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Notes from my talk on “Beyond Best Practices: Taking Non-profits to the Next Level in Second Life” at SLCC

SL Curriculum Workshop

For those that weren’t able to be there, here’s a quick rundown of what I spoke about at the Non-profit Commons mini-track at the Second Life Community Convention this past weekend in Tampa, Florida. While this year’s non-profit track had less folks participating than last year, we had some great exchanges with non-profit innovators like Master Quatro, Sheva Nerad, folks from the American Library Association, USC’s Network Culture Project, Native Lands, and several other groups in attendance physically or via SL.

Thanks to Coughran Mayo for inviting me to speak and doing an admirable job moderating the entire mini-track.  And shout-outs to Rhiannon Chatnoir, In Kenzo and Amulius Lioncourt for bootlegging an audio stream in the Plush Nonprofit Commons in record time.  And I can’t forget my colleague Meghan Deana (Coreina Grace in SL) for stepping in at the 11th hour to help me present and facilitate the session.

[Note this is cross-posted from my blog rikomatic.com]

My talk notes follow…

Beyond Best Practices: Taking Non-profits to the Next Level in Second Life

Almost exactly a year ago, based on findings from SLCC 07 in Chicago, I wrote a little report on "Best Practices for Nonprofits in Second Life," which you may have read. At last year’s SLCC non-profit panel people were presenting more questions than answers. Lots of presenters were announcing projects they were just in the process of launching, including the MacArthur Foundation, USC’s Network Culture Project, and Youth Ventures.

This year, the message I have for you is: congratulations! We have firmly made the case for the viability of using Second Life for non-profit work. It is no longer a question of if but how.  This year we can celebrate real achievements:

Here’s some other cool stuff that I’ve run into in my wanderings in Second Life:

  • My Favorite Freebies: Uthango jetpowered bike to fund employment ctr in Capetown and very cute World Wildlife Fund panda that follows you around and tells you stuff about WWF
  • The Grundfos Sim: Grundfos, a for profit pump company, has created a very interactive sim on sustainable development, clean water, reducing co2 emissions. A great example of a for-profit company giving back to the community.
  • Avatar on Duty project: Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership has organized expert avatars to be available to answer specific questions related to effective philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. The AvOD will be available to answer questions in regards to effective practices and research on specific topics related to philanthropy and nonprofit leadership.

New Tech relevant to Nonprofits:

  • SL on web and iphone (ajaxlife.net), SL / SMS tool (switchboard), combined SL – web chat (SLCN.tv)
  • opensim – ability to run your own grid, connect to SL grid via opensim
  • voice – lowered barrier to bringing in voice, causes issues for some communities concerned about identity issues

What hasn’t happened:

  • slow international growth: Uthango south african NGO , Japan NGO, few others?
  • not much better user interface
  • Little growth in teen grid

Written by: rikomatic

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NPC Scavenger Hunt – Grab Your Magnifying Glass and Join the Fun!

Do you consider yourself a modern-day Columbo and LOVE searching for clues? Then please join us for NPC’s Scavenger Hunt! The hunt begins on August 22 @ 7PM SLT and continues through August 24 @ 8PM SLT. This is an awesome opportunity to become more aware of what Nonprofit Commons and its wonderful organizations are all about. And, c’mon, who doesn’t love an excellent hunt for goodies?

The opening ceremonies begin at the Nonprofit Commons 2 Aloft @ 7PM SLT with a fabulous performance by Vincent Merricks. Don’t be left out! Come by and grab your clues!

At the conclusion of the hunt, we’ll hold the closing ceremonies at Nonprofit Commons 1 Plush @ 8PM SLT with a stunning performance by Kim Siefert along with the prize awards ceremony.

Prizes include:

1st Prize – 25,000 Lindens
2nd Prize – 2 Kiva Gift Certificates
***and many other fabulous prizes to be awarded***

Seriously, you can pass up this rockin’ good time and these great prizes. Come out and learn more about Nonprofit Commons, meet new folks and have a wonderful time! WOOT!

