A bunch of creative types in New York are hiring and did this video one night after work. You can see by the comments, that they’ve received no shortage of offers. Could this be a tactic for a non-profit to communicate the energy and passion of its staff to supporters and potential employees… or vice-versa?

Hat tip to Carnet Williams.

Thanks to Steve Andrews of Whitewater for this post pointing to a terrific example of how Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) is using blogs to put donors directly in touch with the work they’re supporting.

Canadian doctor, James Maskalyk, is working for MSF in Abyei, Sudan. He is writing a blog about his experiences. It’s truly inspirational stuff; particularly because it comes directly from him in real time, not in a sanitised quarterly charity newsletter. He shares his doubts, his fears, his hopes and his triumphs. He happens to write beautifully, but it doesn’t matter when he leaves uncorrected typos or uses poor grammar. Because it’s real.

Here’s the link to Dr. Maskalyk’s MSF blog.

One commenter / donor wrote:

I have been a monthly donor to MSF for some time. On Tuesday, I will ramp up by contribution, because I have a house, a job, a healthy beautiful sometimes-maddening daughter, a garden, rain, food – and hope. I wish I could give those things to the mother whose baby you tried to save. I cannot, so I will do what I can.

Steve titles his post “Real Close”, which I think is right on the money.

So here goes…

Back in October, in my second post to this blog, I wrote about what I believe is our sector’s secret weapon: storytelling

Some fifteen years ago, I frequently travelled around the UK for Oxfam talking to often quite large groups of the charity’s dedicated supporters about ‘third world debt’ and ’structural adjustment’. Inevitably, I weaved in human stories from the ‘field’ to help illustrate the impact of these reforms on those living in poverty, the intended beneficiaries of Oxfam’s projects.

It seems that Michael Gilbert of Nonprofit Online News has a similar past. In his review of “Storytelling: Branding in Practice“, Michael says:

Back when I was a lobbyist for environmental and consumer organizations in the mid Eighties, I came to the conclusion that our cause had a secret weapon. We didn’t have the advantage of good ol’ boy webs of relationships with legislators. We certainly didn’t have the cash that built and sustained those relationships. But when the system worked and the fourth estate was functioning properly, we sometimes, just sometimes, had an amazing power on our side: the power of the true story.

Of course, we’re not talking about stories in a ‘newsworthy’ sense, but rather stories that remind your colleagues of the reasons they joined your organisation: passion for the cause.

In my last post, I went on a bit (too long?) about engagement. Now, I’ve always found it difficult to engage with a piece of direct mail, and this will only get more difficult with the trend towards a more visual culture. (But I’m looking forward to listening to and learning from Anna Crofton of Whitewater when I meet her on Wednesday.)

I’ve written previously about how Kresta King Cutcher has been posting powerful images from Rwanda to the Flickr photo-sharing community. And you could try weaving your Flickr photos into a storyboard.

For a primer on digital storytelling, you can do no better than read J.D. Lasica’s 10 Easy Steps tutorial.

When all the ingredients are in place, you get something like this:

• The Water Buffalo Movie by Robert Thompson

A plea: make a little time (8 minutes to be precise) to watch this inspiring story about a water buffalo donated to the Su family in China (thanks to Carnet for the tip).

It moved me to tears.

I can imagine empowering the entrepreneurs on Kiva to tell their own stories in a similar way.

By the way, I learned from these guys that this week is National Storytelling Week here in the UK. Good timing, eh?

Update: after posting this in a bit of a hurry, I’ve since noticed that Robert has a whole page dedicated to the water buffalo story. He’ll revisit the Su family in March to do a follow-up interview.

My young daughters were chuffed to bits when their godmother bought three little pigs from Christian Aid’s online giftshop, “Present Aid”.

When my wife explained to Nelly that the pigs were going to live in Nicaragua, she chirped back, “Mami, can we go and visit them there?” We hesitated. Hmm… good idea but better we go and look at a photo on the charity’s website! Naturally, Nelly wanted to know how the pigs’ new owners were treating them!

Of course, while we didn’t expect to be able to look at ‘our’ pigs, perhaps we could look at a photo and receive updates of the pigs progress?

The Present Aid website FAQ says:

At the time of purchase we cannot be certain as to what project your contribution will benefit. This means that we are unable to provide updates or photographs. For a more general update on how Christian Aid is spending your donation please visit www.christianaid.org.uk.

After Google’ing “La Labranza” I discovered that Christian Aid has been working in the mountain community for fifteen years alongside its partner organisation, the Community Movement of Matagalpa (MCM).

The Independent on Sunday (IoS) partnered with Christian Aid for its Christmas appeal. An article written by Katy Guest and headed “The healing power of happy pigs” tells the story of La Labranza through the lens of its inhabitants, including (very appropriately) a woman named Nelly…

Nelly lives in the northern region of Matagalpa, where the crops scent the air with spearmint and coffee, and children fill in holes in the roads in the hope of a lobbed coin from a passing driver. Her house is a mud construction with a tin roof – from a distance, it looks as if it has been thrown at the side of the hillside by a giant hand, and stuck. Its position is dizzyingly beautiful, but dangerous.

Now the gift card my daughters received includes some copy about how farmers in La Labranza “like Juan Rayos Sequira… looked forward to receiving a pig” from MCM, which he can use “to start a litter of piglets”. For every 12 piglets born, he passes on two to another family. Those left over provide him with both food and an income.

Katy writes more compellingly in the IoS…

In this area, 70 families have been given pigs with donations from MCM. They cheerfully forage around the hillsides, eating banana peel, spoiled vegetables and windfall chayote fruits. A community organiser, Ciriaco Ortiz, explains: “When little pigs are born, people give one back to the fund and one to their neighbour. Now there are 410 pigs.

