Posted on September 22, 2008 - by Frank

Compassion Bloggers (with video)

Marketing is a huge factor in what many NGO’s do. PR and marketing are integral in what such organizations do as they live off support from the public, giving the public the opportunity to be involved in what they do.

A successful marketing and PR tool that has been used by some organizations is the use of bands/musicians to spread the message of their work. Many organizations have bands/musicians aligned to them that promote their work at gigs. It’s a worthy method of promotion.

Compassion International has found another tool that follows very similar lines - it has entered the world of blogging.

Compassion International has adopted a program that brings on board Compassion Bloggers - bloggers that align themselves to Compassion and promote the work done by the organization. They organize trips for bloggers, taking a few people along to different areas it is involved in, thus giving selected bloggers first hand experiences that they then write about.

The potential for a high impact and an increase in awareness of their work is significant. Blogging allows for thoughts to be processed extensively rather than relying on sound-bites from a stage at a music gig where everyone is there primarily to hear the music and the organization hopes to capture some of the audience in the process. When a blogger writes about a given topic, there is nothing else the reader is hanging around for - reading the bloggers writing is the primary reason for being there. The promotion of the work of an organization like Compassion is not a distraction from the main thing (like the music at gigs), if the blogger chooses to write about such things then it is the main thing.

Blogging often also allows for conversation. It allows for the reader to process their thoughts in the community that interacts with the given blog. Thus the participant is given more opportunity than just hearing a musician express their support for a cause, with the organization hoping they will walk away and do something with that, they’re given the chance to engage, ask questions and process their thoughts with others.

Blogging presents a great way for NGO’s to promote their work and create awareness amongst the online community, in a way that provides a deeper engagement than what can take place at a music gig, though I see high value in that in today’s culture as well.

Compassion International has taken a great step by moving into blogging and getting popular bloggers alongside what they do and in so doing, experiencing and endorsing what Compassion does.

Compassion Bloggers & The Dominican Republic

November 27, 2008 Compassion International will take a group of bloggers to see their ministry to over 40,000 children in the Dominican Republic. Known for its resort-speckled beaches, theres another side to this Caribbean nation unknown to most vacationers. Our bloggers will visit a city dump where families scavenge for food and clothing. Theyll tour a neighborhood where drugs are trafficked and children live beside open sewers. And bloggers will also see firsthand how Compassion International and child sponsors are bringing hope to children living in these places by releasing them from poverty in Jesus name.