tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19582063698720510752012-01-12T16:59:13.352-05:00Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.comBlogger271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-81559593541462842792011-10-02T14:57:00.000-04:002011-10-02T14:57:47.148-04:00

A guest post by Frankie Chow With less than one month until the kick-off, the excitement is definitely building up as we move forward in preparation for the launch of Be Good Be Social Toronto. Planning and executing one of the most innovative peer-driven non-profit/social media conferences in the city is a major challenge. For weeks, our team has been working tirelessly to secure some of

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-8240937082387506492011-09-03T11:53:00.000-04:002011-09-03T11:53:29.105-04:00

@markyphillips recently shared this on Twitter and I remember these stages so well.  Quite a few people have asked me for Twitter advice in recent days, this is for them, and for anyone who is still at Stage 1.

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-29718729719865107322011-08-31T09:18:00.000-04:002011-08-31T10:11:59.213-04:00

I found a great new Twitter tool today and wanted to share it with you - http://hoosaid.com.  It's useful for those new to Twitter, and for those looking to update/refresh/expand their network. Hoosaid is a great new directory to help you find new Twitter followers using a basic search function and it also offers categories for you to browse.  Currently in Beta so results are still '

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-84822608663489255212011-07-27T19:35:00.001-04:002011-07-27T19:35:51.364-04:00

I first got involved with Be Good Be Social back in the summer of 2010 when I was working at Oxfam in Scotland.  I knew Ross McCulloch on Twitter and through Third Sector Lab, and working with his wife Rosie.  When Ross asked me to help with planning the first event in Edinburgh in October 2010 I was delighted to help.  Unfortunately Oxfam had other plans and I was to be in Armenia at the

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-89505027402703853272011-07-16T17:48:00.000-04:002011-07-16T17:48:26.302-04:00

I'm sorry it has been so long since I posted here - my first three months at Small Change Fund have been thrilling, overwhelming, and wonderful.  After a much needed break and a visit to Montreal, I finally have the time and inspiration to start blogging again. The inspiration came via Google+ (but that's another blog post altogether) - 'How to build a school in 3 hours' is one of the most

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-76005645121656039082011-04-06T12:39:00.000-04:002011-04-06T12:39:47.615-04:00

Inspired by an annoyed friend of mine who had to unfollow a charity organisation she cares about who posted so many times to their Facebook page that it cluttered up her own Facebook timeline... I'm asking the question: How often should an organisation be posting to it's Facebook page? How much is too much? Click on the image to go to the live vote on Facebook and share your thoughts.

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-77044058974311730952011-04-03T22:50:00.001-04:002011-04-04T22:59:47.231-04:00

2011's new internet trend, and what it means for your non-profit: Are you a non-profit wondering what's new on the web?  How else can you connect with your donors and supporters?  How can you possibly keep up with everything that is going on in your 'space'?  How can you become more relevant to your followers and fans online? Content curation is filtering, selecting, and/or remixing and

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-71746385625873757062011-03-28T06:00:00.003-04:002011-03-28T06:00:11.102-04:00

Thank you for all the lovely feedback on how helpful people are finding the Twitter user posts, it's really nice to know that you are passing these tips on to Twitter beginners. This post will help once you have been up and running on Twitter for a couple of weeks, and you are tweeting at least once a day.  It was prompted by conversations with Twitter friends last night, when we met in person.

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-92008437925651656602011-03-23T23:38:00.001-04:002011-03-23T23:43:12.942-04:00

Welcome to the newly refreshed Socially Good website.   If you are visiting from friendraisingtales.blogspot.com, hi!  You'll still find the same great content and updates here, we have just moved to www.sociallygood.ca. Thank you so much to Inkpen Studios for the wonderful logo design and support. You'll also find Socially Good on Facebook, same great content, delivered direct to your

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-20883568162175021102011-03-21T12:35:00.002-04:002011-03-22T19:37:31.421-04:00

Help Socially Good choose a logo and you'll see it on this blog, on our Facebook page, and it might even pop up on Twitter! It would be really great if you could share this page on your social media networks and help me get as many votes as possible - Thanks. Follow this link to choose from one of the following logos designed by Inkpen Studios: ***CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR VOTE***

