Working Towards a

Sustainable Future
Melissa Summers, Bryce Craft, Nelle Sacknoff, Shauna Kelly, Christa Thoeresz
May 13th, 2011
 Executive Summary

In this report, we have provided a variety of potential opportunities for Aslan Media to monetize their mission,

generate revenue, and become a financially sustainable organization. Each chapter contains a separate focus,

beginning with internal changes that are essential to the viability of the proceeding recommendations. The

chapters thereafter deal with different forms of partnerships and the opportunities that would arise from such

collaboration. The recommendations outlined in these chapters include: university partnerships, corporate

partnerships, grants, advertisements, events and fundraisers, and ways to build a constituency.

Recommendations:

We have detailed our recommendations in the paper and have provided an initial timeline below that prioritizes

opportunities based on whether they are short-term, mid-term, or long-term to help you evaluate the cost and

benefits internally when making your project management plan for next steps. Short-term opportunities may be

immediately acted upon and executed with current resources as a low hanging fruit, while mid- and long-term

opportunities might require further preparation and resources, and will take longer to implement.

We have also categorized opportunities according to the potential return on investment (ROI), as well as the

required resources needed in order to create the partnership, take advantage of the opportunity, or carry out the

activity. The anticipated ROI takes into consideration more than simple revenue generation, and also weighs how

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well an opportunity maps to AM’s mission and goals. Similarly, the required resource investment includes time,

manpower, relationships leveraged, and other factors in addition to the financial investment. Opportunities are

plotted on the chart below and have also been color coded within the chapters to correspond to one of these four

quadrants.

When financing a nonprofit, and particularly monetizing a website, it is critical to have multiple income streams.

The combination of ways to make money and become financially sustainable is different for every organization,

and it will take time to build a foundation and solid base of revenue generation. (The appendix contains a chart

demonstrating a revenue generation model that utilizes a wide variety of income streams.) This report is intended

to serve as a tool for AM to utilize in determining which revenue generating model best serves the organization.

With patience and discipline, a strategy, and a business mindset the money will come.

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Table of Contents

I. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………... 5
II. Internal Focus …………………………………………………………………………………… 6
a. Create A Business Plan ………………………………………………………… 6
b. Website Suggestions …………………………………………………………………. 8
c. Daily Conversation Starter ………………………………………………………… 9
d. Board of Directors ………………………………………………………….……… 10
e. Leveraging Resources …………………………………………………………….…… 13
III. University Partnerships …………………………………………………………….…… 14
a. Internship & Fellowship Opportunities ………………………………………. 14
b. Special Student User Features ………………………………………………………… 16
c. Aslan Media Club Chapters ………………………………………………………… 17
d. Create Research Database ………………………………………………………… 18
IV. Corporate Partnerships …………………………………………………………….…… 20
a. Journalism-based Corporations ……………………………………………….. 20
b. Strategy …………………………………………………………………………. 21
c. Other Notes …………………………………………………………………………. 22
V. Grants ………………………………………………………………………………………….… 23
a. Key Reminders ……………………………………………………………….… 23
b. Initial Steps ……………………………………………………………………….…. 24
c. Relevant Foundation List ………………………………………………………... 25
VI. Advertising ………………………………………………………………………………….. 30
a. PPC ………………………………………………………………………………….. 30
b. CPM ………………………………………………………………………………….. 31
c. Direct Banner …………………………………………………………………………. 32
d. Affiliate Marketing …………………………………………………………………. 33
e. Job Board …………………………………………………………………………. 34
VII. Fundraisers and Events …………………………………………………………………. 35
a. Macro Events: Hosted by AM ……………………………………………….. 35
b. Micro: Hosted by local supporters ……………………………………………….. 36
VIII. Building a Constituency …………………………………………………………………. 38
a. Targeted Planned Giving ………………………………………………………… 38
b. Start a Cause on Facebook ………………………………………………………… 40
c. Ebay Giving Works ………………………………………………………………… 40
IX. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………….. 42
X. Appendix ………………………………………………………………………………….. 43
a. Toolkit: Links to Relevant Sites ……………………………………………….. 43
b. Exhaustive list: Including Additional iIdeas from the MIIS Brainstorm ……. 49
c. Examples of multiple revenue streams chart ………………………………………. 50

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 Introduction

Five students at the Monterey Institute of International Studies conducted the following report for Aslan Media as

part of a graduate class in social entrepreneurship. The primary goal of the study was to identify ways in which

Aslan Media (AM) can generate sustainable revenue streams that will allow it to expand its reach and to more

effectively carry out its mission. Roshi Pejhan from Aslan Media and Fredric Kropp from the Monterey Institute

supervised the study.

This report details the findings of this study and provides a variety of opportunities for AM to monetize its

activities in support of its mission, generate revenue, and become a financially sustainable organization. Each

chapter contains a separate focus, beginning with important internal changes that will make the other

recommendations possible. The subsequent chapters address different forms of partnerships and potential

opportunities that would arise from such collaboration. All of the recommended opportunities in these chapters

require establishing partnerships with other organizations, leveraging all resources currently at hand (including

Reza’s fame), and calling upon the most persuasive and powerful members of Reza’s network for support.

Foremost among our recommendations is that AM continues its current efforts to establish 501c3 status and

upgrade the structure and team of the current Board of Directors. We determined that the nonprofit business

model is best suited to the opportunities that promise the greatest financial return for AM. Additionally, the

viability of many recommendations in this report is contingent upon the organization achieving 501c3 status. We

also feel it is critical (and imperative as a 501c3) that AM establish a more robust, diverse and sustainable Board

of Directors to oversee various projects, and to provide a variety of expertise and additional resources to the

organization. These two steps will increase the viability and potential ROI of all partnerships and opportunities

detailed in this report.

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 Chapter 1: Internal Focus

This section discusses the internal structure and changes in the organization that will help AM generate revenue.

We suggest creating a business model and reviewing it every six to nine months, making a few website changes,

adding a “Daily Conversation Starter” to the site, working strategically with your resources, and establishing a

solid board with a diverse group of intelligent, supportive people.

a. Create A Business Plan

●Building upon, refining, and revisiting the business plan you have created as often as every six months will

help to establish a clear, explicitly stated vision and goals for all management, staff and volunteers to

work towards. A plan will also help to account for all available resources and assets, and illuminate the

feasibility of certain options through financial consideration. Finally, having a clear plan will help to

attract donors and let potential investors know that you are serious by mapping out your mission, and

demonstrating clear rationale for your plans, strategy, and management perspective. At a minimum, the

basic plan suggested should include the following elements to show you where you add value, how you

use your resources, and how to capture more financial return:

○A mission statement: What purpose was AM created for?

○A value proposition: What does AM offer to its customers?

○Identification of key partners: What partners help AM accomplish its mission?

○Assessment of key resources: What resources and assets are at your disposal?

○Identification of key activities: What actions must AM do to reach its goals?

○Assessment of customer relationships: How does AM interact with customers?

○Distribution channels: Through what avenues does AM provide its services?

○Customer segments: Who is your audience? Who do you intend to serve?

○Cost structure analysis: Where does the money go?

○Identification of revenue streams: Where does the money come from?

○Marketing Plan: How will you attract a larger audience and potential consumers?

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●Note 1: Trying to map your goals out in this plan will reveal the gaps that will help guide your prioritization

process as you evaluate our recommendations and determine next steps. This form of a business plan does

not need to be complex, but will be helpful to more clearly know where you stand. It entails answering

these key questions and defining a clearly stated mission, vision and organizational goals for everyone in

your organization to align themselves to and to communicate to your audience more clearly.

●Note 2: A marketing plan in itself can be very complex and requires knowledge of the industry, audience

and trends. We recommend that someone with industry marketing skills be included on the Board of

Directors to enhance this area in your organization and provide high-level advisory support and guidance.

If someone on the current team has marketing skills, they should be leveraged and assigned tasks to create

a more structured marketing plan for AM.

●Note 3: Below is an example of a basic business model canvas, and you can read more about it from

Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Model_Canvas, as well as from Business Model

Generation.

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b. Website Suggestions

●Your website is sharp and attractive, yet there minor changes that could be made that we think will enhance

the clarification of your messaging, visual branding, and the overall user engagement experience to better

match AM’s brand personality and mission:

○Include a Tagline: “Making news (in the Middle East) a conversation” for example. This can go

next to the logo in the blank space at the top of the site and will help readers (particularly first

time readers) understand where they are and what you want them to do on the site. This clarifies

your message to your audience.

○A Smiling Picture of Reza: Reza’s picture is all the way at the bottom of the site, yet he is the face

of the organization - and he has a great smile! It is inviting, kind, and disarming, which is a great

way to bring and keep people at your site. Having an engaging picture of Reza, and making clear

his role in the organization with his title in a small caption, helps to create a clear visual brand for

the site, and parallels the message AM attempts to dissipate to provide objective views and

cultural celebration among the crisis in the Middle East. This smiling, warm and engaging photo

maps better to the mission as AM’s goal is to disarm and interrupt unfriendly Middle Eastern

perspectives and conversation on the topic. Educating a new generation of youth is a happy and

positive goal to welcome youth into this movement. A smiling and inviting leader who is visible

at first glance at the site will speak volumes to both old and new supporters.

