Daily Buzz: Strengthen Your Organization With Social Capital

What makes a nonprofit special? Strong, positive relationships between members is key, no matter the organization.

“There is at least one other universal truth about 1.56 million registered nonprofits operating in the U.S.: no matter the size or the mission, social capital—relationships among people—is the lifeblood of every nonprofit enterprise,” says Janet Rechtman  (opens in a new tab) on Blue Avocado.

Social capital is lost when there is a decline in trust and community engagement, argued author Robert Putnam, who popularized the term. Social scientist Jo Anne Schneider also pointed to trust as a key to building social capital in an organization.

To maximize the power of social capital, organization leaders must first recognize its importance; it’s as valuable as financial capital, Rechtman argues.

“The social capital nonprofits create and sustain are investments of time and talent that sustain the mission and, frequently, lead to needed gifts of funds,” she says. “Because social capital is not the same as financial capital, nonprofits are hard-pressed to appreciate its value.”

Organizations can use social capital to build trust and develop meaningful connections to their community.

“Resourceful, nimble, and quick in seeking out relationships that help the organization respond to challenges, social capitalists can navigate the mission in ways that build bridges and renew the mission in a dynamic environment,” Rechtman says.

Why Associations Should Leverage SEO

https://twitter.com/GuloChris/status/1285638647241478146

What can SEO do for an association? It can boost an organization’s industry authority, lead to better content, and rank an organization for relevant keywords. Plus, it’s a low-cost investment, argues Chris Bonney  (opens in a new tab), Gulo’s vice president of strategy.

“The power of search engine optimization is that you don’t have to pay Google to be well-ranked,” he says. “With a little education, a good strategy, and a thoughtful copywriter or two, you could start a small SEO campaign for your association in no time.”

Other Links of Note

Slack has filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft in the European Union, accusing the tech company of unfairly bundling its Teams product with its Office productivity suite. TechCrunch has the story  (opens in a new tab).

Launching a new IT project is always challenging, argues John Edwards in a recent post on CIO. He offers tips  (opens in a new tab) to get the most from your project team.

What’s the best way to hold a discussion online? Adrian Segar of Conferences That Work breaks down  (opens in a new tab) existing solutions and how to use them.

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