The team, which consists of Heather Baxter of GENI, Derek Curtis of Bond Solutions, Mark Easby of Better Brand Agency, Lisa Forster of Angelfysh and Marianne Whitfield of Cobweb, will be swimming 5,000 metres on April 16 to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The group, whose businesses are all based in the North East, met on Twitter and decided to take part in the Swimathon. The swim will take approximately three hours to complete and the team, aptly named the Twimmers, is hoping to raise over £1,000 for the charity.

Derek Curtis said: “We all use Twitter for business purposes and we had been talking for a while previous to agreeing to participate in the Swimathon. We were all discussing getting fit and the idea of participating in the event was mentioned and we all jumped at the chance.

“It just shows how social media is bringing businesses together and can provide a great platform to network with others in the region. I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

ENDS

Notes:
The team is now busy training for the Swimathon. You can sponsor them at http://my.artezglobal.com/TeamPage.aspx?teamID=33848&langPref=en-CA .

Twitter is now one of the UK’s leading social networking sites with over 58 million members. It is a micro blogging site where users can interact and post ‘tweets’ of up to 140 characters.

As with any business in a recession charities need to be where their audience is or they run the risk of being left behind, and it’s clear some smaller charities are struggling to change lanes and adopt social media as a key part of their strategy. Some charities, however, have made the leap and have been reaping the rewards of new social opportunities.

Age Concern with partner Innocent Smooties developed ‘The Big Knit’. Started in 2003 the campaign has raised, to date, over £600k for older people in the colder winter months. The campaign now includes Flickr, YouTube and Blog channels which enable the people who’ve got behind the campaign to be part of the story. Clever widgets such as the ‘Hatometer’, which can be embedded into supporters blogs and websites, shows how many hats have been knitted so far.The founder of the Charity: Water, a not-for-profit dedicated to bringing clean water to impoverished villages in Africa, got an e-mail from Amanda Rose, a British woman who wanted to test the idea that Twitter, with its 30 million users, might be able to raise money. Twestivals were set up by local volunteers of Twitter users in 200 cities across the world who organised parties, concerts and gathering raising $250,000 in four days (check out http://newcastle.twestival.com for the North East Twestival). The Twestival ethos has been picked up by local Twitter users who have used the concept to raise money for local charities.

Macmillan Cancer Support What’s New? community was developed to build a support network around both the charity, cancer sufferers and their families. It shares information, provides a forum for people to share experiences, ask questions and connect with each other. They also use it to highlight events and campaigns, recruit volunteers and raise money.

The key is using the community around the charity to develop valuable social capital in a win, win scenario. The charity wins because it reaches a much wider audience with its message and hits its campaign target, the partner/sponsor wins because it leverages its brand in innovative positive ways to new audiences. The community wins because it gets behind a charity, has fun and raises much needed cash.

So, how can smaller charities and not-for-profits with far less resources use social media?

Firstly, it’s important to understand that pretty much everything a charity currently does to raise awareness, educate and raise money is transposable and can be given real power with some essential social media tools.

Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, Flickr and YouTube are key tools for getting your message out there and getting people to follow, and be part of, charity activities. Each channel can be set up easily and provide a digital presence for the charity as well as offering separate pages for individual campaigns. Together they can significantly improve the overall visibility of the charity online and help develop a diverse support community around the charity. Having corporate sponsors of your social media channels also provides sponsorship opportunities that can generate revenue for the charity.

Twitter, the micro blogging platform, is superb at building a charity’s profile and that of the people who work within it. To get the most out of Twitter here’s a couple  things to consider before setting up a profile for your charity.

- Define “influence” (What do you want to say)
- Establish Your Angle (Who are you targeting)
- Make it Easy to Get Involved
- Do not use Twitter to BROADCAST your brand message
- Focus Beyond Tweets, send people to where they can join you or donate

Engage with people. Social capital, the good you generate by connecting with people and sharing knowledge, ideas and thoughts is at the heart of social media. The amount you give of yourself is comparable to what will come back to you when you need help promoting your charity, events or campaigns. Find out where you target audience is and connect with them.

Once you’ve connected, be active. Think about what your audience wants from you, what interests to them and talk about it. It should be a mix of information relating to the charities activities, events you’re organising, the people of the organisation  (The volunteers and staff etc.) getting on with the good work of the charity. Be opinionated, but don’t broadcast, it’s not about pushing your message down people’s throats.

Social media has the ability to reach people you’re not even aware of, who might be looking to contribute their time or donations to a charity like yours. If you’re campaigning make you messages to the point and desirable. The idea is to hook people (capture their interest and make them want to pass your message onto their friends) into your message and send them via a link to your website or micro site for the big hitting message, which charities have never had trouble coming up with!

Be personal. People like to talk to people, so give your staff the encouragement to talk about the charity’s good work on their own social platforms, educate them as to what is acceptable and preferable, and release them to drive your message to their friends, families and peers.

Taking donations online. Building donation widgets into your website, blogs and social media platforms is easy to do and offers charities the chance to gather donations when you’re talking about your cause or campaign. Facebook for instance accounts for 20% of JustGiving’s revenues, so getting on the right platforms can enable you to tap into valuable, sustainable new revenue streams.

JustGiving, Mgive, Everyclick, Myspace Impact are just a few of the corporate donation models available. Some are free, some charge a set up fee and a percentage of the donations it processes on your behalf, but all give you the opportunity to press for a donation at the point of impact, when people are feeling inspired or touched by what you are trying to achieve.