○Boomgen: Can it have a tagline to help people understand what it is and how it relates to AM

without clicking? Or is it an ad for the site? Its purpose is a bit confusing. The placement of

small elements such as the Boomgen logo affect the clarity of the site’s message, thus integration

should be carefully considered when determining where and if this item, or any other items,

should be included on the site.

○Polls: Polls are very helpful with targeting and can give you insight into what the customer wants.

You could poll your audience about what they want to see and what footage they are most

interested in – maybe they expect to see a job board for jobs related to the Middle East? This

improves the user experience and engages them in the development of the site.

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 ○Highlight Reza: Reza-related opportunities need to be more prominent: buying his book, links to

how people can attend his speaking events, links to how people can throw a fundraiser with Reza

there to speak, etc. Are there potential opportunities for him to consult? His voice, reputation,

and influence are all very valuable, yet it takes effort to even know who he is on the current site.

This could be its own page on the site – a warm, informational, but also educational area to

highlight Reza as the founder and leader of AM, but also as a unique and dedicated educator and

inspirational writer and speaker. This could be shown and highlighted in this section through

anecdotes that could change, slidesharing of lectures, clips of videos from presentations, speaking

engagements, and/or reviews of his book to allow people to get the latest information, comment,

engage, and to also provide an informational and clear place on the Website that informs new

users who he is and the opportunity to get to know him better.

c. Daily Conversation Starter

●What it is: A brief media piece that starts the conversation for the day. The piece may be in video or other

multimedia form, presented by Reza or other content contributors. The piece should present an issue for

the daily discussion.

●How to implement: Prepare clips for daily posting in the form of a brief news report. It could be a simple

but welcoming introduction for many to respond to, interact with, and be informed by. It might be an

issue or question similar to something you might use to kick off a debate or initiate a discussion in class at

UC Irvine. You could streamline the front page and make a clear space for the daily conversation to

encourage participation. Interns and other contributors could all be tasked with commenting on the issue

to initiate a discussion and further engage their personal networks and other users. Have Reza present the

daily report to create a following of supporters and fans. Use his fame to make his fans fans of the site.

●Map to mission: It brings people together and will drive a diverse audience to the similar objective of

actively engaging in the communication of thought provoking, analytical views and discussions on news

and current events that AM wants to share.

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●Rationale: This gives users a reason to visit the site daily, even if briefly, and demonstrates exactly how they

are expected to interact with the content – to comment on it. A brief daily report would set Aslan Media

apart from other user-focused news media sites, such as Huffington Post and Salon. Reza has fans,

supporters, influence and fame - these things can all be utilized to bring eyes to the site and encourage

people to be regular visitors.

●Note 1: While Reza is the founder of Aslan Media, it does not currently feature any obvious content of his

own creation. Having Reza contribute daily would bring his fans to the site, just to see him, and lends a

degree of legitimacy to the rest of the content.

●Note 2: The daily media piece could be sponsored to generate additional revenue. There is a great

opportunity here for the corporate sponsor recommendations to fold into this idea and sponsor or offer

guest speakers and experts to participate in the daily media piece.

d. Establish a Board of Directors

●What it is: Build a board of directors who will provide oversight, contribute strategic input, and act as a

sounding board to keep projects on track. They are also your strongest supporters, both emotionally and

financially, and will also connect you to more support.

●How to implement: Bring together interested parties among Reza’s network who believe in the mission and

can provide financial or human resources, and/or connections.

●Map to mission: Reza has a strong network of powerful supporters who may only need to be asked to

participate on such a board. This is a way that allows supporters of the Middle East and those supporting

the next generation to similarly support your mission in a new way.

●Rationale: A board is critical to a nonprofit, and is required when securing a 501c3. In addition to providing

resources, a board could be tasked with investigating the viability of, and laying the groundwork for

revenue-generating activities. A board could investigate opportunities, generate interest in current

endeavors, and facilitate in partnership creation. The board could provide financial commitment and

advisory to AM, and “ex-officio” board members (mature youth members or young adults) would provide

administrative and informational support to strategic planning and a direct connection from board to staff.

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●Note 1: Organizations that support youth sometimes have “ex-officios,” to provide insight, to stay in tuned

to the user population, and to show they have a representative board. “Ex-officios” are unofficial board

members who are part of your target market/user population. Though they would not officially be part of

the board, they would provide crucial support and serve as a way to engage the youth generation. “Ex-

officios” could be a direct line to the user population, provide publicity for events and the site, serve as

recruiters for university partnerships and interns/fellows, and provide a connection to the current needs

and motivations of the target users and contributors to AM. “Ex-officios” would be carefully vetted and

trustworthy and would be a perfect way of supporting your mission by role modeling and “showing” its

supporters it is committed to youth engagement, even beginning with your leadership staff – the board.

●Note 2: A board of directors should include people of diverse professional backgrounds, networks, and with

a variety of skills. Ideally, a board will be comprised of people who possess skills, resources and

connections the rest of the management team needs. Examples of recommended professions and skills

include:

○Accountant/Banker

○Lawyer, legal expert

○Foundations Guru

○Media Mogul

○Marketing Manager

○Poverty unburdened friends

○PR Supervisor

○Networker/Connector

○Friends with important and persuasive connects they are willing to leverage

○Young influential and engaged member of target user population

● Board Considerations/Expectations For Financial Support:

○ Boards in for-profit ventures and some nonprofits expect to be paid. It is likely that people on

your board would do it without pay and could be a potential source of donations. This is

recommended to establish at the onset to determine expectations and donor giving obligations.

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 However, you must provide indemnity insurance and expenses associated with attending board

meetings. Board members can be sued for activities of the corporation and sophisticated

members would not consider being a part of the board without the insurance. (Note: this differs

for members of a Board of Advisors who typically are not subject to lawsuits.) It is common

courtesy to pay for members’ travel expenses associated with attending a board meeting. Most

likely, you will make this back many times through the board member’s connections.

○ Identify internal support from within the board, the supporters, people that work for Reza who are

a match and for whom support would be mutually beneficial.

○ Get these people involved and committed to the expectations management has of them.

○ Tap into the 10-15% philanthropy expectations. If large donations aren’t possible, an annual

donor commitment amount should be agreed upon, as grant committees review board activity and

giving, and decisions are often based upon demonstrated board participation.

● Fundraising-Specific Board Priorities: The board should have specific priorities & responsibilities –

namely the priority of leading and committing to fundraising. The following are several suggested specific

board priorities to keep in mind when reorganizing and establishing a more viable and sustainable board: The

first priority in this area is to assert a strategic committee that is part of the board that can help lead

fundraising. Criteria and priorities for this are suggested as:

○ First, select the (overall) Board Fundraising Campaign Director who will lead, drive and manage

fundraising efforts from a higher level

○ Set responsibilities/expectations, set indicators, success factors, set the organizational chart with

roles/responsibilities, set overall board solicitation and responsibilities, set overall code of

conduct and expectations for board structure and planned giving to succeed.

● Fundraising-Specific Board Considerations and Best Practices: The following are some general

suggested actions for how AM treats board members for large, individual or community given gifts. When

board giving is made—no matter the amount—AM should treat these gifts from the board the same, if not

more special than other large donors. For large donor gifts, the following are suggestions and guidelines for

how a board member is encouraged to respond to donors:

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 1. The Executive Director and/or Development Director should schedule a meeting with the donor as

soon as possible to personally thank them, establish a relationship and confirm the gift.

2. Once the donor gift is confirmed, mail a letter from your CEO welcoming the person to the

organization with copies to the Executive Director and the Development Director.

3. A follow up meeting should be scheduled to thank the donor again and express appreciation either

in-person or by phone to ensure an open invitation for continual future discussions about donor giving

4. The board member (i.e. the large donor in this case) should receive an invitation to the next big

fundraising event, be listed in the Annual Report as a AM board member, and be added to the Website or

somewhere as determined by AM for recognition display – this could also be a story or post on the blog.

e. Leveraging Resources

●As a group, you are tapped into countless resources: Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Bill Gates are just a

few examples of your high level connections. Reza is highly sought-after and respected, and people love

to help people they admire and respect. In addition, the normal trajectory of entrepreneurship is to

leverage personal resources (friends and family) for advice and money. Everyone does it. Everyone

expects it. If Reza does not feel comfortable asking his friends for money it is still advisable that he tell

them his plans and ask them to introduce him to people who might want to donate, or who have a

connection to a foundation or interesting partner. Leveraging relationships is key.

●In addition, over time as a nonprofit AM will have to rely largely on individual donors for funding. As

previously discussed, cultivating donors is a very long-term process, which starts with friends and family

(the very platform Profounder is based on this concept), and this starts on day one of most ventures.

It is impressive, admirable, and atypical (as an entrepreneur) for Reza to be as modest as he is. It makes

him even more appealing in some ways, but also could prevent him from reaching the kind of success he

is very capable of. There’s nothing to say that Reza has to stop “donating” toward AM’s cause, but the

ability to fund the enterprise with multiple revenue streams is directly related to AM’s ability to achieve

its mission and the goals it aspires to reach.