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-49690843277397361362011-03-17T08:00:00.004-04:002011-03-25T20:25:09.124-04:00

Hi and welcome back! Following on from Getting started on Twitter - Part 1, this next section will cover how to start building followers, engaging with people, and finding interesting things to share. By now, if you have followed the advice from Part 1 you should be following around 30 - 50 people and businesses of interest to you and you should have a beautiful bio and picture.  If you are

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-78382607262914194422011-03-11T15:23:00.002-05:002011-03-20T14:28:58.316-04:00

Huge thanks to Stephen Thomas Ltd for organising the very first networking event for young non-profit professionals in Toronto. Eight things I learned last night: 1 - 6pm networking in Toronto actually means sometime around 7pm, maybe later, "Hey, suit yourself".  2 - Stephen Thomas are a generous bunch.  Two free alcoholic drinks, and canapes. 3 - The definition of 'young' pertains more to your

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-58072457339839373662011-03-08T19:48:00.003-05:002011-03-25T20:25:52.909-04:00

or finding clients, or increasing your network, or anything not related to what you ate for lunch today... "I don't have time for Twitter""What would I say?""I don't understand Twitter""Twitter is a diversion, not a business tool""Do I NEED to be on Twitter?" These are all things I have heard when talking about my success of using Twitter over the last fifteen months.  Today I want to show you

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-32388877113463834112011-03-04T09:50:00.002-05:002011-04-05T09:23:56.466-04:00

Canada’s nonprofit and voluntary sector is the 2nd largest in the world; the Netherlands is the largest.  So here I am in Toronto, and ready to start a new chapter in my life in the 4th best city in the world to live. View Larger Map One of the most exciting things about moving to a new city and a new country is becoming a new person.... and not in the 'change your name and flee the country to

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-73582472900443707222010-12-31T09:58:00.004-05:002011-03-20T14:37:48.320-04:00

Happy New Year! It’s been a crazy and exciting year for me, I've; Moved house twice,  Traveled to Oxford eight times,  Traveled to Birmingham four times,  Traveled to Warrington three times, Spent weekends in Dundee and Aberdeen,  Spent two weeks with Oxfam in Armenia, Spent Saturdays out shaking collecting tins on the streets of Scotland, Dressed up as a green Santa, Dressed up as a space

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-90557077204578298462010-12-24T09:10:00.000-05:002010-12-24T09:10:15.486-05:00

or should that be Happy Holidays....? I've recently returned from a short trip to Toronto where I was doing some Christmas shopping and seeing old friends.   I was surprised at how often I was wished  with only one in six days. Quite innocently I googled 'Merry Christmas V Happy Holidays'.....jeesh! 161,000 results.  Living in the UK, this is not something I have ever really noticed or

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com1Greenland71.706936 -42.60430337.0094805 -162.13555300000002 90.0 76.926947tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-8919573039811910362010-12-13T03:30:00.008-05:002011-03-20T14:30:31.039-04:00

Hi! It's been a busy time over the last month, lots of travel, lots of deadlines....I've only just had a chance to start my Christmas shopping.   I was out in a small town called Helensburgh on Saturday past, dressed as Mrs Claus to promote Oxfam in the area, and when finished I had a chance, finally, to do some shopping! The Oxfam Shop in Helensburgh is a bit of a treasure trove.  It's still a

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-52882490246629372392010-11-10T03:00:00.028-05:002011-04-06T11:37:21.875-04:00

Well folks it's been a pretty busy time since I got back from my visit to Armenia.  Lots of projects have been finishing and launching. The Community Fundraising team at Oxfam is only 16 months old and we have been very busy developing new and exciting products to offer to supporters old and new.  The longest established community fundraising product in Oxfam is Oxjam, the month-long music

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-50908563993862764352010-11-01T14:31:00.000-04:002011-03-20T14:35:10.396-04:00

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up, I'm back in the UK now, but sadly after getting food poisoning halfway through the Armenia trip, and being in hospital for a couple of days, I just didn't get a chance to get the next post up! My favourite visit... a visit to Khachik community, a rural village about three hours from Yerevan (the capital city), and 35km from the nearest large town.  

