll do on your website. The data can also help you create better content. And, setting them up is not as difficult as I thought.

Their dynamic presentation, which they and NTEN generously shared unravels they mystery about goals and illustrates other ways to bite off bits of Google Analytics to improve your work.

I'm sticking with NTEN! Bow-wow!

Luis Chabolla is communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Monterey Bay Internships Promotes Education and Economic Vitality

Fri, 04 Mar 2016 00:24:05 GMT

Have You Caught the Buzz?

Monterey Bay Internships, a one-stop web portal for connecting regional employers with students for paid and un-paid internships, is more than a good idea. It's happening!

The founding partnership team

The team put in over a year of planning and brought their money to the table to oversee the development of the site.

Monterey Bay Internships was built by locally-owned Iversen Design, and now managed by the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership.

"Together with our partners we saw a local need to focus our collective energy around the intersection of education and economic vitality," said our CEO Lance Linares.

"We invested in planning, but always with an eye to turning that as quickly as we could into action," Linares said.

ENERGY IS BUILDING THE FORCE IS WITH US

During the first months of 2016, as the site gets a final test drive, the team is busy recruiting area businesses and nonprofits to register and post available internships.

"What's happening is a great examples of local innovation and collaboration at work," said CEO Lance Linares.

Students at both Cabrillo College and UC Santa Cruz are being prepped on how they can use the online site to find local internships versus what was available to many before—yes, I'm not kidding —a mishmash of bulletin boards and unconnected databases.

So far, over 60 businesses and nonprofits have registered on the site, with over half posting a listing for an open position. The number of student profiles being created is growing as classes resume after breaks.

Talks are also underway to bring other area colleges, universities and financial backers onto the project team, as the site readies for a major public launch in the coming months.

"Keeping the brain trust here is critical to the economic vitality of the region," Linares said.

Luis Chabolla is communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

You Don't Have to Read Ulysses to Write Better Headlines

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:15:26 GMT

Why Write Better Headlines?

Because, as “the father of advertising” David Ogilvy said, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar."

That's a tip from a marketing pro worth remembering.

Headlines are the emotional or intellectual hook that pull your readers in the door. Headlines are an important step in crafting your messages, regardless of whether you're promoting philanthropy or selling copy.

Because Distant Voices Remind Me I’m Competing For Your Attention

When I think about writing headlines I think about James Joyce.

In the Aeolus episode of Ulysses, “each section within the chapter begins with a bold print headline imitating the headlines of a newspaper.”

Dear Dirty Dublin

Gentlemen Of The Press

How A Great Daily Organ Is Turned Out

What?—And Likewise—Where?

Diminished Digits Prove Too Titilating For Frisky Frumps. Anne Wimbles, Flo Wangles—Yet Can You Blame Them?

“One effect this achieves is to call attention to the sensationalist sound bite nature of newspapers. We live in a world of sound bites, video clips and tweets, on the internet, but it is interesting to see that as early as the 1920s Joyce was already exploring this . . .” [from The Consolation of Reading]

Short But To The Point

“Think headline not article,” wrote Michael Smith in his blog post about Beth's Kanter's approach to writing social media copy.

Another good lesson Beth reminds us of is to practice the "art of less as more."

This is hard for many of us in the nonprofit world, isn’t it?

We wrestle with colleagues (and even ourselves) over the urge to share more and more details in a single message trying to "get the word out," knowing in our hearts we wouldn’t have the patience to read half of it if we saw it floating in cyberspace.

You Can Do It!

Two free online tools for testing your headlines shared online by others that you might find useful:

I used both in crafting and selecting the headline for this post and even had fun testing some of Joyce's headlines I used for sections above.

Now that I launched this post I'm going to track our analytics to figure out if the headlines helped or not. While I wait I'm going to reread some of my favorite passages from my copy of Ulysses I brought to work with me today.

Luis Chabolla is communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

How Many Nonprofits In The U.S?

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 23:36:10 GMT

I was just looking at The Nonprofit Sector in Brief 2015 [PDF 420 KB], the latest biannual report recently released by the Urban Institute's Center On Nonprofits and Philanthropy.

The report offers us some of the latest data available on the growing size and impact of the nonprofit sector in the U.S., with info worth sharing with fellow staffers, boards and supporters.

Some highlights from the latest report:

Approximately 1.41 million nonprofits were registered with the IRS in 2013, with 501(c)(3) public charities (arts, culture, human service organizations, etc.) accounting for just over 950,000 of the total.
The nonprofit sector contributed an estimated $905.9 billion to the U.S. economy in 2013, composing 5.4% of the country's gross domestic product.
Just over 25% of U.S. adults volunteered with a nonprofit in 2014, contributing an estimated 8.7 billion hours, with an estimated value of approximately $179.2 billion.

