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Nonprofit Radio for May 8, 2023: Quiet Quitting & Email Accessibility

 

Delaney MullennixQuiet Quitting

Let’s start with what it is. Because it’s not quitting a job. From our coverage of #23NTC, Delaney Mullennix explains the increasing phenomenon, how we got here, and what to do to prevent it. She’s executive director of NonprofitHub.

 

 

Coralie Meade RodriguezEmail Accessibility

Our #23NTC coverage continues as Coralie Meade Rodriguez, from Firefly Partners, shares strategies that enable the 26% of Americans living with a disability, to fully access your email messages.

 

 

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[00:01:56.18] spk_0:
Welcome to tony-martignetti non profit radio, big non profit ideas for the other 95%. I’m your aptly named host of your favorite abdominal podcast. I’m traveling this week so I don’t have my good studio quality mic. So I may not sound as good as usual. That just means you can look forward to better sound next week. Oh, I’m glad you’re with me. I’d be hit with horrific elation if you gave me goose bumps because you missed this week’s show. Quiet, quitting. Let’s start with what it is because it’s not quitting a job from our coverage of 23 NTC Delaney Mullinix explains the increasing phenomenon, how we got here and what to do to prevent it. She’s executive director of nonprofit hub and email accessibility. Our 23 NTC coverage continues as Cora Lee Mead Rodriguez from Firefly Partners shares strategies that enable the 26% of Americans living with a disability to fully access your email messages Antonis take to it isn’t what it is. Redox were sponsored by donor box with intuitive fundraising software from donor box. Your donors give four times faster helping you help others. Donor box dot org. Here is quiet quitting.

[00:02:15.22] spk_1:
Welcome back to tony-martignetti, non profit radio coverage of 23 N T C 2023 nonprofit technology conference where we are sponsored by Heller consulting, technology strategy and implementation for nonprofits. My guest now is Delaney Mullinix. She is executive director at nonprofit hub, Delaney. Welcome to nonprofit

[00:02:23.05] spk_2:
radio. Thank you so much. Just excited to be

[00:02:35.37] spk_1:
here. Pleasure to have you. I neglected to ask your pronouns. Did. is she the right pronoun for? Yes. Okay. I should have asked. I forgot to ask in advance, but I don’t want to perpetuate a mistake. All right. Your session topic is quiet. Quitting in the nonprofit sector. That’s correct. Alright. Let’s first make sure that everybody knows that quiet quitting does not mean quitting. Please define quiet quitting. So folks, my age and older know exactly what we’re talking about.

[00:02:54.46] spk_2:
That’s right. I’m impressed. How did you know that? Did you attend my session? Yes.

[00:02:57.82] spk_1:
Maybe, maybe it’s more pervasive. Oh, no, no, no. A lot of people think quite quitting is actually

[00:03:05.10] spk_2:
100%.

[00:03:06.46] spk_1:
It’s not only people my age, I’m a

[00:03:20.62] spk_2:
majority of the people did not know what it was. And I think that the assumption is that it is someone leaving a position like taking a leave from their, their organization or their job. But um

[00:03:21.76] spk_1:
in a way it’s taking a leave to leave, but you define it. I’m not trying to talk around

[00:03:27.65] spk_2:
it. No, that’s okay. That’s exactly right. And the words are misleading. Quiet, quitting. Like you, you can assume based on those words and how you know those words that it means someone’s leaving a position. It sounds

[00:03:37.58] spk_1:
like you just stop showing up for work.

[00:03:47.67] spk_2:
So if someone has heard the term quiet quitting and they see their employee like taking time off of work or they know they’re looking for other jobs or they think that they’re going to doctor’s appointment but they’re actually interview for another position. They say my employees quite quitting, but that’s actually not what it is. So it’s more of like the silent withdrawal, like taking an emotional and like engagement step back from your job and that could be for a lot of other reasons, like not doing more work than what you feel you’re getting paid for. It could just be like you’re placing a higher value on your time. Um It’s really meeting your job requirements and doing no more, no less

[00:04:14.73] spk_1:
bare minimum, volunteering for the organized the holiday party flying

[00:04:17.87] spk_2:
under the radar.

[00:04:18.69] spk_1:
You might not even show up at the holiday party. Right. Bare minimum. Exactly. Quiet. Quitting. Okay. Alright. I thought only older folks would not know what that everybody who attended your session didn’t know what they were.

[00:04:29.59] spk_2:
No, not very many know. How did the session go? Very good. Very good. Yeah, people had a lot of questions afterwards. I want to ask you

[00:04:42.24] spk_1:
some of the questions Yeah. Alright. So we’ll lead into the topic. Um, you believe that nonprofits have incubated? Quiet quitting. Yes.

[00:04:53.83] spk_2:
For decades. I don’t know that it’s just non profits but I think it has existed in the nonprofit sector, um, naturally for a lot of reasons. Um, so like nonprofit boards have been quiet quitting, you know, since before it was cool, since before it was a corporate buzzword, um, doing the bare minimum, doing the bare minimum and I wouldn’t even say they’re quiet quitting. I like struggle to say I struggle to see them even doing the bare minimum. Um but I need a new term

[00:05:12.10] spk_1:
but yes, we’re doing less than minimum but still showing up. Yes, maybe less than the bare minimum, like below par subpar performance but still a warm body. Some

[00:05:23.77] spk_2:
yes, medium volume quitting.

[00:05:26.63] spk_1:
Okay. Alright. Alright. So boards you want flesh that out a little bit.

[00:05:30.88] spk_2:
I mean, it might not be totally fair to compare a volunteer board member to like a paid staff member. But um I mean, we see this all the time like board members are just taking like that, that step back before their term is over E D s are sending emails into the abyss there having board meetings without quorum like board members aren’t showing up. I mean, this is all the definition of quitting.

[00:05:59.08] spk_1:
Okay. Are there examples of how nonprofits may have been? You said incubating, incubating this other examples? I

[00:06:03.09] spk_2:
think the other examples I can think of are just like a pretty mature leadership. Um And that, that is represented by a lot of different things. But, um for instance,

[00:06:25.63] spk_1:
it was just a very loud NTC noise, non profit radio perseveres. As long as the ceiling is not coming down. I don’t know, just listeners. I mean, we’re, you know, we’re on the exhibit floor at, at, at NTC. So there was just a loud noise in the

[00:06:26.64] spk_2:
background. Well, apparently there’s a red flag warning in Denver right now, which I didn’t know what that was and apparently it’s like high risk for high winds that start

[00:06:33.56] spk_1:
fires, high winds and not tornadoes. Fires.

[00:06:36.73] spk_2:
Yeah. Fires. It’s been hot. All

[00:06:38.66] spk_1:
right. Well, assuming we have smoke detectors throughout. Okay. Yeah, we’re trusting.

[00:06:43.68] spk_2:
I’m sure they’re prepared.

[00:06:44.77] spk_1:
This looks like a pretty fire. I don’t know about fireproof, but it looks like a pretty safe building. Okay. We’ll persevere, um, leadership.

[00:08:09.64] spk_2:
Yes. Yeah, I think that there happens to be a lot of premature leadership. And I think that’s because for a lot of reasons, but one people are typically not offering salaries to attract talent that is as skilled or as experienced as they need. Um, I’ve volunteered on a lot of committees and boards where they have an executive director stepped down and instead of doing a search, they kind of promote someone from either on the board or from a committee to step into that leadership position. But it’s not necessarily that they have experience leading teams. Um And so there’s a lack of um things that happened, like people aren’t getting reviews like executive directors go years without ever receiving a performance review. And that’s like, that’s kind of, that’s almost the norm and it shouldn’t be. Um but other things just like failing to know how to inspire your team. Um And I think that’s sad because we are the non profit sector. Um A big part of my presentation was based on Devon Sylvan Eos Talk at cause Camp, which is the conference at nonprofit hub puts on every year. And he was talking about finding someone’s purpose point. And so questions that employers should be asking now compared to in the past was um how am I helping you to fulfill your personal purpose? And then employees are asking, how am I fulfilling my personal purpose by volunteering my time to your organization? And that’s kind of missing, I think in leadership. Um And I think leaders still assume that people are looking for money or a flexible work environment. And yes, these things are needed. But I think if you really want to attract someone to your non profit, you need to be able to do those things.

[00:08:53.90] spk_1:
I was also and that kind of leads to something I was wondering about. If you have insight into this more than I do, you’re talking about quite quitting um accepting mediocre performance from your teams or from individuals as, as um as, as okay, you know, like maybe mediocre performance gets rated high because yeah, and well, you know, we have a lower salary range than you would get elsewhere. I don’t expect my expectations are lower for you, which none of which is acceptable. I’m not advocating this at all. But you think that’s out there to like accommodating mediocre performance?

[00:09:05.09] spk_2:
Wow. Like, like allowing mediocre performance because of the total compensation

[00:09:09.15] spk_1:
to perpetuate. Yeah, leadership’s expectations are lower.

[00:10:02.00] spk_2:
I’ve never thought about it that way, but I 100% could see that being true. Um Yeah. And I think sometimes I even like, I can’t say that I feel super proud about how much my staff are making. I would love if they were making more. And I think I’ve had that conscious thought, like, how much can I really ask of them? Like, if I was in their position, like I might not want to go above and beyond. Um And I’ve, I’ve been a quiet Twitter before. I worked at an organization where it was like you were up for raises, you were up for your performance review. They were like kind of hyping you up that you were going to take on a higher level of leadership and then you get like pennies, right for performance. Like I get like a 25 cent raise, but I’m taking on managing another person. I’m taking an additional job responsibilities my job title has changed and that’s just that’s when you start saying if, if my employer isn’t taking care of me and they’re not like stepping up to the plate, then I’m stepping back. What’s the point?

[00:10:08.07] spk_1:
So why should I bother? I’ll just do what it takes. Alright, interesting. Alright, so I may be something for you to think about that. Yeah, accommodating accepting mediocre performance as the norm.

[00:10:21.30] spk_2:
That’s a great point

[00:10:25.70] spk_1:
And I think we do that sometimes and it’s not right. You know, I’m here. I am preaching to an executive director, but you need to do what you can to get those salaries to where they, where you think your folks ought to be paid and that requires a revenue plan which may or may not be fundraising.

[00:10:45.01] spk_2:
But yeah. Yeah. Alright. Yeah. One of the questions that I think is interesting is when I laugh because prior to my presentation, I asked several people this question I said, is it okay to require your employees to go above and beyond and prior to coming here, everyone said, yeah, yeah, that’s, that’s totally fine. Like I would expect that. And then everyone in the room yesterday though said no and I said you guys are right, like, absolutely no, you can’t require your staff to go above and beyond their job expectations. But there are ways that you can maybe inspire them to do that.

