The following is a fantastic awareness campaign that Eileen Fischer created with Fairware for Earth Day.  It offers great brand promotion.   I didn’t even know Eileen Fischer was committed to sustainability and fair trade until I read this snippet from their green promotions vendor Fairware (http://www.fairware.ca).

What a great campaign.

EILEEN FISHER

Eileen Fisher – Earth Day Gift With Purchase

We first connected with EILEEN FISHER, a New York based women’s clothing company, when we were honoured as recipients of their 2006 Business Grant for Women Entrepreneurs.

Eileen Fisher has a deep commitment to community, their supply chain and to guiding their product and practice toward sustaining the environment as reflected in their Social Conscience initiatives.

To celebrate Earth Day 2007, EILEEN FISHER created a Gift with Purchase program with the message “What if we cared about the earth’s water like every drop mattered?” . Their aim: to educate customers about ways to reduce the impact of washing and drying clothes.

A re-usable organic cotton ditty bag (filled with clothes pegs and a Seventh Generation laundry detergent sample) was paired with an EILEEN FISHER hang-tag that outlined 5 tips for reducing the environmental impact of washing.

The program was both brilliant in it’s simplicity and bold in it’s message. Kudos to EILEEN FISHER for empowering their customers to be part of the solution.

So, to support my point.  Barbara Talisman on The Major Gifts Gap.  Note the link between a well and regularly assessed board and a healthy Major Gifts program.

Gap in Your Fundraising Pyramid? – Three Suggestions

July 14, 2010 <!–Barbara Talisman–>

Does your fundraising pyramid look like this? A big gap between your annual donors and campaign/endowment funders? Does it keep you up at night? Do you have lots of opportunity for donor entry without the time or cultivation plan to move them up the pyramid? Are you effectively using all the tools in your fundraising and communications tool box? And maybe you have a few large donors at the top of the pyramid, who, if you lost, would create huge disruption to your funding.

Here’s the thing, we cannot ignore the middle of the pyramid. This gap is critical to the success or failure of our ability to financially support social change. I know you know that. But do you have some solutions? Here are some suggestions:

• When was the last time you assessed and audited your technology, communications, donor base and fundraising plan? I know, no time or money. But if you don’t take the time, your fundraising program will just continue to lose ground or churn. (Maybe that’s keeping you up at night?) We need to use the resources we have wisely or get the right resources to make our work successful and efficient.
• Make a commitment to major gift work. There are lots of ways to get started. Select donors to be a part of the program and your assessment and audit can help you do that (see I told you it was a good idea!). Engage others in the cultivation and solicitation plan (assessment again). COMMIT to reaching these donors ONE on ONE, FACE to FACE on a REGULAR basis.
  
• Engage your Board - or work on re-building the Board. These leaders are the key to the organization’s (and by association your) success. (Another nightmare?) We know we know this….but we have to ACT to make change happen. These tools for assessing your Board can help you move this forward.

If any of this resonates with you, make a commitment to filling your gap in the pyramid. If I can help, let me know.

The following article restates my mantra:  Track all donations, thank all donors, focus on your Portfolio fundraising, be, genuinely, everyone else’s fan, build community and partnerships for the long term, take no one for granted.   I’ve dumped two organizations as clients recently because they would not implement these simple relationship building behaviors.  They could not move past grants, ‘what can I get’, and gala.   Neither of them tracked any donations.  Neither of them could. in integrity, create a communications campaign that got beyond the emotional ‘cry’ of need or beyond what the founder ‘wants’.   It’s embarrassing to be affiliated with any charitable organization that is on the ‘take’.  If I thought it was only a matter of misunderstanding and time, I would have taken different action, but after working with them over time, I realized, they were committed to what they could ‘get’ from people.   Not functional, not ethical, not pretty.   Best practices and management are so vital to good nonprofit relationships.

Get More Out of Your Fundraising Efforts

Let’s face it.  Times couldn’t be tougher for many nonprofits, especially when it comes to raising money.  And in the nonprofit world, things often run in inverse proportion:  The tougher the economy, the greater the need…and the scarcer the resources.  So what can you do to beat the odds and secure the necessary funding to run your programs?

Let’s try a little exercise.  Grab a piece of paper and write down 5 creative ideas for raising a significant amount of money for your organization.  Now, take a look at the list.  What do the 5 items have in common?  If you are like most people, your list is mostly populated by event ideas.  I bet that half of you wrote down a golf tournament!