In addition to the Institute's current and past years reports about the nonprofit sector, there's valuable research data on their website on a wide range of topics from immigration to education, job creation and health.

The Institute, through its National Center for Charitable Statistics, also give what many of you ask us for, how to find lists of nonprofits, here or in your own state and region.

If you're not familiar with the Urban Institute and all they do, check them out. I think you'll discover how easy they've made it to get and share their economic and social policy research.

Stay Connected!

Follow the Urban Institute on Twitter
Stay connected with the Urban Institute on LinkedIn
Like the Urban Institute on Facebook
Like the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy @ Urban Institute on Facebook
Follow the Urban Institute on Instagram

Luis Chabolla is communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

What Our Grant Means for You!

Wed, 11 Nov 2015 00:18:14 GMT

The $260,000 grant we announced this week receiving from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation is meant to inspire giving to Santa Cruz County nonprofits in real and immediate ways.

We formed a partnership with the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County to support the Human Race over the next three years (2016-2018), one of the center's successful signature events held in May.
We engaged Kimbia and its Give Local America to build a crowdfunding website to be used for peer-to-peer fundraising for local nonprofits.
We're making available $170,000 over the next three years from grant funds received from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and funds already here from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, as incentive matching money for all eligible nonprofits participating in the Human Race.
We'll be working with the Volunteer Center to provide additional training and help for nonprofits on using the new site, fundraising planning and communications.

As our CEO, Lance Linares said, "For a number of years, we've been considering starting a giving day and had been looking at Give Local America."

At the same time, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation was wanting to involve a greater number of nonprofits in our county than could be helped through its Charity Match program, which has ended. It provided fifteen organizations in our county with $80,000 in matching grants in 2013-2014.

Over 180 nonprofits participated last yer in the Human Race last year, with nearly $250,000 raised.

"At first we thought about creating our own thing. But, after looking at what was already in place and successful, we agreed that hooking our wagons to the Volunteer Centers and its Human Race as the right move with the greatest potential benefits for our community," Lance said.

With the added support, the Volunteer Center is setting a goal of doubling the amount raised for local nonprofits over the next three years, with more nonprofits participating, particularly in the arts and environment. We can do it!

Pictured L to R: Karen Delaney, Executive Director of the Volunteer Center, Mary Gunn, Director of Philanthropy, Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Christina Cuevas, Program Director at the Community Foundation.

Details on how nonprofits participate, training opportunities and how to qualify for some of the matching funds will be coming from the Volunteer Center by the start of 2016. If you have other questions I can help you with call me at 831.662.2030.

Luis Chabolla is communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

3 Things to Remember About Nonprofit Branding

Fri, 19 Jun 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Branding is Not a Dirty Word

Finding our brand and its role for our #communityfoundation #comnetlive @TheComNetwork - A bridge to the future. pic.twitter.com/tclaWIUfPK
— Luis Chabolla (@cfluis) June 10, 2015

I'm glad I made time last month to join the webinar, The New Brand Imperative, hosted by the Communications Network and led by Elke Dochtermann and Hayley Berlent.

In conversations I've had with colleagues, both within our community foundation and outside with other nonprofits, the topic of branding stirs interest, confusion and anxiety—often mixed together in the same bowl of thought.

In our effort to understand and define branding for nonprofits it's easy to narrowly define it as a business thing, with little or no relation to our work.

Not so. Strong positive branding is a key ingredient to a successful nonprofit.

Branding is More than a Logo

While it's tempting to stop at logo design, colors, taglines, etc., that is not enough.

Great #comnetlive session on #Branding: It's not just what you say; it's what you do (#Communications) pic.twitter.com/8HK7htIMUt
— Marc Moorghen (@moorghen) June 10, 2015

Branding is a Promise You Deliver On EveryDay that Inspires Action

When I look at the Nike swoosh or Apple's bitten fruit, they evoke an emotion and response (sometimes positive, sometimes not) that makes those simple logos so powerful, so much more. Do they stir something in you, too?

Branding is the total sum of our values + our promise + our commitment to deliver + our everyday actions.

Think of brand strategy as a bridge between where you've been and where you want to go #comnetlive
— Blandin Foundation (@BlandinFound) June 10, 2015

Illustration of #brand? Anywhere folks go in the universe, they should encounter the same message about your brand. #comnetlive
— ComNetworkEvents (@ComNetworkEvent) June 10, 2015

Now the hard work, but Ahhh! the rewards.

Branding is something that requires everyone on the team working together to keep those wheels in sync turning every day, delivering on our promise and inspiring action for social good.

