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Becca Nelson Final Project for TechMission Corps 7/12/2010. Documenting What Works. What works?. Everybody think about things that “work” at your site Fundraising that’s worked Marketing or PR that’s worked Event planning that’s worked Emailing/Communicating that’s worked
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Becca Nelson Final Project for TechMission Corps 7/12/2010 Documenting What Works
What works? • Everybody think about things that “work” at your site • Fundraising that’s worked • Marketing or PR that’s worked • Event planning that’s worked • Emailing/Communicating that’s worked • Curriculum that’s worked • Examples?
Who else knows? • Scenario A: Recently something worked really well for you at your site. A particular curriculum, a particular fund-raising website or communications software really fit the organization’s need and did the job. From the sounds of it, this is a big deal, since there’s never been such success before. • Steps to take: • Pat yourself on the back! That worked! Great! • Think: Where are you recording this information? Who else knows it worked? Who else might want to use a similar solution? What if you left the organization in a month?...
What NOT to do • Biggest pitfalls: • Not documenting what works for you. • Writing documentation and putting documents all over the place (paper copies, digital copies, in various folders, other people’s desks..) • Writing documentation and putting it somewhere obscure in some hidden folder no one knows about.
What TO do: • Think about what works for you • Especially think about things that only you really know • Document. • Might be video, print, audio. • Figure out a place to STORE the documentation. • Folders, Network Drives, Website, Email Folders. • Find a way to promote and tell others about the documentation • Mass email, word-of-mouth to your coworkers..
What I did • Found out where current documentation was. • Reviewed current documentation. • Looked for areas I knew a lot about or for holes that weren’t being covered.
What I did (continued) • Changed/edited areas I was proficient in. • Saved my changes (as I edited) in a separate document with my initials on it. • NOTE: THIS is important! Make sure not to edit existing work and lose the older documentation.
What I did (continued) • Added new things that I had learned, things that WORKED. • Saved Changes.
What I did (continued) • Updated the Table of Contents • Let the other people on my team know that I had updated the manual. • THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT!!
Stuff I included • Passwords no one else knew • Locations of documents not inside the manual • Instructions on entire processes (like using a specific database or tool • Tips and Tricks that worked for me • Templates
About Templates Hi, my name is Becca and I work for ChristianVolunteering.org. We're a volunteer-match site (like a job-search website only for volunteering) for Christians. We try to connect people with short – term, long term and virtual opportunities both locally and abroad, as well as internships and work study programs…
Hi Becca, Thank you for your e-mail! Yes, let’s set up a conference call and see how we can partner together. I think that’s a great idea. When would be a good time for you? This week on Wednesday or Thursday works well for me. Thanks! Larissa Church Engagement I 443.451.1976 I 7 E Baltimore St Baltimore, MD 21202
How about YOU? • Are you saving email templates? • Are you making sure people have info for after you leave? • If you got abducted by space aliens, would someone else be able to do your job?