I'm only half-joking when I say that every nonprofit should put the term "social change" in the subject line of their online appeals. The term is hot right now. Google returns more than 16 million records for the phrase "social change" and Twitter brings back too many return pages to count. The Obama campaign's call to action has rallied thousands of people to make a difference under the term social change". But, should you get on the bandwagon and reframe your mission with the term "social change"? Does it work for your organization?
Social change is defined on Wikipedia as "when behavior pattern changes, in large numbers and is visible and sustained' and "any event or action that affects a group of individuals that have shared values or characteristics." OK, good starting point. Does your organization affect the behaviors of thousands of people? Over a period of time, probably. Your organization's outreach can span across channels with direct mail, magazines, online marketing, and events. Can you tabulate whether people have been affected by your outreach? Sure, look at the number of donations or constituents you have in your database. Look at how many emails you send out each year and how many people take an action based on your communications. Finally, look at your organization's beneficiaries and programs to gauge how your organization has affected social change.
To this end, every organization can make the argument that they're about "social change." Should your organization reframe itself and start up on the "we're about social change" nomenclature? Well, first think about it. Look at why constituents sign up for your online newsletter or donate to your group in the first place. They must like you for your existing mission and vision, your current programs and goals, and because of who or how you help. Don't feel the need to change your homepage banner to read "creating social change." Be yourself, but maybe stick that word "change" in your next online appeal. It can't hurt, right?
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