In regards to AIDS work, AMREF works on three levels to combat the virus in Sub-Saharan Africa, home to 60% of the population living with HIV.  They do this by strengthening efforts to educate, manage and treat HIV/AIDS within the existing medical system.

With so many worthwhile and award-winning projects, AMREF should have some wonderful stories to tell.  Yet, the pictorial, video and written accounts are buried and hidden withing pages of  website text.

The story of  George, one of AMREF’s community health workers, is fantastic.  However, it takes some savvy site navigation to find it.  The same goes for George’s corresponding video- a fantastic piece, yet a hidden gem:

Admittedly, my thoughts about the need to promote the stories within an organization come on the heel of a conversation  regarding The Cluetrain Manifesto.  We were discussing the need to incorporate, as the authors assert, the humanistic qualities into marketing approaches.  One might argue that a health relief organization is as humanistic as an organization can be.

However, I think that true sucess in web 2.0 can be better attained in conversation and story telling.  Let media pieces shine on the site.  Open platforms for people to join the conversation.  As noted in Cluetrain, and a decade in forethought, organizations need to allow for human and true conversation.

With these musings, I offer my hopes for AMREF and organizations worldwide who strive to combat and treat HIV/ AIDS.  More to the point, I offer my thoughts  to those suffering the virus, and those survived by a loved one with AIDS.

A Few Related Resources:

Directory of AIDS Charities and Support groups worldwide

A great prevention fundraising video by Avert.org:

In an article entitled Politweets: “Embrace the Twitter Side of Government 2.0,” Jack O’Connell, California’s superintendent of public instruction, lists three attributes for Twitter tactical success.  These are: transparency, passion and humanity.   The right blend of tweeted honesty, communicated need and likability make for a supportive online community.

Shel Israel, author of the touted Twitterville and Global Neighborhoods blogger, notes the powerful force of using social media to spread and garner good will.  Giving is subjective, he says.  Could the strategic use of Twitter could mean the difference between donation numbers?

The true reason I mention Mercy Corps, however, is for the nonprofit’s use of  Twitter.  While I sometimes debate the true effectiveness of microblogging when it comes to garnering donations, I think Mercy Corps developed the right blend of 140-character fueled public information and public solicitation, and encouraged retweeting.  Here is an example of the last few tweets:

“Writer @loudmind shares his most memorable meals from the field. (And how it all started w/ Indiana Jones.) http://bit.ly/5XIdcR about 9 hours ago from web

If you can spend $10 on cranberry sauce, can you spend $10 a help feed a family? Put the “giving” back in Thanksgiving: http://bit.ly/QKG4X about 13 hours ago from web

Take a look at what women in CAR and our team around the globe are thankful for. Then add your thanks: http://bit.ly/4oXciH #thanksgiving “

They connect followers to the Mercy Corps blog, encourage donation and foster interaction with the nonprofit. 

Interestingly, Beth Kanter, social media and nonprofit expert and author of “Beth’s Blog”, notes some interesting trends in Twitter solicitations that Mercy Corps appears to  adopt.  In particular, the fostering of “person to person asks.”

She advocates, and I agree, that the strategy behind the posts that can lead to the ultimate goal, donations.  What do you think?

When discussing Direct Relief International, I noted that purpose and audience should drive a video’s  format, production, etc.  Direct Relief’s videos target an audience with an interest in the organization or its approach.

Charity: Water’s video follows Gillin’s AEIOU (B) rule, but in contrast is high in production and entertainment value:

I love this video.  Short, empowering and vivid, it clearly targets a larger audience pool.  Scott Harrison, Charity: Water’s founder, once worked in promotions for the New York nightlife scene.  Perhaps his experiences inform the more flashy PSAs and videos on the nonprofit’s YouTube channel. 

Charity: Water is no stranger to new media promotion and marketing, and has used the YouTube medium to its fullest advantage.  In fact, YouTube introduced me to Charity: Water;  the nonprofit won a contest as one of the top four charities viewers wanted highlighted on the site.  My first thought: “Huh.  That’s a really good video.”

Such tactics bring us back to my first point: purpose. Charity: Water is a youthful nonprofit reaching out to a wide and youthful audience.  These videos troll for donors versus inform interested parties.  Either way, “That’s a really good video.”

In these chapters, Gillin highlights video and it’s importance.  His sums his advice for creating a successful viral video as AEIOU: Authentic, entertaining, Intimate, offbeat or unusual…with an added “b” for brevity.

Take a look at the newest video from Direct Relief International’s YouTube Channel:

It’s not flashy, wrought in high production value or entertaining for entertainment’s sake.  However, it is indicative of values of the charity.  A Santa Barbara-based organization, Direct Relief International spends 98.9% of it’s funds on community-based projects domestically and worldwide.

This video demonstrates the passion and authenticity of the organization, targeted to those who already have some interest.  Intimate, simple, explanatory videos are the hallmark of Direct Relief International’s YouTube channel.

Here is another example  from Direct Relief’s library:

A simple online interview answering FAQs posted on the nonprofit’s Twitter and Facebook page.  What a great way to connect with followers, answer questions that interest donors and potential donors and combine aspects of social media outreach. 

Some might argue these videos are dry, but I think they are effective for their purpose.  What do you think?