We've moved the blog

We have moved the blog to our new open source website. We called it News - rather than blog as that is really what it is. We will leave this one here but new additions are at the site.
Please visit us there and sign up to the Salon which is replacing the earlier Salon google group.

Click here to get to The Cyrano Project website.

Nominate an Inspirational New Yorker

Here’s a unique opportunity to tell the city and the world about the great work your organization is doing. Tell us the most inspiring story you have – the story of an individual your organization has helped, who changed his or her world. If your story is chosen, a poster will be designed – absolutely free of charge – and displayed in a public exhibition of Inspirational New Yorkers, in NYC and in our online gallery. You will receive invitations to the opening of the exhibition, and, if your story is selected for a poster, the poster art will be yours to keep and use.

Submit your nominations at http://www.cyranoproject.org/InspirationalNewYorkers

Parsons School of Design students will each select the story that moves them. Their work will be guided by world-renowned South African graphic designer Garth Walker.

The Cyrano Project is offering an extra incentive to nominate an Inspirational New Yorker - a set of easy-to-use tools for adapting your story into compelling communications that will bring your mission to life.

Your nominations should be submitted by September 7th. Please use a separate form for each candidate. Here is the form to use for your nominations:
http://www.cyranoproject.org/InspirationalNewYorkers

Share your wisdom and experience (you will be rewarded!)

The Cyrano Project Nonprofit Communication Study
Are you a nonprofit staffer, trustee, or volunteer? If you are, would you give ten minutes to help shape the future of nonprofit communications?

The Cyrano Project, which as you know is itself a nonprofit, is conducting a study to learn what is working, what is not working, and where help is needed in nonprofits' communications programs.

To do this we need the views of people like you who care about a nonprofit: whatever the cause, whatever your role, your opinion counts.

Take our Online Survey
Your point of view really does matter. Would you take just ten minutes to complete our online survey? The Study's findings will help guide nonprofit managers and inform those who can provide needed assistance.

Click here to begin.

Your reward
Your reward for completing the survey will be twofold. You can enter our "Thank You Drawing" for the chance to win $100 at Amazon.com (or $100 to donate to the nonprofit of your choice.) And you'll also be among the first to get a copy of the results when the Study is completed. This can give you valuable guidance by providing insights into the communication practice and needs of organizations like yours.

Just click the link to begin the survey:
http://www.cyranoproject.org/survey

Pass it on
And please tell your nonprofit friends and colleagues to participate - the more opinions we get, the more valuable the results will be.

Carissa and Homeless Youth Awareness Month

I just got the following note from the marketing department at Virgin Mobile regarding Carissa - see earlier blog posts. The note is from VM's Stacy Schwartz, who is herself a valued member of The Cyrano Project's Advisory Council.

"I wanted to touch base to let you know what a great move it was introducing my organization to the Carissa project. Not sure whether you heard that Virgin Mobile sponsored legislation that just passed, which designates November as Homeless Youth Awareness Month. We are a planning a bunch of awareness-raising events and programs for November, that we hope Carissa (and the formerly homeless singer, Jewel) will be part of."

Here is Carissa's account of her day in DC. http://www.carissaproject.com/blog/archives/24

The Cyrano Project is very proud to have been instrumental in making this possible.

Carissa Project and Virgin Mobile

Excellent news from The Carissa Project. If you missed the story - click here.

Carissa tells me:

"Thanks so much for making the introduction to Virgin! We're both very happy with the relationship. Actually Ariel the director of the ReGeneration campaign was just in LA today and looked at some of the footage with David.

Thanks again for the connection...it was perfect!"

Click here to learn about Virgin Mobile's Re*Generation Project

But is Cyrano sexy?

I was reading the wonderful Vanity Fair Special African edition (July 07). Guest editor Bono. I thought I would just skim it quickly – but I got sucked right in. The stories are honest and really well told – not in the least woo-woo – they’re surprising and irreverent (the Chris Rock satire was harsh, brilliant and insightful). They’re about actual people doing what they can to get along. The stories give me a whole new way of looking at Africa, they make me want to do something to help – drill a well for clean water, carry Jeff Sachs’ bags.

Cyrano too is working to get understanding and help. But is Cyrano’s a sexy story? We are not getting the help directly to those Africans with big smiles and flies on their faces, or drawing drinking water from stinking cesspools - we aim to help those who do help them.