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 Chapter 2: University Partnerships

University partnerships provide an opportunity to get more students, educators and academic administrators

actively involved with Aslan Media, all of which can decrease overhead costs, build networks, and offer a

potential source of revenue. These partnerships have the potential of generating considerable revenue, while also

spreading awareness and bringing eyes to the site. This approach would significantly increase Aslan Media’s

potential to impact an entire generation of students by incorporating its content and perspective into school

curriculum and educational experiences, and encouraging generational sustainability while delivering on its

mission to create long-term impact on youth. As you know, the Monterey Institute is in the process of

establishing a relationship with Reza, both as an adjunct professor and for extension education, where both parties

will benefit. Reza’s name will generate interest among universities and students alike, and is a strong selling point

that should be leveraged. The following are other specific programs designed to establish university partnerships.

a. University Sponsored Internship/Fellows Opportunities

• What it is: Partnerships with schools that provide opportunities for students to actively participate in

AM activities in the form of contributing content and performing administrative tasks. Interns or

Fellows could receive credit from their universities for their activities.

• How to implement: Contact appropriate departments within universities that have Mideast Studies

and/or Journalism programs to offer internship opportunities to attending students. Contact

professors directly to let them know that this opportunity is available to their students and promote

AM as a media resource that can be incorporated into coursework. Market and promote opportunities

to students directly, so that they will seek out the internships even if their school is unaware of their

existence. To monetize this plan, charge institutional fees to the students, which could be included as

part of their student program fees if an official partnership was established, and therefore this could

be covered by financial aid for eligible students. If fees could not be paid for through student fees,

there might be opportunity for student club funding reimbursement to pay user fees. If universities

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 can be persuaded to offer credit for internships, student employment will be partially subsidized by

the government, leaving AM to cover only 25% of the wages.

• Map to mission: Change only takes one person. Once several students begin AM undergraduate

internships or graduate fellowships, for example, the interest to engage in AM will spread. Also, this

plan further promotes AM’s mission as it will engage and empower youth, while challenging and

keeping them connected. Running this through a University shows that AM puts education first,

which is in line with its branding and mission to educate youth on Middle Eastern issues and culture.

• Rationale: This generates revenue from university programs that provide beyond the classroom

learning, rather than from charging site users. This will further mobilize youth by rewarding them not

with money, but with education. This will generate more involvement among the general student

audience, provide human resources for administrative tasks, generate awareness and credibility in the

higher education field, and provide more writers and content contributors. This is the easiest aspect

of university partnerships to establish because it does not require any financial investment, only

networking, spreading awareness and communicating with university faculty and administration.

• Note 1: Reza’s name and image carry a lot of weight in the academic community and can be used as

an attraction for students and universities. A free annual speaking engagement could be offered as

part of this partnership.

• Note 2: Programs such as this can help to establish longer-term support bases by creating the

infrastructure for increased resource support, in-kind donations, potential grants, and large donations.

Partnerships with universities take time to establish and generate considerable financial support, but

pave the way for long-term giving plans that build progressively over time.

• Note 3: In addition, universities and their libraries and events will also help AM stay on the pulse

about the latest findings, trends, overall research and expert commentary in the Middle East through

increased access to academic resources in diverse areas and from greater perspectives. This could

open doors to increased networks and resources, but also provide differentiated content for its e-

newsletter and online site as faculty may be invited to contribute content. Equally beneficial, AM

could have increased access to university events and conferences which can boost AM’s recognition

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 through increased participation. Through building this presence and making more university contacts,

AM could also further influence lectures and debates in the classroom.

b. Special Student/Educator User Features

• What it is: Paid membership for access to special student and/or educator user features that would

provide a source of revenue. Features could include discussion boards and space for teachers to

compile materials that could be used in courses. Students from different universities could participate

in larger discussions about current issues, and even conduct real-time online debates or hold

teleconferences domestically and/or globally including various universities at one time.

• How to implement: Create a network of universities where students would participate to generate a

larger pool of users, thereby allowing few users at one school to benefit from and interact with the

larger network. Assign a team of staff or volunteers to write coding for new features and services.

Consider initial release (free of charge) to a focus group that would provide feedback and

simultaneously serve as marketers in their respective schools.

• Map to mission: Connecting more universities to create a larger network, greater appeal and greater

awareness through longer-term educational initiatives that encourage students to be a part of the

conversation. This gives students opportunities to be actively involved in Middle East events and

education, rather than just reading and reporting on events. Creating a unique student user educational

resource like this maps to AM’s mission directly through youth, but can be shared beyond with

educators and professionals/practitioners in the field as well. With the added component of additional

languages in this user feature, this further builds on AM’s mission to expand the conversation to

larger audiences among the Middle Eastern Diaspora community around the globe.

• Rationale: This would lead to the site being used for research and as a go-to source for information

on the Middle East among university students with an interest in the area and potential interest in

internship opportunities.

• Note 1: Schools are always looking for a platform to advertise themselves to potential students. On

the student user pages, advertising spaces could be sold to undergraduate and graduate schools if

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 Aslan Media can prove that they have a robust audience of student users. Other potential

opportunities for advertisers here might be to have study, volunteer, and exchange programs that send

participants abroad to the Middle East.

• Note 2: An internship team that is interested in and/or has background in project management and

Translation Localization Management (TLM) could also review, translate and “localize” this site for

educational practicum purposes—potentially in Arabic, French and maybe Spanish. Implementing it

this way will offer increased educational lesson plans through the diverse language offerings such as

World Studies, History, Language, ESL, English, Sociology, etc….

c. Aslan Media Club Chapters (Net Impact Model)

• What it is: Chapters of Aslan Media clubs at different schools that pay a small fee for limited

membership, which includes access to AM resources and special student services. Membership would

provide access and connections to additional internship and job opportunities for students. This

suggestion is modeled after the system used by Net Impact to create a network of socially conscious and

entrepreneurial students at universities all over the country.

• How to implement: Contact Student Affairs departments at schools and universities. If possible, recruit

club leaders in specific schools. Create brochures with club and membership information to be handed

out at club events. Create a list of guidelines or suggested activities to create continuity between chapters

and mobilize the club members to action.

• Map to mission: Provide services students will be willing to pay for, and leverage the association with

Reza to generate demand and interest. This maps to AM’s mission because it can build an educational

and professional community through young adults to increase dialogue about the Middle East on and

offline. This could further support the mission through default marketing as these clubs would serve as

AM brand ambassadors at their school. In addition to running their own campus club events, these clubs

could tie into and be an integral part of your micro events strategy, as will be detailed later, for extra

manpower and PR assistance.

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• Rationale: This spreads awareness and motivates youth to take action, helping them to gain valuable

experience and skills while generating revenue for AM. This helps take AM a step further towards being

an organization that actively encourages social change through action, awareness and mentoring youth.

• Note 1: Could be extended to private schools to begin education and activity in a wider audience.

• Note 2: Members could be tasked with leadership over a youth campaign, allowing them to cultivate

skills and enhance their resumes while consequently helping to market the website. Members of these

clubs could also participate in micro-fundraising events detailed in later chapters.

• Note 3: Other services that could be offered to members may be access to a job board where students can

pursue career opportunities. (More information on how to include a job board on your site can be found

on page in the advertising chapter).

• Note 4: A guest writers campaign and/or a contest for editorial writing could be established for chapters

and connected to advertising, allowing advertising revenues to contribute to the contest funds. This small

pay incentive is a very cost-effective way to publicize content.

d. Create Research Database

• What it is: Create a database where content is archived and may be searched for research purposes.

Use of this feature would be subscription-based and sold to educational institutions.

• How to implement: Archive content from the website, and consolidate other related articles and

media into a searchable database. Write executive summaries for lengthy articles to make the search

process more efficient. Market service to universities.

• Map to mission: This is another opportunity to motivate and mobilize an educational motivation

around Middle Eastern topics and further drive people to the site. Make sure to specialize this

research database from other similar regional area and Diaspora initiatives. Have a clear value

statement to differentiate its offerings from competitors. Why is this different enough for people to

pay to use it? Why wouldn’t universities just continue to use the research databases they have been

using? Market the database as the go-to source for information on the Middle East.

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• Rationale: Universities pay considerable sums to provide their students access to quality research

databases. Creation of this database would go even further to establish AM as a credible and

legitimate source of analyses on issues and information about the Middle East. Material can also be

used for social media, marketing initiatives and messages through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, as

well as other various “localized” region-specific social media sites around the globe (such as Orkut in

Latin America or the European or Asian social media site alternatives to Facebook).

• Note 1: Due to the high number of research databases currently available, AM would have to offer

something special and unique that would motivate schools to pay for their service over those offered

by others. AM could leverage its particular audience and focus as a database for only Middle East

related content. Another unique aspect of the database could be the availability of video, audio and

other digital media content in addition to written papers and articles that provide in depth analyses of

issues and specialized cultural learning opportunities through diverse mediums and sources.