So, opportunity is still abundant in difficult times. Smaller charities with less resources can take a great deal from the execution of social media campaigns by other charities, which are well documented online. SlideShare, the online resource for presentations on every topic under the sun, lists over 1800 presentation regarding charities using social media. Start there and find ways to reach more people, publicise events and raise money.

Details of headline sponsor and corporate sponsors opportunities will be announced shortly, as will some of the ideas we’ve got to make this year, bigger and better. So keep an eye on the Twitter accounts @TyneTwestival and@TeesTwestival and local media for more news.

So what is Twestival?
Twestival grew from a small group of Twitter users who came together offline in order to raise money for a local charity. After a number of small scale events it was decided to take Twestival global.  On the 12th of February 2009 the world realized that it was more than just another charity gig – it became a movement.  Over 220 cities hosted Twestival on the same day, each with a common goal – coming together offline to raise money for charity:water.

Twestival is back and this time we have the chance to support a local charity.  We hope to raise even more this time around using Twitter for social change. We hope that you will get involved and encourage other Twitter users to come along to the event to meet like minded people who want to make a real difference in their local area and network.

So who’s behind Tyne and Tees Twestival?
There‘s a small team behind both events Mark Easby (@easbynow), Declan Metcalfe (@declanmetcalfe) and Aoife Ross (@aoifebeefah) but we believe that this event is owned by the collective community and hope that you will engage with us and enjoy the experience as much as we do. TyneTwestival and TeesTwestival
will be held on different dates, giving everyone in the North East the chance to go to
one or both of the events. Dates to be confirmed but it will beheld between the 10th –
14th of September.

What will happen at the event?
As with the last Twestival it will be a laid back affair, open to all and a lot of fun.
We’ll have some activities planned (get your Rockstar pout ready!) but the main drive of the event is to raise money for charity and let your hair down! We’re happy to accept ideas for fund raising activities and welcome budding photographers and film makers to come along and take some shots.

How will money be raised?
We’re keen to keep the process as transparent as possible and thanks to Amiando we hope to sell tickets (with 100% of the profits going DIRECTLY to the charity).

In addition to this, there will be a raffle and we are also looking at fund raising ideas on the night. 100% of funds will go directly to charity so dig deep and give generously.

About the charities:
Money raised at Tees Twestival will go Teesside Hospice. Teesside Hospice Care Foundation was formed in 1982 as a response to the shortfall in specialised care for those suffering from a life limiting illness in the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire region.

Teesside Hospice’s primary aim is to act as a resource to the local community to provide holistic specialist palliative care at any point during a life-limiting illness by controlling symptoms relating to their illness such as pain and nausea, providing Respite Care giving families and carers the opportunity to have a break and rehabilitating patients who may have had a long stay in hospital to allow them to return home to their families if that is possible or another care provision when home is not an option organisations.

Tyne Twestival is supporting North of England’s Children’s Cancer Research Fund.  NECCR was formed in 1979 by a small group of parents whose lives had been changed forever by childhood cancer. Some parents had lost children, while others were grateful that their children had overcome the disease.  The aims of the NECCR are to raise money for continuing vital research into the causes and treatment of cancer in childhood. Since 1979 the charity has raised over 6 million pounds and has established the North of England as one of the world leaders in the research and treatment of childhood cancer. The NECCR supports a whole team of doctors, scientists, statisticians and research nurses, who work with the Children’s Cancer Unit in the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. The core of the Unit is provided by four full time post which the NECCR endowed at a cost of 1.4 million pounds and the remaining staff are provided on short term funding.  Research is published and used by those treating children with cancer around the world.

Want to headline this global event?
If your company wishes to get involved in Twestival please let us know. We have a number of Twestival sponsor options available.

Contact us on email via TTTwestival[@]googlemail.com, call us on 08451 222611, or follow TyneTwestival and TeesTwestival on Twitter at @TyneTwestival and@TeesTwestival.

We have been working on some graphics and web buttons to help spread the word, and these will be online very soon. For more information the TyneTwestival please visit http://newcastle.twestival.com where you can buy tickets online, or follow @tynetwestival on Twitter.

Better Brand Agency is a brand agency offering brand, graphic design, marketing, social media and social networking, web and digital services based in Tees Valley, North East and North Yorkshire.

Why not get involved in Twestival, a party in 50+ cities around the world on 12th February 2009. Funds raised go to Charity Water. Newcastle’s Twestival party, for tweeters across the North East, will be in Newcastle. And you’re invited!

On 12 February 2009 cities around the world will be hosting Twestivals which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water.

Join the Twestival campaign by hosting a Twestival in your city, attending an event, or participating online.

The Twestival is organized 100% by volunteers in cities around the world and 100% of the money raised from these events will go directly to support charity: water projects.

In September 2008, a group of Twitterers based in London UK decided to organise an event where the local Twitter community could socialize offline; meet the faces behind the avatars, enjoy some entertainment, have a few drinks and tie this in with a food drive and fundraising effort for a local homeless charity.

The bulk of the event was organized in under two weeks, via Twitter and utilized the talents and financial support of the local Twittersphere to make this happen.

Around the world similar stories started appearing of local Twitter communities coming together and taking action for a great cause. Twestival was born out of the idea that if cities were able to collaborate on an international scale, but working from a local level, it could have a spectacular impact.

Visit the website at http://twestival.com/ from more information or follow Twestival (http://twitter.com/tynetwestival) and Tynetwestival (http://twitter.com/twestival/) on Twitter.