First of all, there is absolutely nothing wrong with events.  Events, such as golf tournaments, can indeed be successful exercises that raise your organization’s profile, as well as some money.  But events are costly, both in terms of overhead and labor.  Large events can take months to plan, scores of volunteers to pull off…and may or may not end up netting much money.  Nothing like having 6 months of planning go down the drain when it rains on the big day!  If you want to see big improvements in your fundraising ability, you simply must learn to think differently.  Think relational instead of transactional.

Consider how much time and effort went into your last major event.  Now, imagine that same effort strategically targeted toward cultivating a lifetime donor…a fan who loves and supports your mission over the long term.  This single concept, so often ignored, can make the difference between surviving from event to event and having a steady stream of program-sustaining money coming into your nonprofit.  Nothing will net rewards with your donors like relationship building.

But how do you do it?  Here are some key principles you can leverage in building these relationships:

Track all donations. By tracking, I mean know who gave what, when.  That’s where it starts.  Frankly, that is your minimum threshold anyway when it comes to recordkeeping and proper acknowledgement of donations.

Thank your donors. Sincerely, creatively…and often.  Every time they give they should be getting a “thank you” letter letting them know how much their gift is appreciated and what it helps your organization accomplish.  You simply cannot slack on this one.  Studies have shown that donors who are thanked are much more likely to give in the future.  Another tip is to give thanks in the manner the gift was received.  For example, if you got a check by mail, it is best to mail a thank you letter.  If the donation was made online, it is entirely appropriate to acknowledge that donation by like means.  And, don’t send the same letter each time.  Change it up.

Focus on your big donors. Who are your biggest donors?  Hopefully you know this already, but maybe you don’t.  If not, find out.  How often do they give?  Once a year…quarterly…annually?  Is it in response to targeted solicitations or general fund requests?  Once you know these things, then your goal is to find out why they are giving.  You cannot assume this.  Truth be told, you are likely to assume incorrectly anyway.  My Dad’s favorite quote is, “Assumption is the lowest form of knowledge”.  How true!  Spend real time building relationship with these individuals.  Find out what motivates their giving.  Take the time to forge real bonds with these people.  You will be amazed how far this can go.

Make fans of everyone else. You do that by communicating often.  Start a newsletter.  Let your supporters know what is happening with your organziation…your successes, your plans, your needs.  Just be careful how you communicate need.  People much prefer to give to vision, not bills.  Explain what their giving can help you achieve with regard to your mission.  Don’t tell them you need support so you can afford rent.  Message is everything.

Using your time and energy to build relationships will go much farther in the long run to help you establish a stable support base.  Once you have done this, then you are in a much better position to return your attention to events and other transactional fundraising efforts.

With acknowledgments to fundraising consultant (and our good friend), Sandy Rees, who teaches these concepts at our Nonprofit Boot Camps.

The Founder or Executive Director often thinks, they are running the show.  They are not.  If they maintain that course, they are going to make a lot of people, ie. staff, donors, community, clientele, board members, very unhappy over time.

Beth Kanter’s latest social media blog post speaks to how to use social media to stop doing it all yourself.   As she so astutely points out, if you don’t think you have time to explore social media, you may be creating quite a crisis for yourself down the road.   And, why would you think YOU have to create your social media structure and campaign structure yourself anyway?  You’re not even qualified.

Get resourceful.  Create a task force.  Create an entire committee and give them a goal.  A great goal to give them would be a “We want to raise $25,000 via social media in the next (whatever time frame).   Get on it.”  goal.   And of course, you’d want to enroll and enlist people to that task force that would love playing that game.   Not you, the founder, who thinks social media is something your grandchild does when he should be, well, whatever you think he should be doing.   I mean how long does it take to create a good committee.  Well if you go to your existing board and lazily expect them to reorganize themselves into a new function, well, you’ll never get a social media program going.  If you give the matter just half an ounce of thought, you’ll realize,  we can create this committee and recruit some spectacular local talent, they get to know us, we get to know them.  Our board is educated as well left unburdened.  We have fresh dynamic energy flowing the the top layer of our organization for the duration of the project, win, win, win, win, win!  Don’t burden your board with yet another task.  Bring them a present and don’t let them turn the present down.   Think for a minute on what you want social networking to do for your organization and assign a team of fresh people to get it done.

Beth’s articles are always on the leading edge, relevant, related and implementable.  http://www.bethkanter.org/simplicity-netnon/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bethblog+%28Beth%27s+Blog%29 Enjoy.

