Experience Kislorod: how to conduct webinars for NGOs

For employees of NGOs, more and more educational conferences and lectures are organized. However, almost all these events take place in large cities. Teams of regional non -profit organizations are read by training resources, but are not able to chat with experts in real time. They can ask questions to speakers during webinars. Therefore, the Kislorod educational project team decided to make this format the main one in its work. Maria Vlasovskaya , the manager of the Kislorod.io project, told Teplitsa journalist Ekaterina Ulyanova how to find her niche in the info business for NGOs and why knowledge needs to be scaled.

Regional vacuum

The Kislorod project launched in 2016 and it began with only two webinars a month. Finding a free niche was not easy. At that time, several large educational projects for NGOs already worked on the market. But the Kislorod team noted that no one is holding a regular basis for webinars for non -profit organizations, and decided to make this the main direction.

At first, the project had only a Facebook page, on which employees laid out small posts with useful information and the schedule of webinars. But interest in the project grew up, the team decided to launch a few more formats: longders, cards, podcasts and gamified courses. “We wanted civilian activists and NPO employees, regardless of the position that they occupy, have a resource where they can find information for free and in the public domain. So Kislorod has a site , ”explains Maria Vlasovskaya.

But webinars remained the main format of the project. According to the observations of the Kislorod team, NPO employees from Moscow and St. Petersburg have many opportunities to attend educational events: conferences, mitaps, and lectures. At the same time, regional organizations are in vacuum. They have access to educational online resources, but they can no longer talk with experts in real time. Therefore, for NPO employees from small cities, webinars are an opportunity to immediately ask the speaker an interest.

Not for tourists

The Kislorod team attaches additional materials to webinars: a speaker presentation, links to useful resources on the topic of performances, instructions and screenshots. The project also supports feedback with the participants. After each online conference, students receive feedback and letters with useful information that helps them refresh the acquired knowledge.

“We see that for many people additional communication after a webinar is a motivation to go and do. Now the abundance of information for non -profit organizations. The category of NCO-tourists who attend all the events, exchange contacts, gain knowledge. But it is not a fact that they then implement them in practice. We try not to fall into the void. Therefore, we have surveys after webinars and letters that offer to refresh knowledge. ” Maria Vlasovskaya

Also, in order for the information to be relevant for the listeners, the Kislorod team carefully chooses topics for expert speeches. After each online conference, participants fill out evaluative forms in which they can share their problems and offer options for the next webinars. And the project team itself monitors trends and news in NGOs.

“For example, when in 2018 amendments to the law on volunteering were amended (Federal Law of 05.02.2018 No. 15-ФЗ“ On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on Volunteering (Volunteering). ”-approx. Ed.) , We quickly organized a webinar with Maria Kanevskaya, director of the club of lawyer lawyers on this topic. He became very popular, listeners actively joined him, asked questions. This, by the way, is one of ours, which helps us to be useful to the audience - not a single question of the participant remains unanswered. ” Maria Vlasovskaya

Cats on the keyboard

The Kislorod team is sure that webinars are a lively and not boring format. The expert’s performance does not have to take place according to the standard scheme - a presentation, a monologue, a series of questions and answers. For example, you can call two speakers with different points of view for one problem at the same time and immediately go to discussion. “Once we had a joint webinar with a“ night ”, in which Sergey Ievkov and Evgeny Kosovsky participated. We abandoned the traditional format and suggested that the speakers simply answer questions from the audience. It turned out a very lively dialogue, ”says Maria Vlasovskaya.

Of course, it does not do without incidents and linings. Most speakers have repeatedly performed at public events. But the format of webinars is new for many. The project team must carry out a technical rehearsal before each online conference. However, this is not a guarantee that everything will pass successfully. One of the common situations when the webinar has already come to an end, the speaker said goodbye to the public, turned off the camera, but forgot to turn off the microphone. And the participants hear everything that he says after the broadcast. Some speakers, on the contrary, accidentally begin a webinar ahead of time, and listeners become involuntary participants in a technical gesture.

“Once the speaker pressed the wrong button and began a broadcast. And we ourselves did not notice in the fusion that the webinar was coming. And a lot of funny was said. It also happens that our cats walk on the keyboard, or children come. Once our speakers broadcast from the forest, literally in Spartan conditions, but it was fun. Webinars are not always concise and dry. ” Maria Vlasovskaya

Scaling of knowledge

When Kislorod only started, employees chose the topic of the month and looked for competent speakers. Maria Vlasovskaya says that experts liked to cooperate with the project and they talked about their experience to colleagues. So the base of the contacts of the speakers grew. Over time, more and more people themselves were ready to share their knowledge in different fields. Then Kislorod refused to bind to monthly topics in order to cover the widest circle of relevant requests as possible.

Also on the topic: what is information business and why NKO consultants .

Also, the team began to receive proposals for partner projects. These were requests from NGOs who wanted to share experience and scale their ideas. Maria Vlasovskaya says that someone lacked technical fuel up to conduct their own webinars or time to understand this issue. “This is a very meticulous work with nuances and details. Therefore, we take the whole examination and help from scratch: preparing announcements and publications, technical issues, promotion, communication with the participants, ”she explains.

Kislorod actively agrees to cooperation and launches joint projects. Employees are sure that there can be no competition in the non -profit sector. Each NPO does a common cause and tries to achieve a solution to social problems. So, joint work only enriches the entire sector.

“We also had a webinar on this topic with Daria Buyanova, director of the Good City of Petersburg charity foundation. She talked about partnerships for NGOs. And the thesis sounded that often inside the same city of organizations that work in the same topic do not always know how to be friends, cooperate, do something together. But you need to overcome it. It seems to me that cooperation should not end with meetings at events, but should develop into something more. ” Maria Vlasovskaya

Not only webinars

The project employees are sure that the request for knowledge among NPO employees is growing. Therefore, the Kislorod team is working on the development of the project. For example, a section with podcasts was launched. Maria Vlasovskaya is sure that this format, which has already gained popularity abroad, attracts more and more listeners in Russia. Kislorod podcasts are informal conversations with NPO employees, civil activists and just interesting speakers.

“Some interviews are educational in nature, for example, podcast with Natalya Baranova, editor-in-chief of the greenhouse of social technologies . She perfectly talked about working with content, the instruction turned out - just take it and do it. And some conversations are more cognitive. Marina Frantseva, co -founder of the “Donor Fund” dispelled during our conversation a lot of myths and delusions about blood donation and bone marrow. It is interesting to listen to not only NGO employees. ” Maria Vlasovskaya

Kislorod tries to choose topics that could be interesting to the new audience. For example, entrepreneurs come to the project website to find out about the launch of crowdfunding projects. Podcasts about feminism listen to everyone who is interested in this topic. “And, for example, we have a Podkast about SMM literacy, which was widely spread not only among employees of non -profit organizations, because the speaker gave advice that will be useful to everyone. Therefore, any format can be twisted and developed so that it is interesting as many people as possible, ”says Maria Vlasovskaya.