[00:11:14.95] spk_1:
Right? And a lot of that I think is team building to, you know, maybe a lot of, I don’t know, maybe some quiet quitting comes from uh a poor team cultures, you know, not, not, not cohesive teams. You know, if you don’t, you don’t feel a part of something, why would you contribute more to it than you

[00:13:21.24] spk_2:
need to? Yeah. And that’s the whole thing like is my, does my job have a purpose here? Um Like, what am I really doing for this, this company? Um There’s also a lot of research on why quiet quitting has happened. And team culture is a big part of that, but there’s a lot of new research on matching personalities to the position. Um I guess 64% of Americans are poorly matched to their job based on their personality and um like, coincidentally like gallop to the poll on how many Americans are quite quitting. It’s 50%. Um And so there’s a lot of research right now based on um like using personality quizzes and like your interview process or even like your job application. And even if you don’t do that, what I like, encourage the audience to do is at least know the personality that you know, is going to succeed in this job. Like, even if you’re not figuring out the personality of the person, at least have that conscious, like I’m aware of what I’m looking for. Um Because I think that’s a big deal like we had, I had an experience one time where one of nonprofit helps core values is uh unabashedly ambitious. And that’s like one of my favorite ones and we had a staff member quit and I was doing her exit interview and we were trying to figure out why she did because it was kind of surprising to us. And she was like, Delaney, I love working with you. You’re a great manager. Like I have had so much fun. I learned so much underneath you guys. Leadership like nonprofit has a great mission. I absolutely adore it. Um But I see you and Katie, like the previous executive director, just go, go, go all day long, like so fast paced, like tackling all these new projects, like doing all of these new things all the time. You, you live rich lives out of work, like you are volunteering all the time, you’re constantly busy. Like it’s just she’s like, it’s not me. She’s like, I’m not thriving in this environment and that was a personality mismatch, I think.

[00:13:36.94] spk_1:
Huh? Why did she felt that she needed to be a high achiever like you and have that high energy that you and your predecessor had had? Yeah. Why? But why would she, I mean, if she, if she’s a contributing member of the team, you were surprised. It’s not like somebody you were looking to, you were not disappointed to have leave. Why did she feel that she needed to measure up to what you do,

[00:15:00.01] spk_2:
I don’t know that it’s, that she felt she needed to measure up. I think that she was maybe doing that or working at a pace that was burning her out. Um And I think that sometimes if you are even in an environment, like there’s an article from nonprofit hr that um describes five dysfunctional leaders and non profits. And one of them is like the workaholic and I think what her perception of Katie and I was maybe that we were workaholics because we were like putting in overtime. But, but like Katie and I just loved like our job. Um And yeah, like, maybe at times it wasn’t healthy, like we probably did burn ourselves out sometimes. Like, I’m not gonna lie and say that I’ve never burn out by working at this company. Um But I think for her when you’re in that environment, everything feels like a crisis. Um And you kind of like instill this sense of like panic if you’re working at that pace and it’s not natural for someone else. And to that point, like I’ve had like, I’m actually an introvert, but I can turn into an extrovert very easily. And I’ve learned how to do that very well. But like, I need my space. Like, for instance, like this morning, I just took my time and I didn’t come out and do any networking prior to this. And like, I might go back and take some intern and breaks but that’s because I know that in order to be an extrovert, I need to like refresh and renew. Thank you for doing

[00:15:05.81] spk_1:
that. And thank you also for being self aware. You needed to do that to like bring your best to nonprofit radio. So thank you. Thank you for that. Thank

[00:15:15.07] spk_2:
you. And I love that the staff member was self aware, like she knew that it wasn’t like working for her and eventually her performance probably would have dwindled right as she was continuing to put herself in this

[00:15:25.04] spk_1:
environment. But wouldn’t you have rather she had talked to you instead of just left because you could have reassured her that her performance is very good. You know, you don’t need to, you don’t need, you could have reassured her, she didn’t need to measure up to what, what you do. But, you know, the way she’s working now and maybe even just a little less would still have been a very good employee. You would rather, I think I’m putting words in your mouth, but would you rather have had a real heart to heart before she

[00:17:22.00] spk_2:
resigned? And at that point, we actually had told her several times that her, her level of calmness and the way that she was so intensely introverted, she actually added a ton of value into conversations because she was always seeing a different angle and what we had been seeing or she would ask questions that we might have not been going slow enough to address or like, you know, preemptively try to avoid problems in the future. Um And so she was great at that, like, we adored that aspect of her and it was really valuable to our team. Um But to another point, I think some people are ready to challenge themselves and some people aren’t. Um And an example that I can think of is when Katie left, um I had to take over hosting the nonprofit radio podcast and I did not want to, I did not ever want to present. I never wanted to host anything. Like I’m more of like a background person like the integrator, not like the visionary. Um And I can do it again, like I can turn myself on, but that, that level of energy and that type of activity is more draining to me so I can do it in smaller quantities. Um And you just have to be aware of that. And so I think when my whole point is that when someone ever approached me to be on stage or present or talk to someone that needed an interview for like media or anything like that, I my my whole body would immediately reject that, right? Like literally my physical body would instantly respond. No, I’m not going to do it. I’ll find someone else for you. I’ll be the coordinator. Like, who are you trying to talk to? Like I’m not the one you want to talk to, but I’ll figure it out. Right. Even though I’m, like, highly capable of doing that. Um, but, like, naturally my body rejects it and I think that some people can fight their body’s natural rejection of something and, but again, it’s requiring more energy of them and I think that’s a big part of burnout. Um, so if she’s constantly pushing herself, it’s not a natural part of how she operates, it’s going to lead to her burning out

[00:18:11.81] spk_1:
what ended up happening with nonprofit Hub podcast. It’s going great. It is. You’re doing it. Yes. Alright. So we’ve talked around it like half a dozen times. Why don’t you explain the work of nonprofit hub? Just full disclosure. I did a webinar for you. You said off my three months before you started, I did a planned giving webinar um for, for nonprofit but describe the work of nonprofit

[00:20:08.06] spk_2:
hub. Yeah, of course. So non profit is a five oh one C three. We consider ourselves an educational collective and a majority of that is, is digital and online um as well as being 100% free for nonprofit professionals. Um I actually had the pleasure to kind of revamp like our missionary vision and our values um when I started as executive director under six months ago. Um but our, our vision is to create a thriving nonprofit sector, founded on nonprofit excellence. And I don’t know if you’ve heard the term business excellence before. That’s like a much more common, I think um thing that businesses are striving for especially small businesses are like entrepreneurs and there’s like five pillars to business excellence. And so I kind of looked at that and I said, what are the five pillars of nonprofit excellence? Because they are a little bit different or at least you have to say them a little bit differently. Um And then we do that by creating a connected ecosystem of people, resources and learning. So we um we provide educational experiences in content almost every day of the week. Um Monday, we provide a downloadable guide, Tuesday. We do our newsletter Wednesday. We always do a live webinar which you are on with us. Um Thursday, we do a blog article on Friday, we published a podcast episode. Um And so we’re just constantly working with people in the sector. It’s not always what we know, like we’re not the thought leader here. Um But more again, that connected ecosystem and like, I can’t tell you like how many resources are available on nonprofit hub, if you have any type of non profit management, if there’s like a pain point that you’re dealing with, like you need to learn how to even the simplest things, right? Like in the whole point of nonprofit hub is that it’s so tactical and easily digestible that you’re supposed to be able to look at like an article and read the paragraph that you need and then move on with your day, right? Like I don’t want you to study, I don’t want you to be in a course for like five hours. Although we do have courses available for you. Like I know that as an executive director, like you’re searching something on Google every day. Um and like you just need to find the answer and move on, right? Like I need a template, I need a downloadable checklist. Like I need to know what I’m not missing and then you need to move on. So that that’s like kind of like our passion. Okay,

[00:20:19.16] spk_1:
profit profit dot org dot org.

[00:20:22.14] spk_2:
And how many staff we have five staff

[00:20:25.04] spk_1:
distributed over the country?

[00:20:36.95] spk_2:
Yes. Yes. So I’m from West Michigan. I have a team member in Ohio, Alabama, my Obama girl. Um and then I have a gentleman who kind of splits his time between New Jersey, Chicago and Atlanta. Alright. Five. Alright.

[00:20:41.27] spk_1:
Non profit hub dot org. For for the hub, the hub of

[00:21:47.90] spk_0:
resources. It’s time for a break. Stop the drop with donor box, the online donation platform. How many probable donors drop off before they finish making the donation on your website? You can stop the drop and break that cycle with donor boxes. Ultimate donation form added to your website in minutes. Literally when you stop the drop, probable donors become donors four times faster. Checkout easy payment processing, no setup fees, no mentally fees. No contract and you’ll be joining over 40,000 U S nonprofits and over 50,000 throughout the world and the whole earth 50,000 donor box helping you help others. Donor box dot org. Now back to Quiet Quitting with Delaney Mullinix, you coined something in

[00:21:48.92] spk_1:
your like learning objectives. Quiet firing. What is this?

[00:22:15.01] spk_2:
So if we were to define quiet firing in the same way that we define quiet quitting, it’s not the intentional act of trying to push someone out of their job or the organization. Quiet firing is again, kind of those consequences of premature leadership, I think, but also like a burnout leader or a leader who themselves are quiet quitting. Um So this is like a very passive management style. So not providing their reviews, not engaging with your staff members, not providing affirmation is so

[00:22:23.68] spk_1:
toxic. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Are you seeing a lot of quiet firing? You see you see examples or is it trending?

[00:23:01.29] spk_2:
I think what happens is that I think, I think I’ve seen more of like the intentional trying to push someone out than I have seen quiet firing. Um But I think when you see that when you see the behavior of quiet quitting at the board level, um the executive director is probably leaning towards like a quiet quitting behavior. Um If they’re not having a board that’s they have a board that’s quiet firing them. Um And then it just trickles trickles down

[00:23:04.38] spk_1:
from the board. Quiet firing to the CEO Quiet firing the employees, quiet

[00:23:11.39] spk_2:
quitting and you feel a lot less guilt, right? Like doing that when you see your leaders doing it. Yeah.

[00:23:17.95] spk_1:
Okay. Uh All right. So what should we be thinking about? What should we be conscious of, to what? Well, I think we’ve talked about what it looks like, identify the symptoms of quiet quitting. What does, what does the CEO executive director do in the face of this? Maybe it’s just one person, maybe it’s hopefully it’s not throughout your teams. You see a quiet quitter, you suspect quiet quitter. What does the CEO

[00:23:47.12] spk_2:
do? I think there are a couple of things and a lot of my recommendations um that

[00:23:51.30] spk_1:
other supervisors, sorry, I’m trying to think of all our listeners, supervisor of the person doesn’t have to be the

[00:25:23.86] spk_2:
CEO. Yeah, I, a lot of my recommendations I think try to prevent the quiet quitting from happening. Um But there’s also a lot of conversation around. Um and we can kind of tell that the quiet quitting phenomenon isn’t necessarily all negative. Um Like there’s a shift in the power dynamic between the employer, employee and employee and employer. Um like employees are now like valuing their time. There’s a healthier work life balance. Um People are actually intermittently quiet quitting to avoid burnout and wouldn’t the employer want you to do that? Um Like burnout is so toxic, especially when it’s in leadership. Um And So it’s not necessarily a good or bad thing like it’s going to exist, I think forever and it’s been happening in generations well before the workforce right now. Um And there’s lots of evidence on that as well. Like if you look at it, if you look at the U S employee engagement trend, um compared to the rapid shift and generations in the workforce, the engagement has been exactly the same, the same level of employees are engaged since 2000 as they are in 2022. In the same level of employees are actively disengaged in the two thousands as they are now in 2023. So that hasn’t changed at all regardless of how much millennials have now skyrocketed in 2022. They’ll be in less than two years will be 75% of the entire workforce and the second biggest generation is going to be Gen Z. Um But again that, that engagement isn’t actually changing. So like quite quitting wasn’t like a generational thing. Um It’s always been happening,

[00:25:31.76] spk_1:
we’ve identified it, we put a label on it. Alright, so, alright, so uh something of a silver lining, it’s not always

[00:26:10.96] spk_2:
100%. Yeah, this is like the silver lining is that like we’re going to right size jobs. Um People are gonna be in the right seat, there’s going to be a higher level of happiness and engagement like at the end of the day, if we, if we address it in the right way. Um And I think, yeah, again, like the things that I recommend are, I feel like almost basic like hr practices, but again, like leaders aren’t always equipped to have that skill set, like they don’t know, best practices of hr or how to lead and inspire team, like their premature leaders, like they need to learn these things. Um And like, I mean, all the way from like the on boarding experience of your employee to like your job description and your expectations. Um and again, like trying to match personality to the position. Like these are all things that you can do to try to make sure that the staff that you’re putting into a position is going to be engaged and happy. All you

[00:26:52.81] spk_1:
can do is minimize the likelihood. What about, what about going back to my original question? If you do think you see it, how do you engage the employee with the understanding that it’s not always negative, the person might be engaging in just some self care that they feel that they need? But as the person’s supervisor, you’re seeing less engagement, uh maybe poor performance for some. How do you as the supervisor engage with the

[00:27:34.77] spk_2:
employee? Yeah, I think when I see people kind of um like being asleep at the wheel, I guess if you will, like, you’re kind of starting to see more mistakes in their work. You’re like, what is going on? Like, why does this keep happening? Um, I think it is really important to just have like a very open conversation. Um, and I guess it depends on your comfort level doing that, but I typically will, will address it from like a very professional standpoint. Right? Like you’re not like you have to kind of sandwich it in a way that doesn’t sound like to, you don’t want to like, violate anyone’s privacy. You don’t want to make them feel bad in any way. That’s not the point. The point is to help them succeed. But from a factual basis, yes, but from a factual basis, I’ve seen

[00:27:45.84] spk_1:
your performance. Yes. Declining. Here’s two examples of what I’ve seen in the past six weeks.