Written by: Beth J. Bates

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Justice Jam Dance Party and Chat on the US and the ICC August 13

On August 13, at 5PM PST, come to the International Justice Center to catch real world / virtual DJ Doubledown Tandino spinning an eclectic mix of global grooves for your dancing pleasure. During the dance, we’ll also be asking for donations to aid victims of human rights abuses in Darfur, the Congo, Uganda, and Central African Republic. Afterwards, Mr. John Washburn, convenor of the American NGO Coalition on the International Criminal Court, will talk about why the next US President should support the International Criminal Court. Come dance, support human rights, and learn about the ICC.
Donations received will be forward to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the ICC Victims Trust Fund.

Click here to RSVP.

Written by: rikomatic

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Great Strides Charity Auction Event – Sat. 8/9/08 – 11 – 2 pm SLT

Come party and get some great deals!

Great Strides Charity Auction

When? Sat 9 Aug – 11:00 AM SL Time for 3 hours (No Cover Charge)

Come bid on a yacht (from Trudeau), a tour of the Elven lands, horses (AKK Stables and more), artwork (from Annah DeCuir, Ronnie Rhode and more), jewelry, buildings (from Oldrome Yer and others), and much more! All proceeds will benefit Great Strides, a RL charity.

Great Strides mission is to promote emotional healing and growth in partnership with horses. Learn more at: http://www.GreatStrides.org.

Location: Oldrome Yer’s sim: Pantheon (85, 112,34)

Please forward to your friends and I hope to see you there!

Veri

Veri Oddfellow (SL)
Brad Lewis (RL)
Board Chair
Great Strides
www.GreatStrides.org

Written by: jharyaconel

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Drug Policy Alliance Network Makes Second Life Debut on Thursday August 14th

08/14/2008 11:00
Etc/GMT-8

08/14/2008 11:00
Etc/GMT-8

August 4, 2008—On Thursday, August 14, at 11 a.m., Second LifeTM Time, Drug Policy Alliance Network, the United States’ leading organization dedicated to ending the war on drugs, will make its virtual debut with a staff meet-and-greet on the Nonprofit Commons Aloft simulator.

When: Thursday, August 14, 11 a.m. SLT – 1 p.m. SLT
Where: Plush Nonprofit Commons Cafe (Plush Nonprofit Commons – 165, 241, 26)
Second Life URL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/165/241/26

Second LifeTM resident Camdyn Collins will host the event, which will include several DPA Network employees. As the first of what will hopefully be several events planned throughout the year, the initial gathering is geared toward answering any questions Second LifeTM residents may have about DPA Network and its mission.

Immediately following the meet-and-greet with DPA Network staff members, residents will stay at the cafe and attend an afterparty, which will include a performance by celebrity Second LifeTM DJ, Azufr3 Catteneo (www.azucatteneo.com). During the afterparty, random DPA Network themed prizes will be given away to attendees and residents will be able to interact with other drug policy reform supporters.

A donation box for DPA Network will be present at the event, as well as other DPA Network-produced literature, drug fact information, and instructions on ways to take action offline against the war on drugs. Because donations to the Drug Policy Alliance Network are used in part for lobbying and grassroots activism, they are not tax-deductible.

For more information about DPA Network and our mission, please visit our website at www.drugpolicy.org or email webmaster@drugpolicy.org.

Written by: camdyncollins

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Relay for Life Second Life

For the fourth consecutive year running, the American Cancer Society held their annual Relay for Life Second Life. 2008 was the most successful year yet for this virtual relay to raise funds to fight cancer.

Some stats: 2230 avatars, 85 Teams, walked 3441 virtual laps and raised over $L 55,230,056. The relay funds raised translated into over $210,000 USD to support the American Cancer Society in its mission to defeat cancer. This greatly exceeded last year’s Second Life Relay for Life that raised around $100,000 USD and is the single largest amount raised to date by a single nonprofit campaign in Second Life.

