“How much a company spends on innovation doesn’t matter, because what’s important is what the company spends on real breakthroughs rather than sustaining ideas.”–Better, Faster, Cheaper is Not Innovation

This quote referenced Kodak’s (and many other companies) investment in R&D that improves existing technology, rather than disruptive technology.

It also applies to why many efforts of ministries and non-profits to “innovate” on social or digital media fall flat. I’ve seen upwards of 100 iPhone apps designed by ministries or non-profits without a strategy or purpose other than to “be innovative.” I’ve also seen individual fundraisers create short, personal, and powerful YouTube videos for their donors that transform the relationship between them.

For some communication tactics there is a linear relationships where one can be substituted for the other: A text message can replace a phone call, a Facebook update can replace a verbal announcement at a large meeting, etc. The goal behind this is general awarene...

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“Make them love the kingdom, not the king. The best $$ I ever made was when other people thought it was their idea.” @chrisbrogan #MRUshift

— Alexandra Rutley (@AlexandraRutley) May 10, 2012

I discovered this tweet yesterday and it resonated with a key shift that many ministries need to make. Many ministries have a top down structure, and communicate from a “me first, you second” position. The King is the starting and ending point, and communications seek to make him stand out amongst the rest.

I’ve noticed that the most innovative and powerful communications happening on social media between ministries and their audiences are ones that invert this paradigm to “you first, me second.” The kingdom–the staff, volunteers, and the interested but not yet empowered are the focus, and the King releases people and resources in ways that make them more famous than him.

If your ministry is the hero of the story chances the content you are sharing is not resonating as powerfully as it could if the volunteers and n...

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“Successful social business leaders recognize that engagement at scale is only realized when the company is able to move beyond mere fan acquisition tactics and actually cultivate a core community of advocates.”–Advocacy, Dachis Group

A social media specialist or community manager are critical to a ministry’s social media strategy, but unleashing staff and volunteers to engage on social media on behalf of your ministry or non-profit will achieve greater results.

Strategy and tactics to capture fans and followers often come before training and educating staff. Sandy Carter, IBM’s VP of Social, notes that Germany is the global leader in deploying social media effectively. Their secret? Deploy a program for encouraging social media use internally among employees.

Although a dedicated team or community manager can set the strategy, provide the guidelines, and share best practices, the staff and volunteers have the potential to absorb the increasing demand to communicate personally with donors and constituents...

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GIVING GETS US HIGH. REALLY. OUR BRAIN KICKS OUT CHEMICALS THAT MAKE US FEEL GOOD WHEN WE GIVE.” Mike Zserdin, The Generosity Manifesto

I have to acknowledge as someone who has raised funds for 10 years that much of my focus was on transactions, and automated, impersonal communications. These actions came more from an industrial mindset, with ministry as the “product,” and giving as the “input.”

From the help of a mentor I have shifted to a focus on relationships, and personal, tailored communications. This matches the shift that our culture has made from scarcity to abundance. Dave Gray’s “Everything is a Service” describes the transition to an ’Age of Abundance:’

“The material abundance we all enjoy was made possible by an industrial economy that focused primarily mass-producing material goods. The philosophy of mass production was based on Henry Ford’s big idea: If you could produce great volumes of a product at a low cost, the market for that product would be virtually unlimited. In the early day...

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If your ministry or non-profit is more than 10 years old chances are it’s not adequately prepared for Generation-C, the connected customer.

Transactional focused fundraising, outdated websites, impersonal and anonymous messaging, or an unwillingness to adopt new methods are all bridges that must be crossed to have an impact and live out your organization’s mission in the future.

For some leading this change means helping others understand that the gap between current reality and potential effectiveness is greater than they think. It requires quantifying existing efforts in ways that make sense to both decision makers and implementers. For others it’s empowering those that do understand the future but lack the title, experiences, or current skills to courageously experiment with new tools and strategies.

“This is important as without understanding what’s important to them and why, without learning their behavior or decision making cycles, or without empathy, we cannot reverse engineer nor create a meanin...

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