Last week I went to an NTEN event about how nonprofits can take advantage of Foursquare, a mobile app that is gaining about 100,000 new users a week.

At the event, Naveen Selvadurai, one of the founders of Foursquare explained how their invention was driven by a series of questions: “How can we get better at living in our cities?” And, “How can we turn life into a game?”

For uninitiated, here’s how Foursquare works: get to a location and “check in.” Once the app registers where you are, businesses and nonprofits nearby can alert you to special offers — like a discount for frozen yogurt. Like Meetup, it’s also a way to connect with friends in real time. Depending on the number of times you check in, you can earn “badges” or be anointed “Mayor” of that place – which can come with special privileges and prizes. The app is expected to exceed the 2 million mark this month.

Foursquare makes intuitive sense for a nonprofit that is site-specific – like a community center or a museum. But what happens if your nonprofit isn’t grounded in that way? Is Foursquare still useful?
The answer is yes.

I talked with Fenton’s VP of digital, John Gordon, who has been working on Foursquare to create a “nonprofit” category for check-in spots along with a “do gooder” badge that can be earned by donating or taking action for good causes. He had some good ideas for how nonprofits can make Foursquare work for them:

1. Think “action” not discount. Instead of offering freebies and coupons, partner with a local business or mark a symbolically relevant site (for example, the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, or the statue of Gandhi in New York’s Union Square) by encouraging people to take action, whether it’s to support union workers or make a donation to a water rights campaign in India.

2. Stake a place as your own: Fenton is currently working with Heal the Bay to revamp its web site and digital strategy so PLACE is at the forefront. We’re integrating Foursquare by making it possible for people who check in at their favorite beach to receive an alert from Heal the Bay on actions they can take to protect the places they love

3. Partner with a local business: We mentioned this above, but it’s worth emphasizing. In New York, many owners of popular food trucks that sell everything from crepes to tacos, not to mention celebrity chefs at hot spot restaurants, are all using Twitter and social media to attract customers. Nonprofits can turn this into a win-win by encouraging their supporters to frequent their partner business, while using the business spot as a brick-and-mortar place for like-minded people to congregate around a cause.

“Foursquare gives you access to a shared community of people who share an affinity for the same beach or other favorite spot that you do,” says John. “Nonprofits need to develop an identity around these places to take advantage of people’s natural behaviors and lead them take action.”

Is your nonprofit using Foursquare or thinking about it? We’d love to hear about it!

CNN recently reported

Volunteer vacations are a way to integrate yourself into a community, give and receive while there, and deepen your understanding of something new while doing so.  These themes resonate with the reasons women support given causes and organizations, and also why they are loyal to certain brands.  Beyond the altruism and guilt cited by CNN, volunteer vacations are in many ways an ideal match for women vacationers.

The companies that run volunteer vacations – for example Charity Guide and Global Volunteers – recognize this.  Banners welcome visitors to the page with photos of women surrounded by other women. This is a natural fit.

CNN reports that men are increasingly interested in volunteer vacations, but expect women to continue dominating the volunteer vacations around the globe.  We agree.

If you have been on a volunteer vacation you can share your photos and video on iReport and you could be featured on CNN.

photo courtesy of  abroaderview.org

The Women’s Empowerment Campaign 2010 is a collaborative of many led by GreatNonprofits and GuideStar in partnership with Kiva, the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, MADRE, Wider Opportunities for Women, Dress for Success, Women’s Media Center, Women News Network, and Women’s Philanthropy — Women’s Issues.

Voting, reviewing, and other open-source competitions and collaborations online allow organizations like GreatNonprofits to learn about their audience, learn from their audience, and collect awareness on issues with a much wider net than they could alone.  It builds upon the golden rule of relationship-building: listening.

The Stanford Social Innovation Review highlighted two organizations — Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund in Athens, GA and Be The Star You Are! in Moraga, California — and responses to them.

Time remains for you to add your voice to the conversation, though!

Which organizations will you review?  Support?  Critique?  Vote now through May 31.

Have you heard of Shoes of Prey?  The custom shoe design site had an explosive experience last week – thanks to a 16-year-old’s YouTube site.  Juicysatr07’s had 450,000 viewers, and combined with a giveaway prize from the company, lured 200,000 to Shoes of Prey’s site, according to PSFK.

