Katya blogs about the Idol Gives Back campaign, the fundraiser organized by the producers of American Idol. It raised $70-million, but Katya has a great takeaway point:

“…remember, you DO NOT NEED AN IDOL to raise money. Idol is great for attracting a mass audience, and that audience is what led to the scale of the money raised, but it wasn’t Simon or Madonna who prompted giving as much as the compelling (and perhaps slightly exploitative, though effective) stories they showed about people in need on their show. While we’d all like an audience of that size, or a celebrity spokesperson, don’t despair if you don’t have an A-lister out promoting you.”

What a great way of putting it! Now, more than ever, the important thing is that you’re offering your community something valuable, and that you’re effectively communicating that value by telling great stories. Think of yourself as a journalist-advocate — telling stories for a cause, because you believe in that cause, and because the product or service you’re offering can make a difference to people.

On a smaller scale, organizations often get hung up on their own “local idols.” They spend so much time chasing after TV and radio and newspaper coverage, that they don’t realize how easy it is to communicate directly with the people who care the most. Sure, you still need local media coverage of your events. But if you take the time to cultivate your community online, you’ll be well-positioned to communicate important information when those “idols” of local media fail to come through for you.

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