Sponsored by Maximum Balance Foundation LLC

Nonprofits need to improve the public’s awareness of the issues that concern them and highlight the importance of their goals.  Men’s Male Movement assists organizations in making the case for funding with specialized creative marketing and a first of it’s kind socil enterprise effort undertaken focusing on the urban community where rather that giving, investment is encouraged and supported.  When more people are familiar with nonprofits’ needs, the likelihood of having those needs met improves. When more businesses, groups, individuals and families are tuned into the benefits, the net of support widens for all of the charitable community.

 

Communities are made up of hundreds of charities, causes and nonprofits.  Regardless of size or budget, nonprofits all share common needs for public awareness and revenue.  Under the banner of Mentoring, local and national nonprofits are grouped by state, affiliation or other categories to increase their strength and reach to make a difference.

 

Men’s Male Movement is a comprehensive Internet and media program to connect nonprofits to the public.  Men’s Male Movement does this by offering:

 

• An Internet location at (The Men’s Male Movement Web address), where volunteers and donors can learn more about giving

 

• Master search engine that connects an entire system of nonprofits, describes their needs, and makes giving easy

 

• A Broadcast Media Campaign that increases awareness about nonprofits

 

• An Internet tool to help coordinate the work of staff, committees, and boards

 

• A community-wide calendar detailing important events

 

• A way for people to easily make donations via the Web

 

By connecting nonprofits to public through the Internet and the Media, organizations can build loyalty, operate more efficiently, and generate new revenue, Men’s Male Movement at a time.

 

 

INTELLIGENT NETWORK Internet Backbone

 

What does a nonprofit organization have when its web site stands alone and is disconnected from a network of organizations? A “marketing problem” is one answer.

 

Nonprofits need the public to know what they do, how to find them, and how to give to them. It isn’t possible for all organizations to fund their own public service messages, but with Men’s Male Movement they can be efficiently marketed as a group of nonprofits with a single, easy-to-remember entry point (The Men’s Male Movement Web address),

Master Web Site

The Men’s Male Movement master site provides an interactive environment with a global search engine that connects users to a wealth of information about individual organizations.

 

Imagine the difference between searching the Men’s Male Movement system for nonprofit

information with a few clicks versus having to locate a long list of web addresses, search through individual sites that function differently, then having no way to relate one site to another.

 

Men’s Male Movement provides a national network of sites (with state-by-state personalization) that serves as a clearinghouse to link individuals, families, civic groups, faith-based organizations, the media, educators, and businesses to comprehensive information about the needs of nonprofits. Additional features include a statewide calendar of events, nonprofit news, frequently asked questions, and information about how to use the sites.

 

Nonprofits have asked for a comprehensive community calendar for years. The efficiency of checking an online calendar for conflicts before scheduling a big fund raising event is only one of the many uses of such a tool. The calendar will be helpful to the media, civic groups, faith-based organizations, and families looking for nonprofit activities. The site will provide direct links to volunteer centers and information referral services, so that those who need additional advice and assistance in their search for the right volunteer experience will have a centralized connecting point.

 

Community bulletin boards will capture ideas and promote interaction in a virtual town-square setting. Men’s Male Movement provides a place to meet, engage in giving activities, and learn about the needs of a community.

 

 

Content Encouraging Businesses to Give Funding, In-kind Donations and Volunteer Time 

Business-to-business outreach provided by chambers of commerce and other business groups will be developed to encourage the corporate community to use the Men’s Male Movement site to search for opportunities for becoming involved with nonprofits. 

 

The online content related to businesses will provide testimonials from businesses of all sizes and types, informative articles about the tax implications of corporate giving, and tools such as downloadable articles that can assist corporations in developing corporate giving programs.

 

The nonprofit information on the site and the links to an organization’s e-mail will support activities such as signing up a group of company volunteers for an activity, or looking for ideas about donating goods and services.

 

Nonprofits need corporate training, telephone systems, storage units, space renovation, computers, office supplies, and a wide variety of professional services. Almost anything a business produces or hands down can be put to good use. 

 

Recently, a space-technology company responded to a notice on the web by donating a science lab and scientist mentor to a child with a terminal illness. The nonprofit didn’t write a grant and didn’t spend staff time making the appeal. Men’s Male Movement will make many more matches like this possible.

