BACK! with the buzz

These are the guys that I've hired to keep me on schedule to finish my thesis.

Ha. Just kidding. For those of you still out there, I know you're thinking, where the ... did Sarah go? Is she ever going to finish this project? I'm sorry I've been MIA! I had to take another course right in the middle of my thesis project, and that derailed me for a bit. (The intensive was in the Bahamas... what can I say?) And then the normal current of life has taken me downstream at a rapid pace. But I'm fighting my way towards graduation, paragraph by paragraph.

I might throw a flurry of posts your way as I collect my research and form my drafts of the project.

Speaking of flurry, as you may have read on the internet or heard on the news, Invisible Children has exponential gathered momentum towards it's Kony 2012 campaign (both good, and bad...or I might say angry.) Watching this happen through the lens of this project has been very interesting, to say the least.

I had one main question right when everything blew up. Why did this cause SO much buzz? IC has had the same mission, made similar videos, and taken the same strategic course of action as an organization since the beginning. And they have garnered quite a following, hence choosing them as a case study. But this time, they went viral. That buzz turned into a roar.

A few initial conclusions, through facebook discussions and internet research (thanks C.H. for your insight):

1. This was the first time IC used YouTube/Vimeo to host their video. Usually they release videos on their tours, and you can also buy their DVDs. This free and accessible platform allowed their video to go viral in a matter of days, with the current viewing total at 16.2 million plays. That's pretty incredible. 
2. They launched a big pre-video launch campaign on social media, and in real life (such as hanging posters, giving out kits, etc.) which continued through the release of the video. 
3. Infamy is still fame. Although their critics have been many, they drive traffic to their video, website and ultimately their mission. The press they got continued to drive the buzz. 

Whatever you think about IC and the way they go about accomplishing their mission (I tend to have a lot of sympathy), they have now stepped into an entirely new threshold of public awareness. 

Again, this media firestorm over Kony 2012 begs me to ask another question, which will be in the conclusions of my research. How much buzz is too much? 

Is gaining catalytic movement behind your organization always a good thing? Is there too much of this good thing? Consumers are savvy, they are fickle. Seth Godin talks about this in Purple Cow. They like the remarkable thing, not the popular thing, or the overly trendy thing. 

When does something change from remarkable, to... well, in Invisible Children's case, a big target?   

Invisible Children: Creating missional communities

In this second installment of what's going on at Invisible Children, I think another secret to their catalytic movement is their ability to create tight communities working towards their mission.

Over and over, I have heard community mentioned by IC volunteers. That's not a normal experience with many non-profits and their volunteer base. There is usually affiliation, networks, general camaraderie among an organization's volunteers and staff, but at Invisible Children it is a particularly strong and compelling part of what drives people to get involved... and stay involved with increasing commitment and responsibility 

Here's a very amazing video articulating this through one young volunteer's story (their first volunteer, apparently!) Not only did Seth find community as he got involved with Invisible Children, but this process definitely shaped him and developed him into a leader. What a great volunteer experience! It wasn't a "Leadership Development Program" that he went through, or public speaking training, or any such program... but probably a mix of a community of people committed to a mission, and also committed to each other. A great mission can get people involved, but I think deep community keeps people coming back.

In my interview with Katie, I heard the same experience with community through IC echoed in her story. Katie went to the film screenings, bought a bracelet, told other people about IC. But it wasn't until her friend got back from being a "roadie" (a semester-long volunteer program where they take the films on tour) and told her about the experience that she decided to apply for it too. Then, after being a roadie, she has kept coming back for more.

There is something about developing community among volunteers that is key to a catalytic movement of people. I think radical empowerment of volunteers (like I talked about in the last post), and experiential opportunities for the community of volunteers (like the roadie program) really solidify a dynamic, missional community.

Maybe nothing embodies this more than the "Fourth Estate" conference that IC puts on. I love this idea. The Fourth Estate is a gathering of 650 of Invisible Children's most committed volunteers (biggest fundraisers, longest volunteers, etc.) They brought them to USD to get them up to speed on what IC is doing, inspire them with speakers, and collaborate on finding new ways to respond to the war in Uganda. They also had a lot of fun.

What a smart way to honor and empower their most committed volunteers, and create a deeper sense of community by bringing them all together to collaborate towards their mission? It also has a slight sense of exclusivity, or on the flipside, giving other volunteers something to aspire towards.

What do you guys think about the importance of community in a volunteer experience? How does an organization create it?

Invisible Children: Empowering anonymous extraordinaries

I've been in San Diego for over 10 years now. About 8 years ago, three guys (who happen to be friends of friends, and a couple from my alma mater...so basically I know them) went to Africa and made a documentary. It was artsy, fresh, hip... just like them. They came back, started showing the documentary around, and then a huge, young, 501(c)3 exploded from their film, complete with tons of merch and great graphics... not to mention a pretty hardcore mission... to apprehend Joseph Kony and stop the longest running African war. 

