The Best Way To Spend $5: Give To #FairTuesday!

HEY.

Sometimes I feel like I’m the only CRAZY ONE who believes that we can make a difference. OR NOT? We (nonprofit Global Goods Partners, volunteers and me) are trying to raise money to promote companies that give back through ‪#‎FairTuesday during the 2013 Holiday season‬. Some educate kids in Uganda, some give people in forgotten villages in Pakistan a chance to make money, some plant much needed trees in Madagascar, some support victims of sex trafficking. There’s so many people that need help. To do that, we need to raise 5K for a website and promo materials.

I’m not asking you to volunteer hundreds of hours like I did. $5 from each is all we need to make it happen. I don’t care what your financial situation is. This will be the best $5 you’ve spent, I promise. I’ll even do a public victory dance if we meet our goal.

Donate 5 bucks NOW: http://wedid.it/campaigns/385

Winter Fair Trade Style

I had so much fun styling One Mango Tree organic cotton Pintuck Dress with fair trade accessories from Global Goods Partners for a soft winter look with an edgy twist!

As a seasoned fan of One Mango Tree’s bags and accessories with gorgeous African prints, I enjoyed taking my affair with the brand further and trying on its apparel.

Bolivian Alpaca Knit Hat and Fingerless Gloves from Global Goods Partners were my love at first sight. They’re super soft and warm – perfect for the East Coast winter. I also used Three Tier Silk Beaded Necklace from Morocco, Recycled Glitter Clutch from Cambodia, Indian Clutch Bag, and statement Eco-chic Bottle Top Tassel and Clay Earrings from Swaziland for this look – wearing the whole world map at once while supporting artisans who need it most. That’s my kind of style! #FairTuesday

A Brief History of #FairTuesday Movement

Last August, I went to an event that informed, inspired and provoked me to believe that fashion and social good can co-exist. Conscious Collaborations by Ethical Fashion Academy  was a very personal round table discussion with New York-based fashion social entrepreneurs who have made positive change their life mission. It made me think: with a background that is a mixture of communications, fashion and social media, how can I contribute and help smaller organizations raise awareness about their causes?

A month later, I got my answer. Attending Mashable’s Social Good Summit – an amazing event where I saw how global leaders use tech innovation to fight the world’s biggest challenges – fostered me to come with the idea of a social movement that would bring together fair trade organizations in a collective effort to create change. Meeting the social media guru for non-profits Beth Kanter was another inspiration to get the campaign going. How about picking a day that would serve as an antidote for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, let’s say Tuesday? Check. Where would it be based? In social media space, of course. Check.

Global Goods Partners, a fair trade non-profit that I had just started volunteering for, was the perfect platform for starting the movement: great mission (selling handmade fair trade products in order to improve the economic status of women in marginalized communities in Africa, Asia and South America), impeccable reputation and an amazing team. Together, we shaped the idea and made it into what Fair Tuesday is today: A global social movement with over 100 supporting organizations (fair trade, ethical and eco-friendly online and brick and mortar stores, coffee shops, cafes, coalitions, federations, foundations and media in 27 U.S. states and 9 other countries, and a shared goal of galvanizing the community and popularizing the idea that our everyday purchases can change lives in whole communities. The list of partners includes, to name a few, Somaly Mam, Sseko Sandals, Magnifeco, Lifestyle+Charity Magazine, GOOD, Fair Trade Federation and Fair Trade USA (the creators of Fair Trade Month).

#FairTuesday partners at a glance

In just four weeks since launch, with no budget, but with tremendous support from like-minded organizations, we were able to create social media buzz with thousands of Tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram pictures and Pinterest pins that reached a combined social media audience of over 2.5 million people… And this is just the beginning! The idea is to make the #FairTuesday community a hub for ethical shopping, continuing the conversation throughout the year and making the movement bigger and bigger.

#FairTuesday photo campaign invited our supporters to post pictures of themselves with “I Support #FairTuesday” sign (Photo by Tenfold Fair Trade)

Support #FairTuesday movement by buying ONE fair trade, ethical or eco-friendly item on Tuesday, November 27 and like Fair Tuesday on Facebook to stay in the loop!

Good Morning, Beth Kanter!

Not every morning do I get to have a discussion with one of the most influential women in technology over bagels and coffee. That was my Friday morning at Fenton, with a group of like-mined people and Beth Kanter, the guru in marrying technology and nonprofits who has traveled around the globe – from Cambodia to Australia and the Middle East to consult organizations on using data to change the world.

Beth Kanter at Fenton NYC

The first time I saw Beth was at Mashable’s 2012 Social Good Summit, where she delivered a very short, engaging, real speech – in this very unique Beth Kanter manner – about her experience as a social media consultant for nonprofits. To me, she’s a role model. She is one of those people who has found her passion, chose a direction she wanted to go with it, and went for it.

Such organizations as the Red Cross, Greenpeace, the International Rescue Committee, and the CSR departments of Chase and Cisco were represented at the discussion. Talking about her new book “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit” (co-written with Katie Delahaye Paine), Beth mentioned several very important things, and her main message was this: Don’t be afraid of data. As we delved into Beth’s tremendous knowledge of what works and doesn’t work in social media marketing, the incredible importance of collecting, measuring and acting on data became very clear.

Me and Beth Kanter

There is a great amount of books on social media, on top of all the social media guides that are available online. Supposedly if you follow them, your organization will get positive results from using social media. But from my personal experience managing social media for Gilt, Visual Therapy, and most recently for a nonprofit fair trade organization Global Goods Partners, this is not how it works. You can have terabytes of Google Analytics or Facebook Insights data, but they don’t mean much without proper measurement. The only way to be a successful social media marketer is to understand your specific audience: What they engage the most with, in what format, what time of the day, etc. If you’re not personal, don’t expect your social media followers to be personal with you. And the only way to be more personal and engaging is data analysis.

Here are some of my favorite Beth’s ideas from the bagel and social media for nonprofits (seriously, I can’t think of a better combo) morning:

• Don’t confuse activity and results
• Employ “Slow” social media, aka choose one platform and focus on it instead of managing five different platforms poorly
• Always set up intention for your campaign, otherwise you will not be able to measure its results
• Give the campaign enough time to develop before assessing it

My Perfect Train Ride: Tea & a Book on Social Media

For now, that’s it! I already started reading my signed copy of Beth’s book on a train ride to beautiful Connecticut this weekend. I highly recommend “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit” to anyone who’s a social media addict like me – whether you do it for a nonprofit organization, a for-profit company, or even for your personal brand. It was a pleasure meeting you, Beth!