Public’s believes that giving –your time, money, or voice –can be easy and fun. We find ways to build good into daily life, by helping socially minded organizations tell compelling stories and leverage existing behaviours.  We’ve made a video that explains our philosophy on public mobilization: check it out here.

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Posted: January 20th, 2010 | Author: Jenna Meguid

Earlier this week Public took an afternoon to do some volunteering at Women’s Habitat, a fantastic women’s shelter in Etobicoke (whose website you should visit immediately if you’re interested in donating money to an organization doing critically important work with totally inadequate resources). We were tasked with facilitating the holiday gingerbread house event for the women using the service and their children. The goal was to turn 15 prepackaged gingerbread house kits into 15 edible works of art, and bring a bit of festive cheer to the shelter.

By any metric I care about, the event was a complete success. Utter pandemonium? Check. Every surface in the building coated with a fine layer of icing? Check. A temporary respite for a group of women who are overworked, under-supported, and generally much more resilient than most of us are asked to be in our daily lives? Check.

But once the dust had settled and the sugar-rush had receded, I was left thinking about the experience, and the incredible staff members we had the chance to interact with at the shelter.

PUBLIC’s philosophy is that everyone can do good in their daily lives, in ways that are exciting, fresh, and don’t involve a lot of cost or an unreasonable level of commitment. While we’ve targeted this philosophy at the general public, our work would go nowhere if not for the people working tirelessly at the charities and non-profit organizations dedicated to making changes in the world.

We are fortunate at PUBLIC to work with some of the most dedicated and talented members of the non-profit world. In our personal lives, several of us have the privilege of volunteering with organizations and people that are similarly fantastic. Across the board, the people we work with are smart, passionate, and incredibly principled, working in unbelievably trying circumstances to make critical contributions to Canadian and international social issues.

It’s a familiar story, but one we often forget: the non-profit world is under-resourced, under-appreciated, and fighting an uphill battle against entrenched interests and immovable social forces. It takes real courage to work under these circumstances.

PUBLIC believes all of us have a role to play in making change happen in the world. In the new year, we are going to continue to work to create opportunities for everyone to contribute to a better world in ways that are easy, exciting, and meaningful. But for now, to the staff at Women’s Habitat, and all of the people who have devoted their lives to contributing to social change in big, grueling, and often underappreciated ways, PUBLIC’s heartfelt holiday message is this: thank you.

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Posted: December 19th, 2009 | Author: Jenna Meguid

For everyone who’s looking for some joy to brighten up an otherwise dark and dreary November, allow me to introduce the men of Movember.

Movember is a global campaign to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer research. Men start clean-shaven, and spend the month of November growing moustaches (mos) which range the full spectrum from hilarious, to creepy, to bizarrely dignified (in a 1970’s kind of way). Friends and supporters can donate online to support the man growing the mo, and the mo bros all compete for the title of Man of Movember.

I love this campaign. Not only have the Movember men harnessed the powerful force of facial hair self-expression, but they’ve done so in service of two things I care about deeply: (a) health charities, and (b) my own amusement. A half-grown moustache is an alarming visual and a great conversation-starter—so the mo men are given tons of opportunities to raise the profile of prostate cancer research. As an added bonus, I get to watch otherwise dignified men try to convince their colleagues that they can still be taken seriously with an upper lip of unruly peach-fuzz.

The Movember campaign is only one of many campaigns happening this month that are dear to me. If you’re interested you can also check out the White Ribbon Campaign (a coalition of men working to end male violence against women). It launches on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25)—but more on that later. For now, whether you need a laugh, a new cause to support, or some personal grooming tips, I highly recommend that you check out the Movember Campaign: http://ca.movember.com/

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Posted: November 16th, 2009 | Author: Jenna Meguid

Recently I was at a charity run and when I finished I went to pick up my free t-shirt only to discover the devastating news that the charity didn’t make them this year. No t-shirt? Was the t-shirt my motivation for doing the run? Of course not, and yet I can’t say I’ll remember this event forever. I won’t sleep in it or sweat in it at the gym like I do the other charity t-shirts I have. In my moment of disappointment I finally realized why charities grapple so seriously with dilemma “To Tzotchke, or not to Tzotchke.”  Should charities spend money on creating trinkets to commemorate an event or campaign? I’ve been privy to some of these conversations and I can tell you it leads to an even harder question “What kind of tzotchke?” I should add that this is my word, not the charities and I feel kind of bad about using it after reading that the online urban dictionary defines tzotchke as “Some sort of useless tacky knick-knack.” Ouch.