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 Chapter 3: Corporate Partnerships

There are numerous ways that nonprofits and social change enterprises partner with corporations, and many are

not an exchange of funds but rather social capital, network expansion, mutual information exchange, and other

means of supporting the mission. Short-term partnerships and interactions with corporations beyond fiscal

support can lead to strategic partnerships. These strategic partnerships are relationships in which the corporation

supports long-term goals of the nonprofit by providing a corporate sponsorship, which could include funds,

marketing, and long-term, cohesive, and mission driven collaboration, and even advisory assistance in strategic

planning. Often times, a strategic partnership with a nonprofit can provide a stronger brand value improvement to

the corporation through this type of corporate social responsibility initiative. Overall, it is suggested that AM

focus on media partnerships as well as general corporate sponsors who share common interests and values in their

missions. The following section details different types of recommended partnerships and the considerations and

implications to each commitment.

a. Types of Partnerships

• Media Partnerships: Target media partners such as CNN with the potential for an exchange between

journalists from each respective organization through trainings, discussions, and best practices for

increasing and retaining viewers. AM has young, highly educated, and talented contributors who have

fresh perspectives. Pairing AM contributors with individuals doing related research at institutes or

universities is an appealing package for larger media operations.

o Watch for possible reinstatement of Prior Activities of the New York Times Foundation. “In 2009,

the Foundation suspended two activities. One was a program in which The Times Company

matched gifts by employees and retirees to qualifying nonprofit institutions. The other was a

program of grants to domestic organizations in journalism, education, culture, environment and

service.” http://www.nytco.com/company/foundation/index.html

o Wikimedia has received funding from Google Inc. http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Home

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 o Emphasize that civic education is a primary factor in the purpose of AM. Beyond exploring

corporations in the journalism sector, also consider corporations who want to market themselves

as valuing peace education, or other areas of education, such as, PTA National Headquarters. To

contact: Ann Huynh, 312.670.6782 ext. 395, http://www.pta.org/

• Shared-Interest Corporate Sponsors: Identify and contact other corporations in addition to Best Buy that

would be corporate sponsors to appeal to and expand upon their Islamic customer base. Also contact

corporations that are oriented to Islamic customers, for example Muslim American publishing and print

companies, and work with and off of the religious and cultural data that it is an Islamic tradition to give a

certain amount of your time and salary to philanthropy.

o Form a strategic alliance with a media or technology company

o Target companies in the Middle East such as Emirates Airlines (the link below shares previous

donations to your similar area of interest arts and culture).

To Contact: http://www.emirates.com/us/english/about/sponsorships/sponsorships.aspx

b. Strategy

• Continuously ask how an association with any given company will impact AM, and it is suggested to be

prepared with careful language to turn down offers from organizations/corporations with whom you do

not wish to be associated, but would like to keep the door open for future indirect leads and/or

partnerships. This ensures brand openness to all potential audiences.

• Ensure Partnership Agreements / Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) are used when securing a

partnership to ensure legal and well-documented steps are taken. It is recommend that you outline a

timeframe and responsibilities of all stakeholders involved in the “corporate scholarship” partnerships.

• Allow the partner to provide unimposing ideas and suggestions so they feel integrated and emotionally

invested in the organization and the mission.

Include frequent dialogue/communication to keep both partners abreast of activities, initiatives, planning, and

funding, so neither is out of touch. With a trusted, high performing intern, there is an opportunity here to assign

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an intern staff member to support this to keep your constituency in touch and informed. It would also provide a

great learning opportunity for business development, project management and client relation support.

c. Other Notes

• Build capacity to negotiate business partnerships: Corporations want to see that an organization is highly

capable of effectively managing donations, both cash and in-kind. Many nonprofits are hiring from the

business sector. Make it clear that you understand the communication that needs to happen with a

corporation who is providing ongoing funding. Familiarize yourself with their fiscal year. Knowing the

timing on their fiscal commitments and needs—when the timing of disbursement of funds is anticipated

—will make the process easier for potential and current corporate sponsors. This type of professionalism

will also encourage higher levels of financial donations in the future, knowing that AM makes it easy for

them to give and support. Making the negotiation conversation, benefits, and potential next steps clearer

will not only improve current partnerships, but also opens doors to additional leads and potential

partnerships. Communication can be frequent (but not overwhelming) so that the donor does not feel

disconnected from your initiatives. Significant donors generally want to be a part of the decision-making

and strategizing aspect of a nonprofit, or at least to be heard. The more involvement sponsors have, the

more they share the interest in accomplishing objectives. Ensure there is a relationship that allows for

contributions of ideas in addition to funds.

• Register with credible sites where corporations look for potential nonprofit partners: For example,

Guidestar International is one example, all accredited nonprofits are listed on this site – it increases

awareness, credibility and accessibility. Charity Navigator is another way to provide transparency in

budget allocation, audits, tax forms, and budget projection, which would be one of the places corporations

would look to check up on AM and essential for potential partners to be able to easily find.

• For More Information: Please go to http://www2.guidestar.org.

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 Chapter 4: Grants

Grants are a critical way to raise money for any nonprofit organization, however, on average, less than 25% of a

given organization’s budget comes from grants and over 75% comes from individuals. The following section

contains information on some foundations whose goals align with AM. The application process begins after

determining a potential match and researching specific application requirements. This process entails sending an

initial Letter of Interest (LOI) or a phone call to the office of the foundation acting as an introduction, explaining:

who you are, what you do, and how you plan to use the money.

a. Key Tips – Short to Long Term Planning & Best Practices

• As mentioned in the previous chapter, the Foundation Center will be extremely helpful to AM regarding

grants. Gaining access to the foundationcenter.org site is the first and key step to locating potential grant

matches. This is an excellent source for locating groups that provide funding and it is very easy to use.

Though it costs money to join, it is worth it, and AM might be able to use the password access from their

current nonprofit partner, or MIIS in the meantime, until it is possible to have an account of their own.

Know that donors also look at this site for donor giving searches so they could also find AM on here as

further publicity and accountability as an additional benefit.

• Utilize personal contacts and networks

• Key steps for submitting a strong Letter of Intent (LOI) – This letter is to be sent to a grant foundation

before applying for a specific grant:

o Answer all questions

o Keep it simple – Include all material in the order it was listed in the request

o Follow all directions (If the request states “do not staple material,” then, do not staple the

paperwork). To help filter through high numbers of applicants, grant reviewers discard all

applications that do not fully comply with the stated directions.

• Even if foundations say they are not accepting applications, it is still recommended to send a LOI, call

them, or use personal contacts to introduce AM. The key is to get in front of them and make them aware

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 of AM’s positive social endeavor and unique mission. Not all organizations are invited to submit

proposals for grants, in many cases, personal contacts may be the best method of even gaining access to

the grant proposal at all.

b. Initial Steps to Begin in the Short Term

Google Grants

http://www.google.com/grants/new/index.html

• Google Grants is a part of the Google for Nonprofits program. Google is currently trying to push their

nonprofit program to applicable users, (this includes the Google Grants and YouTube programs, which

will be detailed below), so being an early adopter could certainly have its advantages. First, apply to be a

qualified 501c3 accredited by Google for Nonprofits organization on this site here: https://google-for-

nonprofits.appspot.com/application. Once approved, AM could gain access to a variety of different

product offerings and services such as Google Grants. Once accepted into the program you will be able

to enroll into Google Grants and start using your free advertising service.

• One benefit to Google Grants is that Google gives $10k per month in AdWords grants to qualified 501c3s.

Nonprofits can use the grants for fundraising, acquisition, advocacy campaigns, events and education

campaigns. “One of our most successful AdWords campaigns resulted in an infusion of about 9000

donations and generated nearly $1 million in online contributions — which for us was huge” (Thomas

Tighe, President and Chief Executive Officer, Direct Relief International).

• Additional benefits to Google Grants are being able to utilize the Google brand in many ways for

marketing and PR – being able to say you are part of this Google-branded special network of nonprofit

grantees to AM’s donors and supporters will be a large advantage with no cost to apply. Additional

resources included in membership will help AM to:

o Reach donors, improve operations (through an upgraded google applications account)

o Raise awareness about your cause and organization through advertising

o Improve communications and partnership-building through google nonprofit resources

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 • Includes access to a multitude of other products. If you are a member of NTEN (Nonprofit Technology

Network – http://www.nten.org/) you get expedited Google grant application processing. It would be

beneficial to be part of the NTEN anyway, and it does take a while to process the Google for Nonprofits

application, so be sure to have an intern start this process as soon as your 501c3 is secured. In the

meantime while waiting for your official status, encouraging your current nonprofit partner to join might

be advantageous as well.

YouTube Nonprofit Program

http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits

• Being accepted into the overall Google for nonprofits program will be enough to join this YouTube

program. Once accepted, it offers special channels and resources to qualified nonprofits at no charge. It

includes:

○ Premium branding capabilities and increased uploading capacity

○ The option to drive fundraising through a Google Checkout “Donate” button

○ Listing on the Nonprofit channels and the Nonprofit videos pages

○ Ability to add a Call-to-action overlay on your videos to drive campaigns

○ Posting a video opportunity on the YouTube Video Volunteers platform to find a skilled YouTube user

to create a video for AM’s cause.

