We all need to be digitally literate. As a nonprofit manager or Director, you need a different kind of literacy than the staff actively using social media for your organization.
You need strategic information. You need to make sure that your online activities are moving your mission forward. You don’t need to know that animated GIF to post on Facebook. You don’t need to know the recipe for a perfect Facebook post, or the best hashtags to use to promote your work on Twitter.
What you need to know is enough to manage staff, consultants and funders around the use of technology in your work. You need to become comfortable understanding how the internet, online marketing, and social media are essential to your bottom line.
So, where to start?
Do a search for digital literacy and nonprofits and the results might overwhelm. Who’s credible? Where to start?
Don’t worry. Clare McDowall has written a series of articles that are your essential starting points. Her approach is to provide a bit of a wake up call for nonprofit leaders. You simply can’t afford to be illiterate when it comes to technology, online marketing, community engagement and social media.
- Why you need digital literacy
- How a digital literacy blind spot is harming your nonprofit
- How a leader’s digital literacy affects hiring decisions
These are great starting points. After skimming them, maybe you realize you have a blind spot and could use some help.
The course you need
Clare has gone one step further and has created a new 6 module online course just for you, a nonprofit leader. (*affiliate link). This online course focuses on the strategic thinking you need around technology/social media use in your organization and how to apply that knowledge. Simply put, Digital Literacy for Leaders is a MasterClass for Executives that want to expand their knowledge of today’s digital marketing strategies to protect and grow their company’s bottom line.
What you learn will help you better manage the staff, volunteers, or consultants who work on the details under your leadership.
I’ve known Clare for over 5 years, since participating in her inaugural Be Good, Be Social conference (always worth attending). I think she’s got the kind of no-nonsense approach that values the fact that you don’t have a lot of time to spend being proselytized to about the utopia of technology. She helps her clients wade through the myths and misrepresentations about how new media can be a tool for your mission, cause and services. As you’ll see below, that approach is reflected in the course outline.
I think she’s the perfect person to deliver this type of training. You’ll get caught up in her knowledge and passion to help you become more comfortable in the constantly evolving digital world. And, you’ll learn practical tips and techniques to apply immediately in your daily work.
Registration for the first cohort is open for the next 10 days. Take a look below about who the course is for, how it’s structured and if it’s right for you.
Have fun learning!
What do you get?
Not only do you get lifetime access to course content evaluated by nonprofit leader peers (log in, revisit the information and resources any time). You also get a year of monthly office hours with Clare. And, a private Facebook group to network, share, learn, wail and support others taking the course with you.
As anyone who’s taken a course or attended conference knows, some of the best learning is in the social, informal interactions you have between sessions. A Facebook group like this, focused, on topic, with peers as committed and interested in learning digital literacy for leaders is a great bonus. As more people take the course, more peers join. You’ll learn, mentor and support each other here.
Who is Digital Literacy for Leaders for?
This course has been designed specifically for nonprofit leaders and senior executives. It will be of most value to people who have (or want to have):
- Responsibility for hiring
- Some oversight of/responsibility for marketing and communications (this function reports to you or you are in a senior role in this area)
- Budget responsibility
- Responsibility for strategic decision making
- How is the Masterclass delivered?
Each week, starting approximately May 2, a new module will become available. You will be invited to attend the webinar live if you would like to, where you can ask questions. The recordings plus all extra materials, worksheets and resources will be available afterwards on your dashboard for you to watch at your convenience.
You will also have access to a private online group on Facebook where Clare will be available to answer questions on a regular basis. It will also be a great space where you and your peers will learn and share with each other. This one-to-one social learning environment has always been one of the most helpful to people in online learning environments.
You can’t put a financial value on peer support, it’s priceless.
What content will be in the Modules?
Clare has been working with four extra special Founding Members, your peers, to carefully craft each module so that it delivers maximum impact, without being overwhelming or focusing too much on the “nitty-gritty”.
- Module 1: Missed opportunities and dollars left on the table when you don’t know what you don’t know
- Module 2: The real digital landscape
Module 3: Learning the lingo. Know your PPC from CPM, and SEO, too - Module 4: Strategy. The essential ingredient to integration and success
- Module 5: Tools and tactics (some practical information to support strategic thinking)
- Module 6: Literacy in the work place
- Auditing your organization
- Hiring staff and consultants
- Budgets
- Measurement and reporting
Sound interesting? I’m happy to recommend this course to you and I hope you take a look . It’s not free (it’s $997 USD), but I think you’ll find that it’s totally worth the investment.
* Full disclosure. An affiliate link means that if you register via the link here, simply put, I get paid. I’m a fan of Clare’s and was already promoting her course before she asked me to be an affiliate. I think she has great timing and the content is spot on.