Nonprofit Blog Carnival Roundup: How to Create a Juicy Nonprofit Blog

A big thanks to everyone who contributed a post to this month's Nonprofit Blog Carnival!  Below is a roundup of folks' answers to this month's topic, How to Create a Juicy Nonprofit Blog:

• In her post, Creating a Juicy Blog for Nonprofits, Marion Conway suggests that your blog posts be about the overlapped area of what you know, and what readers want.  She also has seven more tips you can check out.

• In her post, Nonprofit blogs: why this one works, Lisbeth of Nonprofit Execs on the Edge points to 2 keys to a juicy blog: a focus on storytelling and blog posts that aren't staff-generated.

• Jake of Grant Writing Confidential also emphasizes the importance of storytelling, among other tips, in his post, How to Write a "Juicy" Nonprofit Blog - or a Blog of Any Kind.

• Sandy Rees of Get Fully Funded Blog posted 12 ideas to get you thinking about blog content including: report back from events, invite guest bloggers to post, and ask your readers questions.

• Nonprofit 2.0 also has a list of post topics in their post 10 Blog Content Ideas for Nonprofit Organizations which includes, "interview experts, volunteers, donors and board members."

• Sandra Sims of Cause Blogger says to have a juicy blog you need to have an attitude of gratitude.

• Allison Jones shared her presentation on Five Common Challenges in Blogging and How to Overcome Them where she highlights five blogging challenges and offers some tips for how to overcome them like read and engage with other blogs in your field, and start by writing short posts.

• In their post, Your Nonprofit Doesn't Need a Blog, Beaconfire Consulting offers seven questions to ask yourself before you start blogging to make sure it is the right tool for your organization like, "Can you update often?"

• Finally, Kevin Jones of Hannah's Socks wrote me a note about why he thinks their organization's blog is juicy:

1. "It's not about us. It's about our supporters. I've never seen another org consistently recognize supporters in a blog like we do. 
2. Include a photo in the post if at all possible. Pictures have tenfold the value of words. 
3. Finish the post with a call-to-action when appropriate. Leverage the inspiring acts to try to create more good acts. This balance between 1 and 3 -- deflecting praise but also driving your org's strategy -- simply works. 
4. This system feeds back in on itself -- people who see praise become repeat supporters because they've been thanked publicly and been given attention they didn't expect. 
5. Leverage Facebook plug-ins so you don't have to maintain a separate login system for people to "Like" or comment on your posts."

The Nonprofit Blog Carnival is coordinated by the wonderful Joanne Fritz of About.com and hosted by different bloggers each month. Kivi Leroux Miller will be your host in August with the theme, Creative Ideas You Can Make Your Own.  If you’d like to be notified about future Nonprofit Blog Carnival submission deadlines, themes, etc., email Joanne Fritz with"Carnival Mailing List" as your subject line to get on the mailing list.


Flickr photo credit: Juicy! by sunshinecity.

TranquiliT Eco Luxe Summer Sale, Wahoo!

Ladies!

Quick note to say that my pal Kimberly Wilson's company, TranquiliT, is having a summer sale of 40% off till July 30th when you use the code SUMMERTIME.

If you want a super steal, apply the coupon to their Sale section (it's not visible on the main menu, but it is if you click on any of the garment categories).

In April, TranquiliT was named an "eco-chic rising star" by The Fashion Group International of Greater Washington D.C., Inc. Here's the skinny, from the TranquiliT site, on why they are so eco-fabulous:

"1. All of our products are made of rayon made from organic bamboo. The bamboo that is used in the process is a fast-growing native species that is entirely renewable.

2. All TranquiliT pieces are sweatshop free and sewn in the USA.

3. TraquiliT donates a percentage of profits to Tranquil Space Foundation which brings yoga, creativity, and leadership to women and girls.

4. A tree is planted for every shipment that is sent out to help offset carbon emissions from the delivery process.

5. We will be offering an eco “shipping package turns to tote” option at the checkout process shortly. This new mailer can be turned inside out after the shipping process to be used as a canvas tote (made of recycled content), eliminating all waste from our shipping process and allowing you to have a lovely reusable tote for all your shopping excursions.

