NGO proposals – perennial problems

For many teams, the thought of creating a time-bound and articulate proposal can have a paralyzing effect – and it is not a rare phenomena, considering the complexities associated with this exercise. The proposal fights for its breathing space in a crowded field of aspirants and an ever-dwindling reservoir of funds.

Image Credit: Mass.gov

Some of the most debated and encountered proposals mind-blocks are….

• Getting the right format: Every donor receives thousands of proposals for the allocated funds and they find it impossible to cherry-pick the best Non-Profit that deserves the dollars. In order to create a level playing field, the donor organizations establish their unique proposal format which suits their selection process. This new format has to be understood and translated into a working document by the NGO team.
• Planning & Deadline: A good planning always demands a microscopic view of the process and the lack of time kills the very sentiment of quality and planning. The crafting of a compelling proposal within a tight deadline is a nightmare for most Non-profit teams
• Permission-based proposal: A lot of  donor organizations disqualify any unsolicited proposals. So, even if you have the most deserving proposal, the whole exercise might just be grounded because the donor did  not grant the permission to submit the proposal. This often results in the fear of rejection which compounds the efficiency issues of the team.
• Reporting & Grant retention: Documentation is seldom fun, but an accurate log of the activities in real time is indispensable in the NGO sector. A worthy report can be created only if the activity log in the field was given due importance. Most of the donors scrutiny the Project report with magnifying glasses before signing on the dotted line.

A proposal is as good as its success rate – That may be a harsh criteria to judge months of work, but then the funds are hard to come by – and a lot of noble work will have to be postponed. Experience of the NGO industry is as important as the experience with words when it comes to crafting winning proposals.

If you would like to explore the various marketing & branding strategies in the NGO sector, you can contact CopperBridge Media at: info@copperbridgemedia.com / or call at: 91-712-3270556.

If somebody told you that the major ingredients in your sweet corn soup and your cell phone is almost same – the astonishment on your face is fully justified. But, then mother nature has so much to offer to us unconditionally, while we keep on inflicting as many punches on her as we could. Who could envisage that Corn can be the DNA for all types of plastics used in the electronic industry. Samsung Reclaim is a very decisive step towards creating an eco-responsible electronic industry.

The corn factor…

What makes Corn such a great candidate for the most delicious of soups as well as the best resource for biodegradable products. The answer lies in the organic composition of corn. OK, without getting into the labyrinths of organic chemistry, lets zero down on PLA , Polylactic acid – backbone of Samsung Reclaim. The fermentation of corn biomass releases the bidegradable PLA, which not even generates dioxin or any other toxic gases when burnt.

Samsung Reclaim can boast of PVC, Phthalates & BFR free manufacturing process. PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), Phthalates, and BFR (Brominated Flame retardants) are the 3 major culrprits identified in the green electronic guidelines. Three cheers for Samsung Reclaim!

What about the external packaging and the phone tray? Its reassuring to know that the tray and outer packaging have not been neglected at all and are crafted from 70 percent recycled material. Completing the organic footprint on Samsung Reclaim is the Soy-based ink, which is used to print the images and text on the box as well as the phone warranty information. The trees of our planet have been spared too as the thick user manuals have been replaced with a virtual manual on the Sprint site. Lets not forget the charger, which consumes 12 times less power than the Energy Star standard.

They have taken the aquatic architecture to a new height, with the design of a floating home that is self-sustaining in terms of its energy needs – so no gas pipes and plumbing problems for you. You can rent this marine nest, which is anchored off the NW coast of the Greek Zante Island. This cantilever home is accessible only by a boat making it even more exotic for a human abode. So, if you had dreamt of a Greek vacation, Zante Island might be a truly inspiring experience.

Water-House architecture

Anchored to the sea bed, this cantilever architecture is all white and pristine. The home itself, because of its soft and subtle demeanor, blends easily into the marine ambience. At first glance, it’s hard to fathom that the floating structure is sculpted from concrete and steel. However, behind this soft exterior is the reassuring support of the concrete counterweight foot stabilizer with the sea bed pile system.

The floating mechanism of this sea house is enabled by rails installed in the core structure and can rise and fall with the tides – making it rock solid even at the top of the tide. And to top it all, just like a luxury yacht, a stairway rises from the deck to the main floor of the house – that is your own private yacht without a deck hand. While the wall angles and house orientation maximize the utilization of solar energy, they also minimize the dissipation of in-house energy. Every external and internal architectural proportion has been designed for the most efficient eco-friendly existence.

The Energy Engine

As a home owner, we have several things on our mind – from air ventilation to exhaust systems, from Water purification to the drainage system, and not to forget the heating and cooling system. Well, this eco-marvel won’t make you give a frantic call to your plumber, gas-supply Company or even to the airconditioning specialist. Your floating energy powerhouse takes care of almost all of your residential energy needs.

