This entry is about how the different meanings of the word “mobilize” consolidate into a single call to action for not-for-profit organizations.
In the last entry, we talked about how “advances” in technology have added new criteria to the ten used to judge Website Excellence. Two new additions are clearly 1) how well your website takes into account mobile devices and 2) how completely it interacts with your membership or donor database.
To mobilize means to organize or prepare for active service. It also means to make mobile. We’re adding a third, contemporary meaning -- to give access to/from a mobile device. All three meanings urge you to take the same action: mobilize your forces.
Your forces are: 1) your members and/or donors; 2) the content on your website and 3) your staff.
Mobilizing your forces means making your website and its content operate efficiently and aesthetically on all popular mobile devices through responsive design, so that your members and/or donors can interact with your website and your underlying database whenever and wherever they are. Where appropriate, the same freedom can be given to your staff. To the degree that you can also make the collection and updating of member/donor data a self-service activity, you can also further elevate the functions of your staff in the direction of fulfilling your mission.
The classic book on the proliferation of mobile devices and what it means is The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything by Michael Saylor. Written in 2013, you’ll recognize the accuracy of many of its predictions.
Its most salient observation for not-for-profit organizations is this: mobile computing fosters one-to-one relationships between organizations and their constituents, whether members, donors or customers. It creates massive possibilities for engagement.