Using Social Media To Accomplish More With Less

I don’t have time for social media

Join me on Tuesday, July 14 at 1 PM EST/1o am PST for a webinar hosted by Networked for Good “Using Social Media to Accomplish More with Less.”    It’s free and three lucky participants will win a copy of the book.  I’ll be talking about some of themes in the book and sharing some tips for streamlining your social media use.

One of the most common questions I hear is when I do workshops is, “How much time does it take to do social media?”.  It is usually followed by an observation that the organization is so resourced and time strapped that they can’t invest time doing anything that doesn’t provide an immediate and maximized return.   So, they don’t go further with their social media.  A common mistake.

One of the thing that Networked Nonprofits have in common is simplicity.   It clarifies organizations and forces them to focus their energy on what they do best, while leveraging resources of their networks for the rest.   Simplicity powers more informal connections between people, blurs boundaries, and enables nonprofits to scale efforts better than a single organization could.

Embracing simplicity helps nonprofits move from scarcity lens to that of abundance and allows them to leverage their networks through social media.  Here’s a couple of examples:

The SFSPCA has connected with social media savvy volunteers that now create content and manage some of their social media channels such as the Litter Did You Know blog and YouTube Channel.

Los Angeles Universal Preschool Parent Ambassadors on Facebook

Los Angeles Universal Preschool mission is to make voluntary, high-quality preschool available to every 4-year-old in Los Angeles County, regardless of their family’s income.  They have a group of parent ambassadors who work on land to spread the word about high quality preschool.  This group also has a Facebook Fan Page where they provide the same role online.

Preschool California uses Twitter to connect with journalists.  They discovered that Tweets are more informal, less time consuming than email so journalists may be more likely to read.   Despite only having a few interactions with reporters, Preschool California still retweeted and commented on a number of articles, garnering responses from other advocates and interested Twitter users, which helped increase their issue exposure to a larger audience that focus on early childhood education and are using Twitter.

Using social media can help nonprofits find people and other organizations with good ideas an interest in working together.  This is the leverage that they need to stop doing everything alone while ensure that a lot is getting done in their networks.     These organizations and people are right there, in the network, on Facebook or Twitter, waiting to connect with and support your organization’s efforts.

How are you using social media to accomplish more with less?  Have a story?   Leave it in the comments below and win a free copy of the book or this nifty Networked Nonprofit t-shirt created by NTEN.

The following are many examples of Benevon programs, trainings and resources.

July 12, 2010

It happens. Five years ticks by quickly. Before you know it, those wonderful donors who made those generous five-year pledges (of $1,000 or more per year) to join your Multiple-Year Giving Society™ just made their third year’s pledge payments and no one from your organization has gotten to know them yet. In fact, they are still complete strangers to you. Take this as a serious wake-up call and get to work. Set up your donor cultivation plan now, starting with the donors who are nearest to the end of their five-year pledge payoff cycle. If you don’t get to know them and cultivate them systematically now, you will lose most of them at the end of the five years, if not before. I’m always surprised when people tell us they don’t want to “bother” these loyal Multiple-Year Giving Society Donors. They think they should invoice them dutifully each year, call them at the start of the sixth year, and ask them to re-up on their pledge. That is precisely the opposite of what is needed. The whole purpose of having donors who make five-year pledges at this level is not for your organization’s financial security. After all, if a donor does not pay their annual pledge, you are not going to take legal action against them. Rather, the purpose of the giving society is to identify those donors who want to be closer to the organization. They don’t have to make a five-year pledge. They could give the same amount one year at a time. By opting into your giving society they are communicating something critical: they want to give to your organization, they want to stay connected to you over the next five years, and they expect you to give them updates, ask for their advice, and include them in major milestones that the organization is facing. To read the rest of this article, please visit our Current Feature Web page. This article is available until July 25, 2010.

Message From Terry Axelrod Five Tips for Cultivating Expiring Pledge Donors Get to know your expiring pledge donors.
Announcements Benevon Monthly Introductory Session Conference Call Join us for this special call on July 22. Getting to Benevon 101: Building Your Team and Finding the Funding Join us for this special call on August 24. Conference Call for Implementing the Benevon Model in These Challenging Economic Times Join us for this special call on August 25.
Ask Terry Acknowledging Donors Who Don’t Want Communication Recognizing donors who don’t wish to receive e-mails or phone calls.
Coaching for Sustainability Sharon Ervine Table Captain Backfill.
Introductory Sessions September 8—Tampa, Florida

Benevon Monthly Introductory Session Conference Call Learn how to become more effective at inspiring others about the mission of your favorite nonprofit organization and to leave a legacy of sustainable funding. This conference call will introduce you to the Benevon Model—a systematic process for engaging and developing relationships with individual donors. Listen and ask questions about how to customize this model to the unique needs of your nonprofit. You are encouraged to invite other staff, board members, and volunteers to engage them in this practical and effective new approach. Join us for the Benevon Monthly Introductory Session Conference Call on July 22.