○ Other benefits include being part of a network to advance potential partnerships, promotional

opportunities, and access to a Google group with other nonprofit organizations to communicate with

additional potential supporters or partners.

c. Foundations Relevant to AM

The following is a list of potential foundations that are relevant to AM. As stated previously, it may be necessary

to send an initial LOI, e-mail or make a phone call introducing AM before starting the grant proposal process.

Sending a LOI is also a great way to increase awareness in the short term about AM and its mission, even if you

do not intend to apply immediately or if they are not receiving new applicants at the time.

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Robert R. McCormick Foundation

http://www.mccormickfoundation.org/journalism/requestproposals.aspx

• The McCormick Foundation Journalism Program aims to bolster a more informed citizenry by investing

in quality news content and educating people—especially students—to better appreciate the importance of

news. They are also dedicated to protecting press freedoms and defending the First Amendment. The

overarching focus is on News Literacy and its role as a catalyst for informing and engaging citizens.

Request for Proposal (2012 funding) is currently underway.

• Funding Focus: Journalism – Content, Audience and Rights

• Application Due By: Letter of Inquiry (LOI) due by May 2, 2011

The Lawrence Foundation

http://www.thelawrencefoundation.org

• The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support

environmental, education, human services and other causes.

• Funding Focus: The foundation makes grants to US based, qualified charitable organizations. To date,

they have funded organizations that address the following areas of interest:

○ Education (US headquartered organizations for programs in the US)

○ Environment (US headquartered organizations operating in the US or elsewhere in the world)

○ Human Services

○ Disaster relief (US headquartered organizations responding to disasters in the US or elsewhere in the

world on an occasional basis)

○ Other (US headquartered organizations operating programs in the US or elsewhere in the world)

• Application Due By: May 31st or November 5th – Grants are awarded twice per year

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The Kahanoff Foundation

http://www.kahanoff.com/about/intro.php

• The Kahanoff Foundation's mission is to foster the development, growth and well-being of communities

in Canada and Israel.

• Funding Focus: The Foundation invests in building and maximizing the capacity, effectiveness and

financial sustainability of social innovators – people and organizations that create lasting impact

throughout their community.

• Application Due By: They are not currently accepting applications for Israel endeavors, but they could

still be a great resource.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

http://www.hewlett.org/grants/grantseekers

• The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has been making grants since 1967 to solve social and

environmental problems at home and around the world.

• Funding Focus: The Hewlett Foundation makes grants in six core program areas: education,

environment, global development, performing arts, philanthropy, and population. In addition, the

Foundation makes grants to support disadvantaged communities in the Bay Area. Thus, they might not be

the perfect match for AM but they are definitely a potential fit, especially if the grant can be used to

sponsor an AM pilot event program for a youth “guest writer” program or contest in the Bay Area.

• Application Due By: Ongoing

PARSA

http://www.parsacf.org/Page/9

• PARSA helps Persians foster goodwill in their communities locally, nationally and worldwide.

• Funding Focus: All potential applicants are first asked to submit a Letter of Inquiry, which is used for

initial screening to ensure that they meet the minimum requirements of PARSA CF’s grant process. This

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 includes being an organization with current 501c3 public charity status, and alignment with PARSA CF

priorities. If an LOI is approved, the organization will be invited to submit a full application.

• Application Due By: PARSA CF has two grant cycles a year that correspond with Norooz and Mehrgan

(Persian vernal equinox and autumnal equinox holidays).

Knight Foundation: Informed and Engaged Communities

http://www.knightfoundation.org/grants/

• As a national foundation with local roots, the Knight Foundation seeks organizations that provide

opportunities that can transform both communities and journalism, and helps them reach their highest

potential. They believe nothing big happens without a big idea—nothing new without a new idea. In

every project they fund, the idea comes first. Here are five basic components they are looking for in your

ideas: discovery of the facts, the vision to see what's possible, the courage to push for change, the know-

how to get it done, and the tenacity to gets results.

• Funding Focus: Press Freedom and Freedom of Information. They work to advance journalism

excellence, free expression and freedom of information worldwide through high-impact projects.

Categories include:

○ News and Newsroom Diversity – They help newsrooms and citizens use emerging technologies to

better cover and engage their entire community.

○ Digital Media and News in the Public Interest – They intend to advance the best values of journalism

through rapidly developing digital media.

○ Training and Education – They aim to speed the news community's digital transformation by working

with both current and future journalists.

• Application Due By: Requests are reviewed throughout the year, but the special challenges/contests for

grant funding, including the Knight-Batten Awards, have particular due dates.

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J-Lab – specifically their New Voices program

http://www.j-lab.org/

• J-Lab helps journalists and citizens use digital technologies to develop new ways to participate in public

life with projects on innovations in journalism, citizen media, interactive stories, entrepreneurship,

research, training, and publications. They provide applicable grant funding for their New Voices program,

as further described here: http://www.j-newvoices.org/.    New Voices is a pioneering program to seed

innovative community news ventures in the US. New Voices is administered by J-Lab at American

University, and supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

• Funding Focus: Through 2010, New Voices has helped to fund the start-up of 55 projects with a focus

on micro-local news projects. The funding focus offers support for news projects similar to AM, but could

also be segmented into particular Middle Eastern regions to make the grant proposal more differentiated

and applicable. As an example of this year’s grant funding, grantees are receiving $17,000 in grants and

have the opportunity for $8,000 in follow-up funding after one year.

• Application Due By: They are no longer accepting applications for 2011, but it is worth checking back

with them soon for an introduction, and then again at the end of 2011 to inquire about their 2012 plan.

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 Chapter 5: Advertising

Advertising is a typical step in the process of monetizing and driving traffic to a website. Below are five options

for ways to advertise on the AM site, all of which could be profitable and are fairly straightforward to implement

in the short term. Each option has different advantages and is suitable to certain circumstances. Determining

which advertising method is best for AM is an important decision that requires research and analytic data.

Knowing AM has analytic information about their users, and could build upon this information using many

different free social media analytic tools available on the internet, analytics should be strongly considered.

Characteristics include understanding how many people visit the site, what type of people visit, and from where

they come to the site in order to determine which advertising option would be the best choice for AM.

Some Suggestions and Considerations on Website Advertising:

• Be particular and purposeful about what company’s advertisements go up on your site, what they look

like, and where they are placed. It is easy to lose credibility and trustworthiness as a website from poorly

done advertising, advertising that detracts from the core brand, or that contradicts the organization’s

mission and audience demands. We recommend using advertisements in an attractive, branded, organized

way, like Facebook demonstrates. Also, consider using a partner approach to advertisements (exchange

space on your site for an ad on a partner’s site) rather than simply placing advertisements for money.

Many advertisements are not lucrative unless you have high numbers of visitors to your site, so the

aforementioned idea, and others below might be good first steps to continue to build online networks and

drive traffic to the site. Next steps in the process would entail moving into a finance-focused phase for

online advertising.

a. Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Networks

• What it is: This entails signing up with the network and pasting some code snippets on your website. The

network will then serve contextual advertisements (either text or images) relevant to your website, and

you will earn a certain amount of money for every click.

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• Map to Mission: Makes money with relevant advertisements and allows readers to learn more from

targeted advertisements (particular for programs and services), making this yet another opportunity for

continued education on the content subjects.

• How to Implement: Google AdSense, Yahoo! Publisher Network, BidVertiser, Chitika, Clicksor are all

viable options.

• Rationale: Makes money immediately but works moving forward as well. It can be done in a tactful way

that doesn’t ruin the site and is gracefully integrated with the purpose of userability.

• Note: Tracking and recording the types of traffic that go to the site would provide you with information

from which you should be able to determine if the majority are organic traffics from search engines, or

direct referrals. Organic traffics from search engines convert well to CPC, but research signals that

visitors who visit your site on a regular basis (the direct ones) will hardly ever click on these CPC ads.

Using CPM is one viable solution to convert this type of direct traffic to revenue.

b. Cost Per Mile (CPM) Advertising Networks

• What it is: CPM advertising networks behave similarly to PPC networks, except that you get paid

according to the number of impressions (i.e., page views) that the advertisements displayed on your site

will generate. CPM stands for Cost per Mille, and it refers to the cost for 1,000 impressions. CPM

advertising tends to work well on websites with a high page views per visitor ratio (e.g., online forums,

magazines and so on). CPM is basically how much one can earn when an ad gets 1000 impressions on a

website. Some advertisement networks pay on average $3/CPM or $4/CPM. Keep in mind, that the

closer you put the ad to the top of the page the higher the CPM, though this might detract from your key

branded site visuals and key news.

• Map to Mission: This is another option as far as relevant advertising goes. It will not detract from using

and engaging networks on the site. This will be beneficial as e-newsletter snippets and daily posts are

made.

• How to Implement: Casale Media, Burst Media, Value Click, Tribal Fusion, Right Media, Ad Pepper, and

Ad Smart are viable options.

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• Rationale: This option is similar to PPC except that it is better if you know your users and how they

arrive to the AM site, either directly or where they come from if indirectly. PPC is better if the users get

to your site indirectly through other sites. This is good as new communication and as a marketing

campaign to build constituencies through events, youth programs and donor projects. You will have new

users to your site, so it is good to have this option for balance and scalability.

c. Direct Banner Advertising

• What it is: Selling your own advertising space on other websites. It enables you to cut out the

middleman commissions and to determine your own rates.