Eco-friendly residential factors like water desalination (don’t forget that you are anchored over sea), energy accumulation and conservation, heat consumption and the solar panels – all of these are ecologically embedded in your house – and they run like a well oiled machine without a trace of ozonelayer harming carbon. Even the vertical lines on the external rails are, in reality, a computer controlled shading system. You might be itching to ask me – What else? To make it a perfect eco-existence, the design included water desalination, natural ventilation, tidal energy systems, and water recycling system – all in perfect harmony with Mother Nature.

Water Condominiums

Now that a prototype is in place – firmly anchored to the sea bed, is there an opportunity for the mankind to live life off the land, and at the same time be in harmony with marine habitat? Or, there will be another century of marine life exploitation and ruthless plundering of our aquatic resources. Only time is going to reveal – but, for the time being, Bon Voyage and happy vacationing on
Zante Island.

Nothing is alarming about the metamorphosis of the language that is used for personal communication. However, the corporate lingo is seeing a definite change that is more inclined to match the change in its ideology. Corporate ideology has achieved a green nuance to suit the changing need of the times. Eco-friendliness is the emerging keyword and a prerequisite to any future oriented corporate program.

Obviously, the corporate world has incorporated green words in its vocabulary. Any corporate trying to pitch in with new ideas and products must be well conversant and use these green words.

Eco-friendly: (You may be very friendly on the Facebook.) Your business is not happening if it’s not ‘eco-friendly’. In simple words, every aspect of your business must take care of our precious environment and ecosystem.

Green marketing: (It has nothing to do with buying spinach and lettuce.) Your marketing methodologies must use the bare minimum natural resources and minimize, if not eliminate in total, its adverse impact on the environment.

Global warming: (We aren’t talking about the summers.) It is a slow but certain rise in the atmospheric temperature over the years. It is proving detrimental to our planet’s eco-system. A socially responsible corporate must contribute to check this.

Green house gases: Certain gases viz. Chlorofluorocarbons, per-fluorocarbons and hydro fluorocarbons are responsible fro causing global warming. (You are not alone.) most of these gases are banned from use in most of the nations.

Carbon footprint: (We know that everybody wears shoes in your office.) This is the impact that your business leaves on the environment. It may be in the form of emissions, wastage or energy efficiency.

Well, using this green lingo will show your concern for the planet we live on. Further, keep yourself abreast of the changes in the lingo and yes… you are free to invent some of your own green words.

If the content on your website needs to be altered frequently, then you would perhaps need access and control of your site rather than request updates through your web developer. This is when a CMS comes into the picture.

So when you have decided that you need a CMS, the following suggestions can help you choose the most appropriate one for your projects.

Budget: The first step is to determine the amount you can spend on a CMS. While determining your budget, don’t forget about the implementation and support costs.

Review the volume of content and consider scalability: Determine the volume of content you have today, and will have tomorrow. Your system should be able to support your maximum projected users at least for the next five years. Once you have evaluated your needs, match the volume with real life case studies to know what your intended Content Management System can handle.

Format Flexibility: Evaluate the format flexibility of your CMS. If you will be publishing in several formats (social, web, mobile, video, audio, XML, etc.) then ensure that the content can be re-formatted easily.

Printing Flexibility: Websites and web technology flourish on change. So make sure that your web content or site design is twisted or totally changed at least every 12 months. Go for a CMS that does not limit your ability to make changes.

Some of the recommended content management systems are:

Wordpress: This CMS system is best for websites that have four or five static pages, like “About us”, “Contact us”, etc. and pages that change frequently, like the blogs.

ExpressionEngine: This CMS system allows for more dynamic content, and also allows easy multiple changes at once.

Drupal: When a website grows, it becomes difficult to manage information. Drupal CMS is specifically designed for large sites that feature several pages of individualized content.

Make an informed decision about the right content management system and see your business soar to new heights.

Start With SEO Basics

This is true, “If content can be searched on, then it can be optimized for better performance in search.” However, the definition of the SEO is and will mostly be changing by the day. As for the moment you can make the most  of the resources and optimize your videos, images and even audios. This can only be made possible through relevant meaningful content and links. They are of immense help and will enable you make better use of SEO tactics in your online presence.

Some More SEO Tips

• After compiling your keyword glossary, you could make use of a keyword tool in order to target your audience efficiently.
• Do not get carried away, optimize your content for the readers first. Now, go back and make adjustments to make this search engine friendly without damaging the script.
• Never overlook and make sure to the use of keywords in the title, sub-heading and the text body. The title is the most important place where the presence of the keyword makes ultimate sense. However, do not stuff keywords just for the sake of them being there. Logical and relevant presence will alone make sense, so that your piece is visually appealing and easy to digest.

