PresenTense Group: Online Community Division

Mission: Facilitate conversations, connection, and information sharing among PT community,

staff, and core volunteers.

Project summary: PresenTense seeks to continue and extend the impact of the work it does
offline, online - to build a strong framework for organizational growth and to grow our
community around ideas and ventures launched. Throughout our organization’s history, we have
stressed the importance of a clear message, organized and easy-to-use website, integration of
social media tools, mobilization of the broader community, and a strong underlying framework
for storing and sharing information. As we expand the PresenTense fellowship to even more
cities in 5771 and beyond, this becomes even more important for us to effectively communicate
with our growing base of volunteers, as well as the Jewish community as a whole.

This proposal outlines steps to improve PresenTense’s online presence and digital footprint
through the end of September 2011, or the Jewish year 5771. It includes expanding our website’s
content and design, better organizing and featuring our media content, increasing awareness
about PresenTense programs through use of social media and informal online channels, and
organizing our community and ever-growing store of information and connections.

Context: Over the past five years, PresenTense has grown exponentially, from a single magazine
on Jewish culture and innovation to an international organization currently comprised of seven
fellowships (and growing), a hub in Jerusalem, PT School to train Jewish professionals in social
media and marketing tools, dozens of events in the US, Canada, and Israel, and twelve magazine
issues which are still entirely volunteer-run.

As we grow, challenges arise in tracking data, managing communications and information

sharing, telling the world about PresenTense’s activities and successes, and engaging our ever-
growing community of volunteers and supporters. For us to continue to succeed, we will need to
continually expand and improve our current communications systems, database system, and
website. This provides a strong backbone for the organization which sets the foundation for all of
our divisions and will lead to a more engaged and vibrant community.

Discrete Division Responsibilities:

1. Manage design and continual upgrade of Salesforce for PT needs and integrate the
system into PT operations globally
2. Coordinate website design and improved functionality
3. Manage a range of newsletters which go out to the PresenTense community
4. Identify, solicit, edit (if necessary) and post items online that speak to or reflect our
community (i.e. stories by/about fellows and their ventures; articles or suggestions from
magazine contributors, city volunteers, other key volunteers; Interactive posts - polls,
questions for discussion, etc.)
5. Curate the online space (website, Facebook, Twitter) to ensure it effectively
communicates PresenTense’s mission and our extensive operations and programs
6. Help staff identify and track potential volunteers by leveraging and developing the
CRM and extending its functionality as needed

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 7. Work closely with other team members and volunteers to ensure participation in
content production and communal conversations
8. Enable sponsors to share their information and financially support PT conversations
through ads, subscriptions, and sponsorships

General Goals:

1. Organize PT operations across the central hub of Salesforce

2. Make the PresenTense website a lively center of conversation that reflects and extends
the reach of the group
3. Increase mentions of conversations rooted in PT in other media
4. Increase user subscriptions by 10% a quarter
5. Build base of supporters who actively follow conversations on PT.org
6. Enable and initiate development of new technological applications to facilitate
conversations

Assumptions

1. PresenTense will continue to grow and expand its operations worldwide.

2. The community wants to learn what PresenTense is doing.
3. The community wants to be involved in PresenTense community online.
4. Salesforce is the best program for us now, when services and pricing are taken into
account.
5. The social media we use will continue to exist and work effectively.

Project Goals and Objectives

Objectives

Our first aim is to build a strong database foundation for PresenTense, so that data, information,
and community involvement is well organized and easily accessible to staff and key volunteers.
Our second aim is to increase community engagement with PresenTense and facilitate online
conversation and idea sharing.

Area Element Description Goals

Data Salesforce Continue to collect user 1.1.1. Integrate staff activities on one
Management feedback on Salesforce, and platform for better organization and
and develop further iterations of efficiency
Organization the system to help staff share
and organize information 1.1.2. Increased efficiency in
connecting community members to
other parts of PT
1.1.3. Better tracking of volunteers
and programs for future engagement

Website Website design Continued new design 2.1.1. Increase visits and visitors to
elements for PT.org, to website

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Area Element Description Goals

increase engagement with 2.1.2. Increase time spent on site

site, help promote content,
and bring in the community 2.1.3. Increase links to PT content

2.1.4. Engage community in our

online space

Website static Rewriting and 2.2.1. People new to PT.org clearly

content reorganization of static
content for the site – i.e.
pages which rarely change.
understand who we are, what we do,
and how they can get involved
2.2.2. Increase visits and visitors to
website
2.2.3. Increase time spent on site

Website new and Coordinate writing and
changing content publishing of blogs, articles,
web forums, and more.
2.3.1. Increase visits and visitors to
website
2.3.2. Increase time spent on site
2.3.3. Increase links to PT content
2.3.4. Engage community in our
online space

