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We all know that there is nothing like a good contest to energize people. Thats why I think that from a publicity perspective the Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook is a smart move. Basically any Facebook user can lookup and vote for their 20 favorite nonprofits. The top100 votes will be awarded $25,000 each. The winners will also be moved to a second round of voting with a $1 million prize for the overall winner. As a United Way of Greater New Haven employee, that is enough money to make me pay attention and ponder how Greater New Haven can take advantage of this opportunity.

The opportunities for nonprofit and community organizations are changing rapidly. The growth of web 2.0 and its adoption by the main stream have opened doors for better communication with supporters, more coordinated action among staff and access to data management tools. These tools hold the promise of increasing efficiently of nonprofits and greater capacity for community groups. These opportunities also present a challenge.

As the New Media Associate for the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County I have been put in charge of training the staff on how to take advantage of the dynamic tools our website provides. The information age is in full throttle, and it is crucial that organizations keep pace with new technology. How to shift the communication paradigm so my co-workers see online communication as a tool rather then a burden will be the focus of my work, and consequently this blog.