[Note: to see the interviews in their entirety, go to the WhatGives!? Ustream channel.]
Kari Saratovsky is Vice President of Social Innovation for the Case Foundation and publisher of the Social Citizens Blog. Unlike many other “traditional” foundations, the Case Foundation has opened up their process to try and reach people who might not have had access to grant opportunities in the past. With their Make it Your Own awards, they let the public be part of the nomination and voting process. Hoping for 1,000 applicants, they received nearly 5,000 – the majority of whom had never felt able to seek a grant before. That kind of accessibility is difficult for some more-structured foundations, but Saratovsky noted that this kind of “flexibility” is spreading with campaigns like the Pepsi Refresh nomination/voting/rewarding model, saying, “If we can spend more time really helping people see themselves as being able to apply for these grants and to get this help, then I think we’re in a better position.”
Saratovsky identified 15- to 30-year-olds as a major target for the Case Foundation brand of “social citizens”. Sometimes accused of being “slacktivists” who perhaps spend more time retweeting than they do actually getting involved, these millennials present a great opportunity, according to Saratovsky. “They’re very collaborative; they’re opposed to hierarchal structures; and they’re doing things in ways that are changing the nature of social change in a lot of ways.”
For those other foundations and nonprofits who are still struggling with the move into social media, Saratovsky warned that it isn’t just a passing fad. “This is the start of something very exciting for the nonprofit movement, for the philanthropic movement. For everybody that says, in our community, in the social change community, ‘oh this is just a fad, social media,’ It’s not going away. And so I think people need to recognize that and need to find new ways to adopt and adapt.”
The second half of Horvath’s program this morning focused on community building outside the four walls of a building, or even outside the city limits. Founded in Oklahoma in 1996, LifeChurch.tv expanded into one of the country’s first multi-campus churches, now with thirteen US locations.
Horvath got a laugh from those in the Beacon when he admonished everyone to pay attention even if they aren’t a faith-based organization, saying, “You eat the chicken, you spit out the bones. So, maybe you’re not a church, maybe you’re not faith based, but there’s something that you can learn, and these guys are really building a community online.”
Terry Storch leads 
their “digirati” team, which he describes as the “missional use of technology”, and Tony Steward is the online community pastor. Storch’s team has expanded to 16 members and he emphasizes that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get started. What drives them? They strongly believe that using (mostly free) online tools to build community and reach people in need isn’t an “opportunity,” it’s a responsibility. Storch and Steward (along with staff members and volunteers worldwide) never lose site of their mission to bring their message to people wherever they may be. And these days they’re online. Storch pointed out that, “the key for us is that community happens everywhere. And community happens in Second Life, community happens all over the web.”
They also use Google AdWords to actively insert themselves into someone’s life just as he or she is literally searching for an answer. The actual search might be for porn or about depression or even for opportunities to cheat on a spouse, but Storch and Steward believe that getting in the middle of that step and offering an honest alternative is a great use of a simple online tool. And very successful. Storch said, “What’s amazing are the stories that are flooding out of that of people connecting back with us and saying, ‘it was because of that, that I was ready to click on that video, and ready to go into that space, and God got ahold of me.’”
Another morning of great conversation ended with Storch giving advice that is, indeed, useful to everyone in any part of the nonprofit world: “You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get started, but just do something today. You gotta make mistakes… you’re gonna learn along the way and you’re gonna mess up, but stay true to the vision of what you’re trying to do.”
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Mark Horvath will present his final half-hour discussion on Monday morning, 10:30 CST, with Beth Kanter and Chris Noble. No doubt there will be more great insights and information about harnessing the power of social media for social good.
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Tags: Beacon, community, Kari Saratovsky, LifeChurch.tv, Mark Horvath, Social Citizens, social media, South by Southwest, SxSW, Terry Storch, Tony Steward