Where are our cover stories of the under-resourced volunteers, the inspired but penniless choreographers, the over-worked and under-paid executive directors and the hair-tearing development directors? If we had those pictures would they move anyone? But they all need the help to get their good work done. And we can help them tell their stories effectively so that they can get more resources and do more and do it better.

A dollar spent on Cyrano will be multiplied geometrically when we can provide all of them with the tools to get more of what they need to do more of their good work. That dollar won’t just go to one organization – it will go to 1.5 million. That’s how many nonprofits there are in the US. They will all get to use it. How’s that for leveraging!

There are over 25,000 nonprofits in New York City, 750 in my zip code alone. You have heard of Amnesty International, The New York City Ballet and The American Red Cross. But there are hundreds of thousands – yes hundreds of thousands you haven’t heard of. Good people doing good work. Look them up on Guidestar.org – they are all there.

Most of them are doing humanitarian work feeding the hungry, fixing education, curing disease; they are working to lift people out of poverty, many of them are working to save our natural environment – a humanitarian effort surely – and many are working to expand our minds and our understanding of ourselves and our world through music, dance, theater – perhaps the most humanitarian of all.

So what is Cyrano doing? We are here to give them the tools to tell their stories more effectively – so they can strengthen the impact of their work. We are here to give them the leverage to take their passion and have it make more of a difference, by getting more of the stories of all these good works told so that they will move people – just as this Vanity Fair moved me. They can’t all be cover stories – but they don’t all have to be. Sometimes the right story just needs to be told to the right one or two people to make the difference.

Design and Language

I wrote earlier of the design exhibit Cyrano is developing with Nada Ray.

Here is a wonderful little film that Nada made about Pentagram designer Paula Scher and how she designed a calendar in a language she knew nothing about. It's called Gobbledy Gook
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j1gvDOtwLgU

Taking the headaches out of metrics, volunteers, brochures and websites

The Cyrano Project is collaborating with Josefowicz Associates (JA) to help nonprofits handle and disseminate information much more easily. Contact us at eloquence@cyranoproject.org for more details. Here's how JA describes the service:

"Every day you and your team struggle with the headaches of gathering information from lots of people and places... and then making that information public: collecting data for metrics, managing volunteers, putting on an event, compiling a brochure or website and so on.

We can teach you how to use Web 2.0 communication tools to accomplish these very difficult tasks, much more easily and more effectively. We will streamline the collection of the input material and also the management and dissemination of the output whether it is printed or on the web or it becomes a letter or a phone call.

We can show you how to measure the amount of time and money you can save. And we can help to improve your impact.

By practicing with a mentor, you will soon learn enough to use the tools to fit your specific needs, your specific culture, resources and style of work.

All you need is a web browser and an internet connection."

For more on Josefowicz Associates go to:
http://josefowicz.pbwiki.com/Non-Profits

The Cyrano Project Launches Online Salon to help Nonprofits with Communications

NEW YORK, NEW YORK June 05, 2007 Non Profit News

(PRLEAP.COM) The Cyrano Project, a nonprofit organization based in New York City, has launched The Cyrano Project Salon:

http://groups.google.com/group/the-cyrano-project-salon

an online group where communications professionals exchange ideas with nonprofit professionals about how nonprofits can communicate more effectively to achieve their goals.

“Things that advertising and marketing people think and breathe are not necessarily obvious to most nonprofit people. They are good at curing diseases or saving kids, but communications is too often not their bag. Nonetheless they need all the help they can get in getting their stories told: the right story in the right way to the right people,” said Michael Pollock, an advertising veteran and President of The Cyrano Project. "With more effective communications, they can raise more money, recruit more volunteers and increase their impact."

“The Cyrano Project Salon is a place for nonprofit leaders and communicators to talk with communications professionals,” continues Pollock. They can ask questions. Get ideas. Share experiences. They can talk about strategy and materials, messaging and audiences: everything that goes into getting a nonprofit’s message out effectively.”

Cyrano Salons held in-person, before the launch of the online version, included communications professionals from ad agencies including Ogilvy & Mather and Y&R, marketers like Virgin Mobile and Time Warner and nonprofit professionals from MOMA, the UN, Common Ground and The New School.

Topics explored at these earlier offline salons included communications planning, defining audiences, printing costs, how to shoot videos and how to communicate effectively with ones own staffers.

“For a great many non-profits, the kind of sophisticated communications techniques used by FORTUNE 1000 companies are often out of reach. What The Cyrano Project is setting out to do is perhaps the greatest gift to any non-profit,” says Simon Sinek of Sinek Partners.