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-77864611323860212712010-10-13T03:56:00.001-04:002011-03-20T14:32:09.909-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, unfortunately the local cuisine did not agree with me on Saturday, and I have spent the last two days sampling the private healthcare available to foreigners, or those few Armenians who have a great deal of money to pay for it! So... back to earlier last week and what we were up to.  Our second field trip took us back to the North of Armenia, again to the Tavush

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-6064235862726250502010-10-08T11:56:00.002-04:002011-03-20T14:32:27.942-04:00

I thought I would upload a few snaps and musings from Armenia after six days here, in case you are interested in seeing some local life. Firstly, I have to start by saying how wonderful and welcoming the Oxfam GB staff are here in Armenia, no surprise of course as Oxfam only employs wonderful people! Every day the staff have lunch together, usually salad, bread, cheese, rice, and sour cream.  I

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-9047191927546231432010-09-30T12:58:00.001-04:002011-03-20T14:32:45.893-04:00

I wanted to share with you some fundraising blogs I have found pretty useful over the last couple of months, I thought you might also fund them interesting. I must stress that my particular interest is Community Fundraising, not grant applications, not major donors, no direct mailing etc.  I ask people to give me time.  So if your blog is missing, or these don't seem interesting to you, that

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-28531119240156464292010-09-27T18:44:00.002-04:002011-03-20T14:33:05.902-04:00

Back on the 29th July I wrote about the newly formed Glasgow Fundraising Team and I am excited to let you all know that their first event is nearly here. Despite being from different backgrounds, countries, and being of different ages, the team have really bonded and I am so proud of what they have achieved in such a short time. If you are lucky enough to live in Glasgow or the surrounding

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-45489602229214575152010-08-08T17:19:00.001-04:002011-03-20T14:33:46.198-04:00

Ever feel like you have been awakened from a deep sleep by being dropped into a bath of icy cold water?   Well that's how I felt on Friday.  Like the very popular Christopher Nolan/Leonardo Di Caprio film 'Inception', dreams and reality are hard to separate and sometimes you need that sharp wake up call to remind you of reality. This, however, was a good thing.  The catalyst to this assessment

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-6269238136300966562010-07-29T17:27:00.001-04:002011-03-20T14:34:03.522-04:00

Exciting times.....the brand spanking new Oxfam Glasgow Fundraising Team had their first official meeting last night. This is a particularly exciting time for me.  Oxfam hired me to go out in to local communities and find wonderful people willing to donate their time and enthusiasm to Oxfam, and in this group I have found just such people.  It's wonderful to feel that I am delivering on my

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0Glasgow, Lanarkshire, UK55.8656274 -4.257222755.7693014 -4.4906822 55.9619534 -4.023763199999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-77752041271883914202010-07-25T15:33:00.002-04:002011-03-20T14:37:07.672-04:00

Last Sunday, 18th July saw the annual Big Lunch across the UK.  A chance for neighbours who usually avoid each other as much as possible, to shrug off their inhibitions and actually meet their neighbours.  A startling concept! Indeed it seemed too much for some of my neighbours, who instead spent their energy following me around and taking the posters down.... odd. Started as a 'social

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com0Glasgow, Lanarkshire, UK55.8656274 -4.257222755.7693014 -4.4906822 55.9619534 -4.023763199999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1958206369872051075.post-12440024267053773802010-07-20T08:07:00.000-04:002010-07-20T08:07:35.846-04:00

With little or indeed no idea what to write, I am even wondering myself why I am starting a blog.  I guess I hope inspiration will come to me along the way, so please bear with me on this journey. I'm being encouraged to start recording the day to day life, trials and tribulations of a community fundraiser so that when I am old and grey, I can look back and be proud of what I achieved to help

Clare McDowallhttps://profiles.google.com/107247942103541185403noreply@blogger.com1