APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY

Appreciative Inquiry is the latest trend in strategic planning. It is an asset based approach that focuses on the positive and builds on an organization's strengths.

MURN & ASSOCIATES WELCOMES DOWNTOWN MONTESSORI

Downtown Montessori is one of the City of Milwaukee's first charter school. It has been recognized as one of the most successful charter schools. Public education at its finest. Downtown Montessori is now located in Bay View.

INTEGRATED MARKETING

Hot topic in marketing right now is cross channeling your marketing efforts. Identify your key message and use multiple channels to connect with your donors...e-letter, hard copy letter, video letter and posting on social media. Connect with all staff and volunteers to tear down silos and work together to viral out messages.

MURN & ASSOCIATES WELCOMES ARTS @ LARGE AND REDLINE AS NEW CLIENTS

Both Arts @ Large and Redline are nonprofit dedicated to arts, education and the importance of art in our lives and in our community.

USING BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS TO CREATE A BUZZ

When rolling out a new idea or product try a brainstorming session to create a buzz. People love to share their ideas. It is a one time commitment over breakfast or lunch. They learn what is going on in the community, share  ideas, then tweet and post FaceBook and share video on the spot. It is a win/win for everyone.  Best number is 9-12 and count on a couple of no shows. That said, a brainstorming session last week in Kenosha for Kenosha Community Media brought in 20 dynamic people. Total success!

THE ABILITY CENTER WINS MARQUETTE ANGEL NETWORK AWARD

Kudos to my client and buddy, Damian Buchman, the Executive Director of The Ability Center. There were many applicants to Marquette University, but Damian's buisness plan came out a winner. Damian's vision is to build a recreation and fitness center that will be TOTALLY accessible for people with disabilities. After initial fundraising, the center will run on membership fees of both able bodied people and people with disabilities. Way cool!

PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION TRANSFORMING
Public access is having a rebirth....many PEG Channels on local cable television are changing their names to community media centers. We hear the same few songs on the radio, the same news stories play over and over....a voice for local people is becoming more important to ensure a free exchange of ideas and information. Public access channels are responding by realizing they have to utilize new technology, especially the Internet, to provide a forum for local news, arts and culture, entertainment. Videography will still be core, but deliveries will be via Internet. I had the opportunity to lead a group of media center leaders at last week's statewide conference. The energy in the air was exhilarating

Public Allies, Program of Americore deadline May 20th
UWM sponsors Americore apprenticeship program....nonprofits can connect to young committed leaders at low cost
Looking for low cost donor tracking software that does event more? Donor Snap is a great online software package for small to mid-size nonprofits.

Free webinar: www.donorsnap.com     Started by a local philanthropist and entrepreneur.

Getting frustrated trying to get a business meeting set?

Try out www.agreedate.com

There are plenty of sites to help a group of people agree upon a business/social meeting. This one is super user friendly.

Are you picking up the phone?
March 20th, New York Times Sunday Magazine online....an article about the fact that people don't like to be called on the phone, and especially don't like to have to bother calling their voice mail and putting in their code, then listening to long voice mails. If you want to call someone, send them an email or text first to ask if it is a convenient time to talk. The exception is close family and friends where hearing someone's voice is endearing. When I was first reading this, I was appalled, then I started thinking about it and its true....if I call up a friend and they don't answer, I hang up rather than make them listen to a voice mail (which they won't do anyway), they will just call me back. Most business is taken care of via email, and calls are only made when required. Although, in my book, sometimes we just need to connect on the phone and in person to build relationships....isn't that what tweet ups are all about? People wanting to meet their twitter friends in the flesh.

"Move over CNN, ABC and New York Times, Google and facebook could be calling the shots in news delivery if a new study is any indication."

March 14, 2011 see: Project for Excellence in Journalism State of the News Media Report Eight: "New layer of players includes ad networks, device makers, content aggregators and software engineers, the majority of whom will know more about their audience than the news organizations."

Cause Marketing is Dead! Check out the article www.ephilanthropy.com  Products being equal, consumers want to support corporations that are good community partners. 

Want to start a buzz? Social media is great, but it is too often done in a vacuum. Murn & Associates has added experts in social media that is done in tandem with your marketing goals. Great value!

November, 2010 Biz Times Article sites: "Sixty-three percent of small business respondents cited Facebook and 30.7 cited Twitter as important tools for marketing, up from 50.5 percent and 25.6 percent, respectively, from Constant Contact's March 2010 survey.
Further, the survey suggests that small businesses now see Facebook as equally important as face-to-face interactions."