Getting to Benevon 101: Building Your Team and Finding the Funding The two biggest challenges groups face once they decide they want to implement the model and come to Benevon 101 are putting together a team and finding funding. This call will give you practical tips and solutions for how to overcome both of these challenges. Current Benevon participants will talk about how they tackled these issues, got their team to Benevon 101, and are now on their way to sustainable funding. Join us for the Getting to Benevon 101 call on August 24.

Conference Call for Implementing the Benevon Model in These Challenging Economic Times Join us for a special conference call to learn about how to implement the Benevon Model to build sustainable funding for your nonprofit during these challenging economic times. Learn how to engage your community in your organization’s mission and to inspire giving, even in a lagging economy. Listen and ask questions as our alumni guest speakers from other nonprofit organizations discuss their success with this no-pressure, mission-centered approach. Join us for this Conference Call for Implementing the Benevon Model in These Challenging Economic Times on August 25.

Q: How do we handle long-term, extremely generous donors who want absolutely no communication (i.e., letters, direct mail, newsletters, etc.)? Do we even attempt to call them and acknowledge their generosity, or just accept that they want no contact? Michelle in Minnesota A: Begin by asking more questions about this donor. How did you determine that they do not want any contact? How long ago was their most recent donation, and when were they last contacted by someone at your organization? Use the person at your organization that is closest to the donor to re-connect with them, using the medium they prefer (e.g., phone, e-mail, mail). It’s possible that this donor may be OK with an occasional one-on-one contact, but would just prefer to avoid more general communication, such as newsletters and direct mail.

For information about submitting Ask Terry questions, read our guidelines for submission.

Our fundraising coaches inspire and motivate nonprofit organizations of all sizes and types. This week, Benevon Curriculum Director Sharon Ervine discusses Table Captain Backfill Strategy. I often stress to my groups the importance of the Table Captain Backfill Strategy, because it is such an excellent method for both filling your Point of Entry® Events and ensuring that you have enough “ripened fruit” at your Ask Event™. This strategy involves having all of your Table Captains invite guests to Points of Entry prior to the Ask Event, so that the people at their tables have all been introduced to your organization and cultivated. Here are some important tips for successfully implementing this strategy: : Work with each Table Captain to establish goals and specific deadlines for achieving these goals. Give each Table Captain a deadline for having all of their guests attend a Point of Entry. Aim for having all guests attend by six to eight weeks prior to the Ask Event, so that you have time to follow up and cultivate each guest. Give them cards with dates of your regularly scheduled Point of Entry Events for them to pass out to their guests. Encourage them to host a private Point of Entry in a Box for their guests at their office, home, etc. They can partner with another Table Captain to co-host a Point of Entry. Learn more about Sharon and our other coaches on our Meet the Coaches page.

We currently have live, in-person sessions and conference calls open for registration, including: September 8 —Tampa, FL For information about in-person sessions in your area, go to our Introductory Session calendar. For conference call listings in your area, go to our Conference Call Calendar. Watch our free online video, Seventeen Minutes to Sustainable Funding.

This is one thing heartfelt cause-driven nonprofits often leave out of their thinking.   Asking for money is really not about what you can get.  It’s about what you are offering your donor, in the way of a social engagement, an opportunity to make a tangible or direct difference for someone, an opportunity to engage in a community they would otherwise not have access to, all kinds of opportunities the list is endless.   Instead, amateur fundraisers still give out their need-based cry of  “HELP US!”  and the donors all say… “Again?”

We have now entered the Social Media era, which is experience driven, so, offering books, calendars, chachkis will only work on the over 60 crowd and I guess a couple of other people who like ‘stuff’.   But, for the rest of us we want to KNOW our dollars did SOMETHING.  So, include us in an experience, take us with you on a service run whether by video or by an authentic photo in our thank you letter.   Show us THE toothbrush you handed a homeless person and some smiles.   Let us choose the country we are going to provide assistance to.   This kind of donor care takes effort, but it can save you millions in postage in no response Direct Mail letters.