I find all this interesting, as I read an article published in Professional Fundraising last month which identified that how “ethical gift funds” are spent varies from charity to charity.

Stances range from those such as the Good Gifts Catalogue which ensures the money is passed to the beneficiary in full and used solely for the purpose stated, to ensuring the money goes to the community the gift was intended to help, to merely contributing to the charity’s general fund.

I’m sure there’s some potential here, through visual storytelling, for my daughters to become more fully engaged with ‘the pig story’.

But it’s clear from FAQ number 29 on the Christian Aid website, that if you buy three pigs, the money goes directly to Christian Aid’s agriculture & livestock fund. Today… many days later, another glance at the gift card reveals that the money (that’s our daughters’ godmother’s money) will indeed “go into an agriculture and livestock fund to help… bring similar schemes to poor communities in the developing world”.

OK, so it’s there in the small print, but try explaining that to your five-year old daughter.

This little piggy went to market; this little piggy was in fact a can of worms.

No. I think not. Instead, I’ll tell Nelly (my daughter) about her namesake in La Labranza…

Nelly is fattening up her obliviously happy pig. The children chatter about planting trees as they cross the river on the way to school.

Ah, a happy ending.

The charity seems keen to shift the public’s perception of its work and encourage understanding of its all year round relevance. The podcast is seen as a way to bridge the generation gap and appeal to those who did not have the time, or feel attracted, to attend a traditional Remembrance ceremony on either Armistice Day, or Remembrance Sunday.

The Remembrance podcast, which was recorded at last year’s Festival of Remembrance, features the Queen’s trumpeters playing the Last Post and the Reveille, with recitals of two traditional poems.

While the quality isn’t great, the short tribute intriguingly includes two full minutes of silence.

The Legion tell me that between the 9th – 12th November, their podcast was downloaded 1,500 times – mainly in the UK and US, but also in Iraq, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Among other UK charities experimenting with podcasts are Cancer Research UK and Help the Aged, who used their podcast to invite listeners to send in their stories which the charity can use for campaigning purposes.

Photo: Hobvias Sudoneighm on Flickr

What impact (if any) has Flickr had on you and your work?

It’s had an enormous impact on my work. I initially posted my photographs as a way of sharing my summer 2005 trip to Africa with my friends and family. However, in the past year I’ve sold many photographs, and have donated many more to great causes like UNICEF, the UN, and the Pearl Children Care Centre in Uganda.

Developing contacts through Flickr has really inspired me to take my photography a step further. I am passionate about using photography to help humanitarian efforts and raise awareness of AIDS, poverty and children’s rights, especially in Africa. Flickr has enabled me to begin to do this.

Do you feel a community has built around your images?

What a great question. I think a community has formed around my images; many viewers and contacts tell me they come to my site regularly to be reminded of a world larger than their own world. I also feel this community through the regular correspondence I have with a few of my Flickr contacts. We’ve exchanged perspectives on documentary related issues, travel and equipment advice, and on topics not related to photography.

I’m also pleased to be able to steer curious viewers to other websites. Take, for example, Gregory J. Smith, founder of CARF (Children at Risk Foundation). Check out his blog for an example of how Flickr and blogs can work together. His own photography, mostly of the street children he helps shelter in Brazil, are both dignifying and beautiful. I’ve come to know some amazing humanitarians like Gregory through Flickr.

Have you seen any NGOs using Flickr?

Yes, a few. There is a group called International NGOs and I know Interplast uses Flickr, as do some NGOs that offer emergency aid to the Indian Ocean tsunami and recent earthquake victims.

What are / could be the benefits for NGOs using Flickr, e.g. storytelling, communicating with stakeholders about project work

All of the above. Flickr is an effortless and virtually free venue for NGOs to constructively share their message and mission. Through experience, I know that a photograph supported by a well-written story really can inspire a viewer to become a donor. A Flickr account can function as an “always on” newsletter through which staff ‘in the field’ can “show as they go” through their country-specific work. A donor can visit Flickr to see instantly what is being accomplished, and who is benefiting from an NGO’s work.

Just one caveat: A photograph may have very serious content, and a viewer could make a nonsensical or inappropriate comment (although this is thankfully rare). These can always be deleted.

Was there anything in particular which drew you to Rwanda?

For some time in early 2005, I had been reading about the genocide of 1994. After I finished reading Shake Hands With The Devil: Humanity’s Failure in Rwanda, I decided to visit Rwanda and teach photography to orphaned children. That first trip inspired me to rethink so much. I started a scholarship fund at the Gisimba Memorial Centre (an orphanage on the outskirts of Kigali) and I spend much of my time encouraging others to support not only the Centre, but also other orphanages, ministries, and NGOs.

As well as Rwanda, I also visited Uganda, Congo, South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland – all countries deeply impacted by poverty, AIDS, and conflict.

Have the organisations listed in your Flickr profile found you through your photography?

To my knowledge, they found me through Flickr – all except Orphans of Rwanda and the Pearl Children Care Centre, whom I contacted myself to share my photographs. An orphan from the Gisimba Memorial Centre (Alex, who now lives in Minnesota) discovered my photographs on Flickr about a year ago. We’ve since developed a close friendship, and have collaborated on several presentations about the orphanage where he grew up. Before my second trip to Rwanda in June of this year, Alex insisted that I contact Amon, the founder of Living Faith Ministries. He too, has also become a close friend.

• View Kresta King Cutcher’s photostream on Flickr
• Visit Beth Kanter’s blog to learn more about Flickr for Nonprofits

Photos: Kresta King Cutcher