Sorry been gone so long, been busy being a working mom with kids out for the summer.
The summer for most non-profits is far from slow, either you are up to your neck in summer programming or are spending the summer closing the books, revisiting strategic plans or revisiting grant writing templates. Most often, it is some combination of it all. Here is an idea that would be great addition to your summer To Do list, that doesn't take longer than 10 minutes.
Last month, with much fanfare Google launched their latest tool, Google Earth, which makes our world even smaller. According to their site,
Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips.
* Fly to your house. Just type in an address, press Search, and you’ll zoom right in.
* Search for schools, parks, restaurants, and hotels. Get driving directions.
* Tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings.
Since Google Earth was launched, users have been exploring the world and creating content overlays (KML files) to share their stories with others. For example, Google has partnered with international non profits, such as the Sierra Club and Jane Goodall Institute. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum uses Google Earth to bring attention to the genocide against the people in Darfur. Crisis in Darfur is an unprecedented effort by the U.S. Holocaust Museum and Google to illuminate this tragedy.
To learn more about this tool and Google's work with nonprofits click here: http://earth.google.com/outreach
While this is a great tool, one that might be more useful to smaller Silicon Valley agencies is Google Maps. Much like Google Earth, this simple tool provides directions, interactive maps, and satellite aerial imagery of the United States. It can be easily embedded into your agency websites. For example, you can add maps for each branch or satellite offices. You can add pictures, logos and video to highlight your important work.
In my perfect world, someone would map the landscape of all non-profits, better yet someone would map all the summer camp programs and after school programs. Until then, you can list your organization under the business listings, much like listing yourself in a phone book. However, you can upload your logo and up to ten pictures too. This takes about 5-10 minutes. How is that for great marketing? You can also create your own map and then make it public, so others can see the impact of your organization or collaborative.
Let your fingers do the walking and get your agencies on the Google Map. For more information check out: http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=68480