Your donors are worth attending to.  The average online gift is $83 dollars.   You can offer your donors a much higher level of participation by connecting to them online.   At the very least, establish a competent task force that begins to move your organization to creative, high level, on-line donor participation.  It will really provide a higher level of creative stewardship and donor appreciation in all of your fundraising programs.

In true social media form I’m stealing a post from Barbara Talisman, who borrowed her gems for her post from Author and Fundraising Veteran, Doug Lawson.  Enjoy and learn from two pinnacles of fundraising on The How of being a Great Fundraiser.  http://talismantol.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/great-fundraiser-2/

To Be a Great Fundraiser – Thanks Douglas Lawson

July 8, 2010 <!–Barbara Talisman–>

Continuing on my thoughts about being a great fundraiser, I have been inspired by a generous sharer Chris Brogan in the previous post and today by an icon in the nonprofit sector, Dr. Douglas M. Lawson, Founding Chairman of Lawson Associates, Inc.

I had the great, good fortune to hear Dr. Lawson speak about the art of being a great fundraiser. This is not the first time I heard Doug speak. I was fortunate to learn from him early in my fundraising career. I have a resource file and STILL have a copy of his article “The Artful Asker” published in Fund Raising Management, April 1996. It is one resource I have kept all these years because it stands the test of time. Doug writes about what makes a successful major gift fundraiser. And if you have not read his book, More Give to Live: How Giving Can Change Your Life, get it and read it now!

To follow up from my post on Nonprofit Fundraising = Confidence and Conviction – Doug shared his vast experience and inspired ideas about how and what it takes to be a great fundraiser. (Italics are my additions)

Doug shared what he thinks (and I agree!) are the skills needed to be a great fundraiser:

• It’s helpful to have a humanities background
• Some finance background is good – But can certainly be learned
• Sales and marketing focus – We must be able to communicate our message effectively
• Life of giving is necessary – This rule must start with us. How can we ask, train or empower others to give when we have not done so ourselves or can understand the power and feeling you get from making a gift that makes a difference?

Doug says GREAT fundraisers:

• Listen more than they talk – It is ALL about donor interests and we need to find out what they are.
• Participate in cultivation and solicitation process – As well as supporting, train and lead volunteers
• Inspire and inform – Doug talks about offering opportunities – not about asking for a gift.
• Experience the joy of giving – see above on a life of giving

Doug inspired and engaged me while he talked. He shared generously of his experiences, mistakes and successes. One of his many pearls of wisdom,

“Fundraisers don’t ask for money, we offer opportunities.”

It was like a lightning bolt – for many years I have said we (fundraisers) offer opportunities and education. NOW I remember, it was Doug Lawson who said the same thing at a session I attended when I was a new fundraiser many, many years ago. It stuck in my brain. At the time, I may not have fully comprehended what he was saying. Today, I know what it means, practice offering opportunity all the time and inspire volunteers, leaders and donors to do the same.

If you see Doug Lawson on a conference roster, hear about him speaking somewhere near you – run, do not walk, to learn from him! He is a great fundraiser and generous speaker. I have always been energized, excited and honored to be a fundraiser – Doug reminded me why.

http://freelancefolder.com/characteristics-of-a-good-client/, Posted March 9, 2009 in Business, Marketing 40 Comments »

Do you know the key characteristics of a good client?   Can you distinguish the good clients from the bad before you start working for them?

Or, when the tables are turned, do you have what it takes to become a good client when your business expands and you’re ready to hire other freelancers?

Here are ten characteristics of a good client:

1. Communicates expectations clearly. The number one characteristic of a good client is that they are able to express what they want and need. This ability is vital for a freelancer to deliver the right product or service. A freelancer can’t deliver what wasn’t asked for.
2. Allows a reasonable amount of time for the work. The freelancing world is filled with clients who want it “yesterday.” Often, what these clients actually get is a rushed job full of mistakes and needing a lot of rework. A good client, however, understands that quality work takes time and plans accordingly.
3. Available for questions. While most freelancers can and do work independently, there’s nothing more frustrating for a freelancer than being surprised by an obstacle and being unable to reach the client. Smart clients know that it’s cheaper to get it right the first time than to fix it later. They make themselves available.
4. Pays a fair amount for work required. A bargain is a bargain, except when it’s not. Often paying less than market rate for work results in getting work of less than average quality. That’s because a freelancer who works on the cheap often must take on more work than they can really do well just to make ends meet.
5. Pays in a timely fashion. Discuss your payment terms with the freelancer before the project begins and then honor those terms. If you say that you will pay within x days of the project’s completion, be sure to pay that amount within that timeframe. Don’t make the freelancer beg you for their payment. You could ruin your professional reputation and even your credit history.
6. Has high integrity. Honesty is at the core of every successful business relationship. Conduct all of your business in an honest and transparent fashion. Not only is this a great way to conduct yourself in general, it will also enhance your business reputation.
7. Allows the freelancer to do their job. If you’ve hired the right person, then they possess the talent and skill to do the job well. Keep an open mind about what your freelancer proposes. Don’t be constantly second-guessing your freelancer’s abilities.
8. Seeks an ongoing relationship. The best clients understand the value of an ongoing relationship. They don’t want to have to “break-in” a new freelancer with each new project that they have.
9. Gives credit where credit is due. While it’s not always possible to give a freelancer authorship credit for a product or service, a discerning client notices when a freelancer puts in extra effort or goes the extra mile in a project.
10. Committed to quality. Most freelancers take pride in their work and want to produce high quality work. They dislike it when a client asks them to take shortcuts.

How do you stack up?

Can you recognize these traits in your potential customers? What characteristic of a good client would you add to this list?

When you’re the client, how do you stack up? What could you change about your business to become a better client?

Give us your thoughts in the comments.

About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts

7 Effective Facebook Advertising Techniques for Brands and Direct Marketers

ReadyTalk offers this free archived presentation on maximizing a Facebook Ad.  You may have to scroll down the page to find it.

http://www.readytalk.com/web-seminar-series/archived.php

One of  the easiest and most responsible things a fundraising nonprofit can do is set up the simplest of social media, brandbuilding, fundraising and community message and relationship tools.  You only need two or three good ones.  Beth Kanter is THE social media strategist for the countries biggest nonprofits, and smallest.

http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/five-essential-apps-for-your-nonprofits-facebook-page/

http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-nonprofit-admins-on-facebook/

A standard set of fundraising programs are a Major Giving program, a Bequests and Planned Giving program, a Community Builder fundraising program (your Social Media structure is at the heart of this), an Organized Volunteer program, a Corporate Matching program.  Merchandise Sales, Community Events.

Some notes on effective Social Media Fundraising: http://blueskycollaborative.typepad.com/blog/2009/07/top-10-reasons-why-your-nonprofit-should-have-a-viral-fundraising-campaign.html

Some notes on developing any fundraising program: http://ecsg.alliance1.org/content/taking-your-planned-giving-program-idea-reality

Two things inspired this blog post, one is Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s remarks as she accepted her Four Freedoms Award last week from the Roosevelt Institute.  Two was an article I picked up at an Amnesty International awareness and fundraising event for the challenges of being an artist in Iraq a year ago.

The Roosevelt Institute declares themselves an organization that ‘carries forward the Roosevelt legacy by supporting emerging leaders and strengthening progressive ideas.’  The four freedoms they champion are Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear.   They are an organization that supports integrity and intelligent practice for public policy students and professionals.

This particular Amnesty International ‘article’ has human rights starting in 1948 with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights championed by Eleanor Roosevelt and adopted by UN member countries in December of 1948.

The article also identifies the further declarations that have been created for specific groups of people since that original declaration of human rights, the rights for all races, women’s rights, rights of a child, rights of migrant workers, the rights of Minorities which wasn’t declared until 1992 and the rights of persons with disabilities established in 2006.

The latest two are protection for enforced disappearance (not yet in force) proposed in 2006 and in finally the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People’s declared in 2007.

While I personally object to the alarmist tone of Amnesty International,  no one does what they do at the level they do it.  They raise awareness, powerfully, fast and with the intention of getting results.  No one else uses organizational resources to publish the Declaration of Human Rights 60 years after its inception except Amnesty International.  In writing this article I am profoundly grateful for this organization and the work they do.  I also have admired over the years Amnesty International’s fundraising model, hosting awareness raising events and giving people who are living ordinary lives an opportunity to experience the challenges that the ‘unordinary’ are facing and a reminder that the basic human priviledges so many of us experience, are the right of every human and yet in this world not every human has had access to a basic human experience.

Here are the rights of each and every human as stated in the Universal  Declaration of Human Rights as listed on the web page of the United Nations’ Office of the High Commission on Human Rights.  These rights can be found there translated in 350 languages.

Article 1

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11

1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14

1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15

1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16

1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21

1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23

1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26

1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27

1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.