It’s the morning after #GG24.
I don’t know what the final figures are yet, but we didn’t hit our fundraising goal. I think we probably added about $2500 to the roughly $5500 that @GlobalPatriot and his event teams raised for Doctors Without Borders.
It is still September as I write this, and if for some reason you haven’t already donated to Doctors Without Boarders, you still can via 12for12K.org. Just hover over events in the nav bar and choose “Go Global 24 – Contribute”. All donations large and small are welcome. Together they all make a difference in the lives of people less fortunate than you and I.
While missing our fundraising goal is disappointing, I think everyone involved (and I do mean “everyone” – I’ll get to that below) can hold their heads high this morning. We accomplished alot, both for 12for12K and for Doctors Without Borders.
In the weeks and days that led up to #GG24, and for the 24 hours during which the event took place, we made alot of new friends. I have no idea how many — but I watched the stream pretty closely and there were constantly new faces tweeting and retweeting about #GG24 and #12for12K. At times, the pace of tweets became impossible to follow. They literally came pouring in – from all over the world.
With help from Henie’s #GlobalKindness network, #12for12K really has become a global movement – with a global reach. I’m not sure I’m ready to call it a “tipping point” just yet, but through #GG24 I have no doubt that we have taken a major step toward achieving Danny’s new “Connect Globally, Help Locally” vision for #12for12K.
Nobody on the #GG24 team had any experience organizing anything like this before. There were infinite unknowns and many unforeseen obstacles placed in our path. We had plenty of frustrating and demoralizing moments — and plenty of opportunities to postpone, or to cancel altogether. Frankly, giving up would have been alot easier. But we didn’t. We put ourselves on the line, risking failure and embarrassment, because — as #12for12K’ers — we happen to believe in something bigger than ourselves. I’m guessing the critics out there (you know: the one’s who have already forgotten more about fundraising than we will ever know) are gloating. But the truth is that they don’t matter. Being a critic is easy. Try something new (and it was all new), on a global scale, is not.
“To experiment, to fail, to learn and to try again. To never give up. To sacrifice. To persevere. To overcome. To succeed.” If that isn’t a recipe for personal and organizational success, I don’t know what is. And although I’ve never seen it articulated by #12for12K, I have certainly seen it demonstrated. I think we owe that to Danny’s vision, but it also says alot about the character of the people demonstrating it. We have already learned from #GG24 and will apply those lessons to future #12for12K events.
Over the course of the past couple of weeks, we’ve heard alot of nice things said about the people who comprised the #GG24 team. And I know we often have nice things to say about one another. I think I am speaking for the team when I say that we have deeply appreciated the love and support that has come our way, but — at the end of the day — EVERYONE who came together around the event and who tweeted, retweeted, blogged, DM’d, skyped, phoned, emailed, volunteered, donated, sponsored and otherwise supported 12for12K deserves our deep thanks and appreciation. Without you, we’re just five enthusiastic #12for12K voices. With you, we are a growing, global philanthropic movement. This isn’t about individuals. It’s about what we can accomplish together, by giving whatever and however we can. So thank you!
One danger in thanking individuals, especially when there is a whole whack of individuals… is that you will overlook someone. I have no doubt that as the 24 hours of #GG24 wore on; as the volume of tweets ebbed and flowed throughout the day, as we spotted familiar faces in a sea of new faces, as our attention was spread over many todo’s and minor crises, and as we began suffering from sleep deprivation… We missed a few (maybe more than a few) opportunities to thank someone. If that someone was you, please don’t feel slighted — and please do accept the #GG24 team’s sincere apology. It was a long and challenging couple of days, and we are only human.
I’ll wrap here with some final thoughts about the non-financial goals and successes of #GG24.
The #GG24 team set out to show “the world” that #12for12K is as fun and diverse and inclusive and passionate a group of people to belong to as any you can find. I don’t know if we succeeded. It’s hard to be objective. We made alot of new friends out of perfect strangers and our ranks have swelled in number.
The whole point of attempting to get the entire 24-hour event sponsored was to free all of us from the need to repeatedly ask all of our followers for a small donation…all over again. Selling out our entire inventory of sponsorships was entirely optimistic. So was any hope (at this stage) of sponsors competitively bidding against one another. But we did sell some sponsorships and we learned alot about sponsored events in the process. This is a model that clearly will work, in time. Our sponsors really do deserve a shout out for so willingly taking part our little experiment. I will follow up with each of them personally in the days ahead.
We set out to strengthen our global network, not just build it. If my own experience with #GG24 is any measure, then I know we succeeded. I’ve met many new people, engaged with others who were previously just mutual follows, gotten to know passing acquaintances better, developed new friendships and have bonded for life with a handful of really incredible human beings. I’ve learned more about who people are, what they do, and what they stand for than I possibly could have under any other circumstances. In other words, my involvement with #12for12K is of great benefit to me personally and professionally, which, by default, unquestionably strengthens #12for12K’s network…multiplied by the number of people who had similar experiences through #GG24, and have through #12for12K on an ongoing basis.
In the process of conceptualizing and planning #GG24, we also realized that we needed to improve #12for12K communications. We took some steps decent steps forward, and learned a whole lot, but have a long way to go. The good news is that every future #12for12K event or campaign will benefit from applying what we’ve learned and implemented. One day, in future, I have no doubt that we, as a movement, will be unstoppable.
So. that’s it.
What are your views? What worked? What could we have done better, and how? If we could improve one thing for future events, what would it be? All constructive criticism is both welcome and encouraged.
XOJA
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: #12for12K, #DWB, #GG24, Doctors Without Borders, Events, Fundraiser, Fundraising, Lessons learned, networking, Philanthropic, Philanthropy, Social Media, social networking, Social Networks, Success, twitter