 

Content Supporting Families in Becoming More Involved in Serving and Giving 

According to a nationwide survey conducted by Search Institute, kids who succeed possess specific developmental assets and behaviors that include:

 

• family support

• positive self-esteem

• a sense of being a part of a community

• experience with volunteerism

• a sense of the need for their involvement in service

• hope for the future

 

Raising good kids involves showing them how to be a part of a community, and instilling a sense of compassion.  Men’s Male Movement provides encouragement to families as they make decisions about how best to become involved, and offers specific ideas about how to make giving an integral part of family life.  Content designed for families will include articles on the tax benefits of giving as well as practical suggestions for exploring service at any age.

 

A family with small children can add one grocery item to a box in the pantry every time they shop, then deliver it to a food bank once a month. The parent of a teenager can learn how to encourage volunteerism.  A retired couple can explore ways to serve together. The site will contain information and encouragement--and most importantly--real stories about how families make a difference, Men’s Male Movement at a time.

  

Content Assisting Faith Based Groups in Connecting with Non-Profits  

 

Faith-based volunteers provide an important source of support for nonprofit organizations.  Improving communication between communities of faith and nonprofit organizations is one more important reason to build the technology and communications infrastructure of Mentoring.

 

There is a need to educate faith-based groups about how to interact with nonprofits, to define what makes a satisfying volunteer experience, and to provide assistance in planning and scheduling faith-based service activities.

 

The efficiencies of the Internet can help streamline the connection between communities of faith and nonprofits.  Nonprofits get many calls from faith-based groups looking for service projects. But is an inefficient and outdated system that requires church volunteers seeking information to call nonprofit staff and

volunteers who are busy focusing on the work most central to their mission, when that kind of basic information is easily delivered on the web. 

 

Launching the technology that will perform some of this fact-finding work for communities of faith and nonprofit organizations will result in more hours spent providing meaningful service. That means satisfying more volunteer experiences for groups matched to the right cause.

 

Content Connecting Teachers, Students, and Families to Service-Learning Opportunities

 

Service-Learning information provided by Men’s Male Movement supports the education system as it reaches out to nonprofit organizations. 

 

Service-Learning is an integral part of the education system and is used both in public education and higher education to combine academic learning with activities that address real needs in the community.  There is no part of the curriculum untouched by Service-Learning.  Students from elementary to higher education explore the arts, sciences, and humanities while participating in

meaningful service. 

 

The organizations on the Men’s Male Movement web site will provide information about planned and ongoing Service-Learning opportunities, and educators will use the web site to expand Service-Learning programs and projects.

 

 

A high school chemistry teacher who wants to structure a class that addresses the core curriculum requirements while testing for lead in the homes of at-risk

families will need to find the right nonprofit partner.  The nonprofit organization will need to understand what Service-Learning is and know how to facilitate it.  A good working relationship will need to be established between the instructor and the staff of the nonprofit organization.  Men’s Male Movement will provide the connectivity that supports an increase in these kinds of Service-Learning activities--to the benefit of both the school system and nonprofits.

NETWORK OF ORGANIZATION SITES

     

The individual organizational sites linked to the Men’s Male Movement master site will increase the efficiency with which nonprofit organizations disseminate their message and make requests for volunteer support, in-kind donations and financial donations.    Each site will include an e-commerce feature allowing on-line contributions to individual organizations.

 

Individual Sites

Each nonprofit organization will have a sophisticated web site built on a template that includes:

 

• A full description of the organization and its mission

• The organization's ongoing programs, activities, and special events

• Specific needs for in-kind, financial, and volunteer contributions and the means     of making contributions

• Descriptions of Service-Learning opportunities

• Organization news

• Description of a typical volunteer experience

 

 Search Capabilities

 

The network of sites will be searchable by numerous fields including geographic region, type of organization, population served, key words in the description of an organization's mission and programs, specific in-kind needs, financial needs and volunteer needs to allow efficient and effective comparison and connection.

 

Better Information  

 

The Men’s Male Movement site will reduce the potential for duplication of nonprofit data, and will support the development of better and more useable data.

 

Rich Content 

 

In addition to providing an easy-to-navigate on-line environment where questions can be efficiently asked and answered within a searchable database, the site will feature rich content providing encouragement to those who want to become more involved in their community, but who don't know how to start.

