A few days ago, we posted on Crowd Accelerated Innovation … a phenomenon powered by the unique attributes of universally-distributed online video. And we urged fundraisers to use this approach to raise the bar and spread innovation. Which, in turn, would require sharing their best work and success stories.

That post elicited this terrific offer from Ken Burnett at SOFII — which provides a terrific library of effective fundraising initiatives, creative work, etc, collected worldwide. Here’s Ken’s message, tempered by a bit of a lament, which we hope you will take to heart and act upon.

Dear Tom and Roger,

SOFII’s director Nathalie Robinson is on holiday this week so, I hope you won’t mind me replying in her absence.

What a brilliant idea!

SOFII of course would be happy to act as a safe home for these video shorts, and to offer a free and ever-open door for all those fundraisers around the world who might care to visit (and who hopefully, as you suggest, might learn something about great video messaging in the process).

We are fully prepared to host this initiative and will even set up a new SOFII showcase to do it.

But please, please Tom, can I while saying this add a plea about this thing called sharing? As you said yesterday,

For starters, fundraisers would need to start sharing stories and illustrations of their successful innovations on video. Of course, the key words are “sharing” and “on video”.

The not-for-profit sector is famously open and sharing. From books, seminar platforms, articles and web pages, fundraisers freely share their learning and information with each other, to the benefit of the whole world.

Yet getting new material from fundraisers on to SOFII is like pulling teeth.

Not just videos, but any examples of great material. For the benefit of fundraisers everywhere we try to add something good each week. But it’s a real struggle, believe me. Particularly as we rely on volunteers to do this.

The problem isn’t that great fundraisers don’t want to share. It’s simply that they tend to be very busy people, so providing even the tiny modicum of background information that SOFII needs to set their brilliance in context is often just too much for them to get round to providing.

We need a big call to action here, fundraisers of the world. Please, please share your inspiring examples on SOFII. Nital in India will appreciate it, when you do. And Pablo in Argentina. And Natalia in Mexico. So will Song La in Korea. And an army of other fundraisers around the world. And you too will be so, so proud to see on SOFII your work displayed in its glory for all the world to admire – whenever you want, for free, you can show it off to your mum and to all the folks back home.

Tom, if this great idea of yours is to work, those among your readers who produce the best examples will have to step up to the plate. They’ll have to send SOFII their examples with just a paragraph or two on the why, how, when and what happened.

This shouldn’t be too difficult. The effort involved is small. I really hope they will. And so does Song La.

All best,
Ken

We’re all in this together fundraisers. Our causes and missions deserve the best efforts we can possibly make. Anything that helps us learn from one another gets The Agitator’s support.

Roger & Tom