metro
"I like to travel. and I
have an active social life.
At Fox Run I just lock
the door and go."
>> Jews in the digital age
Fast Learning Curve
Nonprofits must learn social media
quickly to try to win funds in online
voting contests.
Working a post-a-thon rally March 5 to get out the online vote for Jewish
Family Service at the Library Pub in West Bloomfield are Shari Silver,
Beverly Hills; Erin Lederman, Pleasant Ridge; Amy Haimann, Bloomfield
Hills; Kate Johnston, Ann Arbor; and Marsha Baker, Farmington Hills.
T
Fox Run in Oakland County gives you something your
house never could: a true sense of freedom. Maintenance,
repairs and 24-hour security are all handled by our expert,
full-time staff. That leaves you more time, energy and
opportunity to travel, volunteer and do the things you
love to do.
Learn more about independent
retirement living at Fox Run in Novi.
Call 1-800-604-7624 today
for your free 25-page brochure.
Fox Run
Add More Living to your Life'
Novi
Erickso n Livi ng .com
=.= 7361303
housands in Metro Detroit's
Jewish community have been
flocking to Home Depot's
Facebook page in recent weeks. No, they
are not all interested in becoming fans of
the national retail giant. They are simply
trying to help a local social service agen-
cy win $250,000 from the Home Depot
Foundation.
Jewish Family Service in
West Bloomfield was one
of 12 nonprofits around the
country to win a monthly
prize of $25,000 cash and
another $5,000 in Home
Depot gift cards from the
Home Depot Foundation
this past January. That
win put them in the com-
petition for the Aprons in
Action contest that will give
away a total of a half-mil-
lion dollars in March. JFS
plans to use the cash prize
for its Project Build! program, which
provides JFS clients with safe and barri-
er-free homes through pro bono repairs
and renovations provided by local build-
ers, remodelers and suppliers.
While many nonprofits in the Jewish
community are still trying to find their
way in the new world of social media,
online contests like the Home Depot
Foundation's Aprons in Action have
pushed nonprofit organizations to cre-
ate a social media strategy to get out the
vote on Facebook, the social networking
site that boasts more than 850 million
users.
Retail giants like Target and
Home Depot, as well as large
corporations like Toyota and
Ford Motor Co., have drawn
millions of Facebook users to
their corporate and foundation
"Fan Pages" through online
contests.
These crowd-raising initia-
tives have required nonprofits
to familiarize themselves with
such 21st century terms as
"social dout,social analytics,"
"network amplification,""true
reach" and "social media influ-
ence:' Additionally, these non-
profits that compete in the contests have
to quickly bolster their own online social
identity to broadcast their participation
in the contest. Many of these nonprofits
are trying to raise their online presence
on a shoestring budget, if they have
allocated any marketing funds to social
-
Learning Curve on page 20
18 March 15 • 2012