Advertising Develop and promote a wide 2.4.1. Increase advertising revenue

variety of web ad
opportunities on /magazine 2.4.2. Generate strong base of online
and /blog advertisers that will support other PT
activities

Newsletters/ Monthly global Assemble and email the 3.1.1. Increase subscribers to the
Campaigns newsletter monthly global newsletter newsletter
using Vertical Response
3.1.2. Publicize PT events to a broad,
global community
3.1.3. Drive more viewers to our
website

Media Video Organize videos from PT 4.1.1. Publicize PT events to a broad,

events and affiliate orgs global community
4.1.2. Share PT lectures and
educational information with the
community

Photo Organize photos from all PT 4.2.1. Publicize PT activities to a

events online broad, global community
4.2.2. Create connections among PT

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Area Element Description Goals

community

Audio Organize audio files from all 4.3.1. Publicize PT activities to a

PT events and interviews broad, global community
online

Social media Twitter Promote PresenTense 5.1.1. Share PT activities with the
activities and share ideas community
with community using
Twitter 5.1.2. Build support for PT programs
through sharing of relevant
information and links

5.1.3. Drive more viewers to our

website

Facebook Promote PresenTense 5.2.1. Share PT activities with the

through Facebook groups community
and pages
5.2.2. Draw community members to
PT events globally

5.2.3. Build support for PresenTense

programs

Metrics

The success of the online community division can mostly be measured in numbers – how many
people are using our website, viewing our content, sharing our content, and joining in the
conversation.

Salesforce usage, which is a crucial part of the organization’s development, is harder to measure
in absolute numbers. The success of Salesforce can primarily be assessed by the quality of
PresenTense interactions with the community, and will be apparent in different ways across
different divisions, depending on how it is used. We anticipate that overall, Salesforce will
enable us to better connect with our community, and for our community members to better
engage with PresenTense and with each other.

Salesforce

 Number of contacts in Salesforce

 Number of data points per contact in Salesforce
 Number of staff using Salesforce regularly
 Number of data points being followed by staff

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  Quality of data collection
 Ease of use, according to staff

Website

 Number of visits to website

 Number of unique visits
 Percent of links to PT content
 Percent of direct visits to PT.org
 Number of blogs on website
 Number of comments on website
 Number of active users on website
 Number of contributors to web content

Newsletters/Campaigns
 Number of subscribers to newsletter
 Number of newsletter opens
 Number of newsletter clicks
 Number of newsletter forwards
 Number of newsletters sent out

Media
 Number of videos posted online
 Number of views of videos online
 Number of comments on videos
 Number of photos posted to Flickr
 Number of written documents posted online
 Number of comments to written documents
 Number of views of written documents

Social Media
 New subscribers to Twitter
 Number of retweets of content
 Number of mentions of PT across Twitter
 Number of clicks on tweets
 Number of people on Facebook group
 Number of conversations via Facebook group

Summary of New Workplan

During October and early November, the focus is on gearing up for the GA. Salesforce will be
optimized for data collection, including the installation of new applications to prevent duplicates,

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a new online survey program for collecting data, and staff will be trained on how to use
Salesforce over a variety of platforms, including computer, iPad, Blackberry, and iPhone. The
website will be reorganized so that data is more easily accessible and visible, and new pages will
be created that highlight our fellows and the fellowship. The new community blogging initiative
will begin, and Salesforce Campaigns will also be organized to be more useful in sending out
targeted newsletters.

After the GA, in November and December, the website will continue to be updated to reflect
ongoing PT activities and much more thoroughly reorganized. We will also begin working on
CEP sales through a city-targeted effort, and introduce PT to those cities through a variety of
channels (magazine sales, magazine and blog content, local media saturation). And as current
CEPs begin the application process, we will create a CEP newsletter that the local CEPs can
choose from, to have ready-made information to use in their local newsletters. We will begin
sending out our innovation newsletter as well.

In January and February, as the local CEPs start, our website content will focus on updating the
community about the fellows, their projects, the actions of the steering committee and fellowship
teachers, and telling their stories to the media (both news and social media). The website will
also have a portion translated into Hebrew, to better meet our Israeli audience’s needs, and will
feature a special educational section which highlights our videos, some curriculum materials, and
other information about entrepreneurship and innovation. Salesforce will be evaluated as to its
effectiveness and staff usage, and improvements made.

In March and April, we will continue to tell our local CEPs stories, as well as start to focus on
our program for summer fellows. The website’s Institute section will be redesigned to better
feature fellows, mentors, skillbuilders, SC members, and more community members, as well as a
press section. Website content will continue to be updated as before Website content will
continue to be updated as before.