• Map to Mission: Brings eyes to the site and brings in money. It can also support the networking part of

your mission by publicizing partners this way, as mentioned in the aforementioned CPM option.

• How to Implement: Develop an ad, sell it to advertisers and put advertisers’ advertisements on banners

on your site, corporate sponsors, universities, or more, for example.

• Rationale: Will help with branding, raising awareness, and bringing in money. Because you cut out the

middleman, it is a smart move once you can prove to advertisers that you have a lot of traffic. At this

point, it could provide AM with more accountability and marketing data for online advertising

opportunities and corporate sponsors and larger donors. Cutting out the middle man could contribute to

work operations efficiency if the AM advertising team has enough capacity and capability with this area.

This can be very effective if you have a creative team that is dedicated to this, and is a perfect task for

journalism/media/design interns, but it does take work.

• Note: Choose wisely. People will judge you by your ad choice, placement, and look. Also, when

considering the size of the banner ad, one site recommended the 728X90 leader board or the 120X600

skyscraper. Use only top interns for this and a manager who is experienced to review all content before

going public.

• Note 2: While this is a common form of advertising, How Stuff Works mentions that banner

advertisements do not have a ton of popularity for either brand or direct sale advertisers. What branding

advertisers came to feel about banner advertisements is that banner advertisements are not the most

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 effective vehicle for branding. Research found that relative to a magazine ad or a TV ad, banner

advertisements are small and easily ignored. Direct sales advertisers discovered through experience that

the response rate for banner advertisements is low. You will want to carefully calculate the resources

required for this activity to determine if it would be worth the return on the total investment.

• Note 3: For most banner advertisements, the industry average seems to hover between two and five clicks

per 1,000 impressions of the ad. That is, if a banner ad appears on 1,000 web pages, between two and five

people will click on the ad to learn more. Thus, rather than using Direct Banner Advertising to sell a

product, you would have to do it to raise awareness, so it probably isn’t worth the $.50 or so per thousand

impressions that you would get it for. It might, however, be worth putting a banner ad on your site and

letting the ad pay you.

• Note 4: Overall, the downside of direct banner advertising is that you need to have a big audience to get

qualified advertisers, and you will need to spend time managing the sales process, the banners and the

payments and make sure it’s worth it.

d. Affiliate Marketing

• What it is: Affiliate marketing is a very popular practice on the Internet. Under this system you have a

merchant that is willing to let other people (the affiliates) sell directly or indirectly its products and services,

in exchange for a commission. Sometimes this type of advertising is also called CPA (cost per action) or

CPL (cost per lead) based. Affiliates can send potential customers to the merchant using several tools, from

banners to text links and product reviews. In order to find suitable affiliate programs you can turn to

individual companies and publishers like Dreamhost and SEOBook, or join affiliate marketplaces and

networks.

• Map to Mission: Less closely tied, so it is important to make sure that content is professional, relevant and

genuine, and in-line with AM’s core brand messaging. If there are products Reza can sell that relate directly

to his mission, his books, for example, this might be an easier and more profitable option to start. This could

be more closely tied to AM’s mission if advertisements were links to other books (such as books he uses in his

class syllabi or other expert documentaries and resources) to promote the purchasing or using of like

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 educational resources (this does not have to be just books – educational ebooks, videos and more could be a

possibility).

• How to Implement: Commission Junction, Click Bank, Link Share, Amazon Associates

• Rationale: If there are products that Reza supports—which there could be plenty from his work at UC Irvine

and resources he uses to prepare for his talk and has used in his research—it is a good way of increasing

recognition of those products while also bringing in revenue. You can use Google analytics to strategically

approach and implement this at no cost.

e. Job Board

• What it is: AM has a lot of visitors, contributors and volunteers who share interests and skills.

Employers want to reach people who have those skills. By adding a job board (or a widget such as the

ones from Job Coin, below) to the website, you provide relevant content to your visitors and companies

will pay to list jobs in this widget. Also, depending on how it is structured, you could charge people for

access to it (for example, using the Club Chapter approach—from the Universities section of the report—

where chapter members get access to jobs).

• Map to Mission: People want jobs in areas they are passionate about, and you could be a good resource

for them and make money in the process.

• How to Implement: Job Coin, Job-a-matic, are strong options and can provide more detail on next steps.

• Rationale: Though a job board might detract from visual branding and content on the site, there are site

placement considerations and networking sections that can be made such as “professional development”

or “industry reading and development” where the placement could be gracefully integrated and not detract

from the site. This works to further promote the networking aspect of AM’s mission, and has the

opportunity to add value to and uniquely differentiate the content of AM’s e-newsletter, as discussed

during the final presentation.

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 Chapter 6: Fundraisers/Events

The following are steps and criteria for successful fundraising events, planning and implementation. The list of

criteria is flexible, but should be followed as a guideline, taking into account the region, audience and

environment where it will take place. The list is meant to serve only as a topline framework.

We suggest that AM take a two-tiered approach to Fundraisers and Events. The Macro approach will include

holding 2-3 large events per year, hosted by AM, and the Micro approach will focus on a supporter (individual) or

group (student, interest, donor, journalists etc) to host events in the name and support of AM. Both approaches

aim to raise a target amount of funding per event but the larger events will be aimed toward higher donations and

more expensive tickets. The smaller events should reap little to no resources from AM, and the event host should

absorb all expenses. Keep in mind that ”Friendraisers” are good enough sometimes as they raise awareness and

bring more eyes to the site. Also remember that events are resource heavy, so make sure it is for publicity and

choose the amount of events per year wisely based on your resources and availability to work on them.

a. Events: Macro

• Timing: January, May/June, November – 2 to 3 large events per year

• Location/Food/Music/Entertainment: High-end location either donated or heavily discounted through

AM connections (choose strategically through and because of networks), cocktails and dinner suggested

• Speakers: High profile and engaging panel (choose strategically through and because of networks) that

also includes a multi-media presentation with human stories that show change in perspectives and shifting

of the conversation

• Attendees: High profile and driven by “table captains” who drive higher donations; a certain number of

discount tickets can be given to students and/or volunteer promoters and volunteers

• Auction (silent, out loud or raffle): All items should be online in advance of the event and should be

donated

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• Atmosphere/Environmental Branding: Decor and design can be donated or done pro bono by high

profile or local artists connected to AM, flowers as well or at a heavy discount

• Promotion: Online pre-auction, pre-cocktail event for VIP (higher donors and ticket sellers), post-event

put on by a bar or night club (free) so cash bar will assure this is an extra “perk” at no further expense;

differentiated pricing on tickets based on timing and demographic

• Press/Media: Invited by AM PR team pre, during and post event – invite influential media you want to

get to know, peers in the field or people you would like to partner with

• Marketing: Pre, during and post communications online and other from AM team; visual marketing

materials light and/or donated printing

• Partnership Building: Highlight or celebrate several key partners or thought leaders (peers) in the field

at the event from various key stakeholders; strategic seating and action plan for all import AM board and

employees to network, work the room, accordingly

b. Events: Micro

• Timing: January-December – a quarterly beneficiary/supporter-held event for publicity

• Location/Food/Music/Entertainment: Location either at a home, donated or free through AM

connections (choose strategically through and because of networks), special prices on cocktails and light

appetizers suggested

• Speakers: Influence host and/or group for a particular segment/demographic and engaging hosts (choose

strategically through and because of networks) and also includes a multi-media presentation with human

stories that show change & the conversation shifting. Reza could ideally attend one or two per year.

• Attendees: Open to anyone – tickets at low-cost through brown paper tickets or something similar,

which serves as a call to action for people to commit, but not meant to deter people due to price. Can be

free for students and/or volunteer promoters and volunteers to reward giving back in other ways and keep

costs low (they will usually give something)

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• Auction (silent, out loud or raffle): Not necessary, but good idea to put all items online in advance of

the event to promote and start above, another layer of social media strategy, engages more people beyond

attendees, and there are cheap or free ways to do this

• Atmosphere/Environmental Branding: Decor and design can be donated or done pro bono by local

artists or supporters connected to AM, flowers as well or at a heavy discount

• Promotion: All network-driven, social media and word of mouth

• Press/Media: I nvited by AM PR team depending on contacts pre, during and post event – invite people

in the field or you’d like to partner with

• Marketing: Pre, during and post communications online and other from AM team; visual marketing

materials light to give away and/or donated printing; do a “business card” raffle to gain their info for

newsletter and for addition marketing opportunity to thank them and follow up after the event.

• Partnership Building: Highlight or celebrate several key partners or thought leaders (peers) in the field

at the event from various key stakeholders; employees (if possible) to try and attend to network, work the

room, accordingly and follow up

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 Chapter 7: Building a Constituency

Constituency-building includes everything in this paper—from partner advertising to events and fundraisers. It

also includes building individual relationships now to ask for support/money in the future as well as building

more of an online network, for example through causes.

Building a constituency is best done by first strengthening the internal team and network, and then building out.

