Can the Metaverse help nonprofits with fundraising, marketing, and recruiting volunteers?
Some people seem to think so!
I wanted to do something a little bit different with this video, and that is to have a conversation
with you, my dear Changemakers.
In part because I am far from an expert on the Metaverse and how it works and what it
means and all of its implications, and I actually think that you all will be able to offer some
helpful insights.
And I hope that you will do that in the comments below.
If we haven't met, my name is Amber Melanie Smith.
I am a Nonprofit Founder and Executive Director.
I make videos on YouTube all about nonprofits, social impact, social change, fundraising,
etc.
My videos are often How-Tos, and educational, and this is going to have a little bit of
that, but as I said before, I hope to make it a conversation - so join in, weigh in,
tell me what you think about this idea of using the Metaverse to promote good causes,
to help with social change, to help nonprofits, definitely share your thoughts.
And if you're looking for a little bit more information about me, and what I do, and perhaps
get some training and resources, check out my website, FounderToFullTime.com.
Okay, I'm not gonna lie, I am still kind of grappling with this Metaverse concept and
how it all works, and its existential implications for humanity and human connection, and all
that good stuff.
Anything - Anything new that seems like it could possibly have the potential to make
a difference in the world and promote and further good and important social change initiatives
and social causes is something I'm going to be interested in, and that's why I picked
this topic today.
It's just something that's just emerging in the dialogue in the nonprofit world - we're
at the very beginning of the conversation, and I think it's just fascinating to consider
the possibilities.
So, welcome on the Metaverse train in the discussion about this topic.
And perhaps depending on how things go, it won't be the last.
A couple things on my mind as we get into this.
I consider myself a fairly tech-savvy person, but I will not be that person who is like
the first in line to get the latest phone.
I am not a first adopter.
I usually wait for people to like figure it out a little bit first before I try something,
but pretty tech-savvy.
I am also thinking about how I know and the research really demonstrates how important
and critical human connection is to furthering important social change initiatives.
So all of that is on my mind as we enter into this conversation.
So I'm coming into this with a little bit of a lack of full, complex understanding and
also a healthy dose of skepticism that something like the Metaverse is going to allow for sufficient
human connection to further social change initiatives.
So, let's get into that with that perspective in mind.
All that said, with my questions, my many questions, and my healthy skepticism aside,
there are many nonprofit researchers and institutions who are starting to contemplate this question
and put out articles on this topic.
So I am going to share some of the thoughts about how the Metaverse could be used for
good instead of evil.
For those of you who had to do some initial research on how people are actually defining
what the Metaverse even is, let's take a look at that first.
So, according to Wired Magazine, the Metaverse can include much of cyberspace, but I have
found it helpful to think of it as essentially an interconnected virtual reality world.
This is largely going to be nothing new to those who are already pretty into gaming.
How it works is you might have an avatar - or like an animated representation of you, the
character, the person - who interacts in one virtual landscape or world over here, made
by one company or group, and then, they are interconnected, so you can actually hop over
to another one over here, and it's this whole connected dimension of worlds that you can
interact with virtually.
This could mean that you could carry digital items, so, an inventory, or clothing that
your avatar is wearing.
You could attend virtual events or meetings, you could play games, etc.
There is even emerging discussion about how it will yield its own sort of Metaverse economy
with people buying and selling digital goods.
So, let's get into what that means for Nonprofits and how nonprofits might be able to tap into
some of this, hopefully to further their cause.
In a recent article, Nonprofit Tech for Good commented that nonprofits need to be the "early
explorers of the Metaverse" and get in on this early.
They commented that, at least at this stage, as I record this we're at the beginning of
2022, at least at this stage, nonprofits are fairly nonexistent within the Metaverse, and
the article goes on to note that this is a problem, because if we want the Metaverse
to be used for social good, then nonprofits need to get in there early to help shape that
and use their voice to influence the direction of the initiatives.
So let's say you are thinking about getting your nonprofit or grassroots initiative or
social change or social impact project involved in the Metaverse - what are some of the ways
you might actually practically use the Metaverse to further your cause?
Let's talk about that.
One major area for potential is nonprofit fundraising.
You know, nonprofits are already doing a lot more virtual events, virtual fundraising,
so this would just be a little bit further investment into something like that.
But theoretically you could hold galas, or concerts, or conferences within the Metaverse
and use those as nonprofit fundraisers.
You could do auctions or raffles for items in the Metaverse as fundraisers for your organization,
just like you would in the real world.
I don't know why I did quotes, the real world is definitely real.
And then of course potentially you could sell merchandise, digital goods, or NFTs in the
Metaverse too; lots of people are already selling NFTs to benefit charity, so similar
concept here, except in the Metaverse.
Another way nonprofits might use the Metaverse that I think is interesting and probably would
require some creativity but I think that there's some really innovative potential here is in
the realm of volunteer recruitment or volunteer management.
Virtual volunteering or online volunteering has been a thing for several years, even before
the COVID-19 pandemic already, but it really has been in the spotlight during the pandemic
as people try to figure out how to help the causes they care about when they can't leave
their house and need to use technology to connect with others.
So this warrants some further investigation and if you are already in the Metaverse or
have some additional experience that I don't have, I'd love to kind of hear how some different
volunteer activities could play out in a Metaverse environment.
I can already see possibly some virtual volunteering happening in there, things like leading educational
workshops or educating people about a cause, or spreading the word about something, leading
one of the fundraisers I just mentioned, using your skills to have meetings where you work
out a problem, but I'd be really interested to hear some of your ideas.
And another area that Nonprofit Tech for Good and others are proposing that the Metaverse
could help out nonprofits is in marketing.
For example, nonprofits could purchase digital ad space or billboards within the Metaverse.
Nonprofits could host educational activities, I mentioned workshops earlier, trainings for
their team members, opportunities for people to come learn more in-depth about global or
community wide issues.
Perhaps there's even some opportunities to create simulations or games that people can
play to better understand an issue.
There are already games and you know online - and I guess you could do some of them in
person as simulations too - to help people understand what it's like to live below the
poverty line, or live with food insecurity, so it would be interesting to see if there
are opportunities to create these experiences that allow people to build empathy and understanding
of a social issue through the Metaverse as well.
So, share all your thoughts - what are you thinking?
What are some creative ways that nonprofits could explore or be a part of or help build
the Metaverse Share in the comments below.
What ideas do you have that are not on this list?
Are you a healthy skeptic like I am about how all this could work?
Let me know!
I will just be fascinated to read all your thoughts about this emerging topic.
Before I close out this video, a couple things to wrap up - as I mentioned before, check
out my website for more information about me and the things I do at FounderToFullTime.com.
I have a newsletter, if you are interested in getting resources like funding opportunities,
or articles about the latest social impact and nonprofit trends, the link to subscribe
to that is below, you can check that out and subscribe and opt out any time.
I also have a group on Facebook, Change the World or Bust if you would like to join our
community of changemakers from all around the world, come on and join us and I hope
to see you there.
Once again, I'm Amber Melanie Smith, and I hope to see you next time!
Bye!