Robert Egger, President of DC Central Kitchen, recently posted a video response to Rush Limbaugh’s assertion that nonprofits, “siphon contributions as their salaries and so forth and think of themselves as good people, charitable people. These people are rapists in terms of finance and the economy.”

I love the video.  Please watch and share.  Widely.  Thanks.

However, aside from the fact the Rush is simply wrong, I couldn’t help but think that his hateful and hurtful comments are rooted in common misconceptions about the nonprofit sector. (especially since Rush himself is a member of a non-profit).

While many of us may enter this work with a desire to change the world, enrich our communities, and create a stronger public life, we often encounter people who question the value of what we do.  I asked folks on twitter, “What is a misconception about the nonprofit sector that drives you crazy?” The responses weren’t surprising:

We get no money, it’s not a real job, we make life worse for people, blah, blah, blah.

I’m always curious as to where people get these ideas from.  After all, when I point out the many non-profits that people rely on-colleges, house of worship, museum, library, church, etc–or non-profits that have had a major impact on policy, they seem shocked.  They had no idea these organizations were non-profits.

Is it a marketing problem? One thing I struggle with is the resistance to marketing  I notice with some non-profits.  It’s one thing if it is a matter of budget (although there are fabulous resources to help you market on a shoe string budget) but there’s a belief that marketing is problematic when you’re trying to do good.  Is this belief holding us back from communicating with more people?

Is it a hyper focus problem? Bad things always stand out more than good.  There certainly are  nonprofits where the staff is over worked and underpaid.  There are nonprofits that are inefficient.  But does this mean we shouldn’t highlight and learn from those who are doing good work?  How do we shift understanding of our work?

Is it a collaboration problem? Should we be reaching out more to each other?  More to organizations and people outside of our sector?  Working with others allows us to share resources and audiences but how often does this happen?

Is it an internal problem? How many of us believe these misconceptions and perpetuate them?  Instead of openly sharing the good, we’re quick to share the bad.  Do you consider yourself part of the sector or part of a cause and how does this affect how you share your work?

Is it our name? I think Paul Light said it best at a Craigslist Bootcamp a few years ago “Why are we being defined by what we’re not?”

I realize these questions are related, so maybe a multifaceted approach is necessary, but what do you think?  Where do the misconceptions about non-profit work come from and how can we address them?  How have organizations challenged misconceptions in the communities they serve?

In my last post, several bloggers shared how being an introvert blogger often presents an enormous challenge: constantly getting stuck. When you need to think an entire post through before even sitting down to write, it is easy to get blocked. Especially if, like me, you don’t always have the time to think out an entire post. The post may come together throughout the day, adding pieces randomly until, a few hours or days later you have piece. And God forbid if you forget some aspects of your post during that time!

However, there are some techniques that I use to help me get through a post when all of my thoughts aren’t coming together:

1. Work on the title: When blogging the title has to draw readers in and highlight the main point of the post. Crafting the title allows me to refine my topic and figure out the structure of my post. ProBlogger has an excellent post on how to write an effective title and the process will definitely help you think out a post.

2. Make a connection: Think about other people and posts who have touched on this topic before. Not only will you be able to add resources and links to your blog post but you’ll also have different ideas to play on or respond to. In general, I find that the more I read and participate in the blogosphere the easier it is for me complete a post.

3. Identify the block: Sometimes it’s not a lack of ideas–it’s a lack of interest in the topic or exhaustion. Try taking a break or moving on to a new topic. Or maybe you’re stuck on length and structure. Not every blog post needs to be long so don’t be afraid of short, straightforward posts. In other words, sometimes you need switch your approach to get through a particular post. Become familiar with your writing process so you can identify and address those blocks appropriately.

What do you do when you’re stuck in the middle of a blog post?

I attended a panel discussion at BlogHer a few weeks ago about how you can use a blog to make yourself a better writer.  The moderator of the panel, Dianne Jacob, mentioned how the writing processes of extroverts and introverts tend to differ.  Extroverts use the actual process of writing itself to flesh out ideas and come to a finished piece of work while introverts tend to think a piece out in their heads and write only when they are close to being finished.

The introvert style of writing describes my process perfectly.  When I sit in front of a computer screen with nothing to write I get frustrated and spend more time thinking everything out then coming back to the computer with a finished product in mind.  Writing always seemed like a technical last thing you do, not a process in and of itself.  I need to organize my thoughts before I put them down on paper, otherwise, I’m stuck.

However, aside from the process of putting pen to paper, I wonder if blogging forces writers to be extroverts.

While I tend to think about posts a great deal before I write them, I also engage other people in my writing process. I use conversations (online and offline) and bounce ideas off of people.  It’s not uncommon for me to blurt out in a middle of a conversation “that would be a great blog topic!” then whip out my notebook and pen to jot down some notes. (yes, I’m always “on” when it comes to blogging).

I am also audience focused in my writing, as many bloggers are. We think not only of what is exciting to us, but also what would be exciting to our readers and the larger community in which we write.  For those of us who blog for career or work purposes, the goal is usually building an audience or community around your blog which means focusing outward rather than inward as I write.

And finally, blogging, by its very nature of being public, encourages us to interact with people. Sure, you can lock up your comments section or make your blog private.  But ultimately, it is the interactions with other bloggers that push us to look at our writing differently, provide ideas for future posts, and keep us in the loop about great opportunities to strengthen our writing.