 

No Need to Replace Existing Web Sites 

 

Many nonprofit organizations don’t have web sites. Men’s Male Movement provides an easy, economical solution for nonprofits to create an effective online presence.  Those who currently have a web site will be able to post their information on the Men’s Male Movement master site with a link back to their original site as well.

 

 

MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO RAISE AWARENESS

 

Men’s Male Movement’s media campaign will creatively highlight the importance giving. Television, radio, and print advertising will move people to become involved in making a difference.

 

Research has provided a deeper understanding of key motivating factors in giving and volunteering.  A creative team that understands the attitudinal barriers that must overcome in order to move the public from interest to activity, a creative team is developing an integrated media campaign that will move the audience to give.

 

Media partners will use the best practices of advertising to reach hearts and minds, and convince people that serving and giving provide some of the best experiences of life.

 

In any location where Men’s Male Movement is implemented, the nonprofit community establishes a partnership with local television, radio, and print entities to provide an advertising schedule that is either a philanthropic donation as public service, or a partial or fully underwritten advertising campaign.

 

The message of the importance of giving needs to have a more prominent place in public life. The Men’s Male Movement media campaign will help create lasting awareness of the need to give, and promote the (The Men’s Male Movement Web address), web address. This will support the development of long-term public awareness that giving is important and that there is a place on the web that makes giving easy.

 

INTERNET BASED PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS

 

As a part of Mentoring, nonprofit organizations also will have a powerful, web-based management tool to help them run operations, projects, and teams. This functionality will allow nonprofits to coordinate multiple projects more efficiently, collaborate with project team members more effectively, and streamline work with committees and boards.

 

The application improves communication, increases efficiency, and will manage multiple projects online. Men’s Male Movement helps coordinate scheduling, allocates tasks, and assigns priority status, posts documents, images, and photos. Features will include:

• Chat

• Surveys

• Online discussion

• Internet links

• E-mail

• Document sharing and online collaboration

 

Because the tools are accessed via the Internet, nonprofits won’t have to worry about software or hardware. A simple connection to the Internet will support an entire suite of services from any location at any time.

 

These tools will add value to nonprofits by allowing them to coordinate various teams, and perform tasks from multiple remote locations.

 

 

TRAINING AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO NONPROFITS

 

Training is an important part of successfully adopting technology.  Men’s Male Movement is designed to meet the present and future needs of nonprofits with online tools that represent the best practices in the charitable community. 

 

National partners, statewide nonprofit associations, and nonprofit groups will be able to offer Men’s Male Movement - related training in the following subjects: 

 

•     Using Technology to Improve Staff, Board and Volunteer Communication

•     Nonprofit Marketing and Outreach

•     On-line Fund Raising

•     Managing Donor Relationships With Technology

•     Volunteer Recruiting, Retention and Management

•     Understanding Technology Trends

•     Building On-line Project Management Teams

•     Practical Internet Strategies for Nonprofits

 

Training will maximize the effectiveness of an organization’s participation in Mentoring.

 

 RESEARCH: QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE

 

Research about service, giving, volunteering, and the impact of the project over time will be an integral part of Mentoring. Tracking features built into the web site will measure the impact of the campaign as well as allow the surveying of organizations and volunteers.

 

The sophisticated architecture of the Men’s Male Movement sites will make it possible to:

• Measure and value the transactions facilitated by the site, including financial contributions made on-line

 

• Measure the value and number of in-kind donations received by organizations as a result being listed on the site

 

• Measure the volunteer hours and volunteer relationships created by the media campaign and web site

 

In these ways, specific calculations of the impact of the project will be possible, including measuring the contributions leveraged by the original underwriting dollars supporting the implementation of Men’s Male Movement in a particular area.

  

MEN’S MALE MOVEMENT IS READY TO LAUNCH

 

The additional research conducted at the outset of development provides the foundation for the creative elements of the campaign and it’s branding. Ongoing creative development will continue to utilize primary project research as the foundation for learning how better to motivate people to volunteer and give.

 

A campaign is underway to raise a pool of national funds to make matching grants available for local implementation. The goal is to put technology and marketing in place for nonprofits without distracting them from their true work.

 

Nonprofits need to be supported in rising funding, working with staffs and boards, and accomplishing their missions. Our goal is to support them as they do the work that makes a difference....