[00:29:17.22] spk_2:
And I love how um someone once said to me, one of my, like first, one of the first people who like I loved as, as like a business professional. He said, if you’re addressing a problem with someone, you need to frame it as if you continue to do A B and C, then like, these are the consequences type of a thing. So you’re kind of saying like this is the facts, this is what I’m seeing. And actually I think he starts it as maybe I feel that something is going on because I see A B and C and these are the consequences if A B and C continue to happen and then that employee has to take ownership of saying, okay, I don’t want these consequences to happen. And like, let me address like how you’re feeling and what’s actually happening. And I think that actually works, like I’ve certainly tried it before. Um, and you’re taking a very unemotional approach to the situation. Um But it’s still kind of getting to the underlying root cause of that employee’s behavior and performance. Um And almost always the employees say, you know, this has been going on. Um I’ve had employees come out during performance improvement plans and say like this is what I’ve been dealing with for a while and I recognize the issues. Um And like this is valuable to, to have this performance improvement plan because this is something I can focus on. Like these are my goals to focus on. Um versus like everything else in their minds that’s probably like taking their brain space. That’s

[00:29:22.35] spk_1:
a great outcome from a, from a meeting or a couple of meetings

[00:29:44.25] spk_2:
around this. But I think some questions to that, that I’m not sure I am ready to ask my employees but um to the whole like the purpose point thing again, like the question is, how am I helping you fulfill your personal purpose? Um Literally is a question you could ask for beta. All right,

[00:29:45.72] spk_1:
let’s turn to your session. You said you had some interesting questions came out of the session. Like what, what stays with you?

[00:29:59.58] spk_2:
Um Some people were curious. Um, I had a woman who seemed like, pretty frustrated that it was neither a good or bad thing. I didn’t know what to tell her. It just is what it is, but you can mitigate the negative consequences.

[00:30:04.71] spk_1:
She thought it was good or bad. I

[00:30:06.58] spk_2:
don’t know. She asked me this question like five minutes into my presentation so I will get to the pros and

[00:30:12.54] spk_1:
cons. Okay. But you just defined it.

[00:30:16.20] spk_2:
She’s like, I’m confused and I was like, I know sometimes it seems a little weird,

[00:30:19.98] spk_1:
you reassured her that we’re going to talk about it. Yeah.

[00:30:25.51] spk_2:
One of the other really curious questions I had was um, is trying to match personalities, going to create an equity.

[00:30:34.41] spk_1:
Well, she’s right to be equity focused on not just hiring somebody who looks like you and spends their social time like you and you know, that’s valuable. She’s equity concern here. She equity with inequity lens. It’s valuable.

[00:31:51.61] spk_2:
Okay. But I think that’s actually, and I really like that question because I’ve been reading a book called Quiet. And it’s the um the power of introverts and it talks about kind of like the history of introverts and how they’ve been so influential to the workforce and like the values that they bring and like real, like stories of these people. Um and some of the most influential people that we know today, like we’re introverts and I love this book, but it also says that um there was a shift in America where like the best virtue used to be like integrity. And then it kind of had this crazy shift to your highest virtue is like your charisma and like your ability to like be social and it kind of became like the highest rate of currency. And so those people were the ones succeeding in the workforce because that became like the new best thing versus like your integrity, like your loyalty and like you’re like everything else. Um Super interesting. So like, I love that question because I’ve definitely read about that before. Um So like, yeah, if you are, but then the then the question is not every, is every job best fit for an extrovert, not necessarily. Um So yeah,

[00:32:04.31] spk_1:
there are a lot of jobs where extroverts will be frustrated. Alright. Anything else, anything else on the topic? Quite quitting? But we haven’t talked about, I don’t want you holding out on nonprofit radio listeners from your session yesterday? Anything we talked about yesterday that we didn’t talk about today? Um

[00:32:45.29] spk_2:
I guess like one thing that I think might be helpful is when you are doing um and again, these are all things that you kind of learn the hard way. But um I was always in positions where I was again not getting reviews or I felt my reviews were important to my manager. So my reviews either were never scheduled and I had to be like, when’s my review? I think it’s been a year. Am I going to get a review? Like once my review and you had to remind that person, remind that person, remind that person to schedule a review and they’re always like, yeah, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do and they never do it, right. Um I can’t tell you how many people have this similar experience and then when you get to the interview or like when an interview, when the review is scheduled, maybe they postpone it, they have to keep our scheduling because they’re not prepared and then you get into your review and they’re like, oh, five amazing job.

[00:33:00.39] spk_1:
How could you have possibly thought that your review was not important to them? Yeah, crazy

[00:33:41.00] spk_2:
conclusion. So, and it bothers me because reviews are important to employees. Like I’ve been on both sides of the thing. And so now as a leader, I will, when any employee starts, I schedule every single one of the reviews, like literally for a lifetime, even if the employee is no longer with me in my schedule and I can take that out of my schedule. So I do a 30 day review, a 90 day review and an annual review. And I have those immediately went on the employee on boards and I think that’s super important and like, I try my very, very hardest to never reschedule those meetings. Um Like you have to look ahead and you have to prepare for that meeting. Um, and you

[00:33:51.11] spk_1:
know, what can I take a little digression from that? That is eminently doable. If you put something in your calendar, you can preserve it. You just tell other people that you’re not available

[00:34:00.00] spk_2:
at. Exactly. And it’s just as important as any other obligation that you have in your schedule. Unless a

[00:34:23.39] spk_1:
crisis, immediate crisis or, well, crisis, you know, anything personal, anything large personal could be a crisis. Just the point is if you put something in your calendar, it can be protected. It’s up to you to protect it boundaries and with very few exceptions, you say no, I’m sorry, that’s buying another time. So this, you know, the idea that I, I couldn’t keep the appointment. Well, you didn’t want to keep it for whatever reason, you know, I may not know. But yeah, I mean, it’s easy to preserve things, just set the boundaries and enforce them. Obviously, a

[00:35:41.20] spk_2:
of course, I love someone told me one time that you can’t put meeting blocks in your schedule. You have to put meeting locks in your schedule. And I love that you’re valuing your folks. Yes. But when you, when you say someone, when you clearly didn’t put any time into a review, like you think you’re not attention anyways and that makes it easy to fly under the radar. Like I’m not going to put in more effort if like you like whatever, like I’m doing great. Okay, good. I think the next time I come to my review, you’re gonna tell me I’m doing great too, but I’ve been doing like half of what I did before like um but we use something called a five by five by five template and it’s like one of Gino Wickman tools under the entrepreneur operating system. Gino Wickman, Gino Wickman. Yes, he is the creator of the entrepreneurial operating system. A lot of people just say E O s but we use a couple of his strategies, not all of it, some companies completely go into every part of us, but some things we have found to be beneficial and one of them is the review format. And so the first column is your core values and behaviors and actions that represent those core values. Um The second column is a rating. So you write this employee on a scale of 1 to 5. The third column is what’s working in the fourth column is what’s not working. And you can definitely have things in both of those columns at the same time for a particular

[00:36:04.39] spk_1:
core value.

[00:36:25.80] spk_2:
Yes, yes. Um And so there’s, there might be one core value, but there might be four actions or behaviors that exhibit that core value for that specific employees position. Um And then the fifth column is my favorite. It’s the comments column, but there’s a very important aspect of this column and it’s supposed to be what can you do? What can I do? And employee engagement and performance is a two way street. And if you’re managing this employee, there’s always going to be something that you can do and something that they can do to fix what’s not working. And that should always happen in that comment section on our

[00:36:53.20] spk_1:
review. Anything you want to leave us with around quiet quitting. I don’t think so. How about some inspiration? Just maybe just, well, I’ll say it’s a reminder that it’s not good or bad. It’s neither um but some inspiration around what, what, what folks can look out for and how they can help their teams.

[00:37:20.84] spk_2:
Yeah, I think maybe something inspirational and I really truly feel this is that um I think non profit, the nonprofit sector, even though they, everyone keeps saying that we’re losing like the most talent and like the most employees than anyone in the great resignation um that needs to be changed. But I think, I think that we have the biggest advantage out of any sector to change that because we are the purpose sector. Like we are not for profit, all for purpose. And so I think we have like a hand up here and so I think we can do better.

[00:37:52.02] spk_1:
Delaney Mullinix, executive director, non profit hub. You’ll find them at nonprofit hub dot org, an outstanding resource for nonprofits, Delaney. Thank you very much for sharing. Thank you so much. You have a lot of valuable advice. Thank you and thank you for being with tony-martignetti non profit radio coverage of 23 N T C 2023 nonprofit technology conference where we are sponsored by Heller consulting, technology strategy and implementation for nonprofits. Thanks for being with us.

[00:40:15.79] spk_0:
It’s time for Tony’s take two. I need a redox on last week’s. It isn’t, it is what it is. I think I stressed the wrong thing when I made the point that it is what it is absolved blame. And rather we should be accepting blame or accepting responsibility, accountability, either accepting it for ourselves or assigning it. Okay. That was the point I made last week. That was my major point. And there’s something that I just mentioned, which really is the bigger point. So that’s why I need the redux. I just mentioned that if you a sign, it is what it is to something, then you’re accepting it and you’re not looking at possibilities for changing the thing, the situation, the problem, you’re just throwing up your hands and saying it is what it is. It can’t be changed. So really what I want to focus on is not not accepting that is there some way that the thing, the situation, the problem, the issue could be changed and to know if it could be changed, we need to figure out who’s responsible. So that’s really, that’s really the flow of my thinking. Don’t just throw your hands up with it is what it is and give up on a situation if it’s important enough, look for ways that you can change it. That is Tony’s take two. We’ve got Boo koo but loads more time here is email accessibility. Hello and

[00:40:35.88] spk_1:
welcome to tony-martignetti non profit radio coverage of 23 N T C. It’s the 2023 nonprofit technology conference and this is our first interview of the conference where we are sponsored by Heller consulting, technology strategy and implementation for nonprofits with me to kick off our coverage is Coralie

[00:40:39.96] spk_0:
Made

[00:40:40.58] spk_1:
Rodriguez. She is senior production specialist at Firefly Partners. Welcome Cora Lee.