Howard Handler, Chief Marketing Officer of Virgin Mobile says, “Without the support and inspiration of business-minded strategies available to help streamline marketing and communications, amazing organizations will continue to struggle to get their messages out. We wholeheartedly believe in Cyrano’s mission.”

There is no charge for participating in the salon and as Pollock states, “It is an easy and fast way for communications professionals to share their expertise, putting it to work for good causes. And what could be better for a nonprofit than getting free insights and tips from practicing communications and marketing professionals.”

The Cyrano Project Online Salon can be found at:
http://groups.google.com/group/the-cyrano-project-salon

About The Cyrano Project
http://www.cyranoproject.org

The Cyrano Project is a 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization, founded by communications professionals, to help nonprofits tell their stories eloquently and effectively.

Stories of Inspirational New Yorkers

The Cyrano Project will collaborate with Good News People (http://www.goodnewspeople.org) to present:

Inspirational New Yorkers: an Exhibition of Good News Stories about New Yorkers, for New Yorkers.

We will create a public exhibition of posters specially designed by New York design students that will each tell the moving story of a New Yorker who has succeeded in overcoming a challenge or in making a difference with the help of one of New York’s 25,000 nonprofits.

The exhibition of these uplifting stories will illuminate the significant and positive role New York’s nonprofits play in the life of the city and it will be a demonstration of the power of the designer and printed communications to serve good causes. A book will be created showcasing the posters and describing how the design students responded to the stories that they discovered.

Here's what we'll do:

Garth Walker Workshop
20 selected students from the New York’s leading design schools will create the posters. They will be guided in a one-of-a-kind Workshop to be led by Garth Walker, the internationally renowned Graphic Designer from Durban, South Africa where he edits the groundbreaking I-jusi magazine. (http://www.ijusi.co.za/).

Walker is known for encouraging designers to develop a local design language that reflects the immediate surroundings. This will be a very special opportunity for the students to learn from a master and bring his thinking to these New York stories.

Public Exhibit – The One Club
The exhibition of the posters created by the students will be premiered in December 2007, at the prestigious One Club for Art and Copy, who have generously made their gallery available.(http://www.oneclub.org)


Book - Inspirational New Yorkers
A book will be created, presenting the posters along with quotes from the subjects and quotes from students who worked on the project. Text, photographs and other rich documentation from the project will show how these creatives responded to these real people who are overcoming real challenges and to the nonprofits that support their efforts.

Why an ad person should care

It’s a story to make even the most hard-bitten ad-guy weep: a nonprofit organization struggling to save the lives of Rwandan orphans, or to reach kids in your own community who have been sexually molested, or researching Chagas Disease, which kills more people than AIDS.

Never heard of them? That’s the part that could make you cry. With all their passion, these organizations will never accomplish all they should – simply because they lack the basic communications skills you and I learned as ad cubs.

But here’s the happy ending:

The Cyrano Project, a nonprofit founded by communications professionals, has a plan to change all that. Our mission is to help nonprofits tell their stories eloquently and effectively. We started helping them one by one – but we’ll never reach them all. Pro bono work is not the answer. Consulting is not the answer.

The answer is a radical new way to deliver the expertise of communications professionals to the fingertips of thousands of nonprofits across the country - over the Internet. Cyrano’s SolutionBuilder on the web is being designed to incorporate tools, worksheets, how-tos and templates that have best practices built in, augmented by user forums and Ask an Expert features.

For example, just in the course of making a brochure from a template, the user has to answer the questions that tighten his brief and reduce the probability that he’s wasting his time and money: Who’s it for? What do you want them to do? What’s the most persuasive way to get them to do that? – questions any ad guy would ask in his sleep but a nonprofit user has most likely never considered.

Here’s where you come in: we need a forward-thinking partner to support building this radical solution. We recently received a grant from the New York Times Foundation – but there is much more to do to get this up and running.

This is an unusual and exciting opportunity to demonstrate how the skills you have perfected for your corporate clients can be applied to extend and amplify positive change – on a broad scale. Or perhaps you have clients who would see the virtue of extending their corporate responsibility in this very visible direction.

I look forward to hearing from you.

PSA's at MOMA

Every June at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP.com) holds a festival of the best commercials made that year. The selected spots are entered into MOMA’s permanent collection. Yes, some spots are so good they are considered worthy of being included in one of the world’s most important art collections.