6. All other orders will be shipped via a poly-mailer, which offers the most lightweight and smallest packaging available to reduce weight and space on freighters. They also offer the most protection from damage of your goods from moisture. We are constantly in search of new 100% recyclable mailers. Feel free to return your poly-mailer to us and we’ll gladly reuse it!

7. All of our postcard ads are printed on 100% recycled paper and printed with soy inks.

8. Online shoppers receive a lovely black TranquiliT pen made from recycled tires and an organic lavender sachet."

Full disclosure: I'm a TranquiliT affiliate (:

Submit Your Tips for How to Create a Juicy Nonprofit Blog by July 27th

Just a quick reminder that the deadline to submit your post about How to Create a Juicy Nonprofit Blog to this month's Nonprofit Blog Carnival is Tuesday, July 27th.

Your post doesn't have to be long (100-200 words). Some possible post topics are:

• Examples of juicy nonprofit blogs
• How to choose juicy post topics
• How to build a juicy community
• How to host juicy giveaways and contests
• How to use juicy images and video effectively
• How to use a juicy "voice" in your writing
• 10 tips for creating a juicy nonprofit blog

To submit your blog post for consideration, please use the short-and-easy Blog Carnival form at http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_318.html or email your permalink to britt@brittbravo.com with “Blog Carnival Submission” in your subject line.

For more information, see the original call for submissions.

Flickr photo credit: Juicy Fruit uploaded by Rumple/Kurt

What Do You Want to Know About Community Supported Kitchens?

I'm interviewing Jessica Prentice, co-owner of the community supported kitchen, Three Stone Hearth, and author of Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection, this weekend for the Big Vision Podcast, and Have Fun, Do Good.

Do you have any questions you'd like me to ask her about community supported kitchens? If you so, let me know in the comments by Saturday morning.

You can learn more about CSKs here:

• Local Sprouts Cooperative
• Salt, Fire and Time
• From CSA to CSK: The Community Supported Kitchen on ChelseaGREEN.com
• From Community Supported Agriculture to Community Supported Kitchen on Treehugger
• CSK - Community Supported Kitchen in Portland, Maine on Homegrown.org
• Conscientious Cook: Three Stone Hearth Community Supported Kitchen on The Kitchn

Your Free, Fun July/August 2010 Big Vision Worksheet

Happy summer Saturday, Have Fun, Do Gooders!

I've posted the newest July/August Big Vision Worksheet (illustrated by my hubs).

You can download the PDF from Dropbox to fill it out on, or near the new moon tomorrow, July 11th.

I like to start by filling out my 3 biggest 2010 goals (Don't worry if yours change throughout the year, that's normal). Then, I fill out my 3 biggest summer goals, which hopefully relate in some way to my 2010 goals. Finally, I write out my 3 biggest goals for this lunar cycle (new moon, July 11-new moon, Aug 9), which are usually related to my summer goals.

Here are a couple questions to ask yourself when filling out this month's worksheet:

• Am I excited about my goals? Am I choosing them because I really want to achieve them, or because I think I should achieve them?

• Are they big enough? Am I setting goals to reach my dreams, or am I limiting myself?

• Are they doable? Do I have enough time, energy and resources to accomplish them when I want to? Do I need to break them down into smaller steps?

You can view and download past 2010 Big Vision worksheets here.

25 Tips for Eating Locally on a Budget

On Wednesday, I went to a talk about, "Eating Locally on a Budget," hosted by the Commonwealth Club at the Ferry Building.