[00:40:47.58] spk_3:
Thank you. I really appreciate the ability to be here and speak with you today.

[00:40:58.03] spk_1:
It’s my pleasure and I’m very much looking forward to the firefly pizza, dinner and beer celebration tomorrow night, right? I

[00:41:01.01] spk_3:
am as well. It should be a really good time.

[00:41:15.72] spk_1:
Okay, cool. So you’re there again? Alright. Your session topic here at 23 NTC is how to make your organization’s email messages accessible. Why did you think we need this topic? What are we not doing? Quite right?

[00:41:20.65] spk_3:
That’s a really good question. And it’s something that I myself have been learning a lot about over the past year and have determined that there’s all kinds of different things that we can do to make email accessible from the content that we are writing to the images that we use. The branding colors that we have and the design elements pulling everything together. It’s been a fascinating process to learn

[00:41:44.46] spk_1:
and there are a lot of people in the U S who have

[00:41:48.09] spk_3:
disabilities. Right. Very many. Yes. In all wide ranges of areas you wouldn’t even expect.

[00:41:54.53] spk_1:
I think, I think you cited in your description over 26% of U S population.

[00:42:00.20] spk_3:
Exactly. And it’s not only physical limitations but language barriers and temporary disabilities, all kinds of different things are covered.

[00:42:11.34] spk_1:
Okay. So let’s uh let’s jump in a bit. You have something called the W C A G email accessibility guidelines. Yes. What’s that? First? I have Dragon Jail on non profit radio. So you have to define W C A G

[00:42:31.71] spk_3:
I am very happy to these are the web content accessibility guidelines and they go for all digital assets out there. So not just email but web and Power Point presentations or anything else that is a digital asset.

[00:42:44.08] spk_1:
Okay. And so what can we learn from?

[00:43:06.04] spk_3:
These are international standards that are designed to create content that is accessible in all of these different areas. So what they do is they set the standards that we need to meet and there’s many different levels. Currently, there is the 2.1 level and that is the one where there’s both a double A and triple A level. Most folks especially in the nonprofit world are just learning about these. So they’re all brand new. So what we need to do is figure out what they are first and then how to apply them to our everyday work. Okay.

[00:43:27.81] spk_1:
The guidelines. So web content accessibility guidelines, W C A G. Okay. Um Just available online somewhere. I don’t know, where do we find them? First of

[00:43:31.70] spk_3:
all, they are part of the W three C consortium which is again part of the international standards around just web accessibility and everything out there. Basically, these are the folks who just find how Microsoft should be writing their code and how everybody else should be writing the code, setting the standards that they needed to meet. Okay,

[00:43:54.92] spk_1:
so, but do we as content producers, I mean, we need to know the W C A G guidelines because you said it filters down to like power points. So do we need to be, I mean, do we need to go and read the guidelines or is it just the guidelines are more higher level like Microsoft levels than, than, than our work?

[00:44:16.14] spk_3:
It’s a very good question. There are a lot of different criteria and really what you need to be aware of are the criteria that apply to your specific work. So me with email accessibility, there are about four or five that I need to pay attention to somebody’s doing Power Point presentations. There are other ones that they would need to meet, but these four are also a part of that.

[00:44:32.04] spk_1:
So first of all, the guidelines are online, we can find them. They are. Yes, web content

[00:44:37.57] spk_3:
accessibility guidelines. Thank you very much.

[00:44:39.67] spk_1:
Okay. Alright. So what specifically to email? So we’re talking about email accessibility. What do we need to learn from, from the guidelines?

[00:45:01.73] spk_3:
Yeah, what you need to learn around the guidelines is that there are four different criteria. The first one is around um having hyperlinks that are underlined in your messages. There is also one around color contrasts that you want to have a 4.5 to 1 ratio between the different colors that you use. And for example, if you think about the color of a background of one section of the message and then maybe a button on top of that, you want to make sure that the button color contrast ratio and that background color meat that 4.5 to 1 ratio. Okay.

[00:45:25.88] spk_1:
Okay. We’re gonna come back to that ratio. What are the other

[00:45:51.07] spk_3:
two? The other 21 of them is around the text that you use in the hyperlink that it needs to be descriptive. So I see very often in my work with clients that people are hyper linking and underlining. Read more or click more. Exactly. And that’s not descriptive for somebody who is using a screen reader or another accessibility device. They’re not going to know what they’re being taken to all they know is read more. And when the screen reader is reading an email message, it pulls all the links together in one spot. So it’s not necessarily as you’re reading through the content,

[00:46:07.36] spk_1:
that’s the key. It’s not in context with the sentence that the link is a part

[00:46:19.64] spk_3:
of correct. So they’ll see, read more, read, more, read, more, click here, read more and that’s not descriptive enough to know where they’re being taken basically

[00:46:22.55] spk_1:
worthless until you click every single thing to find. Okay. Okay. So uh alright. Yeah, I understand. All right. So the hyperlinked text itself and then what’s the final

[00:46:34.38] spk_3:
one? The final one is actually escaping me at the moment. I can’t.

[00:46:38.28] spk_1:
That’s okay. It’ll come back to you. I bet you let’s go back to color contrast. How do you know what your ratio is? There

[00:47:14.78] spk_3:
are luckily a lot of different color contrast checkers out there on the web. My favorite one is color contrast CC and that one is where you simply go in and you enter the hexi decimal values of your colors. And that’s one way of reading what the colors are and it will tell you in comparison like say a dark purple font on a light lavender background. You’ve got those two hexi decimal values, you can compare them in the tool and it’ll tell you exactly what that ratio is. So if it’s a 3.24 to 1, you know that you need to make your dark purple darker or your lavender lighter in order to increase that contrast ratio. Okay? Because you

[00:47:24.72] spk_1:
want to be where between four,

[00:47:26.88] spk_3:
4.5 to 1,

[00:47:32.71] spk_1:
4.5 to 1? Okay. 4.5 to 1. Okay. Okay. Alright. So that was color contrast CC Yes, just color contrast CC dot com.

[00:47:37.56] spk_3:
Yeah, if you look out there, just a simple search for color contrast that will give you a lot of different options out there. So that’s just my personal favorite. And your

[00:47:45.75] spk_1:
designer should know your hex decimal numbers exactly for the different colors you’re using. Okay. Um Is there anything more to say about the hyperlinks underline part? Is it just that they should be underlined?

[00:48:23.11] spk_3:
Really? Because we’ve switched away from making things so accessible over the last 10 or 20 years. Really, we want to make sure that you’re underlining those and that’s super important because it’s going to be consistent with other people’s email messages out there. That’s what folks are expecting to see. So if your color contrast number one, they’re not strong enough having that hype underneath it. The text decoration is really going to call it out so that it’s very clearly identified and able to be seen when somebody is scanning through a message quickly

[00:48:33.31] spk_1:
and underlining, underlining more valuable than just bold facing a hyperlink. Yes, specifically underlined,

[00:48:41.26] spk_3:
specifically underlined.

[00:48:44.21] spk_1:
The fourth one occur to you by any chance yet.

[00:48:47.13] spk_3:
No, it still hasn’t come to mind. We’re going to move

[00:48:52.43] spk_1:
on A D A, the American Disabilities Act, email Compliance. That’s another, this is another standard we need to be aware of it

[00:49:00.47] spk_3:
is and it’s taken into consideration with the wicked guidelines. So this web content accessibility guidelines. Pulley and all of those A D A requirements as a part of it.

[00:49:16.88] spk_1:
Oh okay. So we’re all right now we’re now we’re in like insider not W C like I was calling it I’m trainable. Okay. I’ll call it all right. So if you’re so in other words, if you’re hearing two week ag then you’re you’re hearing to A D A, you are, you are necessarily. Yes. Okay. Alright. So one set of guidelines covers us. It

[00:49:34.86] spk_3:
does the wicked guidelines really took all of those accessibility things into consideration around disabilities.

[00:49:45.47] spk_1:
Um Anything more you want to say about before we move to another topic?

[00:50:15.72] spk_3:
No, I I think it’s something that you really need to pay attention to and I’d say the only other thing I’d love to add is that there are changes that are due out at the end of May 2023. So what we’re setting us our standards right now may change. I don’t expect them to be dramatic, but there are dramatic changes coming in the future. I just don’t think that they’re quite going to be released at the end of May 2023 COVID gave us a little bit of a remission space where people are um putting out things a little bit slower than they used to in the past. So it’s

[00:50:44.95] spk_1:
coming, this, this will likely air, uh, in or after May of this year. So, so if we just keep, keep on top of week ag, well, we’ll have the most current whenever mean, either it’ll either be pre change or post change. But, so if you’re looking in May, you might want to look again in June, July to make sure because there’s changes coming.

[00:50:47.07] spk_3:
Yeah, that’s the point. Yeah, the May 2023 ones are some of the bigger ones, but there’s definitely another full version. Let’s do it after that right now. We’re at 2.1 and I think it’s supposed to be jumping up to 2.3. Okay.

[00:51:29.02] spk_1:
Okay. Uh In the background you’ll hear 23 NTC kicking off because because non profit radio is uh is more efficient than the conference overall. So we started about 10 minutes, Cora Cora Lee and I started about 10 minutes before the conference officially kicked off. But in the background, you may have heard that I don’t know if you could recognize the voice, but that was Amy Sample Ward, the CEO kicking off 23 N T C uh here on the exhibit floor. Alright. So let’s go to uh email accessibility, best practices for designers. There’s more, there’s more than just

[00:52:01.72] spk_3:
there is that you really need to think about those color contrast ratios and the color contrast checkers from a designer’s standpoint. In addition to that you want to make sure you have plenty of space around your call to action buttons. Remember over 50% of folks are reading email on their mobile devices and they need space to be able to click the buttons and be taken to that action without interfering with other texts or other links that may be on the page as well. Sometimes

[00:52:22.49] spk_1:
it feels like people don’t, don’t recognize that. What is it? 80% or 80 85% of people are, are using the web and, and looking at email on their phone, right. They are so some smaller device and yeah. Right. That’s it makes so much you go to push you have to enlarge the screen a lot of times to get to the button that you

[00:52:43.27] spk_3:
want. Exactly. And only that button. Okay. Font size is also a really big important part as well. Like you mentioned with the scrolling. Think about the footer of any of your messages where you’ve got your unsubscribe link or change your preferences in the majority of messages that I see my clients sending out there using a small font and it is accessible. But sometimes I’ve had to myself scroll on my mobile device in order to click that unsubscribe, you want to make that easily accessible so people can get off your list and make sure that your email delivery ability rates stay high.

[00:53:04.55] spk_1:
Yes. Right. Because if people are ignoring your emails that hurts your deliver ability, likelihood it

[00:53:13.82] spk_3:
does. They could be marking you with spam and that’s going to definitely affect your email deliver ability.

[00:53:16.95] spk_1:
We don’t, yeah, we don’t have anybody this year on an email deliver ability, but we have passed NTC. You, you and I are talking about accessibility but deliver abilities a whole nother topic. It is all right. And so one of the things is you want people who are engaging with your emails, not just ignoring them or letting them sit and spam

[00:53:38.19] spk_3:
you want folks to be engaged so that they’re actively participating in your organization and supporting you. They know what content you’re putting out there. They’re in full support of your mission or if not they’re unsubscribing and leaving and going on to something else that they’re more interested in.

[00:53:53.98] spk_1:
But even if they, even if they don’t unsubscribe, the email providers are smart enough to know how people are treating your emails.

