SlideShare for nonprofits

I recently started experimenting with SlideShare and think it has great possibilities for the nonprofit community. You can see my profile and two SlideShare presentations here or watch one here:

Fundraising: How to better understand your donors' needs

View more presentations from Tim Bete.

If you ever make presentations about your organization to other groups (e.g. Rotary, etc.), you can easily turn it into a SlideShare presentation. Simply post your PowerPoint to SlideShare and then post your recorded remarks in MP3 format. SlideShare lets you connect the two pieces, and tell it when to change slides. It's a very quick and easy process. You can even sit at your desk and create the entire presentation using your PC's microphone.

I see SlideShare possibilities for volunteer training, staff training, and donor updates, among other areas.

A great viral campaign: Big Boston Warm Up

Dayton, Ohio -- Jeff Sawyer from Lands End, a very talented copywriter and former co-worker, just sent me a video for the Big Boston Warm Up campaign. They have a goal to provide 7,681 coats to homeless people this winter. Toward the end of the video, look for my name "Tim Bete." You can personalize the video with anyone's name and send it to them. The personalization makes for a great appeal that tugs at your heart strings and will get people to act. I wouldn't be surprised if they get 20,000+ costs donated. You can personalize your own video here.

Rory Sutherland on advertising

Dayton, Ohio -- TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Here's a very interesting video about perception and advertising from one of their recent events.