Non-Profits Urged to Change in Face of the Global Economic Crisis

Philanthropy.com posted an article about a recently held conference at Georgetown with some pretty prominent speakers. Conference Notebook: Nonprofit Groups Urged to Rethink Global Activities It's great to see so many non-profit and business giants respect the what online communication tools can do for their company:

Karen Tandy, senior vice president of public affairs and communications at Motorola, also touched on Twitter, saying she used a blog to share corporate social responsibility stories but was already being asked why she was not also posting on Twitter. “I see the increasing interplay between corporate social responsibility – doing well by doing good – and the interconnection with communication,” she said.

Ms. Tandy noted that her blog was intended to bind people together through the stories about her business’s socially oriented activities, but with technology evolving so rapidly she would need to embrace this new media to stay connected.

Is it me or does hearing corporate social responsibility and interconnection with communication make you excited?? I love hearing these types of articles that are centered on how this economic situation will bring positive changes for companies and non-profits to re-think their typical fundraising, communication and recruitment models.

...participants also called on nonprofit groups to invest in technology even if it risked raising their overhead costs — a sensitive issue for charities trying to prove that they are operating as efficiently as possible.

Although I don't necessarily think that these non-profits or companies have to significantly raise their overhead - many companies can incorporate this into the duties of the marketing department with existing staff - it's still good to hear that this conference full of heavyweights are not only expressing value for online communication tools but showing the necessity in the face of economic changes.

I am still waiting for non-profits to offer services in order to advance their mission while being sustainable without fundraising/grants. Where is Peta's vegan fast food chain?? I'd eat there? I am still waiting!!!