Center61 Blog

Guest blog post by Vanessa Rhinesmith of PitchSomeGood

Original Post: http://startsomegood.tumblr.com/post/19425667728/pitchsomegood 

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve had the privilege of working with some exceptionally innovative and inspiring social entrepreneurs as part of Pitch Some Good. 

What started off as an idea to bring together the social entrepreneurship community at SXSW Interactive and empowering social entrepreneurs culminated in one night of charismatic and thoughtful pitching by seven incredibly talented ventures from across the country. The quality and passion of the pitches was absolutely awesome!

 Out of 25 submissions leading up to SXSW seven ventures were selected, including:

• The Meta-Activism Project meta-activism.org
• FourTeachers Project fourteachersproject.org
• Cost of Freedom Project Facebook.com/CostofFreedom
• OpenCurriculum theopencurriculum.org
• Pocket Hotline pockethotline.com
• Real Good Food realgoodfood.org
• HourSchool hourschool.com

Pitch Some Good was a night of innovation, social entrepreneurs and change-makers. NTEN’s Membership Director, Amy Sample Ward offers a great overview of the night.

The event was abuzz with these great ideas, as well as countless other projects starting up locally in Austin, and beyond. Conversations tended towards opportunities to connect people directly with each other, a theme of many of the conversations about new tools throughout SXSW hallways. As technology continues to advance, we, the developers and users, continue to look for opportunities to use technology to help us more directly and seamlessly find each other and the things we are interested in - whether it is local food or resources to do our job (from NTEN’s Membership Director, Amy Sample Ward on TheNonProfitTimes).

Again, I cannot stress enough how impressed I was by the evening’s ventures. It was no doubt a difficult decision for the attendees who were responsible for selecting the winner. Each attendee was given a ticket when they arrived to be used as a means of voting for their personal favorite. The night’s winner was Austin-based, HourSchool! The project, co-founded, by Rudy and Alex won a $1,000 prize from rackspace and a one-year free organizational membership to NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network).

Learn more about the evening and winner HourSchool from the local Austin area news:

Thank you again to everyone who participated in Pitch Some Good. You’re an inspiration!

Posted By: Alexandra Malina & Steve Wanta

A new season is upon us that we all need to get in shape for and we are not talking about bathing suit season. The season we speak of is one filled with parties, networking events and plenty of opportunities to market your business or non-profit. This season is called March In Austin. It starts with Texas Independence, hits a feverous pitch with SXSW, and winds down with a dose of motivation, RISE style.  

It can be a little overwhelming and if you are not ready it can come and go leaving you wondering "did I get anything out of it besides a hangover?"

Here are 5 tips to get you in shape for the BIG season.

1. START WITH RESEARCH & RSVPing: The free day parties are a big part of the fun of SXSW. It's easy to RSVP, so check out this list of links, make a plan and get on some lists.

do512.com

showlistaustin.com

socialmediaclubhouse.com

thewildhoneybee.com

facebook.com/sxswpartylist

2. MAKE SOME PLANS: Use something like Plancast to organize the events you plan to attend. 

3. RISE TO THE OCCASION: Register for RISE and consider being a Host. 
   
   
4. PREPARE, REFINE & NAIL YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH: If you are an entrepreneur with an emerging business RISE and SXSW are the perfect venues to build your network for success. Getting your elevator pitch down is crucial as time is limited. If you are interested in kicking it up a notch, consider signing up for the Austin Video Marketing Marathon hosted at C61 on Feb16. For $200 and 1 hour, you will walk out of Center61 with a professionally video along with coaching with LocalizeAustin just in time for Event Season. Click here for more info.
   
   
5. WARM UP WITH SOME LIGHT NETWORKING:
   Center61 has started a casual monthly happy hour, the C61 Nonprofit Social Venture is a group of friends and colleagues who gather to catch up, and enjoy a few laughs. Tuesday February 7th is our next meet-up; we would love to see you there.

By following these 5 easy steps, YOU TOO will be pumped up and ready to rock SXSW 2012!