Aspirational? Yes.

Possible? Yes.

Yes!

Luis Chabolla is the communications officer at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Mom Taught Me About Chewing the Fat

Sun, 10 May 2015 04:00:00 GMT

Stories Are Born to Those That Listen

My mom went to the hospital in Baldwin Park to await my arrival during the 7th game of the 1955 World Series, between the Yankees and our beloved Dodgers.

The first thing she asked as I exited the warm confines of her maternal dugout wasn't, Is it a boy? Or, Is it a girl? But, Did they win?

The birthmark my mom imprinted on me held a love for the Dodgers and a well-spun story.

Don't Let the Facts Get in the Way of a Good Story

Growing up in La Puente, she scorned the barrio and family chismosos, with whispering gossip meant to harm, hurt and hold others down.

But chewing the fat, for her, that was a different ball game altogether.

Antonia Perez Chabolla (1920 - 2006)

"The world is shaped by two things — stories told and the memories they leave behind." - Vera Nazarian

As I'm getting older, I feel life sometimes (I want to say it was Julio Cortazar who wrote this) is all about thinking and remembering.

It's about chewing the fat, thinking and remembering those hundreds of bits and pieces of stories told to me and a million memories, real or imagined.

Stories Open the Door to Other Worlds

In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell explored the universal story of adventure and transformation found in every culture, neighborhood and family. It's the story that opens to the wandering path, where the real work begins.

It's the story that takes us outside our safe walls, going beyond the what I want, me first realm to a place where we see the world through another's eyes.

Storytelling, compassion and philanthropy. A simple, perfect and liberating combination.

Thanks mom!

Luis Chabolla is communications officer at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

You Can Buy Likes But Is It Love?

Thu, 23 Apr 2015 04:00:00 GMT

When we first jumped into the social media waters, we were coached on the value of tracking results.

Our Facebook page, the place we most use to connect with local nonprofits, seemed like a good place to start.

Like many newbies we thought it was all about likes. But, as our page fans and post likes grew in number we learned that wasn't enough.

Facebook likes alone now remind me of window shopping, saying more about the responses to the passing images on our screens than any commitment to a cause or action.

Being friends is good but I want I love

To get people to come inside our nonprofit shop and do something via Facebook they need a good reason.

Using Facebook Insights' Pages to Watch we're able to see what's working—or not—at other community foundations, as we stumble forward finding our own way, as poet Robert Creeley taught me.

Who Loves you? I'm jealous!

At the bottom of the screen shot below are ten community foundations we picked to see how we compared using Pages to Watch.

Drawing from other data available to us, we chose a few serving similar populations sizes, of the same asset size and with similar staffing.

We also included the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, because they do such a great job. Plus two of our neighbors, Community Foundation for San Benito County and the Community Foundation for Monterey County.

Why Does KALAMAZOO Get So Much Facebook Love?

Kalamazoo's measures of engagement always ranks high in our tracking, with regular comments and shares on most of their Facebook posts.

Why?

Using Pages to Watch, I can click on their name to see their top posts, like this one sharing a message about their values, a recognizable image and a link to their blog, Love Where You Live.

What's Up in Washington?

Similarly, the Community Foundation of North Central Washington (#7 in the Facebook tracking above) had a high engagement number today and I want to know why.

What's not to love about this story and picture?

Can We Get Some of that Love?

As Ben Jacobson write, with Pages to Watch, you can gain a better understanding of what you can do better, where you have the most potential to improve, how your audience and brand position differs from theirs and what engagement tactics you can tweek to make your own.

Following the tracks of others you can find your own way.

And, if this use of data doesn't generate the results wanted, we always have likes, my friend.

So, now I need to confess.

It's true I want more than likes. Yet, I smile whenever I open Facebook Insights and see our totals inched above our colleagues in Monterey.

I'm sorry. It's that friendly competitive spirit of mine. But, we all know likes don't really mean that much anymore, right?

Luis Chabolla is the communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

An Easier Way for You to Find Consultants!

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 05:00:00 GMT

How many times have you needed a consultant to help your nonprofit with planning, fundraising or communication needs, but didn't know where to start looking?

How often have you called your community foundation asking for a list?

If you're in Santa Cruz, San Beniito or Monterey Counties, we created something to help you, a searchable online directory of nonprofit consultants.

The directory was nearly a year in the making.

It was developed as a joint effort between the Community Foundations for Monterey and San Benito Counties and us.

Built by our Web team at Embolden, it was modeled on similar directories they created, like the Southern New England Consultant Directory.

As of today, there are 54 consultant profiles in the directory.

