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!

Pepperidge Farms, the makers of the “Fish” have a smart campaign out called “Fishfull Thinking.” It’s a site that gives tips to parents about how to raise a positive child.

Elements include:
1. Skill Quiz
2. Book Club
3. Guides to keeping kids active and optimistic
4. A parent survey
5. Q+A with experts
6. and more…

This is a wise campaign for the company. It allows parents (moms in particular) to see their brand as supportive to their parenting and not just a consumer transaction.

Moms will be loyal if you give her practical tips for doing the hardest job on the plant – raising happy, healthy kids.

Kudos to Pepperidge Farm for this campaign. Non-profits and companies to use this case study to do some authentic parent engagement planning.

Image courtesy of Ms. blog

Who is Feminist Hulk? He’s a mash-up between a muscle-bound, radioactive monster and a card-carrying feminist whose own personal superhero happens to be Judith Butler. And he’s become a cult favorite on Twitter (16,000+ followers) with his ALL-CAP reflections on modern-day patriarchy, gender and feminist intervention.

Feminist Hulk isn’t formally tied to any nonprofit. But he could be. If you’re a cause-driven organization struggling to generate social media buzz and build Twitter followers, one approach might be to adopt a colorful persona who can add some winking humor and pop culture cool to promote your issues.

Ms. Magazine’s Blog recently did an interview with Feminist Hulk and “J,” his “literary life-partner.” Here’s FM’s response about his origins:

IN BEGINNING, HULK SMASH FOR LOVE OF SMASH. LATER, HULK REALIZE CRAVING FOR SMASH CAUSED BY HYPERLINK HEGEMONIC FORCES WHICH DISCONNECTED HULK FROM SELF. HULK QUESTION SYSTEMS OF PRIVILEGE. SOON HULK SMASH WITH GREATER PURPOSE. CULTURAL MINDFULNESS GIVE HULK SUPERPOWERS OF ANTI-PATRIARCHAL SMASH!

This approach wouldn’t work for every nonprofit, of course. But given the personality-driven appeal of Twitter, it’s worth thinking outside the box. Are you a land conservation group? Maybe your Twitter persona could be an “Angry Beaver” whose habitat is threatened. Are you running a campaign targeting a bad corporate actor? Try on the voice of an imposter CEO or PR flak trying to spin his way out of the mess he’s created.

The key is to be true to the voice you’ve created. And tweet on topics that aren’t necessarily about your immediate issue. Part of the fun is applying your persona’s point of view to current events and other trending topics.
People like to follow Tweeters who have a distinct personality and thoughtful or playful take pm things. If you make them laugh, you’ll score big points and keep them coming back for more.

Thanks to Fenton’s social media wiz Hugh McMullen for the Hulk tip off!

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

Indeed, the GAP joins Conde Nast to sponsor the current exhibit at the Met, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity.”  The exhibit draws from the Brooklyn Museum collection of costumes and fashion.  “The exhibition reveals how the American woman initiated style revolutions that mirrored her social, political, and sexual emancipation” through an extensive display of costumes and clothes.

Corporations sponsoring art that has something to do with their product?  Not so innovative, you say.  What about then running an online auction of unique dresses made by the world’s best designers for the Met Gala and worn by a handful of A-list celebrities?  All proceeds going to the Met and the Costume Institute.  Innovative philanthropy, gorgeous gowns, and creative integrated marketing.  All focused on the most powerful force in purchasing for households, giving to charity and other non-profits, and forging a path for ourselves: WOMEN.

You can bid on dresses until 11:59 pm on May 31, 2010, view the gowns at the GAP at 680 Fifth Ave in New York City during the auction, and see the show at the Met until August 15, 2010.

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.

This isn’t a new story, but the tools women are creating to overcome that issue – including resetting their self-value, learning skills to deal with money in relationships, educating each other about the tricks of the trade – have a home on Daily Worth very much worth checking out.

Women are already a powerful force behind charitable donations.  They donate twice as much to charities as men do, and make 80% of all household purchasing decisions.  With more financial know-how and the empowerment that comes from realizing a higher worth, women can make more money, and have an even greater affect on change – of all kinds.

Check out Daily Worth for newsletter updates and information on budgeting, debt, retirement, credit, and all the other personal finance questions you never asked.

In his Time column this week, Dr. Mehmet Oz reflects on the fact that, in most homes, women are the primary care doc, thanks to their “remarkable power” to keep their families well.

The article continues by offering tips aimed at helping women teach their family healthy habits – from inventing games and stories so health lessons are more likely to stick with kids to storing each family member’s health history in one place to better manage their healthcare.

All good advice. But I couldn’t help but think how all these great ideas add yet more “do’s” to a mom’s ever-growing to-do list.

It takes enormous creativity and organizing skills to be a great mom. So who wouldn’t appreciate a practical shortcut tool once in a while? This is a service that more nonprofits could provide. What if a nonprofit committed to children’s health offered an online bank of health-related bedtime stories or healthy snack recipes for moms on the go?

It may seem like a radical departure, yet corporations – including those that sell not-so-healthy products — do this all the time. But this is a space that nonprofits could own. They’d be doing moms across the country a huge favor, and also build brand loyalty among potential donors and activists.

What about when it’s time to remodel your home, paint the bathroom, or even build a new home or office.  What do you consider then?

Construction has never been an industry dominated by women, but women are bringing innovation, consciousness, and relevance to the field.  Green Economy Post recently made a list of who they consider the top ten women in green building.

We found another to add to the list:

Sarah Beatty founded Green Depot – “a leading supplier of environmentally friendly and sustainable building products, services, and home solutions” – in 2005.  The flagship store on Bowery in Manhattan hosts a myriad of products, for all elements of living, and empowers consumers with options.

Beatty got the idea for the store when pregnant and fixing her kitchen floor.  Blown away by the toxicity of the paint and products, and horrified by the difficulty of getting more sustainable and “green” products, she took matters into her own hands and started a distribution point.  The company has grown from one store to include ten stores and seven distribution centers.

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.