Center61 is about serving a community of changemakers and we want to rally around one of our Community Members, Aunt Bertha to raise $10,000 to participate in the Be Unreasonable Institute.  This is an opportunity to accelerate exponentially Aunt Bertha's impact to change the effectiveness of our nation's social services.

The Unreasonable Institute has selected 46 finalist. The first 25 to raise $10,000 get in!

 

Will you help?

 

About Aunt Bertha

What is the urgent social or environmental need you are addressing?

In the United States 89,000 governments, 375,000 congregations and over a million non-profits provide need-based food, health, housing and education programs. The process for finding help has become so confusing that people just give up. Getting help has become a maze of badly written forms, call center transfers and dirty looks. As a result, people go without.

What is your solution to this need?

We’re building the world’s most comprehensive, user-friendly marketplace for human services. People can come to www.auntbertha.com, answer just a few questions and immediately find out which programs they qualify for in their area. Check us out: go to www.auntbertha.com and try zip code 78702. We also offer a software as a service (SaaS) product that allow human service organizations to efficiently process applications for benefits. Even the smallest charities can afford to have world class software and reporting. By offering program search service everywhere, for free, we believe more agencies will buy our case management software.

What milestones have you achieved?

We rolled out our free program service to every postal code in Texas. We launched and received traction in America’s 14th largest economic region (Austin, TX). State agencies, churches, hospitals and charities are already using www.auntbertha.com to help their clients reach self-sufficiency. More than 25,000 people and 200 agencies use our search service.

Recognition: Featured in the Austin American Statesman and the Austin Business Journal. Mentioned as a subject matter expert in the Texas Tribune and The New York Times. Winner of the RISE Royito's Don't Do Mild Entrepreneur Award 2011. Certified B Corp.  

Posted By: Alexandra Malina

2012 is almost here and if you are like most of the entrepreneurs we know you are probably well on your way to getting your first event of 2012 underway. You may have a great event planned, but we all know that an event is only as good as its sponsors. With a small list of sponsors donating food, drink and swag you can take your event from good to great. We know it can seem like a daunting task at first, but it’s really not that difficult. I spent some time chatting with Tamilla Mirzoyeva, Founder of The Next Fest and we came up with these six tips to help you get sponsors for your next event:

1. ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT: Before you contact a potential sponsor know what you are asking for and be specific. Vendors can get overwhelmed with sponsorship requests, so the more specific you can be in asking for what you need, the easier it is for them to say yes.
   
   
2. LOOK FOR REPEAT GIVERS: Reach out to sponsors who have a reputation for giving in the community. Vendors who have a history of giving usually have systems in place for giving in-kind donations such as food and drinks, so it is easy for them to say yes. When you contact these repeat givers, be sure to compliment them on their community involvement, specifically mentioning a recent event that they sponsored.
   
   
3. START SMALL: Don’t be afraid to reach out to various sponsors, asking them each for small items for your event. Create a list of all of the items you need for your event, such as a cookie tray or cheese plate and ask different sponsors for each item. A first-time sponsor will be more inclined to say yes to donating something like Chips and Salsa or cups and ice than to donating a whole taco buffet, so start small. Once you have established solid relationships with vendors they will most likely be willing to make larger donations for future events.
   
   
4. PARTNER WITH A 501c3: If your organization is not set up as a nonprofit with 501c3 status, find a nonprofit to partner with on your next event. Sponsors generally have systems in place specifically for making in-kind donations to nonprofits. By partnering with a nonprofit you also bring an additional element of social-good to your event (here at Center61 we love do-gooders).
   
   
5. GET THE BALL ROLLING: Begin to reach out to potential sponsors as soon as you start nailing down the details of your event. Larger sponsors usually have a specific application process and require a lead-time of 6-8 weeks, while more local shops and restaurants usually need about three weeks
   
   
6. A LITTLE GRATITUDE GOES A LONG WAY: It goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway. Always be sure to thank your sponsors often and everywhere. Give them props on social media and officially acknowledge them at the event, on your website and on your monthly newsletter if you have one.