This year Cyrano’s Michael Pollock was invited to join the panel of judges selecting the PSAs – the nonprofit spots. He joined a distinguished group at New York’s swank Soho House, that included Jimmy Siegel, who does the advertising for Hillary Clinton, and leaders from the Partnership for Drug Free America. Winners will be announced by AICP at MOMA on June 5th.

Cyrano helps clarify NFTE's value proposition

Here's what David Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of NFTE said about Cyrano's work for them:

"The Cyrano Project worked with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) on defining and honing our main message for communications. In the process of learning about NFTE and its work, the consultants demonstrated real understanding of our organization’s mission and came up with strategic insights which had impact beyond the message itself.

The Cyrano Project helped our organization understand itself better and helped us resolve fundamental questions which are leading us to clarify our basic value proposition, as well as how we express it through messaging. This will lead us to more powerful promotion of our programs and enable us to attract more volunteers and donors over time.

I would recommend The Cyrano Project to any organization seeking thoughtful analysis and stronger communications. (Cyrano) did a superb job."

Help us show how technology can save the world

The heart of where Cyrano is headed is our SolutionBuilder. There are tens of thousands of nonprofits doing valuable and important work to help kids and the poor, to support education and health initiatives, to save the environment and to keep dance theatre and the arts alive and flourishing. They are all good at what they do - but they don't have the resources to get their stories out effectively. And unless they can do that, they won't get the support and attention they need and deserve. Bringing them that support will radically effect the impact their programs can have.

Here's the big idea. We will bring the expertise of communications professionals to the fingertips of thousands of nonprofits across the country - over the Internet. Cyrano’s SolutionBuilder on the web is being designed to incorporate outcomes-based tools, worksheets, how-tos and templates to help create effective marketing plans and materials. These will be augmented by user forums and Ask an Expert features.

Dear reader: do you know a forward-thinking technology leader who will see the possibilities and support the implementation of SolutionBuilder? This is an unusual opportunity to demonstrate how technology can be used to extend and amplify positive change. Please introduce us.

Did you know that the nonprofit sector in the US is the sixth largest economy in the world? With over a trillion dollars of annual revenue? It is big. Very big. Our tools will be in daily use among the staffers and leaders of nonprofits. Once Cyrano's SolutionBuilder is launched, it will be sustainable. As Mitch Kapor has noted, “Always on my mind, in all my involvement is, how is it going to be sustainable?” he said. “I am a big believer that begging is not the right business model." And so are we - but we need a farsighted partner to join with us in getting it to the next stage. Anyone?

Connecting corporations with activists

I was recently introduced to David Sauvage, the director of a very promising documentary film called Carissa. http://www.carissaproject.com

Here's the story:

Years ago, Carissa was abandoned in the lobby of the juvenile hall in Fresno. She ran away from group homes and ended up on the streets. Homeless and alone, she begged and stole to feed herself. Foster care ignored her. The juvenile justice system failed her. With no one to turn to, she was taken to "Motel Drive," a street in Fresno known for prostitution, and told what to do.

She was twelve years old.

Amazingly, Carissa turned her life around. Today she is a graduate student at UCLA, earning a law degree and an MBA - at the same time. Recently she began speaking to kids in juvenile hall, showing them it is possible not only to survive, but to thrive.

I knew that a certain mobile phone company was interested the issue of teen homelessness. It was a simple matter for Cyrano to put the them together with David and Carissa. Now they are talking about how they can work together to finish the film and get it seen where it can make a difference.

What people are saying about The Cyrano Project

“The Cyrano Project [can] become a leader in helping nonprofits to create effective communication strategies…I applaud your commitment and the passion you bring to it.”

Michael Clark
President Nonprofit Coordinating Committee

“Cyrano is a truly unique organization positioned to fill a large void in the nonprofit world.”

Jerry Colonna, Sarah Holloway
Hudson Heights Partners Management consultants to nonprofits

“Having affordable access to The Cyrano Project’s web-based tools and resources as well as its face-to-face Skills Workshops will provide us with the assistance we need to improve our communications work.”

Cheri Walsh
Managing Director Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

“Without the support and inspiration of business-minded strategies available to help streamline marketing and communications, amazing organizations will continue to struggle to get their messages out. We wholeheartedly believe in Cyrano’s mission.”

Howard Handler, Chief Marketing Officer
Virgin Mobile

“My organization (MOUSE) specifically works to promote the use of technology in urban public schools, so as a “champion of technology,” I am particularly impressed with Cyrano’s SolutionBuilder.”

Carole Wacey, Executive Director
MOUSE

“They [The Cyrano Project] facilitated the creation of a central message and positioning for our organization that seemed natural and organic.”