[00:54:03.12] spk_3:
Right. They are, they can see that there’s no activity and that’s going to affect your deliver abilities.

[00:54:15.30] spk_1:
Exactly. Alright. Anything else? Best, best practices for designers? I mean, you don’t have to be a professional email designer to be paying attention to spacing and font size.

[00:54:40.97] spk_3:
Know exactly. You do not what other best practices you also want to make sure that you’re limiting your use of all caps when your messages. Because what’s really happening is the all caps text comes across as very square and it’s not easily identifiable to somebody who is looking at the message quickly. So we all have a normal pattern of looking at words and recognizing them by their shape. When you’re using all caps, you’re taking that away and making all of the words very rectangular. So it’s harder to process what you’re reading.

[00:54:54.16] spk_1:
Interesting. So all caps is harder to process

[00:54:58.02] spk_3:
it is. Yes, indeed. We think it stands out. It does stand out, but it’s still going to take folks one second longer to really process what they’re reading.

[00:55:07.17] spk_1:
Okay. Okay. Others, other best practices.

[00:55:10.49] spk_3:
Another one is not centering your text or if you’re going to center your text, use it with a very short headline. All of the other text of the main part of the message should be left aligned. And this again goes to the readability of the message that when you get to the end of the line, if everything is centered, it’s going to take folks a little bit longer to identify where the start of the next line is as they read down the message.

[00:55:36.87] spk_1:
Okay. So there are, there are studies about how people read, how long it takes them to read email on, on the mobile device.

[00:56:02.23] spk_3:
Yeah. Right now it takes about nine seconds for somebody to comprehend the content that they’re reading in a message or at least that’s the amount of time that they’re devoting on average to reading a message, especially if someone has cognitive disability, it’s going to take them a little bit longer to process, but their attention span is not going to be longer than those nine seconds. So, if you want to get your message across, you want to make sure that everything is really easy for them to read, identify and get the content out and understand what they’re reading.

[00:56:19.79] spk_1:
Nine seconds. That sounds like still just enough time for my mother to create guilt. Nine seconds doesn’t sound like much, but it’s eminently doable for her. Okay. Other best practices before

[00:56:32.78] spk_3:
we move on, you know, that’s really it for the design perspective. And again, like you mentioned, you don’t have to be a full designer to apply these to any message that you’re building. This is basic,

[00:56:49.29] spk_1:
I mean, just don’t use all caps or using very judiciously and don’t center only headlines, etcetera. Okay. Okay. I don’t see a reason for all caps. Is there, is there, is there justification for all caps anywhere?

[00:56:54.56] spk_3:
No, I think from the design perspective, it does make things stand out a little bit more. But if you think about processing time of somebody reading that that could be the negative for why not to use it,

[00:57:05.17] spk_1:
right? But it’s just it’s just taken as shouting too, right? I mean, I still perceive it that way. Is that, am I to 2002? Am I, am I still like a dinosaur when I see all caps? I still think people are shouting.

[00:57:18.28] spk_3:
Yeah, I think that is a generational thing because my daughter actually does not see it the same way. She doesn’t see it as shouting and she’s just 18, she’s 18.

[00:57:26.20] spk_1:
She does not. All right, Gen Z. Okay. Do you,

[00:57:30.21] spk_3:
what do you think? I think it’s all all shouting. Definitely.

[00:57:54.83] spk_1:
Alright. Thank you for representing you don’t have to be 61 like I am to think that it’s all shouting. All right. Um You’re another another sort of take away that you you promised is uh code html, emails with better accessibility. Now, now we’re talking about coding html. Is this higher level design type advice?

[00:57:55.82] spk_3:
You definitely have to have some understanding of what you’re looking for in the messages. And again, this definitely ties back to what email platform you’re using to send your messages. If they’re using a drag drop type of approach, you may not be able to get to the HTML. So this is something that you don’t need to pay attention to like a like a male chimp, like a male chimp or a constant contact dragging,

[00:58:24.28] spk_1:
dropping you highlight, you work, you enter what you want and and the provider puts it in the right place tonight format, et cetera, you just click a button to do what you want

[00:58:31.88] spk_3:
for you.

[00:58:32.25] spk_1:
Alright. Alright. So that’s this is higher level that the HTML part is for folks who are actually getting into the code.

[00:58:55.25] spk_3:
It is, but even along with us. There are definitely some things that you can look for such as adding all tax to your images. You want to make sure there is an alternative description for any images. We all know the outlook is not notorious for turning off an image. So the first thing you’re going to see is that alternative text, a screen reader is also going to see this the alternative text. So that’s how you get to explain exactly what the purpose of this image is. What is it containing? What’s the message you’re trying to get across?

[00:59:14.30] spk_1:
You know, a lot of this occurs to me is just, I don’t know, it’s kind of thoughtfulness if you just be thoughtful, like include all text, make your hyperlinks descriptive, you know, more than a word or two. I mean, some of this just seems like if you’re, if you’re conscious, you’ll be more thoughtful about accessibility.

[00:59:30.93] spk_3:
And that’s really what it is. One of the things I noticed that I was doing over the past five years was rushing through a message to get out the door. Somebody would give me the content of one hour and I had to send by five o’clock. And I know that that happens in a lot of nonprofits, you’ve got that deadline you have to meet. But if we stop and think about all these accessibility practices, it’s not that much more time that we’re adding on in order to get these messages able to be read by everybody out there.

[01:00:00.52] spk_1:
Um I’m interested in how you got into email. Message, accessibility. That’s pretty, seems like a pretty narrow niche.

[01:00:28.03] spk_3:
It is, but it definitely ties into everything else out there. I’ve been working an email for over 20 years, working in the male chimps. I’ve worked in illuminated online engaging networks, part of salesforce marketing cloud. You name it. There are very consistent things across all of those platforms and things that you have to do. You have to write the content, the message you have to have who it’s coming from the subject line, etcetera. So building upon that and diving into different things with different clients, I’ve learned about the email delivery ability. I’ve learned about now with within the last year, the accessibility and there’s always a new layer of something that you can learn tied into email that’s going to help nonprofits get their message out there and connect with the right people.

[01:00:54.30] spk_1:
You’ve spent 20 years working in email, you’re a dedicated email professional

[01:01:00.43] spk_3:
I am. And it’s a very unique place to be because it’s not like the web, the standards are not the same for how the email clients have to read the code that they’re getting in the messages. I

[01:01:12.49] spk_1:
say a little more about that.

[01:01:48.83] spk_3:
What do you mean? Well, think about Microsoft Outlook is one example and then you also have Gmail and you have Yahoo. There’s no consistency in how those email tools are built to read the messages and the code that they’re getting. So one will very happily accept centered buttons. Another one will not like outlook does not like rounded corners on buttons and there’s special coding that you have to use in order to enforce those background images behind messages. That’s one that’s really hard to do. And there’s a whole bunch of little nitty gritty details around the coding that you can force things to look one way or another. But you’re never going to get that perfect picture email to look the same on all of those different platforms. There’s approximately 15,000 different ways. Any one message could look when it’s sent out into the world.

[01:02:24.19] spk_1:
So how do you, I think what happens for a lot of us is we just were not email 20 year email professionals like you are. So we just say screw it. I’ll just, I’ll do something else. Uh Forget the rounded edges, forget the background image, you know, I’ll just, I’ll do something else but uh but as a 20 year email professional, so alright, 15,000 different platforms. We’re talking about different renderings, right? Rendering of email. How do you, so how do you satisfy a client who isn’t going to just say screw it?

[01:02:39.25] spk_3:
That’s a really good question. I

[01:02:41.14] spk_1:
want it this way for 99% of the people who get my email. And

[01:03:13.26] spk_3:
what do you do? What I do is I look at their data list and I see what email clients, their supporters are using. And from there, I see what the top percentages are. Is it. Outlook is a Gmail is a Yahoo and I make sure that the emails look good in those top 20%. And then when we get down to the very bottom of that $15,000 list, well, you really can decide, you know that. Okay, maybe um there’s an Apple device that folks are really not using very much. Maybe that’s only 1% of their audience. And that’s the one that we make sure it looks good, but it’s not going to match the others.

[01:03:25.25] spk_1:
Okay. That was, that was the hypothetical client who said, make it look right for 99%.

[01:03:31.12] spk_3:
And that is a real client. They do this.

[01:03:37.40] spk_1:
All right. Well, we won’t deal with the one who says it’s got to be 100%. Um All right. Very interesting. All right. Anything else you want to tell us about email message accessibility? We have, we have time together. If there’s anything we didn’t cover that you want to talk about?

[01:04:26.97] spk_3:
Yeah, one more point that I’d like to make is around the language that we’re using in our messages. There is a style of writing called plain language which uses simplified simple sentences and everyday language which really breaks down the barriers about the content that we’re sending out into the world most of the time you would think that writings that everybody could understand would be a best practice naturally. But in the way that we write in the news media through health information, and I do work with a lot of health focused nonprofit organizations. The language gets overly complex and it’s not necessarily underst by those who are receiving the messages. So if we use a plain language style of writing that is going to really help break down the words that are used and the intent of the message so that everybody can understand

[01:04:42.25] spk_1:
plain language. Does that just mean try to write more like the way we speak?

[01:04:47.68] spk_3:
Yes. So it’s less like what you learn in college as the professional, you know, this is the grammar style that you need to use. All

[01:05:06.30] spk_1:
of that contractions could be okay. Exactly. I can’t instead of I cannot, you know, alright, so more friendly, more, more, yeah, more friendly sounding tone. Yes. Is

[01:05:09.42] spk_3:
preferred. It’s going to be understood by a wider audience base.

[01:05:21.59] spk_1:
Okay. So forget what you learned in in uh your college English course because that was ready for academe journals, essays and theses, but we’re writing blog posts, emails sidebars. You know, we don’t, we don’t have the luxury of 15,000 words for, for, for a research journal. You know, we’re trying to get our point across in like 200

[01:05:39.65] spk_3:
words. Exactly with somebody who has a very short digital attention span,

[01:05:45.52] spk_1:
but still long enough for my mother to create guilt. Alright. Alright, Cora Lee, we’re gonna leave it there. Are you okay? Anything else?

[01:05:53.39] spk_3:
That’s all I’ve got today. I really appreciate this. Thank

[01:05:55.62] spk_1:
you. When you’re, when you’re doing your, are you doing your session?

[01:05:58.39] spk_3:
My presentation is this afternoon I think 2 45. All right, good luck. I hope

[01:06:11.71] spk_1:
it goes very well. Thank you. All right, my pleasure, Cora Lee Mead Rodriguez, senior production specialist at Firefly Partners. Looking forward to the party tomorrow night and thank you for being with our 23 NTC coverage where we are sponsored by Heller consulting, technology strategy and implementation for nonprofits.

[01:06:51.58] spk_0:
Next week, data, maturity and engagement and stewardship. If you missed any part of this week’s show, I beseech you find it at tony-martignetti dot com. We’re sponsored by Donor Box with intuitive fundraising software from Donor box. Your donors give four times faster helping you help others. Donor box dot org. Our creative producer

[01:06:52.72] spk_1:
is Claire Meyerhoff

[01:07:12.33] spk_0:
shows social media is by Susan Chavez. Mark Silverman is our rep guy and this music is by Scott Stein. Thank you for that affirmation. Scotty B with me next week for nonprofit radio. Big nonprofit ideas for the other 95% go out and be great.

