Updated – Vote Now

Here at Phoenixfire Solutions, we believe that good design shouldn’t be relegated to for-profit companies only.  Some times all a non-profit needs is a little help for their idea to come to life.  With this notion in mind, we’ve created our Logo4Good program. During the month of August we will offer a free logo to one non-profit organization, either for the organization itself or one of their events.

Beginning July 31st and ending August 15th we will be accepting stories from charities.  To submit your charity for consideration, complete our Contact Us Form and be sure to include your story, charity name and URL.) We will gather up all submitted stories, post them on our blog and open online voting beginning August 18th.  People will then be given the opportunity to vote for the story of their favorite organization or event thought August 31st. The organization with most votes will receive a free logo design (see design details). So tweet it, post it on your facebook, sky write it if you have access to a plane, and send it to your mailing lists because winner takes all.

Accepting story submissions:  July 31 – August 15th
Online Voting:  August 18th-31st
Voting will end on August 31st at 11:59pm EST.

Design Details – We will meet with the winning organization to discuss the organization/event during the discovery phase to see what they are looking for. We will then provide the organization with 3 preliminary designs. The organization will provide feedback on a design for us to work with further. The final product will be provided to the organization in multiple formats for easy use.

On Wednesday the 29th at 9:00 pm the Phillip Morris plant  in Concord closed. Many would say that it is a great victory for the general health of people everywhere, and more than anything else a sign of the times with North Carolina’s new restaurant smoking ban on its way in.  I think one of the groups that is going to be hit hardest by this (aside for the employees and their families obviously) is Charlotte Non-profits. Now we all know that at the end of the day Phillip Morris is just buying a little good will. Lets face it 16 million dollars since 2000, is a lot of good will. While some organizations will see these funds dissolve from sponsorship budgets, many local nonprofits will feel the impact as their participants fundraising totals are missing that all important company match.

Say what you will about their intentions and the obvious short comings of  the industry as a whole, at least some of that money was being used to fuel research and help people in need. It ‘s going to be increasingly difficult for charitable organizations in the Queen City to bridge the gap especially in a year when everyone has also seen a decline in funding from the banks.

John Fuller is the President of Phoenixfire Solutions and a professional with more than ten years experience in IT, seven years in non-profit, and four years in design.  Taking his love for all things technological and all things artistic,Phoenixfire Solutions came into being.  John’s expertise offers a unique perspective from someone who has been both the client and the vendor.  After experiencing years both the good and bad of outsourcing solutions, John has made it his mission to bridge that gap for companies and non-profits that have fallen prey too many times. Connect with John on Twitter: @phoenixfire8383 & LinkedIn.

We asked a few friends (49) what social media information they wanted to know more about. While some of the answers are not surprising at all, especially given our subset of polled. (Social Media Concepts, Online Marketing , and Community Engagement rounding out the top 3). I was a bit shocked that listening fell so low. Listening is at the core of so many of the other concepts, and is arguably one of the most important.

If companies listened to their customers/clients more we would have missed some of the biggest SM mistakes of the year (so far). If Domino’s was listening online they would have know the net was aflutter after a video of their employees making tainted food (more info) and while damage had been done, they could have help stop some of the bleeding. Then there is United Airlines, if they had listened to Dave Carroll when they broke his guitar they probably wouldn’t have ended up with with this catchy video about how bad they suck (video) (more info).  The other answers are important, don’t get me wrong. Companies need to engage online communities, and market the newest, greatest product ever developed, but if you are not listening, you’re not responding. If your not responding who is?

Check out the results below, and let us know your take on it.

John Fuller is the President of Phoenixfire Solutions and a professional with more than ten years experience in IT, seven years in non-profit, and four years in design.  Taking his love for all things technological and all things artistic,Phoenixfire Solutions came into being.  John’s expertise offers a unique perspective from someone who has been both the client and the vendor.  After experiencing years both the good and bad of outsourcing solutions, John has made it his mission to bridge that gap for companies and non-profits that have fallen prey too many times. Connect with John on Twitter: @phoenixfire8383 & LinkedIn.

This week there was a decision made here in Mecklenburg County, NC that most people probably didn’t even hear about and if they did, it most likely didn’t even cause a stir. But for the “little guy” non-profits in the area, it was a victorious week.

On Tuesday evening, the Mecklenburg County Commissioners voted unanimously to open up charitable giving through employee payroll to more non-profits, which until now had only allowed payroll donations to go to the United Way of Central Carolinas and the Arts & Sciences Council.

So you may be asking yourself, why is this so great? First let me preface this by stating that this is not a diatribe against United Way. But rather perspective through the eyes of the organizations I’ve worked for. All three have been local or statewide chapters of national non-profits. While the concept of participating in a federated group such as UW was something we’d either wished to do or had tried, the bottom line was this. The requirements of a member agency were too cumbersome for an office of less than a handful of staff (Ex: Adherence to fundraising blackout dates, required staff participation in UW activities). So it wasn’t lack of desire, but rather a decision not to try in participate if we couldn’t hold up our end of the bargain. In my case, I may be the President & CEO by title, but I’m also the Programs Dir, PR Specialist, Dir of Finance, HR Manager, and at times, the janitor. So no matter how well intentioned, the desire to participate & the ability to do so didn’t go hand in hand.

The end result for organizations like us is to look for the few and far between employee giving programs that were not actually UW campaigns. Of course we always had the possibility of receiving funds through direct designations given to us through UW.  But what so many don’t understand is that we don’t receive 100% of those funds. There’s a percentage taken off for UW processing fees. (Sidebar: While I don’t protest a need for a fee, the amount of that percentage…well…that’s a whole other blog in and of it’s self.)

Lest I digress, I do need to add, that for us, we found a great resource in Community Health Charities, a federation yes, but with a much more user-friendly approach to their member agencies. Still, when only one or two federated groups are allowed in a campaign, we still miss out.

So allow me to loop back around to the County Commissioner’s decision this week. For the first time ever, our little “non-profit that could” has a real chance of connecting further with our supporters who work for the county. And that is music to the ears of an organization with a whole lot of heart & a whole lot of dreams, that just needs the backing to continue to support the amazing growth they are experiencing. Our national CEO says all the time, “No money, no mission” and while the optimist in me is required to test that theory every single day, I feel it’s truth all too well when I look into the eyes of someone we serve and know we could be doing so much more for them. And so it is for those eyes and the eyes of all those my fellow “little guys” serve that I claim Tuesday, July 7th as a day of victory, a day worth celebrating. Thank you to all those that stood up as advocates for us, most specifically the folks at Community Health Charities & Earth Share North Carolina. Finally, thank you to Mecklenburg County for giving us a chance!  My hat is off to you.

Christine John-Fuller is a Non-Profit Consultant for Phoenixfire Solutions, as well as President & CEO for The Lupus Foundation of America, Piedmont Chapter.  A non-profit executive with nearly a decade in the industry, Christine has blended her experience in special events, fundraising and media relations to help lead several national organizations on a local and state level. In these roles, Christine has developed a keen sense of the ever present needs of non-profits and small businesses which includes a balance of administration, marketing, programming and raising of funds.  As a consultant for Phoenixfire Solutions, Christine offers thorough investigation of an organization’s current makeup, insightful analysis of areas of need, and implementable action steps for moving forward.  Connect with Christine on Twitter: @christinemjohn and LinkedIn.

I just wanted to take a quick moment and say thanks for dropping by. On our blog you can expect to see posts about design and marketing trends, case studies on the clients we are working with, non-profit resources, and the newest technologies.