Michael Termini, Executive Director
Cooke Center for Learning and Development

“I thought you and your colleagues did a superb job on this (messaging) project!”

David Nelson, Chief Operating Officer
The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship

“To get ideas and tips from practicing professionals without the involvement of consultants will make an enormous difference.”

Sharon McGavin, Former Chief Marketing Officer and Development
American Red Cross in Greater NY

Just do it

As posted on Conscious Commerce on April 16th 2007

I spoke last week with a senior ad executive who told me that her company had won a substantial global piece of business because they had been able to provide – on request - an existing CSR presentation that addressed all aspects of their business and client relationships. None of their competitors had established a CSR point of view. Their big thinking had paid off handsomely with a relatively small amount of effort.

I suggest that all new business and client relationships should by default include an understanding of the CSR positions of both sides. And all corporate departmental planning and budgeting should be required to include a CSR component. This can start small – it needn’t be hard. As Sam says it can take its cue from shareholders and employees – this has the potential for dramatically improving those bonds of loyalty. Weave it into the existing systems of a business and it will become engrained. It will make managers and buyers feel good and it will make them think anew about their company’s position in the larger world.

The upside is huge for corporations and for the world.

Michael Pollock

Are Nonprofits Falling Out of Love with Printing?

As posted on In The Balance Blog on April 25th 2005

Nonprofits love print. Mostly for historical or emotional reasons. A nice brochure or an annual report provides tangible validation to themselves of their existence. This is often enough in itself, judging by the boxes full of undistributed and out-dated printed materials so many of them have lining their offices. I can say this – I run a nonprofit myself and am as guilty of this as any.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Technology Guru Joins Cyrano Board of Directors

From Cyrano News May 2007

The Cyrano Project's newest Board member is Erich Morisse. Erich is responsible for financial services strategy worldwide at Red Hat, one of the largest and most recognized companies dedicated to open source software and the largest distributor of the Linux operating system. He joined the company in 2003, working primarily with Wall Street customers and leading the solution architects teams for the East and Canada.

Erich is fascinated by the opportunities technology offers to small organizations to communicate with their communities.

"The rapid level of innovation can be scary, but there is actually an extraordinary amount that's easy to use. Even small organizations, if they are clear on what they want to communicate, can get much further by using technology. This is where The Cyrano Project fits in. I look forward to the opportunity to help small and medium-sized organizations talk to the community they serve, as well as figure out ways to better serve them."

"We're in the middle of a media distribution channel revolution," says Erich. "With technology, at a very low cost someone can put out an announcement to the world - whether anyone will see it is another matter."

Erich is a great addition to the Cyrano Project Board, bringing technical as well as business expertise. He has also been a research scientist, entrepreneur, and textbook author. He holds an MBA from Columbia University, and a BA in Computer Science and Anthropology from Drew University.

Brain Storm with us in The Cyrano Project Salon Online

From Cyrano News May 2007

Question: What do you call a discussion between an executive director, an advertising consultant, a nonprofit development officer, a nonprofit staffer and a technology specialist? Answer: The Cyrano Project Salon online. As you can see from the juicy excerpts below, Cyrano Salonees have already begun to explore big questions, hot ideas, and interesting trends. To get in on the conversation, join us now - it's easy and free. On Blogging "According to Technorati, the blogosphere is now 70 million Weblogs wide. According to Media Post, journalists are starting to look to bloggers for insight. There is opportunity for us nonprofits in the blogosphere - but know what you are getting into." On Clear Messaging "I write this as we are shooting a video at a wonderful school for special needs kids - But if we put everything in, we will end up saying nothing in particular." On Communication: Talking to Techies "Be as explicit as you can about what you are trying to accomplish, and what resources you have to do so - is this a quick fix, or are we talking about something you want to be able to run without human intervention for years?" On Action: E-mail campaigns "One main reason email 'open rate' is important is because that's how you assess that you are at least targeting the right list, talking to the right people - without the right list, even the most compelling message will go straight to the deleted folder, unread." On Consultants "Consultants tend to overreach. They offer recommendations that are way beyond the capacity of NPs - whether it's staff or money. A NP must budget - in advance - for the activity for which they are hiring a consultant, as well as have a plan of action in place for implementation." On Getting Answers Q: "An arts organization I work with wants a public web-calendar system - Can someone please give me advice on a working, free, web calendar system?" A: "You might want to try Google Calendar for the events, and consider building on PBwiki for the website." Join The Cyrano Project Salon now