Nonprofit Radio for September 19, 2022: The Tech That Comes Next

 

Amy Sample Ward & Afua Bruce: The Tech That Comes Next

Social impact orgs, technology developers, funders, communities and policy makers can all do better at technology development, argue Amy Sample Ward and Afua Bruce in their new book, “The Tech That Comes Next.”

 

 

 

 

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[00:02:21.94] spk_0:
Hello and welcome to Tony-Martignetti non profit radio big non profit ideas for the other 95%. I’m your aptly named host of your favorite abdominal podcast. Oh, I’m glad you’re with me. I’d bear the pain of pseudo ag raffia if I had to write the words you missed this week’s show the tech that comes next social impact orgs, technology developers, funders, communities and policymakers can all do better at technology development for greater equity, argue Amy sample Ward and Bruce in their new book, The tech that comes next tony take two heading to the Holy Land. We’re sponsored by turn to communications pr and content for nonprofits. Your story is their mission turn hyphen two dot c o and by fourth dimension technologies I. T. Infra in a box the affordable tech solution for nonprofits. tony-dot-M.A.-slash-Pursuant D Just like 3D but they go one dimension deeper. It’s my pleasure to welcome Amy sample Ward returning she’s the ceo of N 10 and our technology and social media contributor there at AMY sample ward dot org and at Amy R. S Ward and to welcome Bruce. She is a leading public interest technologist who has spent her career working at the intersection of technology policy and society. She’s held senior science and technology positions at data kind, the White House, the FBI and IBM She’s at a few a underscore Bruce who is a F. U. A. Together they’ve co authored the book the tech that comes next how change makers, philanthropists and technologists can build an equitable world. Their book is at the tech that comes next dot com. Amy welcome to nonprofit radio Thanks

[00:02:26.04] spk_1:
for having us.

[00:02:27.35] spk_2:
I’m glad to

[00:02:28.07] spk_1:
hear what you

[00:02:29.25] spk_0:
think both of you for the first time. Very nice to meet you. Glad to have you.

[00:02:34.51] spk_2:
I’m so excited to be here.

[00:02:53.06] spk_0:
Thank you, excited. That’s terrific. You may be more excited than I am. I don’t know, but I know I’m very excited. I’m very pleased. I already said I was pleased, excited. Is excited is even better than pleased. Thank you. Uh let’s start with you since people know AMY sample ward voice. Um I feel like we should start with a definition of technology the way you to see it.

[00:03:45.79] spk_2:
Absolutely technology can mean many things to many different people and even when people just simply hear the word of technology here, the word technology contra and hope of the future and assistive devices that may transform our world, but it can also bring up feelings of in trepidation and confusion and so in the book, when we talk about technology, we define it very broadly as to what our tools that exist to help us really exist in the world. Um and so this can be anything from digital systems and websites and like AI for example, but it’s also more basic things such as you know, pay deeper or other tools that are just used. And so we define it extremely broadly in the book. The focus of the book does focus on digital technologies though and really looking at adoption and use and development of digital technologies especially as it relates to the social impact sector

[00:04:07.28] spk_0:
and what what troubles you about our relationship to technology?

[00:04:36.38] spk_2:
Um, well I am an engineer, a computer engineer specifically. And so I love technology. I love being in technology. I love doing all sorts of things with technology. I love designing new ways to use technology and figuring out how to design technology to support new ways of interact that we have. I think one of the things that

[00:04:41.22] spk_1:
does

[00:05:34.13] spk_2:
give me pause though is how some see technology or some try to position technology as the be all and end all the magic solution that we could have to solve all of our problems. And that if we simply find the right technology, if we simply insert technology into any societal problem that we’re facing, that that technology will magically fix whatever we have been facing. And that’s simply not true technology not a natural phenomenon. It is something that we could create. It’s something that we should be intentionally creating to minimize bias to make sure that technology is developed and used in inclusive ways and really does enhance what we want to do as humans, which is hopefully live well together in community. Um and not just be used as some big tool to force uh different, often um different, often disproportionately impacting outcomes

[00:05:45.54] spk_0:
and you have a lot to say about development specifically more more equitable development.

[00:07:43.75] spk_2:
Yes, absolutely. Um I think equitable development of technology is something that can and should be continuing to grow. I think historically, especially when we look at the past several decades of the rise of digital technologies and technology more broadly the um the power, the money, the education has been concentrated in one group and a lot of other groups, it includes a lot of historically underrepresented or overlooked communities um based on ethnicity, based on gender identity, based on sexuality, based on ability, physical ability, mental ability or more um have really been left out or forgotten about. And so when we talk about a more inclusive design process and more inclusive development process for technology, we’re talking about one being more inclusive to who is actually allowed in the room when we talk about technology design. So who do we see as capable of being technologist um and who have who has those abilities to engage that way, but also recognizing that because technology does not exist alone, but because technology doesn’t exist in a vacuum, because technology can’t magically solve all of our problems on our own. Even if you’re not a technologist, you should be at the table in some of these design conversations because you are part of communities that have needs and those needs should be articulated at the start of the design process. You might understand a particular subject matter. I think in the book we talk about using technology in the education space, in the food space in other spaces as well, you may have some of that knowledge that is critical to making sure that the technology supports the overall goals of those sectors. And so it is important that as we think about being inclusive in developing technology, we make space for not just different types of people who are able to be technologists, but also different types of expertise that we need in that developed process.

[00:08:09.00] spk_0:
So you’re not so pleased with the model where rich, privileged white males develop technology develop, identify what’s going to be solved and how best to solve it. I I assume that that model is not working for you.

[00:08:27.26] spk_2:
I would say I would go even further than

[00:08:30.25] spk_0:
going out and

[00:08:30.92] spk_2:
it’s not working for most of us. Um so it is not working for most of us to have the power concentrated in that

[00:08:52.64] spk_0:
way. Okay. And in fact, uh someone see, I don’t know who wrote which sentences, but somebody wrote. We can’t continue to perpetuate the belief that those with the most money know best. I don’t know, maybe your editor put that in. You may not even be one of the two of you. I don’t know. Maybe

[00:08:57.13] spk_2:
I

[00:08:58.76] spk_0:
trust

[00:09:36.43] spk_2:
me amy and I spent many, many hours on many, many aspects of writing and editing to make sure that what is in the book. We both stand behind. And so absolutely with that sentence. Something that I think we we both stand behind. Um We can’t let you said we can’t let one small population in this case rich privileged white men be the ones who design all of the technology and decide all of the outcomes for everyone. We really need to. And in the book we talk a lot about how it’s so important, why it is so important to go back to communities and communities who understand their needs to understand their priorities and let communities drive that process. That would then include um policymakers. That then includes funders that that includes um technologists themselves and that includes

[00:09:53.21] spk_0:
uh

[00:09:54.53] spk_2:
the leaders and employees at social impact organizations.

[00:09:58.85] spk_0:
Another aspect of it is that just what’s what problems get solved? What what what gets attention?

[00:10:06.18] spk_2:
Absolutely. And um I think we have lots of ideas on this, but I have been talking for so long. Um I would love to pass it.

[00:10:29.88] spk_0:
We’ll get a simple word gets amy sample Ward will get their chance. Okay. Um Alright, if you insist for All right. Um Okay, if we have to go to Amy Now. All right. Uh You say somebody wrote this sentence. Uh Exactly related to what I was just saying. We dream of community centered work that builds from community centered values and there’s a lot of emphasis on going back to values. Um Why don’t you uh just sort of introduce us to the some of those values amy

[00:14:05.53] spk_1:
sure. Happy to. um I think that you know one thing we say in the book and we’ve we’ve enjoyed getting to talk to a lot of groups about since the book has come out is that everything we do as people is centered on values, but often times we don’t talk about them, we don’t make sure that our values are aligned when we start working on something. And so then those values become a some and I think we’ve all heard many different puns about what happens when you operate on assumption. Right. And so that’s that’s kind of part and parcel of also assuming that the only people that can make technology are people with certain degrees or that have a certain amount of money or that you know look a certain way. Um again that that’s those are values that we’re not talking about and that we need to talk about so that we can be really intentional about what we want to focus on. Um and in the book, you know of who has already been speaking to some of those values that there’s important role and we need to prioritize lots of different lived experience as an important part of any technology project. Um that a lot of different people should be involved in every single stage of that process, not like at the end, once we build something and we like pull the pull the little cover off and are like today we built it, what do you think there should be no pulling the cover off? You know, everyone should have already been part of it and known it was being built this whole time. Um but also values that I think are important to can it name early in the conversation around accessibility, so much of the barriers and the walls around technology projects that are there, you know again, whether people are talking about them explicitly or not that are maintaining this this false reality, that only certain people can be involved are coming from a place of saying oh we speak a certain way we use these acronyms. We we talk about things without slowing down for other people to be involved. So what does accessibility look like? Not just that a tool could be used with a system of you know devices but really that you are not using jargon that you’re making sure things are being held at the time of day when those folks that you want involved can be there. Um that child care is provided that your user group meetings, you know every level that you are operating in ways that really do make things accessible to everyone. Um and I think another value that we like to talk about early in conversations is the book is kind of a big idea like the world is not the world we have right now, like what if it was not this, what if it was equitable and just and wonderful. Um, and I know you want to talk about the illustrations colorful uh, you know, so to get there. It’s not like two steps. It’s not okay. That’ll be on like the 2024 plan, right? It’s a lot of work. And so technology and the relationship and expectations we put on it just like social change are that we can make incremental right now immediate changes and at the same we can be working on really big changes. The shifts that get us to a very different world that we have to do both. We can’t just say, well let’s live with harmful technologies and and harmful realities until we can all of a sudden just change over to the like non harmful one. Um, you know, we need to make changes today as we’re building for bigger change.

[00:16:31.93] spk_0:
It’s time for a break. Turn to communications. They have a bi weekly newsletter that I get. It’s called on message and they had something interesting in the, in the last one, it was five ways to find the timely hook and I’ve talked about news hooks with them that can be a great opportunity for you to be heard when there is some kind of a news hook. So how do you find these timely hooks, couple of their ideas track recognition days and months. I just did that in august, it was national make a will month and I did a bunch of content around that and there was, you know, there are days and months for everything like pickled day and a lot. So you can search for, you can search for the the recognition days and months, find something that fits with your work. Another one was just staying current with the news. They said they were gonna send their e newsletter on the day that queen Elizabeth died but they thought better of it because you’re not gonna be able to get people’s attention. People are just gonna be deleting emails more rapidly because they’re consumed with the death of the queen. So they held off a day or two. Um, and tying to a trend is another one that they suggested. Uh and they give the example of when um including salaries in job postings was trending and they used the example of somebody who actually wrote contrary to that idea. But it was timely because it was something that lots of people were talking about. So there’s a couple of ways of identifying the hooks, You can get their newsletter on message. Of course you go to turn hyphen two dot c o. Turn to communications. Your story is their mission now back to the tech that comes next. How is it that technology is not neutral? Amy

[00:16:36.71] spk_1:
well,

[00:16:37.09] spk_0:
humans, humans,

[00:17:26.74] spk_1:
I don’t think humans have the capacity to be neutral. And we are the ones creating technology. I mean even before digital technologies. You know, the number of um, pieces of farm equipment that could be considered technology, you know, humans built those that kill people who are left handed because the tool was built by right handed people to be used with your right hand, right? Like there’s there’s not a lot of evidence that humans can be neutral. And so then you add to that that we’re building it with a often very small group of people not talking about values for something that is meant to be you know, used in a different context with different people. It’s it just doesn’t have the capacity to be neutral. Let’s

[00:17:43.78] spk_0:
take something that’s so ubiquitous. It’s an easy example. Let’s take facebook. How is so somebody’s facebook is there, you can use it or not use it. How is that not just a neutral entity sitting there for you to use or not use,

[00:19:31.46] spk_1:
I mean you are welcome to use or not use facebook but just because you have the choice to use something or not use, it doesn’t mean it’s neutral. The platform is collecting your data is selling your data is deciding whether and how you can use the tool to connect with other people or to create groups, right? It is not allowing you the control over how your data and and use of the platform goes. So it’s kind of a false choice really. Um and for a lot of people, it is very much a false choice. There. There isn’t the feeling that they cannot use it if it’s the only quote unquote free tool that they could use to find certain resources or to otherwise, you know, talk and stay in communication with certain people, but at what cost, you know, and I think that’s the kind of conversation we’re trying to spark in the book is technology isn’t neutral, we just accept that and then we say and so at what cost at what harm are people having to make these choices around how they navigate technology? And we we have never presupposed in this book or in our lives that facebook or any other platform is going to necessarily make the choices that are best for the community and that’s why policymakers have an entire chapter in the book. You don’t need to be a text specialist or have a who is you know, technical background to be a policymaker that’s making smart protective policies that for users we need to say, hey people should be able to access and protect and restrict their data. Let’s make some policies around that. Right? Because the platforms are not going to make that policy themselves that that restricts them. Um and so I think again, all of these different groups together, get us to the tools that we need and not just the technology developers themselves,

[00:19:56.28] spk_0:
a few anything you want to add to that. Uh My my question about why facebook is not a neutral tool.