How are you adapting to and including new voices in your online marketing?  How do you find the right influencers?

You can learn how to apply every kind of makeup, reorganize your closet, sketch a portrait, and a million other things thanks to the force of young women on YouTube. The tone of the video, the number of YouTube subscribers, and their comments can help you figure out which YouTube lady is the best to help your product, company or organization.  If you have an evening, watch their videos!

Women research their purchases and the young woman on YouTube — with hundred of thousands of followers — can help you whether you have a product or a non-profit to market.  They have built a reputation sharing the good, bad, and ugly about the products, and you need to be ready for their frankness.  Be frank yourself, and built trust with them. They are game-changers if you do it right.

Women seek an in-depth understanding of what they choose – whether it’s when they buy a product or take a bite of a pie.  How do they know what they are getting?

Two non-profits organizations are making detailed info available at the snap of a camera-phone.  Consumers simply take an iPhone to the grocery store with the GoodGuide app or the (soon to launch) Citizen’s Market app, and scan item barcodes.  From home they can search deep databases online.  Profiles for the product and company pop up with ratings and descriptions for them.  On Citizens Market, consumers can upload reviews, and companies can join the conversation, too.

GoodGuide helps consumers “find safe, healthy, and green products” with a rating system that accounts for ingredients, production, and the behavior of the company that makes or harvests the products.  They use a combination of science, widely sourced documents, and algorithms to rate products and companies.  Environmental, social, labor practices, and health performance are measured.  Ratings are available for food, personal care, and household products ranging from baby food to frozen food, from shampoo to sunscreen, and beyond.  And the company is always adding to their list.

GoodGuide also offers tips for feeding kids veggies, reducing your carbon footprint, and news about health issues.

Citizens Market offers insight and an open-source conversation on the issues that companies support.  They empower consumers to shop their values – and vote on issues with their dollars.  Environmental practices, a company’s stance on gay marriage, animal rights policies, and more can be reviewed on the site.

Women who seek a deep understanding of what they are buying, and are loyal to brands that have credibly cultivated relationships with them, will find these sites useful.

For marketers and companies themselves, these sites present opportunity and challenges.  Bad reviews will clearly have negative consequences, but joining and following the conversation here will help build those real relationships through awareness and action. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with women who could become loyal consumers.

Both sites are still in beta and are welcoming feedback and questions.

Last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine cover story “Are Your Friends Making Your Fat?,” posed some intriguing ideas for social marketing campaigns.

The crux of the social contagion theory: friends and even friends of friends can have an enormous influence over your health habits and other behaviors. So why not, for example, combat obesity by urging people to diet with their close friends?

Easier said than done. But there are promising applications of this theory in the works, according to reporter Clive Thomson, who describes an effort by researchers at the Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies to develop a Facebook app for people trying to quit smoking. The app allows them to publicly post how long they’ve gone without smoking and how much money they’ve saved.

By going public, the theory goes, you’ll inspire and influence others to quit smoking, too.

Going public also creates accountability. In “Julie & Julia,” the Amy Adams character takes on the challenge of cooking all 524 recipes from Julia Child’s cookbook in one year while chronicling it all on her blog. It’s her growing readership that goads her through the toughest tribulations. I’ve often thought wedding ceremonies – beyond the pure celebratory aspects — perform the function of holding the bride and groom accountable to the larger group of family and friends who witness the marriage.

What’s more powerful than a word-of-mouth campaign? A campaign with built-in accountability. It’s a tougher ask, but in our social media era where many people are connected online and accustomed to sharing the intimate details of their lives, it may be easier to achieve than ever.

The study  confirms what communications and development directors who engage women know from experience: women often seek a multiple opinions before they make a funding decision. They also like to work collaboratively. This due diligence can stretch the process, but it also means once they sign the check, they’re “all in” with their support.

Here are some quick tips for engaging major (female) donors:

1. Engage early. Who doesn’t like to be there on the ground floor where it all began? If you’ve got a great idea, bring her in early to get her excited and invested. Tap her knowledge and perspective as a major donor to cultivate other donors.

2. Be open. Be proactive about offering people she may want to talk to about your work, whether it’s grantees, board members, or your other funders.

3. Engage often. She’s your funding partner now. Keep her in the loop, but also invite her to events or activities that may bring her closer to the people and the cause she’s signed up for so she can see firsthand the difference you – and she – are making.