With these tips you should be ready to get out there, get sponsors and get going on your first event of 2012!

Nonprofit? Social Entrepreneur?  Need a space to call home?

Center61 is the community for you.  We will be offering prospective Members a chance to test out the space and decide which package is right for you until October 3 for FREE.  

For more information email our Community Connector, Charlotte at charlotte@center61.com.  She will be available for guided tours:

• Monday, 19th 11:00am-5:00pm
• Tuesday, 20th, 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Wednesday, 21st, 11:00am-5:00pm
• Thursday, 22nd, 9:00am-5:00pm

Check out the space, sign up to become a Member, receive your own access code, and work for FREE as much as you want.  We are creating a space that enables our Members to have a home with socially mind peers.

In the spirit of collaboration & innovation,

Your Center61 Team

Will you help the launch of Center61 by…?

1. Signing up to become a Member,
2. Forwarding this to a friend that may be interested, or
3. Posting this on your Facebook and Twitter accounts?

Center61 is a new Coworking Community in Austin, conveniently located in the beautiful new PeopleFund building that is dedicated to small, 1- to 3-person nonprofits and social entrepreneurs.

From September 12th to 15th Everyone is welcome to visit Center61 and take the space for a test drive for free. Guided tours of the space and amenities will be available:

• Mon, 12th: 11:00am-5:00 pm 
• Tues, 13th: 9:00am-5:00 pm 
• Wed, 14th: 11:00am-5:00 pm 
• Thurs, 15th: 1:00 pm-5:00 pm

Sign up to be a Member and work the rest of September for FREE.   Register HERE!

The design, pricing, and services have been created by and for Austin’s nonprofit and social entrepreneur community. The community offers opportunities to collaborate with your peers and gain exposure to other idea-shaping events.

Learn more and apply to be the newest Member of Center61 at www.center61.com  

Email info@center61.com for more information

The Debate: For-Profit vs. Non-profit

The debate over a better structure; for-profit vs. non-profit has been misguided from the constructs of the argument. Which is better, more effective, mission drive? There is one difference that distinguishes the two entities.

Taxes.

Yes there are differences in how these organizations are formed and governance structures. At the root of all organizations, both non-profits and for-profits must generate revenue (donations or sales) and operating expenses are incurred. So what is the real question people are debating about between the two structures?

In my experience traveling the world assessing non-profit and for-profit microfinance institutions for Whole Planet Foundation, it boils down to two things, effectiveness and mission. A non-profit can be mission driven and yet very inefficient so it may cost them significantly more to deliver social services to their beneficiaries. In the end, it means that less people are benefiting which questions the non-profit’s effectiveness.

On the other hand, if a for-profit that loses sight of their original purpose in search of greater profits, they may risk compromising their ability to balance the social impact with the need for profits. This has been a point of major debate within the microfinance industry and it continues to be political fodder with the poor having the most to lose.

Today there is a concerted effort to change the perception of business as an equally powerful agent for change. Many labels have emerged to classify these organizations as different; Social Entrepreneur, Social Business, L3 Corps, B-Corp, 4th Sector, Conscious Capitalism and certainly others. Do you sleep better at night knowing your coffee is Fair-Trade certified? Will you buy from a company because it is Certified Good?

There is no one way, no one answer. No label, no legal structure, no tax code that will give us 100% certainty that an organization is effective, efficient, and driven to make a lasting impact on our society. With that said; it is exciting that we are trying. Businesses are going beyond corporate social responsibility programs and designing products and services starting with the needs of the poor. Non-profits are developing creative income generating models so that they can become a sustainable organization not held to the whims of donors.

Austin, Texas embodies these ideals and we have launched a new space, Center61 that will give small startup nonprofits and social entrepreneurs shared office facilities. We believe that collaboration between like-minded individuals will provide synergies so that each organization can accomplish more than if they were alone.

Center61 is a Social Business as defined by Professor Muhammad Yunus that will reinvest profits (after taxes) into providing additional services for the members and give back to the community through investments in social businesses and donations to local nonprofits.

Join the journey, www.center61.com