[00:20:50.18] spk_2:
I I think Amy gave a really good overview as to why technology and facebook in this case is not neutral. I think um you know, a lot of people now you’ll hear say they algorithm made me see it, the algorithm didn’t make me see something and that just also goes to the fact that someone has programmed the algorithm, someone has decided what will be given more weight or what will be given less weight, what will be emphasized won’t be emphasized. And so that then drives your interactions and the biases that the programmers have or the stated goals that the owners of the platform have then get seen to encoded into the technology that you use, whether it’s facebook or any other platform that then can affect how you interact, even if you do decide to often to using the technology as Amy mentioned, you always well not always, but you often have a choice as to which technology you want to use, what platform you want to log into, you want to engage with or not, but once you’re there, your choices are often limited in ways you might not realize because of the fact that technology is not neutral.

[00:21:20.02] spk_0:
We’re getting into the idea of oppressive systems which which the book talks about for you wanna explain. So, facebook may very well be an example, but what what what what’s oppressive systems generally,

[00:23:01.71] spk_2:
you know, I think one of the underlying themes of our book is that technology can really be used to enhance goals and to sort of enhance missions, and we argue in the book that we want to, you know, social impact organizations, especially communities to find ways for technology to enhance their mission, to help them accomplish their goals more often. But the reality is that technology again sits on top of people because it’s created by people and so to the egg extent in which extent to which um there are oppressive systems and society, whether that’s around how people get jobs or access education or access other resources, um that is then I can just be translated into the technology systems that then help facilitate our lives. It’s the same principles for different sort of outdated policies that have been rooted in unequal access. For example, if you just take those policies and write code then um that directly relates to policies, the new system, this technical system you’ve created has those same oppressive oppressive aspects in that system. And so again, when we talk about designing technology does need to come back to what communities are we designing for? Are we talking to them? Are we letting communities really drive that work? And through the development process are we really keeping in mind some of the historical context, some of the social context, some of the knowledge about biases and how that appears in different technology and what ties doesn’t have to how organizations function and how policymakers do their work, Um what we need to be funding to make sure that we have the time and the money to invest in a more inclusive process.

[00:25:40.82] spk_1:
I just want to add as I was talking about that um, and kind of trying to like hear our own conversation while while we’re in it and to share the reminder that while of course like facebook is this giant huge technology platform. Um, we are also talking about technologies that nonprofits make, you know, an organization that decided to have their staff or hire a web designer to help build something on their website that allowed users to complete their profile or to donate on their website. All of these things that organizations are doing with technology is also developing technology, right? It also needs to be inclusive. It should also have a lot of your community members and users part of that process the whole way, right. This isn’t just for for profit giant tech companies to hear this feedback, this is everyone including the way we fund our own technology inside of organizations, the way we prioritize or build or don’t prioritize or you know, don’t build technology and when we, when we think of it that way and you know, it’s just so easy, I think or I think it is easy to to say, oh my gosh, facebook is an oppressive platform, all of these things are horrible. It’s done all of these things. We can, you know, we could search for news articles from a decade of issues, right? But that kind of shifts the attention. Um, and acts like we as organizations don’t have any blame to share in that not that we’re sharing in facebook’s blame, but like we too are part of making not great decisions around technology, you know. Um there’s an organization that I I experienced this as a user on their website and had to give them some feedback that there they collected demographics as you’re creating your profile super common to do right? Um, their race and ethnicity category for like all humans that would answer this category only had four options total of all of the races and ethnicities in the world. There were four. Not one of those options was multiracial, not one of those was other. Let me tell you the thing you didn’t list here, right? You had to pick required question with four radio

[00:25:52.25] spk_0:
buttons.

[00:26:29.98] spk_1:
That’s that is that is harmful, right? Like you and maybe there was a good reason, not a good reason. Maybe there was a reason that you felt, you know, your funder makes you report in those four categories. I totally understand how hard it is to like manage your work as well as meeting all these funder reporting requirements. That’s something we talk about the book that is an issue. We need to go fix funders reporting requirements, but just because a funder says give us state in these four categories does not mean those are your four categories right? You have an obligation to your car community to be better than that. Um, and so I just want to name that as an example that we’re not just taking the easy route of complaining about facebook, which I would love to do for like five more hours.

[00:26:41.44] spk_0:
No facebook is not even facebook is not even,

[00:26:43.71] spk_1:
you know what I mean? Also trying to name it as something we’re doing inside our organizations to

[00:28:58.50] spk_0:
your example reminds me of the example you cite from jude shimmer who says, you know, she’s filling out a donation, they’re filling out a donation form and there’s no mx option. It was mr mrs Miss, I guess no mx um, by the way, you had several nonprofit radio guests quoted in the book, Jason sham steve hi jude. So I’m glad non profit radio brought these folks to your attention. You know, elevated their voices so that you, you became aware of them because you would not have known them outside. Well that’s elevating voices. That’s exactly exactly right. It’s time for a break. 4th dimension technologies, technology is an investment. Are you seeing this? You’re investing in staff productivity, you’re investing in your organization’s security donor relations because you’re preserving giving and all the actions and all the person’s preferences and their attendance and things. So you’re certainly investing in your donor relationships, uh, in your sustainability. So because technology is gonna help you preserve your mission into the future. So I don’t want to just throw something out and then not explain it. So see technology as an investment, fourth dimension can help you invest wisely. So, uh, make those savvy tech investment decisions. You can check them out on the listener landing page at Just like three D. But you know, they don’t want to mention deeper. Let’s return to the tech that comes next. All right. So let’s bring it. All right. So no, as I said, facebook is not mentioned in the book. I was choosing that as a ubiquitous example, but let’s bring it to something that is non profit created. Who wants to talk about. I kind of like the john jay college case because I used to do planned giving consulting for john jay, who, which of you knows that story better. Nobody

[00:30:43.41] spk_2:
looking at other resume. But I will, I will happen and talk about the john jay college example. So just briefly for folks who might not have read the book or gotten to that section of the book yet. Um, john jay college, an institution in new york city that had recognized that they had a lot of services geared towards making sure people finished their freshman year and started their second year, but not as many services geared towards people who, um, not as many services geared towards me, making sure people then ultimately graduate. And so specifically they had noticed that they had a large number of students or a not insignificant number of students who completed three quarters of the credits they needed to graduate but didn’t ultimately complete their degree and graduate. They partnered Data kind, which is an organization that provides data science and ai expertise to other profits and government agencies. Um so they worked with those data scientists to really understand their issue to look at the 20 years of data that the academic institution had collected. The data. Scientists ran about two dozen models, I think it was and ended up coming up with ended up developing a specific model specific tool for john jay college To use that identified students who are at risk of dropping out and potential interventions. The John Jay College staff then made the final determination as to what intervention would be done and how that would be done. And two years after this program was started at John Jay College credits the program with helping additional nine 100 students graduate. Um and so that is, I think, you know, one of the examples that we’re talking about of really the technology coming together with the subject matter experts really being used to enhance the mission and then really again, technology and humans working together to make sure that the outcomes are our best for everyone.

[00:31:04.33] spk_0:
There’s some takeaway there too in regard to ethics, the use of the data collection and use of the data. Can you talk about that? Absolutely,

[00:31:51.44] spk_2:
Absolutely, absolutely. As we think about data collect data collection data use data analysis, I think in general, especially in the social impact space, you want to make sure that you got consent when you collect the data that you’re collecting it in ways that make sense, that you’re not necessarily over collecting um you’re storing in the right way is protected in the right ways. Um and then as you need to do something with it, you can you can access it, you can use it as a way to foster communication across a different departments. I think one thing that was really exciting and talking to the john jay college staff as they said this program in that development actually force conversations across departments which if you’ve ever done any work at an academic institution, you know, working across departments on campus can be challenging and so sometimes the data can force those conversations and can also help strengthen arguments for the creation or um termination of different programs.

[00:32:15.79] spk_0:
Thank you because ethics is one of the one of your core values ethical considerations around around technology development and

[00:33:23.63] spk_1:
I think that’s I like that you’re bringing that up tony because I think it reinforces, I mean a fool was saying this, but just to kind of like explain those words when we’re saying that technology is there to help humans, it means that algorithm that was created is not moving forward and sending, you know, a resource or sending an inch invention to a student, it is not there to do the whole process itself, right? It’s there for its portion and then humans are looking at it, they are deciding, you know, who needs, what resources, who needs what intervention. And they then do that outreach right? Versus that idea that I think nonprofits especially think of all the time. Like if we just got the tool then this whole like thing will be solved and it’ll just like somehow run its course, you know, and like the robots will be in charge and that’s not great. We don’t need to do that. We’re not looking for robots to be in charge but also in this really successful example of technology being used, it’s still required people, you know, the technology isn’t here to replace them. It’s to do the part that we don’t have the time to do. Like crunch all those numbers and figure those things out and then the people are doing what people are meant to do, which is the relationship side, The intervention side, the support side, you know. Um and

[00:33:43.70] spk_0:
I just want to kind

[00:33:44.49] spk_1:
Of separate the two right?

[00:33:46.71] spk_0:
The tool was to flag those who are at greatest risk of not graduating after they have I think three quarters of the points or credits. Uh so so that

[00:33:58.99] spk_1:
that

[00:34:13.73] spk_0:
right, that that’s an ideal day. That’s an ideal uh data mining artificial intelligence task. Just flag the folks who are at greatest risk because we’ve identified the factors like I don’t remember what any of the factors were. G. P. A. I think was one. But whatever the factors are identified them now flag these folks. Now it’s time for a human to intervene and give the support to these to this population so that we can have 900 more folks graduating than than we expect would have without without the use of the tool.

[00:35:19.70] spk_2:
Yeah, absolutely. And just to continue to build on what Amy was saying. I think sometimes as nonprofits are considering technology or maybe hearing pitches about why they should use technology or why they should select a particular technology. It can be overwhelming because sometimes the perception is that if you adopt technology it has to then take over your system and and rem move sort of the human aspect of running your nonprofit and that’s simply not the case. You can always push back as to what those limits need to be sort of in general but also very specifically for your organization for your community. What makes sense? What doesn’t make sense? And so really prioritizing as Amy said, the using the technology to take advantage and to do those tasks that or just simply more efficient and computers are more capable of doing that while you use the humans involved for the more human touch and some of those more societal factors I think really um it’s important to emphasize that as leaders of social impact organizations, as leaders of nonprofits, you have that agency to sort of understand and to decide where the technology is used and where it isn’t used.

