NZARC Blog

An astounding 83% of the people on LinkedIn who already have jobs think of themselves as passive candidates for new openings at other organizations - that’s a LOT of people. Ignore them and you will miss some of the best candidates out there. Click here for the full report.

With LinkedIn stating it is the world’s largest professional network with over 120 million members and growing rapidly, it is a great way to connect – with users exchanging knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.

In 2011, LinkedIn decided to create a non-profit specific division loosely called LinkedIn Nonprofit Solutions. The purpose of the division was to create and market nonprofit-specific recruiting products with specific pricing. They recruited and hired Bryan Breckenridge to create the division. When Bryan was doing his research on the sector to develop the marketing and products he used US-based HR Solutions’ annual survey of the American nonprofit sector has the foundation. The survey showed the needs and deficiencies of nonprofits related to recruitment. Brekenridge then created specific products and marketing to address those needs with LinkedIn. What’s even more exciting is that Lisa Brown Morton’s US-based HR Solutions’ (Keynote speaker and Masterclass Presenter at June 19 conference) annual survey of the American nonprofit sector was the foundation for these new LinkedIn products for the non-profit sector! 

The New Zealand Association Resource Centre Trust is proud to be hosting Lisa Brown Morton as keynote speaker and MasterClass presenter at its human resources conference specifically for charities and associations. Lisa is supported by Aussie non-profit recruitment specialist John Bellamy, an avid supporter on LinkedIn, and other on-line tools such as facebook.

Straight from LinkedIn’s tips around what non-profits can do are as follows:

• Establish your professional brand by creating a complete profile. Use your profile to convey passion for your cause and showcase your unique expertise. Some great examples of complete profiles: Greg Baldwin, CEO of VolunteerMatch, and Beth Kanter, Author of “Networked Nonprofits.” 
• Drive support to your organization by adding the Volunteer and Causes section to your profile. Help us make social impact the professional norm. Add your volunteer experience, causes you care about, and organizations you support to your LinkedIn profile. 
• Expand your network and influence by connecting with colleagues and partners. It’s easy to connect with your coworkers and partners that are already on LinkedIn. Add connections on LinkedIn. 
• Collaborate with peers and potential supporters by joining groups. There are over 87,000 groups focused on nonprofit issues on LinkedIn, offering you the opportunity to network with professionals in your industry and participate in conversations about relevant and timely topics. You can start by checking out the great discussions unfolding on the LinkedIn Nonprofit Solutions or The Chronicle of Philanthropy LinkedIn groups. 
• Stay top of mind with partners and supporters by sharing updates with them. Communicate with your network on a frequent and ongoing basis to share insights and build thought leadership. Share articles you’re reading, important announcements about your organization, and thoughts on industry trends. Find this content on LinkedIn Today’s nonprofit industry tab. You can even connect your Twitter account to your LinkedIn account to share to both places at once.

By Candice de Chalain

The power of how social media can be an effective part of Public Relations within the third sector, is demonstrated by the ‘Komen for the Cure’ story which is currently unfolding in the US. Komen for the Cure is a US-based charity that raises funds for breast cancer research. Up until the end of January 2012, they provided funds to Planned Parenthood, to fund mammograms for low-income women. On the 31 January 2012 the Associated Press reported that Komen had pulled their financial support to Planned Parenthood  –reportedly as a result of Planned Parenthood being under investigation in US Congress, facing allegations of spending government funding on abortions (Komen’s constitution allows for them to withdraw funding from organisations under investigation). Nancy Schwartz has a great summary of events on this story, read it here.

What we find fascinating and a lesson in itself is Komen’s response or as we see it, lack of response. Planned Parenthood were very quick off the mark, immediately sending an email out to its subscribers making them aware of the developments, and asking for donations, emphasising the importance for breast cancer screening for all women, specifically those who were of low income and deserving women at Planned Parenthood Centres.

The public reaction was not something Komen could have anticipated, their social media pages were bombarded with accusations of them “not focusing on their mission”, and “becoming too involved in politics” for a cancer research charity. For 24 hours, Komen said nothing.

In a world dominated by social media, communication in real time, and prolific content sharing, 24 hours is 24 hours too long. By the time Komen released what we think is a vague and unhelpful video of their CEO (watch it here), opinions had been firmly formed by the online community. Kivi Leroux Miller calculated the social media responses to be about 80 anti-Komen comments for every one pro-Komen response. If, in response to Planned Parenthood’s initiatives, Komen had released a statement explaining their own rationale to their followers, the story may not have made headlines.

In our opinion, another major blunder was Komen’s attitudes towards their online following. If you look at the Komen Facebook page, you might not realise how irate their following is, the page administrators are diligently monitoring and deleting negative comments. It is generally accepted that the only situation where it is appropriate to delete a fan’s comment is if it is spam, or if it violates the terms and conditions of the website. Social media is a conversation, by deleting comments instead of addressing them; Komen has come across as elitist. Donors are the organisation’s shareholders; Komen is alienating a large source of their revenue by not listening to their donors, particularly when they are explaining how they want their money to be spent.

Komen has learnt the hard way that trust lost is difficult to get back, and a quick look through the hundreds of tweets on the subject shows that a large number of Komen’s donors have pledged to support a different breast cancer research charity, or Planned Parenthood directly. An interesting point to note is that Komen fired their Public Relations officer and reinstated Planned Parenthood’s funding, a couple of weeks after the public outcry. Unfortunately for Komen, a few bad PR decisions may cost them dearly, and have further reaching repercussions than they could have ever envisioned.

By Colette Palmer - Business Professional Services Limited, Executive Officer - Communications