This starts with the AM Board of Directors as mentioned in the first chapter, then moves onto building support

through gift giving and fundraising. The next step after creation of the board and strategic fundraising plan is laid

out, is to map out a 12-month e-newsletter plan that starts off quarterly but includes monthly efforts to plan,

produce content, edit and scrub the list (add or take out/fix wrong emails), then send out to appropriate contacts.

Though the e-newsletter could probably be managed by interns, it is best to map this out first and figure out how

this will be done, how effective it will be and who will receive it. After that, content should ensure it is being

tailored to AM’s key stakeholders – the donors/funders, the clients, and the volunteers (even the folks that

contribute to this should get a say on content and get something out of it too in terms of thought leadership and

added value).

a. Targeted Planned Giving:

This would start with annual Gifts from Reza's friends, board, other key close circle supporters, then build out

from there. Planned gifts are usually given in the form of cash. The team sets a reasonable “planned gift/large

gift” donation amount either in parts or in full (example: $500).

• Characteristics of top prospects: The fundraising team first identifies a list of top prospects.

Characteristics of top prospects typically share or include longevity in their participation with AM in any

of the following capacities: on the board or as a volunteer in another capacity, as an active contributor or

follower of AM (one year or more), as a donor to the Annual Support Campaign (perhaps two years

regardless of gift size), as a donor of other resources (time, money, support…). Age is often a

consideration, but not a sole criterion.

38
• How to recruit top prospects: Once top prospects have been identified, time should be devoted to staff

meeting agendas to discussing members who have become "connected" with AM through their

participation. A list of these prospects should be made by all members of AM identifying the staff

persons with key relationships. The next step would be to create a plan to move the prospect to a level of

interest and schedule a meeting to discuss the issue. Once finalized, the list should include sufficient

prospects to meet the donor action plan and goals for the year. Assignments of prospects can be made to

committee members so that they may own actions and have specific tasks. A target date should be agreed

upon and set by which solicitation appointments should be made. Most visits for larger donor prospects

(should) include the Executive Director and the fundraising manager. Once a donor's gift is confirmed,

the sequence in point 1 (above) will follow.

• Donor/Gift-giving Solicitation Framework: The following is an example of a individual or group

donor solicitation framework, and suggestions to encourage planned giving:

○ Meet with your prospect where he or she is most comfortable

○ Involve your key volunteer player; the person who is connected to your prospect

○ Come prepared – materials might include: an AM brochure, information about a particular gift

vehicle such as a Gift Annuity, Pooled Income Fund, or Making a Bequest (defined in annex)

○ Opening the call – start the conversation about AM and your donor's AM involvement

○ Explore your donor's needs and desires, answer questions, be transparent, and share materials as

appropriate

○ Present the benefits of the gift from your donor's perspective (e.g., reduced taxes, increased

income, perpetuate the work of the AM for the long term)

○ Be prepared for resistance by anticipating blocks

○ Ask for the commitment

○ Leave with a commitment to follow up if a decision was not made

39
 b. Start a “Cause” on Facebook:

• What it is: A space on the website dedicated entirely to expressing the “cause” AM was created to

address. This goes beyond the mission statement, vision, and goals listed on the “About Us” page and

creates a more obvious announcement that the organization is part of an active social cause. This lets all

visitors (and potential donors) know what the organization’s ultimate goal and purpose are, and

encourages people to support or actively join the cause.

• How to implement: Sections of the site would be dedicated to addressing the outrageous misperceptions

about the formerly titled “war on terror,” Islam in general, etc… as Reza does in his talks and books.

Synthesize the message Reza spread advertisements in his talks, the mission, vision, goals and the

ultimate purpose into a clear and marketable cause. Communicate this clearly and obviously to your

audience on the website so that visitors will know exactly what you are inviting them to be a part of and

to support.

• Map to mission: The site would then have elements to make it an awareness raising campaign and

therefore a reason to financially support the organization through corporate sponsorship because they

want to be seen supporting this cause.

• Rationale: AM may not attract corporations interested in cause marketing within the realm of corporate

engagement because the “cause” is not as pronounced as something like cancer research. They also may

not retain visitors to the site who remain unclear about what makes it so different from other news sites

like Huffington Post, aside from the obvious regional focus of its content.

• Note 1: Creating awareness about your cause has many potential advantages when it comes to seeking

donors, attracting following, motivating people, creating a sense of community, inciting action, etc… This

is very easy to implement and could result in substantial benefits.

c. EBay Giving Works

• What it is: EBay Giving Works is a way people can shop, sell and donate to AM. With an official

501c3, a nonprofit can put their organization on their list online.

40
• How to implement: Go to their Website and enroll AM to the program (http://

givingworks.ebay.com/). Then publicize to through all of AM’s communications channels about

what eBay Giving Works is and how it functions. Next, request supporters choose their site when

buying anything on eBay – there is a button to do this at checkout. There is also an option where

supporters of AM can sell products on eBay as a donation, then apply Giving Works to the

merchandise. Once Giving Works is applied to an item, the cash generated from the sale will be

available for transfer to the nonprofit organization specified. The final option on this site is to

donate directly to AM through Paypal if registered on eBay (a way for organizations who don’t

have a donate button on their site).

• Map to mission: The site would then have additional elements to strengthen its awareness raising

campaign, bringing people together and encouraging civic engagement as outlined in AM’s

mission. This is a way to get AM involved in donor giving in a unique variety of ways. This is

especially lucrative for AM’s younger supporters who are not financially stable enough to donate

money, but who are tech savvy and willing to participate.

• Rationale: This offers different ways to donate to AM, but can also be used in conjunction with

corporate partnerships. This also has the potential to be included in university partnerships if

student donor drives are conducted, or could serve as another good way to publicize AM to new

users and potential donors through eBay. This recommendation will boost awareness about AM

when seeking donors, attracting a following, motivating people, creating a sense of community

and philanthropy through conscious consumerism, igniting action and more. This is very easy to

implement immediately and could result in substantial benefits.

41
 Conclusion

Our focus throughout this project was to link Aslan Media’s mission and goals with revenue-generating ideas. We

have provided a variety of potential opportunities for AM to monetize their mission, generate revenue, and

become a financially sustainable organization. Through internal efforts as well as multiple strategic partnerships

AM has an abundance of opportunities to bring in money and grow the organization, while simultaneously

increasing its ability to achieve its mission and increase the social impact of its activities.

Between our short-, mid-, and long-term structure, and looking at the estimated required resource investment and

ROI, we have offered tools to help AM decide what comes next. Each chapter provides a step-by-step approach

to implementing each recommendation. Additional resources and information about recommendations can be

found in the appendices, which include a toolkit that provides active links to sites. All of the information

provided herein may be used to help AM determine the most viable and potentially rewarding partnerships and

opportunities. The combination of revenue streams will differ for AM than for other organizations and websites.

Yet we are confident that you will find the right mixture of actions and partnerships that, with patience and

dedication, will allow the organization to thrive as a financially sustainable entity.

Aslan Media’s potential is extraordinary and we look forward to following its progress. We sincerely hope the

recommendations and resources we have provided will be beneficial and serve you in the pursuit of your mission.

We are thrilled we had the opportunity to contribute to your cause, to work with your extraordinary staff, and to

support the growth of your organization.

42
 Appendix a: Toolkit with links to relevant sites

Resource/ Specific Action/ Time to

Chapter Opportunity Resource Link
Partner More Information Action

Mideast Youth Free website Provide free services to http:// Short-term

design, emerging individuals and www.mideastyou
development and nonprofits with similar th.com/
Internal hosting services missions. Focus is on
quality, unique designs and
functionality

Google Google.org Specific resources for http:// Short-term

educator resources educators that could help www.google.com
build out your curriculum /edu/index.html
and school partnerships
either through the AM site
or other
University
Partnerships Net Impact Aslan Media Club Club chapters at different http:// Mid-term
Chapters schools are tapped into a www.netimpact.o
network with shared rg/
resources, and could
potentially be tasked with
common goals and activities

Journalism Corporate Reach out to these http:// Short-term

partnership leads partnerships organizations to see if they reporter.asu.edu /
and sites through industry want to link or share your journ.htm
network/ content, invite them to your
partnership events, and maybe think
building about using these sites as a
model for a cohesive site

Blogger, Diverse areas/ Assign some interns to http:// Short-term

journalism sites industries – could reach out to top bloggers www.evancarmic
on social capture new with stories from Reza and hael.com /Tools/
Corporate entrepreneurism donors and engage in link exchanges, Top-50-Social-
Partnerships supporters etc. to find out who they Entrepreneurship
advertise with for research, -Blogs- To-
information and industry Watch-
insight In-2010.htm

Blogger, Diverse areas/ Assign some interns to http:// Long-term

journalism sites industries – could reach out to top bloggers www.greenmarke
on social and capture new with stories from Reza and ting.tv /
sustainable donors and engage in link exchanges, 2010/09/15/the-
entrepreneurism supporters in etc. to find out who they ultimate-list -of-
sustainability field advertise with for research social-enterprise-
and intel blogs/

43
 Blogger, Captures new Assign interns to reach top http://social- Short-term
journalism sites donors and bloggers with stories from entrepreneurship.
on social and supporters or Reza to keep them posted alltop.com/
sustainable targets for online on information regularly, to
entrepreneurship advertising set up a monthly column
partnerships in the from Reza or “link support”
social impact or any sort of online
space advertising exchange,
engage in link exchanges,
etc…

Best Buy Corporate Best Buy donates annually http:// Short-term

Sponsorship www.bestbuy-
communityrelatio
ns.com/
community_grant
s.htm

Corporate Corporate To find corporations with http://www.corp- Short-term

Research Project Sponsorship altruistic pursuits, and research.org/
corporate social
responsibility initiatives
Corporate How to Do Corporate To find corporations with http://www.corp- Short-term
Partnerships Corporate Sponsorship altruistic pursuits, and research.org/
Research Online corporate social howto
responsibility initiatives

IEG Sponsorship IEG Sponsorship “For nearly three decades, http:// Short-term
Community Community IEG has been developing www.sponsorshi
new and better ways for p.com/
companies and brands to
partner with sports, arts,
events, entertainment,
nonprofits, and causes—for
mutual benefit.”