Congratulations to all the builders, promoters, fundraisers, all of the participating avatars and their supporters for making this such a great success! The success of Relay for Life Second Life not only provides benefit in the battle against cancer, but also serves as a role model for other nonprofits seeking to use Second Life to enhance and further their real-life social change work.

Written by: penguin kuhn

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NPC Nonprofit Awareness Night=A Great Success

What do you get when you have 65 NPO’s, Live entertainment, dancing, and a whole bunch of people in the main square at NPC Aloft?
The answer….. an awesome Nonprofit Commons Awareness night!

SL singer Vienna James put on an amazing performance, helped promote our NPO’s and toured the sim after her performance.

In between songs, there were representitives from several Nonprofits from both Plush and Aloft, sharing information about their organizations. Some of the representitives included….Anika Pastorelli (GCN), KellyJ Shepard (Project Jason), Ronnie Rhode (Garden for the Missing) and Veri Oddfellow (Great Strides) along with several others.

Vistors to Aloft had the oppertunity before and after the show to take the magic carpet tour , the horse and buggy tour or just wander the sim to see what NPC is all about.Volunteers from many NPO’s were on hand to answer questions as well.
All and all I would say it was a successful event and hopefully there will be more like it in the future

Written by: MeRcEdEs

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Using the Event Calendar

As you may have noticed, there has been a little event calendar on the site for the last few weeks. We’ve been ironing out some issues and there are still other elements that we may add in the future, but it is ready for folks to start making use of.

  1. To post to the calendar you must be registered as a blogger on the site. We are limiting who can post to the calendar to prevent spam from ending up on the calendar.
  2. If you want to post to the calendar, please ask Glit, Penguin, or Creech (me!) to set you up.
  3. If you want to book space in one of the sims, please see Penguin or Glit and ask one of them to make the arrangements.
  4. This goes without saying, but please be sensible about what events you post.

Alright, how do you go about posting an event? It is pretty simple.

  1. Log into the NPC site.
  2. Click on "Create Content" in your right hand menu
  3. Click on "Event"
  4. Choose a start and end date along with times. Please note that the time zone is Pacific/SL.
  5. Type in a Title
  6. Add body–you can use some HTML. If you want to see what the filter will accept and what options you have–click on "Input Format"
  7. You may include a file attachment if you have something like a flyer
  8. Click "Preview" if you’d like to look at your event before you post it
  9. Click "Submit" when you are ready for it to be posted to the site.

It is that easy. Happy event posting!

Creech Antwerp/Matthew Saunders

Written by: Creech

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Synopsis from Avatar on Duty Meeting

Host: Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University
Facilitator: 2020Vision Obviate
Attendees: Windy Schor, Fayandria Foley, Petro Bellic, Stingray9798 Raymaker, Jarhead Euler, Patt Bravin, , Sue Bazar, Reece Llewellyn, Glitteractica Cookie, Penguin Kuhn, Muse Carmona, Rez Messing, Coughran Mayo
Date: July 28, 2008

Synopsis:
Focus of the conversation was on how nonprofits can find long-term sustainability in Second Life and better translate into real-world action towards achieving their missions. The first question asked was “What do you hope to gain by having a presence in Second Life?” Participant’s answers related to the following: reaching new audiences, collaborating, networking and raising awareness.

Next question asked was “What is the advantage of Second Life over a bulletin board or just doing IM?” Again, answers related to the following: experiential learning, greater interactivity and connection, immersive learning and greater affinity among members.

The last question related to the difference between Web 2.0 and Second Life. This was a more challenging question to tackle. Participants noted that users of Second Life can customized their experience, build stronger connections and engage in all five senses. Compared to Real Life, most participants agreed that Second Life was fun and easier to engage in conversation as complete strangers. Finally, the comment was made that Second Life and virtual worlds are a trend for the future.

