Volunteers are awesome. So the July 5 Net Tuesday is gonna focus on volunteer coordination.

Volunteers are awesome, but the relationship between a nonprofit and a volunteer can be tricky.

VOLUNTEERS: Maybe the nonprofit never got back to you? Maybe the job they offered kinda sucked?

VOLUNTEER COORDINATORS: Are your volunteers creating a ridiculous pile of administrative paperwork and overhead? Can you find volunteers with the right skills? Why is this so hard?

Net Tuesday can't solve all your volunteer-related challenges. We aren't MAGIC. But we've got a few tricks up our sleeves that might help. Check this out:

 TOPIC: Email communications – still alive and kicking

It’s easy to get distracted by that new-fangled social media stuff (so shiny!), but the folks on the ground in non-profits know that the real action’s in email. That’s where you raise the funds to advance your mission. That’s how you get people to show up to events. That’s how you get petitions signed.

There’s plenty of life left in email communications, and learning how to test, optimize, and integrate email campaigns is (I reckon) the best investment you can make in the online space.

There are over 70 NetSquared groups around the world that meet to network and learn about using the web and other innovative technologies to make social change happen. Each one of these groups is volunteer run and community driven, and each one is totally unique and at the mercy of the interests, cultures and expertises of the group members.

Written by guest blogger, MeiMei Fox, @meimeifox and cross-posted to TechSoup blog.

In the middle of the Ecampaigning Forum, I'm trying to turn my notes about Monday's "pre-ECF" session on Social Actions and the Change The Web contest into a blog post. Peter Deitz presented his vision on making opportunities for social activism available on the web, and together with Janelle Ward, Thiago Carrapatoso, Romina Oliverio, George Irish, Amy Sample Ward and Jonathan Waddingham, we looked at 8 of the submitted application for the Change The Web contest (deadline for submissions is this Friday!). Here are my notes of the discussions we had.

These varied social media suggestions make up the third part of my on-going case study of and strategy suggestions for the United Church of Christ's social media strategy, it's attempt to resonance with young people (Millennials in particular), and its potentially forward-moving direction.

First of all, I just want to note how exciting it is that Amy Sample Ward has come on board as the new Net2 Community Builder. As you all know, Britt has done an amazing job of bringing some fantastic people around Net2's vision, she is loved and appreciated, and everyone is excited to see her stay involved with the Net2 community. At the same time, we're psyched to be checking out the great things that Amy is going to bring our way. Here's to the future.

As many of you know, NetSquared has been host to a series Net Tuesday meetups throughout the country. The events, which are organized by folks in cities throughout North America, bring together people interested in the intersection of connective technology and the nonprofit world. For several years now, these events have been a great success by way of keeping NetSquared connected with the community it serves, and keeping the community it serves connected with it. Hopefully you are in some way involved with a Net Tuesday Meetup in your area, and if there isn't one, perhaps you would be interested in taking on a leadership role in that capacity.

Scott Heiferman, founder and CEO of Meetup, talks to us about how he learned to value communities, why he wants to make people powerful, and what we have to look forward to expect in the 21st century.

 

Jed Sundwall: Can you talk about the genesis of Meetup? What motivated you to create it?