NCTech4Good

where tech meets social change

where tech meets social change

Why Bother With SEO & Content Marketing?

posted on

Can you get more traffic to your site with SEO and content marketing? Sure, but why!

We all know that optimizing your website for search engines and creating great content will bring people to your site. The steps and strategies for doing this are countless. However, we don’t always take the time to stop and ask ourselves why were’re doing this.

What benefit is it to have more people simply look at a website and move on with their day?

We’re going to delve into conversion rate optimization to discover how to get the most from the traffic you have, before worrying about getting more visitors.

Sure, you’ll learn a thing or two about SEO and content marketing while you’re here. However, the primary focus will be on the reasons you want more traffic and what those visitors can do for you.

Frank Jones
Raleigh SEO Meetup

Speaker Bio
Frank Jones is the organizer of the most successful SEO Meetup in the USA. If you want to learn about content marketing, search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization, marketing automation, or anything related to online marketing – you need to join the Raleigh SEO Meetup. When he’s not speaking at conferences or organizing events, Frank provides business and marketing strategy consulting services. Be sure to ask Frank about his recent trip to the international Wikipedia conference in Berlin.

Power of the Introvert

posted on

Between 20-50% of the earth are introverts. They are deep, thoughtful and often misunderstood. In this inspiring, funny Ignite style presentation I’ll share facts about introverts, how to work with them, and how introverts can leash their deep power to rule the world.

Dawn Crawford
BC/DC Ideas

Speaker Bio
The engine behind BC/DC Ideas, Dawn has dedicated her career to good. Before launching BC/DC Ideas in 2010, she earned her chops in 10+ years of communications leadership roles for public health, healthcare and youth-focused nonprofits. Working for nonprofits is Dawn’s dream job, and she loves that her 40+ hours a week make the world a better place.

These days Dawn brings her considerable experience and expertise to helping elevate the nonprofit sector. Our team’s lead strategist, Dawn is often seen leading our IdeaStorms, penning communications plans, or checking in with clients.

Things that make her happy: Chai tea in the morning or a glass of champagne at quittin’ time, Basecamp, living in the South, her daughter’s giggle and a well-formatted spreadsheet.

My Cheese Castle Career: How to Move from Dishwasher to Supreme Grilled Cheese Maker

posted on

Prepare yourself for the hilarious and sometimes agonizing details of the time I worked at Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and how the experience still benefits (read: haunts) me today. What I thought was a mediocre summer job has actually become a large part of my identity now as a young nonprofit unicorn.

Molly Rivera
Digital Media Specialist, Food Band of Central & Eastern North Carolina

Speaker Bio
Molly Rivera is the online voice of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and manages the Food Bank blog, website, and lively social media accounts. Since joining the Food Bank team over two years ago, she has expanded the Food Bank’s library of original content including compelling client stories, helped to boost online revenue, and strengthened their Social Media Ambassador’s Program. She has a degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin and enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge and love of cheese with anyone who will listen. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Triangle Chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network and composes amusing and informative tweets for @YNPNTriangleNC.

How to Go from Spark to Success

posted on

I’ve always been an instigator, from starting a clothes swap, to co-founding a giving circle, to creating a fundraising data report. Along the way, I’ve learned a few things about what it takes to get something out of your head and into the world. I’ll share my stories of my success — and failure — and a few lessons on how to make your project a reality.

Heather Yandow
Third Space Studio

Speaker Bio
Heather Yandow brings more than a decade of experience as an outreach coordinator, coalition leader, project manager, and fundraiser to Third Space Studio and our clients. Heather’s nonprofit experience includes being a staff member, volunteer, and Board member. Her most recent staff position was as the director of development and communications for the NC Conservation Network. Heather has served on the Board of Directors of the beehive collective (a giving circle in Raleigh), Democracy NC, and ncyt: NC’s Network of Young Nonprofit Professionals. Heather earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics from UNC, and holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University.

7 Things to Consider when Choosing A Nonprofit Crowdfunding Platform

posted on

Crowdfunding is the practice of raising small amounts of money from a large number of people. It’s an increasingly popular and valuable fundraising tool for charitable nonprofits.

Choosing the best crowdfunding platform for your organization can be overwhelming. Use this guide as a resource to help.

  1. BRANDING: Make sure the crowdfunding platform you choose allows you to utilize your branding.
  1. ADMINISTRATIVE TIME-SAVERS: Look for the platform that works the hardest for you.
  1. SOCIAL NETWORKING: You’ll want to drive a lot of traffic to your campaign.
  1. FUNDRAISING PAGES: Does the platform have a limit to the number of fundraising pages that can be created?
  1. PRICING: Make sure all fees are clearly outlined and not hidden. Are you able to enter your cash and check donations into the platform so they’re counted in your goal?
  1. PAYMENT GATEWAYS: Consider choosing a platform that has the ability to securely store credit card information from your donors so you can shift payment gateways as you find one that works best for you.
  1. CUSTOMER SUPPORT: Find out how to contact customer service and a typical response time.

David McWilliams
REACH

Speaker Bio
David is the creator of REACH, a web application used by non-profits to manage donor, fundraising, and child sponsorship programs around the world. Leveraging his 15 years of experience helping non-profits with their IT and web design needs, David has a passion for creating easy to use systems that help non-profits run more efficiently while reducing administrative costs.

REACH is a service of Sugar Maple Interactive, LLC founded by David in 2008 to provide design, development, and marketing solutions for non-profits and small businesses.

 

Going from Spark to Success

posted on

I’ve always been an instigator, from starting a clothes swap, to co-founding a giving circle, to creating a fundraising data report. Along the way, I’ve learned a few things about what it takes to get something out of your head and into the world. I’ll share stories of my success — and failure — and a few lessons on how to make your project a reality.

Heather Yandow
Third Space Studio

Speaker Bio
Heather Yandow brings more than a decade of experience as an outreach coordinator, coalition leader, project manager, and fundraiser to Third Space Studio and our clients. Heather’s nonprofit experience includes being a staff member, volunteer, and Board member. Her most recent staff position was as the director of development and communications for the NC Conservation Network. Heather has served on the Board of Directors of the beehive collective (a giving circle in Raleigh), Democracy NC, and ncyt: NC’s Network of Young Nonprofit Professionals. Heather earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics from UNC, and holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University.

NCTech4Good, an affiliate of NTEN and TechSoup’s NetSquared, is the local resource for nonprofit technology information. Join the sharing and networking at monthly meetings on the third Wednesday of the month, 6:30-8:30 p.m. usually at UNC-TV, and our annual conference, https://www.nct4g.org/. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @nctech4good, and with the hashtag #nct4g.