We expect more consultants will add their free profiles in the coming months.

It's Easy to Use

The directory is searchable by name, keyword and areas of expertise. The individual profiles provide you with contact info, as well as fee ranges and experience.

You'll also find our listing policy, which is worth a read before getting started.

The directory will be our one-stop site for nonprofits and consultants to use in finding each other.

Let us know what you think of it.

Luis Chabolla is communications officer at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Your Voices are Shaping Our Future

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 05:00:00 GMT

What do you want from a local chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network?

That’s what the leadership committee (Kelly Mercer, Teresa Ruiz-Decker, Kevin Heuer, Alex Urbick, Owen David and Kalyne Foster) wanted to know when they polled you and other young professionals in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties through a recently completed online survey [PDF 221 KB].

The volunteer committee wants you know they are planning the first series of skill building and professional development sessions they'll announce in the coming weeks.

And, in the meantime, to build and keep the momentum going a networking social is scheduled for Thursday, February 26, at Beer Thirty in Soquel.

It will be a great opportunity to connect with new and familiar colleagues who share your interests.

Who Are You?

Of the 134 individuals that completed the survey, the majority of you self-described your role as being either mid-level management or entry-level.

The majority of you (69%) work in Santa Cruz County, with 27% in Monterey County and 4% in San Benito County.

Holding and locating activities to build a network within the three counties is a challenge the leadership group has on its agenda.

Other Networks and More Feedback from You

Who wants another group doing the same thing and offering the same content competing for your time?

YNPN Central Coast can fill a unique niche offering you networking, learning and fun not duplicated elsewhere.

To that end, it was valuable hearing about other networking and professional development opportunities you use [PDF 48.5 KB], as well as other feedback [PDF 45.8 KB] that the leadership group can use as they plan forward.

Have questions or ideas now you want to share? Email YNPN Central Coast or post your comments and questions below.

Luis Chabolla is the communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. He knows he's too old for all this . . . and is helping grow the network providing behind-the-scenes support. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Blueprint 2015 Brings Questions for the Future

Wed, 10 Dec 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Last Tuesday, my colleague Kim East and I drove to Salinas to get a sneak preview of Philanthropy and the Social Economy: Blueprint 2015, from its author Lucy Bernholz.

It was a trip in the rain worth making to be at the National Steinbeck Center for the lunchtime event hosted by our colleagues at the Community Foundation for Monterey County, and supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

This year's edition of Blueprint, released yesterday, is Lucy's sixth annual industry forecast.

For those who don't know her, Lucy is a visiting scholar at the Stanford University Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society and at the Packard Foundation, as well as the author of the blog, philanthropy2173.

Lucy is someone our CEO Lance Linares also likes to tell people spent some of her early years here as a program officer and his first hire. And, equally important to Lance, she's a devoted and knowledgeable baseball fan.

So, if forecasting the trends in philanthropy is anything like the game they love, Lucy is hitting for a solid average on a team with a winning percentage.

Lucy excels at probing the soft spots in the field and turning the seemingly complicated into something even I can understand.

If you think her analysis and focus this year on digital data is a kind of sabermetrics—or, more data analysis and collection to satisfy hungry data wonks—you're wrong. It's not.

As she writes, "This is not about gadgets; it's about complicated (and fundamental) ideas like free association, expression, and privacy in the world of digital data and infrastructure."

Lucy's writing shows her on-field experience, peppered with insights, intuition and a healthy dose of humor that makes it real for me.

I left Salinas, and now as I'm reading my copy of Blueprint 15, I'm thinking about one of her forecasts that governing and managing digital data will be a core capacity for nonprofits and foundations.

On the ride back Kim and I talked that if this is true, then thinking about data is more than something to be managed like financial records or the general ledger. It's about how and why we do things, who we reach, what we gather and how we share information and our stories.

It made us think and gives us something we want to talk about more with you. What are your thoughts?

Luis Chabolla is communications officer at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

We're Starting a Local Young Nonprofit Professionals Network For You

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMT

We’ve taken the first steps to launch a local chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network that we hope will join us to the national movement “activating emerging leaders to advance a diverse and powerful social sector.”

After many conversations with support staff at the national organization and others in the San Francisco Bay Area, we formed a local leadership/steering committee last Friday.

[Pictured left to right: Alex Urbick (with Winston), Kevin Heuer, Kalyne Foster, Kelly Mercer and Owen David. Not in picture: Teresa Ruiz-Decker.]

Introducing Our Leadership Team

This group will work over the coming months to form a network open to all interested young nonprofit workers in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties looking for professional development, peer support and fun.