It’s not that anyone actually sets out to create useless knick-knacks, but as anyone who’s ever been to a charity event will tell you - it happens. Frequently. So, why is there a plethora of these items in this world? Surely, there must be market demand for tzotchkes or I should say “charity swag”. I pondered this and began thinking about my own enthusiasm for a great freebie mug and the aforementioned highly treasured charity run t-shirt (are you supposed to actually purchase clothes to wear to the gym?) Thinking about my reactions to such items, I started to realize that not all tzotchke giveaways are created equal.

In an effort to guide non-profits who find themselves in a situation where they think a give-away is called for, I decided to create “Good Give Away Criteria”. To help me come up with a solid list, I enlisted a non-random sample of friends and colleagues (all involved with a number of charities and non-profits) to help me figure out, “What makes a good charity give-away vs. a useless “tacky” one?”

According to my sample, “Good” giveaways are:

1.  Badges of honor

Example: The charity run T-shirt I professed so much love for (clearly I’m not alone). People like these because they not only say, “I’m a good person”, but also “I’m a good person who can run a 10k and live to wear the shirt”.

2.  Items you can’t seem to have too many of in your daily routine

Example: Pens (mugs got a mixed review…apparently you can have too many of them) post-it notes were also discussed but I think some people in my sample were thinking about real-estate agent giveaways, not charity giveaways.

3.  Anything personalized

Example: Picture of you and friends at X event.

So these three points might be pretty obvious, but if they were we wouldn’t end up wind up with strange plastic flags, dorky visors, and handfuls of cheesy pins. The problem is that charities don’t always follow these simple rules and don’t always understand their supporters as well as they should.

So if you’re a charity or a non-profit and debating over whether or not creating a give away is a good use of organization funds, I urge you to also consider not what the Tzotchke can do for you, but what you can do for the tzotchke to essentially make it, well, not a tzotchke.

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Posted: May 25th, 2009 | Author: adrienne

Over the past few months it seems that every meeting I am in ends up in a discussion about Obama and his incredible fundraising and engagement efforts during the election. At some point in the conversation the inevitable refrain “we need an Obama like campaign” is uttered and I find myself asking whether I should (gently) point out that not only does every other charity want the same thing, but that unfortunately, none of them are Obama.

No charity has the star power of an Obama. None has at the helm someone who encapsulates his inspiration, charisma, intelligence and eloquence. Charities also don’t have the good fortune of a time limited, once every four year, winner takes all political campaign to drive engagement and money. Nor do they generally have the machinery or money to deploy on the type of fundraising and engagement efforts witnessed by the Obama team.

But this is not a reason to despair. While charities may not possess the full range of “Obama assets”, there are things that can be learned from the new President and applied for those looking to make a big impact. Here are four to consider.

Small is beautiful. Small amounts of money aggregated over thousands if not millions of people can add up to a lot. $2, $5, or $10 micro-donations can be more than enough if an organization’s reach is wide (think partnership) and it’s ask is compelling. Obama’s team executed this beautifully. So can you.

Pays to be brief. People’s time and interests are limited by the realities of every day life. Time limited campaigns that aim for “bursts of engagement” (take this action now, donate $10, show up on this day) are more likely to succeed. Obama had primary by primary to recruit and engage. He also had a time sensitive campaign to win the Presidency. Charities need to think and plan campaigns in political terms.

