I like examples. Whether they're of successes or failures, a keen administration can learn multitudes from examples. A recent example of a modern non-profit engaging a community by leveraging pre-existing communities is www.dosomething.org's presence on myspace.com. This clever maneuver may not be as unique as a Dali painting, but the layers of successes wrapped into this effort is impressive and worth study.

I'm going to list these in order of what I see as their most potent tactics.

First is leveraging an existing social utility. We're talking over 100,000,000 people, already there, already socializing. This is a DYNAMITE play on dosomething.org's part. DO NOT RECREATE THE WHEEL…just paint someone else's a different color and get rolling! It's not plagiarism and, oh, yeah…myspace is FREE!

Second targeted age group. Not surprising that this staff is engaging the tail-end of the Millenial generation. Staple of their generational profile are to be proactive in their own chosen idiom and to lean more towards using non-traditional methods of communications (the web vs. face-to-face). And going after adolescents is the surefire way to engage the next wave of socially conscientious humans. Many non-profits are experiencing their older volunteers and donors staving off the time for passing the torch has come, and dosomething.org is doing an admirable job by 1) not going directly after the 25-45 audience (although they are getting to them by engaging after their children/siblings) and 2) going to them where they socialize. Take heed teenagers want to help, they just need a convincing plea to action and excellent coordination to corral their boundless energy. Do you have what it takes?

Third, Celebrity. Here we go again with a great leveraging in of a recognized commodity to engage pre-existing communities for a call to action. I haven't forgotten what it was like to be a teenager, have you? Who did I listen to mom and dad or Public Enemy and George Carlin. This is a brilliant play by Celebsgonegood.com editor Ariston Anderson and the dosomething.com staff. Again, don't recreate the wheel and KNOW THY AUDIENCE! Celebrities come with legions of fans who can potentially become your volunteer and/or donor. Sure, maybe you can't get Usher, but there are always local celebs in your town don't hesitate to request their presence as a donation.

Fourth check out this Board of Directors! Reputation, diveristy of experience, international work, entrepreneurial spirit, colossal web 2.0 chops, lawyers, and mad connections. This who's-who has Jeff Arnold of WebMD and howstuffworks.com, Larry Berg from the Apollo group, Matt Cohler from Facebook, Marge Magner of BrySam, Wenda Millard of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc…. And that's not half the list! This is a B.O.D of DOERS, not passive advisors who want something else on their resume. I highly doubt these types of alpha personalities joined the fight for any other reason then the staff of dosomething.org made a strong impression. Learn get yourself a great elevator pitch and don't fear approaching heavy hitters…AFTER you have your act together. This is no different than approaching venture capitalists they'll want to see that you're totally invested personally before they believe your passion matches their own.

Okay that's all for now. I hope I succeeded in showing an example of how a shrewd crew in the social cause game got their act together and leveraged an existing new media platform to engage volunteers and donors. Check them out and take more than a few tips from their playbook. And comment if you have feedback or questions I'll be checking in daily to see if there's a conversation.

Peace…James