During May and early June, as we gear up for the summer institute, we will publicize our
summer fellows and their projects, as well as the fellowship mentors and teachers. Website
content will continue to be updated as before, and more community members will be brought in
to blog and comment.

In mid-June through July, the focus is entirely on the summer institute, and on how to best tell
the stories of our fellows. The website will be updated on a regular basis with photos and videos,
interviews with fellows and fellowship teachers, and the press section will be updated. Social
media will be used to reach out to the community, and Salesforce will be updated and used for
sending out newsletters.

Personnel

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Simi Hinden
Simi is the head of the Online Community department, and will be coordinating all e
In particular she will be working on Salesforce development and staff training, managing the
CEP communication campaign, overseeing website design and reorganization, coordinating the
blogging campaign and website content. She will also work with staff on an ongoing basis to
find solutions to challenges with any of the above media and programs, and to brainstorm and
implement new solutions to help them in their work with fellowship programs, CEP sales,
fundraising, office management, communication with fellows and PT community members,
magazine publication, and more.

Shelby Blitz
Shelby is an intern from Career Israel who will be working at PT from October 2010-January
2011. She will be focusing on communications and public relations, including organizing
website and blog content, and also interviewing PT community members, local social innovators,
and local Jewish community leaders for feature articles and blog posts. She will also work on
getting PresenTense articles into local media, and in publicizing our blog content as well through
syndication and cross-posting.

Brian Blumenthal
Brian has been an intern with PresenTense since Summer 2009, and this coming year will be
working with PresenTense for approximately 8-10 hours a week. He will be focusing on website
development and design, to reorganize our content and backend structure, as well as facilitate
conversations through our website by enabling community members to interact with one another.
He will also work on creating a Hebrew version of our site, from a design and layout perspective.
And, he will continue to improve the backend architecture, which includes everything from
hosting services to spam-blocking, to SEO work, to our commenting system.

Brent Arnold
Brent is an intern from Real Life Israel who will be working at PT from October 2010-January
2011, primarily with Raimy on CEP sales, but has a lot of overlap with the Online Community
department as well. He will be working on some of the website development, particularly when
it comes to CEP sales, as well as CEP publicity and marketing.

Resource Requirements
Aside from the resources I already have at my access, I will also require some additions to my
budget:
 Budget for paying for website development – whether it is for Brian or for someone else
 New webcam, to better livestream events
 Budget for paying for Salesforce additions, to improve our data collection capabilities.
This will also include user licenses, if Salesforce does not approve our request for more
free ones.

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  Budget for paying for 1-2 short data entry projects, as over time data will need to be
cleaned out.
 Skype phone for calling the US.
 Budget for miscellaneous software purchases

Risks
One of the biggest risks is making sure Salesforce is properly set up and that staff is using it
consistently. On the one hand, the program needs to be able to collect all our data easily, and for
us to find data when we need it, and have it pushed to us as well. However, it will only be as
good as the number of people who are actively using it, contributing data, and importing
information. Salesforce also has a learning curve, and it is possible that some people will not
learn to use it well and will avoid it. However, with enough training sessions and one on one
work, as well as staff encouragement, I believe these problems can be managed. Also, several
staff members are already enthusiastically using Salesforce, and this support can be used to
encourage reluctant staff members to keep at it.

My department is also heavily reliant on technology, and any tech malfunctions can cause
serious problems. If our website servers aren’t working, if our site is overrun with spam, or if
social media programs change unexpectedly or popular sentiment towards them changes, then
our work is seriously hampered. However, most of the technology we use is regarded as stable
and secure, and even newer programs that we use, like Twitter, are expected to remain in use for
several years to come. Also, we are continually on the lookout for new technology solutions to
current challenges, and are eager to implement programs that will make our work safer, easier,
and more reliable.

Additionally, a lot of our work will involve the publishing of blog and website content, cross-
posting with other blogs and sites, and syndication with news media. It is possible that our work
will be used without attribution, or taken out of context. To prevent this, we do have Google
Alerts set up, and will make our Creative Commons policy very clear to all our partners, as well
as sharing this information on our website.

Also, a lot of the work in this coming year will be done by interns and part-time employees.
There is the possibility that they will prove to be unreliable, or that they will not complete work
satisfactorily. This can be mitigated by detailing their work projects for the coming months,
making sure they receive proper training in both PresenTense activities and history, as well as
tech tools, and setting up regular check ins to monitor their work. If someone is not completing
his/her work satisfactorily, Simi will meet with him or her to discuss this and to find a solution –
whether it’s more training, redefining projects, clarifying objectives, or reassigning him/her to a
different staff member.

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