The first YNPN chapter was founded in San Francisco in 1997, followed by chapters in cities like New York City, Washington DC, Chicago, Denver and San Diego.

About seven years ago, I first became interested in having our community foundation support a local chapter and this year, after going to a MeetUp group organized by Jenny Kurzweil and Teresa Ruiz-Decker, I saw the door open wide.

Why Start a Local Chapter?

Here's how some on the leadership team answered that question:

I believe it will serve as a major resource in developing more collaboration among nonprofits in the area, as well as create a pipeline of talented, nonprofit leaders with a vision of how to change and improve our world starting at home.

To create opportunities for 1) leadership development; 2) agency sustainability; 3) professional development; and, 4) social networking.

Right after college I joined the YNPN mailing list for San Francisco and used it to find internships. I was hoping to find another chapter when I recently moved to Santa Cruz County, but there’s nothing like YNPN here yet. The Monterey Bay region is just as vibrant as the Bay Area, and there is a real need for professional networking and development opportunities for young nonprofit professionals here.

What's Next?

We'll meet again in early November and hopefully get the green light from national to become a local affiliate, along with their guidance to help us kick-start a group you'll want to be a part of.

I expect the leadership team will be ready to open the doors to you at the start of 2015, with a menu of learning and networking opportunities.

Once started I'm sad I'm too old to be an active member, but I'll be here helping and working off-stage to make the local network a success . . . Unless, of course, something is scheduled in the evening to start after eight o'clock.

Luis Chabolla is the communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.

Why We Got Glass Pockets

Thu, 15 May 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Glasspockets is a Foundation Center initiative that "champions philanthropic transparency in an online world."

Does the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County Have Glass Pockets? Find Out --> http://t.co/qRQYzCtbFt @CFSantaCruzCo
— Fdn Center, SF (@FCSanFrancisco) May 8, 2014

Yes, we just got our Glasspockets.

Lance Linares, our CEO, said it's "consistent with our values and willingness to share online, in print and in person, who we are, what we do and how we think."

The Glasspockets website was redesigned last fall to make it easier for you to get and use the information.

Still, it took some friendly pestering and hand holding from our friends at the Foundation Center - San Francisco, and particularly Janet Camerena, who's spearheading the effort, to finally get this off our plate and launched online.

Why Glasspockets?

To build your trust in who we are and what we do.
To reach more of you with info about our local leadership and financial stewardship.
We feel it's part of our commitment as a Funding Information Network Partner of the Foundation Center.

It Just Makes Sense in Today's Online World

With help from our friends Beth Kanter, John Kenyon and our Web partner Embolden, we embraced social media, jumping into the waters.

We learned good communications means two-way exchange, not just getting the word out, product marking and promotion.

It's an exciting challenge and one we continue to stumble and struggle with (like I know we all do), trying to not get caught up in our own industry jargon while unraveling, sharing and explaining in simple terms to you (and even to ourselves) the complexities of our work.

Glasspockets helps us do that.

Luis Chabolla

is communications officer at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and

follow him on Twitter

You + Us + Giving = Great Things

Mon, 21 Apr 2014 04:00:00 GMT

This year, we join hundreds of community foundations across the nation to recognize the 100^th anniversary of the country's first community foundation, the Cleveland Foundation.

Today, there are more than 750 community foundations operating in urban and rural areas in every state in the U.S.

This includes our own, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, started in 1982, by area residents looking for a local place to collect and disburse funds to help during natural disasters like the devastating floods of that year.

From Disaster Born a Vision for the Future

We’re not thinking this milestone is just a party time to collectively pat ourselves on the back (though some of that is justified and sure to happen when community foundations gather for a conference in Cleveland in October).

We see the centennial as an opportunity to acknowledge the reason for any success we've had during the last three decades and to cheer for who we're counting on to help us realize an even greater future: You.

So, here’s three things those of you living and giving in Santa Cruz County helped us achieve during the past 32 years:

Grant over $71 million to charitable cause in Santa Cruz County and beyond;
Make gifts small and large that took our total assets over $78.7 million and helped us make grants, provide donor and nonprofit resources and build connections with professional advisors; and
Open the Jack & Peggy Baskin Center for Philanthropy, a place over 7,800 of you visited and used last year for your meetings and events.

We have hundreds more facts and accomplishments we're proud to share, but this story is about you and what we aspire to do in the future.

During the year, we'll share your stories on our website, through social media and in our print materials about how local philanthropy is making our county a great place to live, now and for future generations.

You can join the conversation today, with your comments below. Where do you see philanthropy and the world of giving and community foundations going the next 100 years? What do you hope happens here at home?

Luis Chabolla is the communications director at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. You can subscribe to his blog posts and follow him on Twitter.