Discover how Points of Life has evolved and become an online hub that drives greater awareness and mastery, offering resources and networking opportunities 24/7.
Points of Light is an international nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that’s dedicated to inspiring, equipping, and mobilizing individuals to drive change in their communities. It brings the power of people to bear where it’s needed most, with three audiences that it engages with – individuals, other non-profits, and private organizations.
The problem
The team needed a way to democratize information sharing among its three different audiences, as well as create continuous value for its stakeholders and communities. Social impact strategies are rising up boardroom agendas and becoming more sophisticated, and Points of Light’s work began to evolve because of this.
The non-profit offers a range of products and services to support corporations seeking to create social impact in the communities in which they operate, and these include an annual conference, the corporate service council, and consulting. To complement this, the team wanted a way to share its expertise and drive awareness of social impact initiatives, and best practices, with the world.
If it wasn’t for the community, we’d still be doing marketing in the tried and true ways, but it has allowed us to become more sophisticated with our marketing strategy. All of the community data is making us a smarter organization. I know what articles I’m going to write, the most popular topics, based on what members are engaging with.
Katy Elder Vice President, Business Innovation
The vision
The Points of Light team wanted the non-profit to become known globally for its expertise and to boost the impact of individuals and corporations who are changing the world for the better. The team recognized that although there is increased expectation to work for an employer that provides opportunities to support communities, not all leaders of this work have the expertise or resources to create measurable impact. In particular, a lack of networks is hindering progress for many corporate citizenship activities.
We are a people-powered organization. We believe in the power of people to lead change, even the smallest act can have a huge impact. So we need to equip them with knowledge and resources to do this.
Katy Elder Vice President, Business Innovation
Results
Points of Light now has a way to share its unique expertise and knowledge on a global scale. With 11 partners also contributing their insights to the community, it has become an online hub that drives greater awareness and mastery for social impact professionals and volunteers. It also showcases Points of Light’s convening ability.
The support that the Zapnito team in creating and launching the community was also called out by the Points of Light team. “The Zapnito team was truly collaborative and understood our goals. We would approach them with a need and they would figure out how to meet it. The support really enabled us to create the best community with the right features for our members,” Katy Elder explained.
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1300 active members
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2,000 visitors per month