NOZA Charitable NOZA Charitable “World’s largest database of https:// Short-term

Organizations Organizations charitable organizations www.nozasearch.
Database Database com

GALE Business Research potential “…provides access to a http:// Short-term

and Company donors and wide variety of global www.gale.cengag
Resource Center supporters business information, e.com /
including competitive BusinessRC/
intelligence, career and
investment opportunities,
business rankings, company
histories and much more.”

44
 United Nations Research potential “…a strategic policy http:// Short-term
Global Compact donors and initiative for businesses that www.unglobalco
supporters are committed to aligning mpact.org/
their operations and
strategies with then
universally accepted
principles in the areas of
human rights, labour,
environment and anti-
corruption.”

Business Ethic Research potential To find corporations with http:// Short-term

Network donors and altruistic pursuits, and businessethicsnet
supporters and corporate social work.org/
leverage network responsibility initiatives

CSR Wire Research potential “The leading source of http:// Short-term

donors and corporate social www.csrwire.co
Corporate supporters responsibility and m/philanthropy
Partnerships sustainability news, reports,
events and information.”

International Research potential “The ICCSR is one of the http:// Short-term

Centre for donors and world’s leading centres for www.nottingham
Corporate Social supporters study and research of .ac.uk/business/
Responsibilty Corporate Social ICCSR/
Responsibility.” index.php

Ethical Markets Research potential “Your gateway to a cleaner, http:// Short-term

donors and greener 21st Century www.ethicalmark
supporters Economies” ets.com/

Hoovers Research potential “Top-of-the-line business http:// Short-term

donors and information, unmatched in www.hoovers.co
supporters quality and quantity.” m/

Various NGO Start an NGO Use this site, NGO Forum http:// Long-term
board associations network to share for Global Governance to ngoboards.org/
ideas/resources find ideas and leads to start terms
and potential leads a virtual/professional
executive group for like-
minded professionals that
would meet for podcasts or
virtual meetings quarterly or
bi-annualy

Foundation Center Research potential “Foundation Center is the http:// Short-term

grants leading source of foundationcenter.
Grants information about org/
philanthropy worldwide.”

45
Grants

Fundsnet Services Research potential Extensive list of links to http:// Short-term

grants grant pages by category www.fundsnetser
vices.com/
AidPage Research potential Extensive list of different http:// Short-term
grants categories and maps to tons foundations-
of foundations and how nonprofits-
 Grants much money they have to activity-
donate categories.idilogi
c.aidpage.com/
foundations-
nonprofits-
activity-
categories/
UC Irvine/Various Grant leads and Use this page to get leads on http:// Long-term
potential potential grants and www.uadv.uci.ed
partnerships partnerships u/

Google for Limitless!! Apply for Google for http:// Short-term

Nonprofits Nonprofits and utilize the www.google.com
resources they offer /nonprofits/

Google AdSense Pay Per Click Sign up for free services http:// Short-term
www.google.com
/ads/
Crowdfunding Use followers/ Examples include http:// Short-term
supporters and Kickstarter.com, Kiva, and www.crowdfundi
online resources Facebook “Causes”. For ngsecrets.com/
more information, read 3 start.html
new funding ideas that make
life easier

Amazon Pay Per Click Place an advertisement for http:// Long-term

Advertising something on amazon that www.amazonserv (need
links to your site that people ices.com/content/ products to
can buy product-ads-on- sell)
amazon.htm?
id=hm2&ld=SES
TPADSGOO&s_
kwcid=TC|
13441|PPC
advertising||S|p|
9763356210 -
how-it-works
Google AdWords and Sign up for their services http:// Short to
AdSense www.google.com mid-term
/ads/
Amazon Amazon Affiliate Marketing (you https://affiliate- Short, mid
Associates advertise something that program.amazon. and long-
people buy through Amazon com/ term
and you get a commission)

46
 Ad Pepper CPM You get $3 or $4 per 1000 http:// Short, mid
visits to your site (the www.adpepper.c and long-
assumption is people om/ term
visiting your site are seeing
an ad, so the advertiser is
paying you for that attention
and space, not for the clicks)

Value Click CPM You get $3 or $4 per 1000 http:// Short, mid
visits to your site (the www.valueclick. and long-
assumption is people com/ term
visiting your site are seeing
an ad, so the advertiser is
paying you for that attention
and space, not for the clicks)

Casale Media CPM You get $3 or $4 per 1000 http:// Short, mid
visits to your site (the www.casalemedi and long-
 Advertising assumption is people a.com/ term
visiting your site are seeing
an ad, so the advertiser is
paying you for that attention
and space, not for the clicks)

Adtegrity CPM You get $3 or $4 per 1000 http:// Short, mid

visits to your site (the www.adtegrity.co and long-
assumption is people m/ term
visiting your site are seeing
an ad, so the advertiser is
paying you for that attention
and space, not for the clicks)

Google Double Direct Banner Ads “Ad management and ad http:// Short, mid
Click serving technology www.google.com and long-
foundation for the world’s /doubleclick/ term
buyers, creators and sellers
of digital media”

LinkShare Affiliate Place advertisements on http:// Short, mid

Marketing your site for others to click www.linkshare.c and long-
through to buy stuff and get om/publishers/ term
a commission

Job Coin Job Board Post relevant jobs on http:// Short, mid
website and get paid for it www.jobcoin.co and long-
m/ term

47
 Various Mid East Networking Bring together various Example: http:// Short-term
organizations various, key Mid organizations, key mediame.com/
East organization stakeholders and supporters/ event_type/
and academic students in a conference conference/
programs under the name of AMMid middle_east_digi
East Conference (for social tal_media_confer
media). ence

Art/music content/ Organize or Create a team within AM Example: http:// Mid-term

festivals – like partner with other and/or other partner conference.colleg
Boomgen for host organizations organizations to put on an eart.org/2012/
music for this event annual cultural/arts or music
opportunity festival – AM can take a cut

Prioritize Reza To speak globally, Make a calendar for all TED Example: http:// Mid-term
speaking at and gain more PR, conferences and deadlines www.ted.com/
attending TED partnership and send applications in registration/
 Events conferences potential, consistently, on a rolling choose/event/
advertising leads, basis 2012
and to become a
fellow “TED (Search “TED
Fellow” registration” to
find active link)

Various global Online arts Artists sell their stuff online Examples: Long-term
artists who work auction or sale through AM. Artists could Art Rising –
on Mid East art event do 200 prints and donate http://
and story them (tax write off) – could www.artrising.ne
expression do it on cafepress as well. t/
Nelle Sacknoff Cafepress –
(nellesacknoff@gmail.com) http://
can connect Roshi to them. shop.cafepress.co
“Artists rising” at art.com m/
use the same idea. Doing Art.com – http://
this as an event makes the www.art.com/
buying more immediate and
requires engagement.

Amazon PR, reviews on Specifically use this list to http:// Long-term

Publishing Co. Amazon.com, find other authors with www.amazon.co
potential similar Middle Eastern m/Middle-
partnerships and targeted audiences. Eastern-Writers-
Building a donors Greatest-books/
Constituency lm/
R15O7C6TYXP
0EC

48
Appendix b: Exhaustive list of other potential income generators, including additional ideas generated
from the MIIS brainstorm session

• Speaking Fees from Reza

• Ebook Sales

• Ezine or Enewsletter

• Link your videos on Jon Stewart and Colbert to your site

• Educational tourism to the middle east

• Mideast Conference (for social media)

• Staff Consulting – establish a strategic partnership with a consulting firm like Price Waterhouse Coopers,

where your staff can consult on issues pertaining to the Middle East, for example if a company wanted to

expand there.

• Monetize Reza’s endorsements (with integrity)

• Be the source of “What’s Cool in the Middle East”

• Get Middlebury Partnership solidified

• Get Reza on TED

• Get your journalistic pieces on other sites

• Artists could sell their work online through AM. They could do 200 prints and donate them (tax write

off), could also use cafepress or art.com (“Artists Rising”)

49
Appendix c: Examples of multiple revenue streams chart

50