Comments on: Corporate Social Responsibility and Success http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/ Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:32:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Michelle Lowery http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-96990 Michelle Lowery Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:26:44 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-96990 And I mean Robert from VolunteerMatch, who commented earlier–not Rob. :-)

]]> By: Michelle Lowery http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-96988 Michelle Lowery Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:23:16 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-96988 Thanks for weighing in, Shari! I agree that feedback is the first step to improving a process.

I’d also like to point out that your and Robert’s comments are a good example of brand management and community engagement. Things may not always be perfect, or work exactly the way we hope or expect, but it says a lot when an organization participates in the discussion about it, and looks for ways to do better. Thanks again for commenting!

]]> By: Shari Ilsen http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-96981 Shari Ilsen Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:35:45 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-96981 Shari here from VolunteerMatch. Very good points, Michelle – this is more often than not the case when nonprofits do not respond to an interested person on VolunteerMatch – they are simply too busy, and/or do not have the manpower to cover all of the online places they are doing outreach. It’s a shame, and it’s something we’re working to help nonprofits conquer.

However, we recognize that our service might not work for everyone, so Rob, if you have any suggestions for ways we can concretely improve the results you could see on VolunteerMatch, would you mind leaving them on our Community Support site, http://community.volunteermatch.org/volunteer ? That would be super helpful! Thanks to all for the excellent discussion and feedback!

]]> By: Michelle Lowery http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-96948 Michelle Lowery Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:22:31 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-96948 That’s a shame, Rob, and I’m sorry to hear your experience with trying to volunteer hasn’t been productive. Aside from any possible lacking on the part of VolunteerMatch, I think sometimes it’s not necessarily that nonprofits aren’t paying attention, but that they simply don’t have the manpower to cover all their bases all the time, especially if they rely heavily on volunteers. A nonprofit organization may have a lot of volunteers, but that doesn’t mean they’ll all be Internet savvy or good communicators.

The way I got involved with the local animal shelter in my previous city was to go down there in person and actually speak to someone face-to-face. I also got lucky that the shelter’s director was there that day, so I was able to speak to him and get the ball rolling much more quickly. Although I no longer live there, I still help them with their Web site as that can be done from anywhere. Give it a shot! Going there in person also demonstrates your commitment because I’d be willing to bet a lot of people send e-mails and fill out forms and then never actually show up, which–right or wrong–could make the people at the nonprofit less apt to respond. Good luck!

]]> By: Rob Geraghty http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-96869 Rob Geraghty Sun, 22 Jul 2012 22:56:11 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-96869 We found Volunteermatch lacking as well. We tried 3 times to volunteer as a group and several folks tried as individuals. While Volunteermatch does match you with volunteer opportunities based on geography and keywords, its clearly not enough. You get the email address of the nonprofit, most of whom don’t appear to be paying any attention. When we contacted the nonprofits via Volunteermatch, we got a response only about half the time.

]]> By: Michelle Lowery http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-80435 Michelle Lowery Wed, 16 May 2012 14:07:24 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-80435 Excellent points, Mike. Thanks for your comment!

]]> By: Mike Waweru http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-80395 Mike Waweru Wed, 16 May 2012 12:33:24 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-80395 Its very true that CSR can increase your bottom line. Its also enhances the general image in the community and people will want to be associated with you, leading to influx of clients.
Nowadays success in business isn’t all about hardwork, but a combination of smartness and injection of hardwork, and CSR is mostly the missing link in every business pitfall.

]]> By: Michelle Lowery http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-79984 Michelle Lowery Tue, 15 May 2012 13:49:17 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-79984 You’re very welcome, Alex! Kiva is a great site. I hope that if you like it, you’ll share it so more people can help!

]]> By: Alex R. http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-78609 Alex R. Thu, 10 May 2012 21:27:00 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-78609 I like the idea of Kiva. I’ve never heard of that site before. Seems like its a great idea and serves a great cause to those who want to get out there and help but don’t have the time. Thanks!

]]> By: Michelle Lowery http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/corporate-social-responsibility-and-success/#comment-77915 Michelle Lowery Tue, 08 May 2012 17:58:38 +0000 http://outspokenmedia.com/?p=14546#comment-77915 Hi Robert,

Thanks so much for your comment. I agree VolunteerMatch is a good tool–I wouldn’t have included it at all if I didn’t think so. But I also felt the need to be honest about our experiences with it in the interest of full disclosure. Admittedly, it’s been about a year since I tried to use the site, and I’ve moved to another city and state during that time, so I’d be happy to give it another shot.

Congratulations on your 6 millionth volunteer referral! That’s definitely something to celebrate, and I applaud you and the VolunteerMatch staff for what you do in helping people to help others. I appreciate your taking the time to contribute to the conversation. Thanks again!

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