Some other points that emerged in the conversation not directly related to the questions connected to challenges. Some of the challenges discussed are focused on research that need to be conducted and some are the facts of working in a virtual environment. The research challenges are finding demographics focused on social benefit and good practices for nonprofits. Challenges related to the environment are corporation’s IT constraints, Second Life learning curve and burnout.

Finally, some beginning key points or good practices for nonprofits in Second Life which emerged are that the mission of the organization should be tied to the work being done in Second Life and having clear, simple objectives for work in Second Life helps maintain focus and balance.

Written by: ashima.saigal

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Why Second Life?

Today I attended the Avatar on Duty session at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership office on Aloft Nonprofit Commons. 2020Vision (Ashima Saigal) moderated the session and she was joined by several other Johnson Center staff, along with a sizeable crowd of interested avatars. We were all there to discuss a key question for those involved with working with nonprofits in Second Life: How can nonprofits find long-term sustainability in Second Life and better translate into real-world action towards achieving their missions?

The session gave us opportunity to brainstorm and discuss this topic in an open forum. One of the first issues we discussed was what nonprofits hoped to gain by having a presence in Second Life. Many avatars saw Second Life as a way to engage a wider audience and bring awareness of their organization’s work. Others mentioned the benefit of having a common meeting space and a way to network and collaborate with other nonprofits doing similar work, as well as connecting with organizations they might never have had the opportunity to meet. Jarhead Euler of Uptown Shelter gave the example of how his organization only heard about Community Voicemail through Second Life and now is meeting with several other organizations to discuss implementing this tool for their real-life work.

However, we wondered what’s advantageous about using Second Life versus other Web 2.0 tools (i.e. Facebook, instant messaging, web conferencing, etc.)? Some said they treated Second Life just like any other online community, but one that served a different purposes, reaching a different audience that though smaller creates greater affinity among its members. Others felt the 3D, immersive experience of a virtual world creates a more powerful and personal interaction. There’s definitely an added layer of fun that potentially makes it an appealing medium for users to engage. Another point raised was that Second Life reaches an early adopter audience, and can propagate experiential learning in a way that other web-based applications cannot. Virtual worlds are seen by many as being the future of the Web, which puts organizations already in Second Life ahead of the curve for future expansion into virtual worlds as they become more prevalent.

This raised the question of what audience nonprofits are trying to reach in Second Life? Although there are many newcomers interested in learning more about the platform, it’s important to keep in mind that nonprofits are not necessarily trying to bring people into Second Life, but rather, seeking to tap into an already established audience in Second Life, who is looking to find ways to use the tool for social benefit. The audience is likely to vary depending on the organization, but determining the demographics is important when it comes to thinking about approach and gaining support for funding Second Life work.

Greater interaction and connection kept commonly coming up as an argument for the value of Second Life. Yet these two aspects are challenging, if not impossible to measure, especially in comparison to the benefit of other tools. When thinking about sustainability, it’s important for nonprofits to think about pinpointing unique benefits that a virtual platform offers. Several people pointed out that Second Life can often save time and money, but so can other less technology-intensive tools. Others pointed out the ability for Second Life to be used for mixed reality events provides a unique experiential way of interaction with multiple simultaneous communication channels (text, voice, chat, video, etc.). There have been some case studies how this is beneficial to some groups, such as people with disabilities or different learning styles. What’s needed, we all seemed to agree, is more such studies and ways to document impact of Second Life work in furthering the missions of organizations.

We discussed other challenges of the virtual world, including the high learning curve. Second Life is not accessible for many with its technical requirements. Nonprofits will need to justify that in spite of such obstacles, the potential gains of Second Life are worth the time and resource investment.

Today’s discussion sparked more questions, but also got me thinking creatively about tangible ways nonprofits can articulate the “experience” of virtual worlds and the myriad of ways it can be used towards social change. While that challenge can be daunting it is exciting to think about nonprofits pioneering the virtual world for the benefit of the real one.

Written by: penguin kuhn