So what do you think?  Does being an extrovert or introvert affect your blogging style?

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Last week, Holden Thorp, chancellor of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Buck Goldstein economics professor at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill wrote on Forbes.com that in light of the world’s challenges, universities need to prepare their students to be changemakers:

“Oil-filled oceans, broken financial systems, inequality, lack of clean water and uncured diseases. The world’s biggest problems are calling–and calling now.

The good news is that college students are arriving on campus just in time to play important roles in attacking those problems. College students have a high-impact, problem-oriented focus. And their energy, idealism, connectedness and unique point of view are crucial to success in solving the world’s greatest problems.”

Their call to action is right on time. With many people questioning the value of college education and young people being more motivated than ever to support those in need, colleges can reposition themselves as incubators of social change. Yet what steps can colleges take towards harnessing the enthusiasm of their students?

1. Integrate action into the curriculum, across disciplines. Sociology courses should not be the only places where inequality is addressed and internships should not be the only way students are exposed to taking action. The rise of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise present new and engaging ways of looking at and solving pressing problems. Additionally, social intrapreneurship-where people lead social change initiatives within an organization–allow people to move around resources to address critical needs. Consider encouraging students to adopt these frameworks to reexamine issues that are important to them.

2. Highlight student changemakers. And invite them to teach, lead, or speak at the school. Beyond a snapshot in the school newspaper or an article on the website, students who are changing the world should be given the opportunity to guide others and share resources and ideas. Don’t know where to begin? Look at the students on campus who have launched interesting programs on or off campus. Reach out to grant recipients on SparkSeed–an organization that provides funding and support to social entrepreneurs still in college–to see if they would be willing speak or teach at your school. Even better, partner with SparkSeed or create your own fund to support to student innovators.

3. Make social change part of the college’s goals. It isn’t just about encouraging students to take action–it’s also about practicing what you preach. How is the college using its own resources, beyond giving to the student body, to address social inequality? How is social justice integrated into the school’s strategic plan? How are you measuring the impact and difference you are making? Whether it is adopting green policies, being an incubator, or increasing access to higher education, the world beyond the the college gates needs your support. Additionally, social change becomes part of the school culture when everyone is involved and commitment to social change is evident in policies.

What other steps would you add? What colleges are leading the way in encouraging students to be changemakers?

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This past weekend I attended the BlogHer annual conference.  Not only did I have a chance to meet fabulous bloggers and influencers such as Gina of  What About Our Daughters, Britt Bravo of Have Fun Do Good,  and Jenn Pozner of Women in Media and News,  I was also forced to think about my development and goals as a blogger.

I attended one panel on the joys of having a blog with a small audience.  It is really easy as a blogger to get sucked into statistics as the primary way of determining if blogging is worth the effort.  However, the panel really got me thinking about other ways of exploring the progress of blogging beyond visitors and page views.  Afterall, your community may not be big, but it is still a community.  Your voice may not reach thousands of people but it is still your voice.  So how can we tell that our blogging has had some sort of impact on ourselves and others beyond analytics?

1.  Your growth as a writer: One of the things I enjoy doing is looking at earlier posts and seeing how my voice, comfort with writing, and style have changed.  I’m a much more thoughtful and focused writer and can put pieces together much faster than before.  Have you noticed a change in your writing style or your writing process?  Do you write faster?  Are you more focused?

2.  Your comfort with technology: The time you spend tweaking your blog layout and content, making sense of statistics, and using other social media tools to create more conversation result in a better familiarity with those tools and marketable skills.  Can you dance circles around blogspot or wordpres?  Have you noticed different traffic responses to different types of content?  Have you come across better tools for connecting with people and staying on top of trends?

3.  Your awareness of your field: By virtue of writing a blog about nonprofit work Im inclined to pay attention to nonprofit discussions in the blogosphere.  What I learn may not always result in a blog post but it does result in a better understanding of issues in the nonprofit sector that can help me on and offline.  What have your learned about your topic?  Have you come across new resources?  Are you better able to help other people who want to learn more about your topic?

4.  Your exposure to new people and opportunities: This follows with the previous point: increasing awareness leads to me connecting with other people who share my passion and me knowing about amazing opportunities to grow professionally and personally.  What events have you learned about and attended through blogging?  Who are the  fun and fabulous people you’ve gotten to know through your blog?

Also keep the following in mind:

~Fame is relative: For each blogger whom we assume everyone has heard of, there are tons of people who have absolutely no idea who that person is.  Dont get caught up in comparisons.

~Most people dont know your stats: and they dont care.  When people contact me for advice or to work with me they never ask about my stats.  They are interested in my content and how I have presented myself.

~One size does not fit all: Different sized blogs have different responsibilities.  For example, you can experiment more with a small blog without worrying to much about loss of readership.  But if your blog is your bread and butter, such experimentation can be costly.

If you have specific goals in mind when you start blogging (wanting to make money or attract clients for example) some statistics are important to ensure you reach those goals.  But many bloggers, including myself and many of the people I met at BlogHer, started blogging for personal reasons.  For exploration, for practice, for fun, for connection with others.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting to build a larger audience.  Yet there is also nothing wrong with enjoying personal and professional development that comes with being a blogger, regardless of audience size.

Other tips in blogging:

Five common challenges in blogging and how to overcome them

Becoming a better blogger

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