There are many, many organizations that are doing humanitarian work in different African countries. There are lots of campaigns in America to get involved. There are a bunch of documentaries made about wars in Africa (in fact, I helped make one in Cairo... a different story altogether). But I have yet to see an organization that has so captured the hearts, minds, and talents of the youth of America like Invisible Children. 

I walked into their headquarters last week for an interview with one of their staff on what they call their "Movements" team. Turns out she was actually a volunteer, but I didn't take it personally. Their headquarters is on the fourth floor of a big office building in downtown San Diego. Walking into their offices, it felt a little like Never-Never land had organized into a big non-profit. Everyone I met was younger than me. They were all doing very important things, like having some big conference meeting, transferring phone calls, and directing a huge room of what looked like tele-marketers. (They were actually all "roadies" setting up their upcoming movie tours.) I just couldn't get over how young everyone was. 

I shouldn't have been so surprised though, because Invisible Children targets these youth and captures their heart and puts them to work for an amazing cause. That's their plan. 
I had a great interview with a woman named Katie. Here's my first lesson from Invisible Children.

It's all about your volunteers (or interns, roadies, fans, customers).

Here's a quote from Katie: "...most organizations’ interns exist to serve management, but for Invisible Children the management exists to serve the interns...Honestly, as soon as we get in these doors they sit us down and say “You are Invisible Children, you are the face of the organization. We are trusting you with this large task.” And they really do trust you. It’s an immediate trust and responsibility given. Being trusted that you have what it takes to do these great things for this organization. It’s not even for the organization, but for the people on the ground."

Invisible Children has a crazy, audacious, and focused mission. It is clear, and very compelling. But it seems they spend at least equal time, energy, and resources on their volunteers and raising awareness as they do accomplishing their mission. And I don't think that's a bad thing. It might be a brilliant thing.

I have had many an experience trying to volunteer at an organization but not really feeling like I could do anything that important. Push papers, paint a building, etc. I have tried to connect college students with organizations that didn't have the capacity to even use volunteers. Often these organizations are staff and program heavy. Invisible Children is volunteer heavy.

They have figured out how to engage, empower, and mobilize huge amounts of people towards their cause. They focus on their volunteers, make them feel important, give them responsibilities that are definitely above their pay-grade. Volunteers are trusted, relied upon, challenged.

And because of this, the girl I was interviewing, with a bachelors from a prestigious university, had given up six months to live out of a van,  direct other unpaid volunteers, and take their newest film around the country. This was her second (unpaid) internship with Invisible Children. 

There is a fantastic video from TEDxTeen (did you know there was such a thing?) of a young Invisible Children volunteer's experience rallying thousands and thousands of people and ultimately getting Oprah to give them a spot to share on her show. This young woman talks about all the volunteers mobilizing for Invisible Children as anonymous extraordinaries.

What a great way to look at volunteers... as anonymous extraordinaries, with unlimited potential for your organization and your cause. What a great strategy... to organize, pour into, activate an army of people willing to take your name and your cause into their schools, churches, neighborhoods.

I think this focus, intentionality, and empowerment of their volunteers is one key to success for Invisible Children. It's not their only one, but I think it's an important one.

What do you think? Have you experienced this kind of volunteer experience? What do you think is the potential for highly activated volunteers?

What this project is about

I started my MBA capstone project wanting to study fundraising. Having done a fair share myself, I was asking questions like what does innovation in fundraising look like? what makes people excited to give? how can the things we all want to see happen get funded? There are a million fundraising books out there. Everyone has a strategy, a new campaign, a better way to talk to donors.

I quickly realized that my questions were less about fundraising, and more about mobilizing people. What makes people get involved... the sold-out, life-long customer, complete evangelist type involved?  Answering this question will easily answer the resource question. We all want people like this in our movement. We want more sold-out volunteers, referring customers, true fans. Nothing is more exciting and full of world-changing potential than a groundswell... a movement of committed and passionate people.

So... what makes this type of movement happen? How is it sustained, cultivated, grown? How is the impact measured? What kind of resources can be generated from a movement?

My project has changed from studying fundraising to studying organizations that create movements, both non-profit and for-profit. I will be particularly focused on these aspects:

• How do these movements form/begin?
• What sustains them?
• What kind of impact can they have? (and how is impact measured?)
• How are they resourced (funds, manpower)?
• What have these organizations done differently than others to catalyze a movement of people?

I have chosen five case-studies for the project: Invisible Children, Kiva, Obama's 2008 political campaign, TOMS shoes, and Kickstarter.

*Note: There are many organizations out there I could have chosen from. These above are controversial for different reasons. While I will be addressing impact, I will not spend much time debating the pros and cons of each organizations chosen methods to affect change. I'm not as much studying the strategy they use to make change in the world, but more their ability to mobilize so many people towards their cause, and if that mobilization makes a difference.

I'm trying to find and study that intangible buzz, momentum, and commitment that these organizations have generated. I want to know why and how it happened. And ultimately I want to find out how we can all benefit from what they've discovered.