Normally, keywords appearing for about 2/4 times, in a 400/500 word release is just fine.

Making Press Releases Work

Traditionally a press release is just another type of announcement. However, an online press release, like all online content, is so much different that you can do more than just pitching a message or an event. You could even inspire calls to action, add you onto Facebook, or even make a call. You could even take the reader to a landing page for optimization analysis. Look at these as more than a one time thing, what with your links in place, a press release is your very valuable investment and asset.

Just Imagine This Scenario

• A corporate communications director making sure that the widest possible coverage of her latest press release through an RSS feed and ensuring dissemination via a news aggregator.
• The internal communications manager sending out daily reports, both internal data and externally sourced information, to all his company employees all around the world in the chosen RSS option. He is assured that no one is inadvertently left off the circulation list.
• A consultant needing to keep his customer regularly updated on a particular project. He creates a weblog and makes this available to his customer through a RSS feed; Rest assured.
• A competitive information professional using the RSS reader to gather regular information from direct competitors web sites, industry blogs, independent analysts, and the news media.
• A company who just released a new service and is expecting direct and regular feedback from chartered customers who agree to keep weblogs of their experiences with these services; and the company regularly receiving updates using RSS.
• A sales executive wanting to send regular messages to a valued customer concerning special promotions; they agree that the RSS feed is the surest, and the best answer.
• A Vice-President of marketing is organizing his company’s annual conference which includes customers, suppliers and staff. As the agenda and logistics keep changing, he uses the RSS to keep everyone updated. The updated document can be posted on the corporate intranet, and the changes can be highlighted using RSS.
• Corporate bloggers like the CEO wanting to communicate directly with staff or customers – need an audience. RSS is that quick trick for reaching out and getting a response.
• Project teams could be working on different continents, where RSS is an effective and secure way of sharing data and highlighting issues.
• When Company Documentation, including procedure manuals, employee handbooks, health and safety regulations, or price-lists need to be kept up-to-date, since they regularly change and the concerned staff needs to be notified; the updated documents could be posted on the intranet, and RSS used for highlighting changes.

Why should corporations promote the adoption of RSS technology?

There are a myriad of other uses where RSS can be put for use within a corporate environment. Broadly, RSS is best at delivering ‘FYI’ information, while e-mail is good for active – two way communication.

However, few companies have taken a policy decision to comprehensively deploy RSS within their organizations. RSS readers currently in use in companies are on account of personal initiatives alone.

Drivers for further uptake

The debate so far has only focused on the benefits of RSS versus E-mail. Increasing junk mail has given rise to even more draconian anti-spam measures. This is making it hard for the corporate managers to decide – a flood of unwanted e-mails each day, or risking with anti-spam software capable of blocking a vital message.

RSS is looking like an increasingly attractive and secure option for sending or receiving a regular report, message or an electronic newsletter within the corporate firewall, where the end user can control the flow in terms of what is received, the frequency and whether it alerts the users to the arrival of a message.

The “pull” aspect of RSS technology is appealing, and fundamentally differentiates from the “push” aspect of e-mail.

Latent Semantic Analysis

The principles of LSI in determining content of web-pages, was first used by a small company called Oingo. Later renamed Applied Semantics, they developed a search system for determining the relevance of page content for specific advert placement, and called this Adsense. This was bought by Google in April, 2003 and used for replacing their system which was still developing. Adsense was not developed by Google, but purchased, and a good bargain at that.

However, a general opinion of the LSI is slightly off-mark. Instead of thinking it to be just an algorithm screwed on to the search engine, this could be better understood as a concept. Tie in the phrase ‘Artificial Intelligence’ to the LSI, and we see this in better light.

When we search for Tiger Woods, the search will not result in putting forth pages related to the keywords ‘tiger’ and ‘woods’; instead what we get is what we call ‘relevance feedback.’  This search will present a number of pages relating to golf. LSI is the most potent tool available for the search engines, as of now.

The LSI enabled search platforms are most effective and able to make better sense since they do not just focus on a bunch of keywords. Conventional search engines were unable to give good results since they were basing results only on ‘keywords’ analysis.

This was the reason they were unable to tell the difference between:

• Similar words but with different meanings – and we have a whole lot of them.
• Words similar in meaning, but spelled differently – sickness/vomiting.
• Singular and plural forms of words – dice/die, man/men.
• Branches of words from the same root – like ‘bath’, ‘bathe’, ‘bathing’, or ‘bathed.’

LSI is different, a kind of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ really. Looking at the speed and number of web-pages being added on the net everyday, it definitely is a challenging task for any search engine to provide an ideal search result.

The fact is that LSI is able to fit in this slot of search process, widely & wisely capable of enhancing the qualities of any search engine using LSI.