The panelists were:

• Deborah Madison, Author, Local Flavors, Seasonal Fruit Desserts, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and many more.
• Leda Meredith, Author, The Locavore's Handbook, and Ballet and Dinner From Scratch.
• Jessica Prentice, Author, Full Moon Feast
• Temra Costa, Author, Farmer Jane (Moderator)

I've compiled 25 Tips for Eating Locally on a Budget from their discussion, and hope you'll add your tips in the comments:

1. Plan your menu around seasonal fruits and veggies.
2. Every fruit and vegetable has a season. Within that season there is a peak season, which is the cheapest time to buy them.
3. Can, freeze, pickle, and dry fruits and veggies by yourself, and with others, while they are in season.
4. Eat the whole vegetable (e.g. beet and the beet greens, chard leaves and stems).
5. Create purchasing criteria. Prioritize which foods you will be flexible with, and which you will always buy when they are organic and local.
6. Walk around the farmers' market before you buy anything to compare prices.
7. Make a list before shopping to prevent impulse buys.
   
8. Don't go shopping when you're hungry, to prevent over-buying.
   
9. Grow your own fruits and veggies. If your yard is sunny and your neighbor's is shady, grow the appropriate plants in each of your plots, and trade.
10. Join a community garden.
11. Get over "meat prejudice." Stewing cuts are cheaper than steak and hamburger. Whole animals, and cuts with the bone in them are cheaper than; for example, a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Mutton is cheaper than lamb.
12. Use bone broth in dishes to get inexpensive nutrition without having to add meat to the dish.
    
13. Raise your own chickens and/or bees.
14. Embrace rice and beans!
15. Volunteer at farmers' markets and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in exchange for free, or discounted produce.
16. Find out if your farmers' market takes food stamps (some do).
17. Buy, cook, and share food with friends and neighbors.
18. Create, or join a CSK (Community Supported Kitchen).
19. Reframe thinking about spending money on fresh, local, and organic food as an investment, rather than a luxury. Prioritize spending money on food over other things.
20. Eat nutrient-dense foods. You'll need to eat less, and won't need to buy vitamin supplements.
21. Trade your talents and skills for food.
    
22. Embrace limits. Have more expensive food for special occasions, not every day.
23. Use a slow cooker.
    
24. Use a pressure cooker (apparently they don't blow up anymore!).
25. Always cook enough to have leftovers.

What are your tips for eating locally on a budget?

One of mine is to check out Sustainable Table and Local Harvest. They are great resources for finding farmers' markets, CSAs, food co-ops, and other sustainable food resources.

Photos by me from the Temescal Farmers' Market.

Call for Submissions: How Do You Create a Juicy Nonprofit Blog?

I have a little secret to tell you.

Many blogs written by nonprofits are dry.

There.

I've said it.

Thing is, they don't have to be.

I *love* blogs, and want to see more organizations use them in a fun and engaging way soooooo . . . .as the host of the Nonprofit Blog Carnival for July 2010, I want to tap your collective wisdom to explore the theme of:

How to Create a Juicy Nonprofit Blog

You’re invited to submit your best blog posts for consideration any time before Tuesday, July 27th. On Thursday, July 29th I'll post a round-up of the posts with the best tips here on Have Fun, Do Good.

To see an example of a blog carnival, check out the June Nonprofit Blog Carnival roundup hosted by Rebecca Leaman at Wild Apricot on the topic of Managing Your Members Online.

What Kind of Blog Posts Would Be a Good Fit?

I'd love it if you would share your tips for how nonprofits who want to start a blog, or who already have a blog, can create content and community that is engaging, lively, and JUICY!

Your post doesn't have to be long (100-200 words). Some possible post topics are:

• Examples of juicy nonprofit blogs
• How to choose juicy post topics
• How to build a juicy community
• How to host juicy giveaways and contests
• How to use juicy images and video effectively
• How to use a juicy "voice" in your writing
• 10 tips for creating a juicy nonprofit blog

What's in it for you?

Entering a blog carnival is a great way to bring traffic to your own blog. If your post is selected for inclusion in the carnival round-up, I'll link back to your blog post (which search engines love), and your writing will be introduced to new readers.

To submit your blog post for consideration, please use the short-and-easy Blog Carnival form at http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_318.html or email your permalink to britt@brittbravo.com with “Blog Carnival Submission” in your subject line.

Deadline for submissions: Tuesday, July 27, 2010.

Flickr photo credit: Juicy! by sunshinecity.