Free Nonprofit Digital Tool: J&J Marketing & Fundraising Widget: &you

&you is a Johnson & Johnson initiative offered to “help people and nonprofit organizations do good work, better, together. And it’s about celebrating the accomplishments that inspire us all to join in.” Check out this brief demo video to see this free nonprofit widget in action.

It is a simple, quick process to create a customized widget (see below below for more info).  You follow the steps (like a wizard) and then the customized HTML code is emailed to you.  There are three size options as well as a “button-only” option.

INFO DIRECTLY FROM THE &YOU WEBSITE:

CREATE A WIDGET.

The &you™ widget lets you share and browse all kinds of opportunity listings—volunteer, employment, donations, events—in one place. It’s a powerful, unique new tool for good that you can put on your site, blog or Facebook page, whether you’re a nonprofit looking for an easier way to spread the word about the things you do, or a passionate individual seeking fresh ways to help. You can set up a basic widget in a few clicks, or build a custom version in a minute or two.

The &you widget gathers volunteer opportunities from VolunteerMatch; employment opportunities and events from Idealist; donation opportunities from Network for Good; nonprofit profiles from GuideStar and news from Do Something. All these listings from verified 501(c)3 organizations are displayed in a single stream within the widget, easily viewable by cause, organization, date, location, and more.

You can choose the causes, organizations and opportunities you want to include, customize the design, and put it on your site, blog, or Facebook page. You don’t need any special technical skills. Once you’ve set it up, the feed will update automatically as new listings are added to the five partner services above. For individuals, it’s a new way to support and share favorite causes. For nonprofits, it’s an easy, time-saving way to show your latest opportunities and connect with supporters. For it’s creator/sponsor Johnson & Johnson, it’s a clever cause marketing/corporate social responsibility tactic.

Any nonprofit organization registered with VolunteerMatch, Idealist, Network for Good or GuideStar can have their opportunities listed in the &you widget. Just make sure your EIN (Employer Identification Number) is up to date so all of the opportunities you’ve listed will show up in your widget. Nonprofits who don’t currently use those services can visit their websites and sign up.

HERE’S HOW EASY IT IS:

1. Decide who it’s for. If you work for a nonprofit, you can create a widget for your organization. Or, set one up for yourself and the causes you personally care about. Non-commercial use only, please!
2. Build it. You can customize the colors, header, and contents of your widget to show everyone all the things you support.
3. Look for your confirmation email, and follow the instructions to place your new widget on your site, blog, or Facebook page.

Here’s a link to the actual “instructions” page.

TRISHA’S ADDITIONAL NOTES:

OVERALL:

• This is a useful tool worthy of consideration.
• The Johnson & Johnson sponsorship is very discrete.
  • Only seen if click the small “I” icon at bottom right of widget and also indicated at the bottom of the email when receiving the customized &you widget HTLM code.

TECHNICAL:

• It is easy to customize and implement this online tool.
• Within the widget, you can use the “Filter” feature to narrow results by zip code, in-person or virtual opportunities or by cause
• Within the widget, people can “Like” entries on FB very easily – generating more social media exposure for causes.
• You can “hide” or “show” certain component.
• You can’t go back and make changes to your &you widget.  So, to update something, you simply repeat the customization process and receive a new email with the updated HTML code to replace previous code you utilized.

Enjoy!