Power to empower. Maybe the biggest lesson from the Obama campaign was the way they decentralized the campaign. Command-and-control (think Hillary Clinton) couldn’t mobilize as far and wide as providing the opportunity for people to self-organize. Charities need to do the same. Mobilizing communities of interest must involve personalization. It must allow for people to engage on their terms (volunteering between 9 and 5 doesn’t cut it any more). And it must allow for people to be incented beyond the feel good effect of doing something nice. “What’s in it for me?” is not a dirty question. It’s reality. And it motivates behaviour.

Hope wins. People respond to messages that focus on what’s possible. They want to be inspired and feel they are backing a winner. They want to know what an organization aspires to and how they are going to get there. Obama personified this in spades. He avoided fear mongering and negativity as means of motivating engagement. Instead, he made it fun to believe and ultimately, made it rewarding to believe.

So while you may not be Obama, you can be Obama-like.

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Posted: April 6th, 2009 | Author: Phillip Haid

Every day people are bombarded with requests. Give a few bucks to this worthy cause. Come volunteer your time and help your community. Buy this water and 10 cents will go to charity. The list goes on. There are no shortage of requests. But how many times has someone approached you with the additional pitch “and here’s what’s in it for you”? This may seem counter intuitive since we are taught at a young age that “good” acts should be motivated by a desire to be charitable. No one will disagree with this, not even me. But consider that there is a significant percentage of the population that neither donates their time or money to charitable endeavours. And another larger percentage does little of both. Why? There’s a number of reasons, from simply trying to cope with the day-to-day realities of life, to a lack of connection to community and “civic modeling”, to pure selfish behaviour. But perhaps there is another reason. Perhaps they haven’t been incented. Now before you click out of this blog in dismay, consider this. “What’s in it for me?” need not be a dirty phrase for charities and companies thinking about engaging the public in acts of good. Incentives may not be as pure as the altruistic desire to do good, but if it motivates a larger percentage of people to take an action (who otherwise would not have done so) why not do it? Why not incent people with a free download from iTunes if they make a donation to the Global AIDS Fund. Why not provide free coffees from Starbucks if you get 5 friends to volunteer their time at a local soup kitchen? If incentives drive action, why not incent people to do good? If companies engage in causes that better their bottom line they will do more. If people engage in causes that provide incentives, they too will do more. If a charitable organization wants to “grow the pie” of engaged donors, then incentives need to be a part of the mix. It’s part of what drives human behaviour. So repeat after me, “what’s in it for me”…

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Posted: April 6th, 2009 | Author: Phillip Haid

There are few organizations that are actually making a material impact on the issue of youth voter engagement. Most organizations focus their activities solely at election time and their messages are all the same: “vote to be heard”, “if you don’t vote, you can’t contribute”, “apathy is boring” and the like. The trouble is that these activities are too little too late and the messages don’t resonate with the majority of young people because they don’t believe their vote matters. But, don’t despair. There is one organization that stands out above the rest because they are addressing the root cause. Their name is Student Vote (www.studentvote.ca) and their proposition is simple: voting is a behaviour like many others, so start the behaviour early and seed the democratic spirit. Check them out. Get involved. Make a donation. Vote. You won’t be disappointed.

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Posted: April 5th, 2009 | Author: Phillip Haid

A few years back I had the priviledge of meeting and getting to know an incredible young documentary filmmaker named Andree Cazabon (www.andreecazabon.ca). Her documentary films cover the realities of young people living in care (foster homes, group homes) and the challenges they face as they exit out of care. Her work is honest, riveting and inspiring. Her latest project is called Six Within (www.sixwithin.ca) and with it she has blended filmmaking with social purpose. Six Within is a documentary and social change project which blends filmmaking, youth and community engagement to create a focus point and a group synergy for change to the child welfare system. It is a documentary series consisting of six presentations that offer personal, intimate portraits of those affected by the Canadian child protection system; it will follow and tell the stories of six compelling individuals in order to raise awareness for the 76,000 children growing up in government care and the many other children at-risk. Have a look at the site, become a supporter and buy her films. You won’t be disappointed.

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Posted: March 30th, 2009 | Author: Phillip Haid