[00:36:57.67] spk_1:
Yeah, we, we were really conscious when we were working on the book to disrupt this pattern that you know, it’s like you learn a new word and then you see it in everything that you read. Um once, once we talk about it here, you’re gonna like go and everything you click on on the internet, you’re going to see it. But technology companies have been trying to sell us for a long time very successfully that their product is a solution and technologies are constantly using that language when you’re looking at their website, when they’re talking to you, you know, this is an all in one crm solution, this whatever, they are not solutions, they are tools and as soon as we, as you know, non profit staff start adopting that, they are the solutions, we then start kind of relinquishing the control, right? And thinking, oh well the solution is that this too, tool has all of this, It is just a tool, you are still the solution right? You are still the human and we, we didn’t want to have that language in the book. So you know, we’re always talking about technology as a tool because with, without humans needing to put it to work, it doesn’t need to exist. We don’t need to have a world that’s trying to make sure we can maintain all of this technology if we don’t need it anymore. Thank you for your service. Like please move along. We don’t, we don’t need that anymore. And that’s okay. We don’t need to feel bad that a tool isn’t needed anymore. It’s not needed. Great. We have different needs now, you know, um and changing that kind of dynamic and relationship inside organizations.

[00:37:24.77] spk_0:
A Crm database is a perfect example of that. It’s not gonna, it’s not gonna build relationships with people for you. It’s just gonna keep track of the activities that you have and it’s gonna identify people’s giving histories and event attendance and help them ticket etcetera. But it’s not going to build personal relationships. They’re gonna lead to greater support whether it’s volunteering or being a board member or donating whatever, you know, it’s

[00:37:39.88] spk_1:
not the mission, It’s not the food at the gala. Even if it sold the tickets to the gala right? Like it isn’t at all.

[00:38:13.47] spk_0:
So I, so I gathered so the Wiley did most of the writing on the book is what I gather because I managed a couple of quotes and nobody like nobody claimed them. So um and also the I I see there’s only two pictures, I like a lot of pictures in books. You only have two pictures and then you repeat the same two pictures from the beginning, You repeat them at the end and and they’re in black and white, they’re not even four color pictures. So there’s a little shortcomings

[00:38:15.70] spk_1:
that’s because in the book they could only be black and white, but in the e book they can, the one that’s meant to be in color can be in color.

[00:38:25.00] spk_2:
And also we knew that our readers have imaginations of their own and the words that we have on the page would evoke such strong images we didn’t want

[00:38:33.81] spk_0:
to overly

[00:38:34.58] spk_2:
provide images in the book.

[00:40:08.82] spk_0:
Very good, well played. Okay, it’s time for Tony’s take Two. I’m headed to the Holy Land in november. I’m traveling to Israel for two weeks and I’m wondering if you have suggestions of something that I should see? We can crowdsource my my sight seeing a few things that are already on my itinerary, of course the old city in Jerusalem um Haifa and the Baha’I gardens the Dead Sea and uh mitzpe ramon. You may have some other ideas, things that uh you found or places to eat, maybe that would be that would be great little uh terrific places that I should try in either Jerusalem or tel Aviv I’ll be spending a lot of time in, in those two places but also near these other, these other ones that I mentioned to Haifa So if you know a good restaurant eatery, I’d appreciate that too. You could get me at tony at tony-martignetti dot com. I’d be grateful for your Israel travel suggestions and anything else that you may recommend about Israel travel. I haven’t been there, so I’d be grateful to hear from you that is tony steak too. We’ve got boo koo but loads more time for the tech that comes next with Amy sample ward and a few a Bruce. Let’s let’s talk about another story. Talk about, let’s talk about, yeah, you, you all pick one, pick one of your case cases stories to talk about that that you like,

[00:44:39.78] spk_1:
I can talk about one since the flu already talked about one, but I was thinking because you already said it earlier, the food sector, so there’s one in there on rescuing leftover cuisine, an organization founded in new york. Um, and I think a pretty classic example of non profit trajectory like someone has personal lived experience they want to address, you know, make sure people don’t have the experience they had and create an organization kind of accidentally like they just start doing the work and they’re like, wait, what am I doing? Wait, we’ve just created a nonprofit, you know, and and kind of want to build because they start to have success actually doing the thing that they set out to do. Um, but like many nonprofits you reach the limit of human scale, like you get to the, this is only the number of people I can personally talk to or physically carry food, you know from one restaurant to to a shelter or whatever. Um and realize, oh we’re gonna need some tools to help us make this thing work. Um and grow beyond just the handful of initial people and also like many nonprofits, that was a very reactive process, right? Like oh gosh, we need a calendar tool, here’s one, oh gosh, we need a, you know, a phone tool, here’s one and not what is the best, you know, what what do we really need? How do we solve these goals? So they found themselves a few years in with very common nonprofit sector, like little patchwork, you know, all different kinds of things. They’ve kind of forced and often the the integration to use the technical term, the integration between tools was humans like answered the phone and then typed it into the tool because the person on the phone doesn’t have access to type it into the schedule er right? Like I they were having to be the tech integrations as humans, which meant humans were not doing human work, right? Humans were doing work that that the robots should be able to do. Um and that’s when they brought in more strategic dedicated technology. Um staff helped to build and again, what they didn’t really realize at first is they were building a product, you know? Um I think this is a bigger conversation of you and I have with organizations is we are we have products, we’ve built products. It’s not bad. And I think especially in the US, we’ve come to think that product is like a for profit word and we will have nothing to do with it. But what it just means is like it’s a package, it is a thing that’s doing what it’s meant to do. And we should think about how we make sure it works and who can access it. And you know, we bring some strategy to it. Um, but their process is really what drew us to including them in the book. They had a really inclusive process where all the different folks from, you know, that were users. So the volunteers who physically like went to the restaurant and picked up that food and and took it to an agency, the people in the agencies, the people in the kitchen of the restaurants, all those different people were able to say, oh, I wish the tool did this. I wish that I could do this every day when I need to pick up food. I wish I could get this kind of message. Everyone was able to give that feedback and then see everybody else’s requests so that as the staff and community and the tech team prioritized, okay, well what works together? What can we build next? What’s in line to be built next? Everyone had transparency. Everyone could see that everyone understood, okay, my thing is last or like I know why my thing is last, right? Like people could really see and give feedback and be part of the process the whole time kind of back to the very beginning of this conversation with us said, even if they were not the technical developers themselves, they had important expertise, Right? It was good to know, oh, these five different restaurants all want the same thing, what’s happening, right? Like what is the thing that’s happening for restaurants trying to offer food? Let’s figure that out. We know who to get feedback from, you know, um, we’re just such a wonderful example of people really having everyone involved in the whole process. Um, and as they have done that and continue to do that, they were able to move people out of, you know, answering the phone to type into the calendar and move people into human jobs. Um, grew the organization, it’s now in eight different cities in different states. Um, and that’s just more of the mission happening, right? Because technology was invested in in the right kind of way.

[00:45:02.73] spk_0:
So takeaways are transparency in prioritizing development inclusiveness, including

[00:45:10.61] spk_1:
the, including

[00:45:11.71] spk_0:
the community, all the, all the different

[00:45:14.65] spk_1:
people

[00:45:15.63] spk_0:
who are impacted, giving them agency

[00:45:18.80] spk_1:
to

[00:45:19.70] spk_0:
contribute and not not have it developed.

[00:45:24.33] spk_1:
Yeah. And they had,

[00:45:25.28] spk_0:
I don’t know how much

[00:46:40.74] spk_1:
of this made it into the book, but you know, in talking with them and having conversations, you know, there were a number of times where the thing they were hearing from, all these different users that needed to be prioritized wasn’t something as staff, they maybe would have identified or at least prioritized, but when you’re really listening and having the community drive that development, you know, is that what you’re investing in is actually going to make it better for your community, right? It’s the thing that they’re asking for versus you saying, Gosh, we have, you know, what’s next on our development docket, wonder what we could build, Like let’s think of something you’re not kind of guessing, you know, exactly what needs to be built and that’s kind of reinforcing for your users that you are listening that you are valued that they want this to be as good of an expiry as possible for you, right, Which is really kind of um bringing people in closer and and I think we all know, especially tony as the fundraiser, like keeping people, it’s a lot easier than bringing in new people. So if you can keep those partners in great, you know, you keep those volunteers in instead of having to recruit new ones because you’re burning them out because they don’t like working with you, it’s not a good experience, you know? Um yeah,

[00:47:26.71] spk_0:
let’s talk about the funding, but but not from the funders side because most of the very few of our listeners are on the, on the funding side, they’re on the grantee side and so from the, well the book, you talk about social impact organizations, but this is tony-martignetti non profit radio not tony-martignetti social impact organization, radio So so if we could use, please use nonprofits as an example in their funding requests, they’re doing grants, what what can nonprofits do smarter about requesting funds around technology, the development and the use that’s going to be required for the, you know, for the, for the project that they’re trying to get funded.

[00:47:32.08] spk_1:
Yeah,

[00:47:32.45] spk_2:
absolutely. This is a question that Amy and I have gotten so many times since the book has come out.

[00:47:42.97] spk_0:
Okay, well I’ll give you a milk toast bland ubiquitous question that not that

[00:49:01.18] spk_2:
it’s a milk toast question, but it is one that is so important to organizations and that even for non profit organizations that have thought about technology before, then the question becomes how are you going to get it funded right? And so, um, it’s an incredibly important question. And so I think that there are a couple of things that non profits can do. One is to seek out funders who are explicitly funding technology, we’ve seen an increase I think over the past several years in different foundations, different companies who are specifically funding technology and so looking for those types of funders. Um, I think it’s really important, I think then another thing to do is to really make the case as we make in the book that um, funding technology is part of funding programs of the organizations and part of funding the running of the organization. Um, it’s not simply an overhead costs. That is a nice to have that. If you get around to it, you can do it, but really you need to have strong technology and data practices in order to design your programs to run your programs. Um people, you know, are used to being out in the world and interacting with technology in certain and so when they come to your nonprofit, they still probably would like to have a website that sees them that recognizes them. That’s useful. They might like to know how to get connected to other people in your community, other staff members and what those communication technologies might look like and more. And so really looking for ways to write technology into program design as non profits are doing that

[00:49:25.77] spk_1:
as well. And

[00:49:25.97] spk_2:
then I think thirdly, just being connected with other nonprofits through organizations such as N 10 and listening to other great podcasts such as this one um to hear what, what other nonprofits are doing and what’s been successful as well. And applying some of those techniques to your own organization.

[00:49:47.95] spk_0:
I feel bad that I gave short Shrift to the, to the foundation listeners. So, I mean there’s there’s lessons in what you just said. Um, are there one or two other things that we can point out for uh for foundation listeners that to raise their consciousness.

[00:51:25.89] spk_2:
Absolutely. Um, I think one of, I think, you know, there are many things about technology that can be funded, especially with nonprofit organizations. And I really encourage foundations to think about what it means to really fund that inclusive innovation process and to fund when I say innovation. I mean recognizing that version one is might not be perfect. And so funding version 1.1 and 1.2 and version two point oh, is just as valuable as funding version one. We see this all the time in the private sector that, you know, my phone gets updates on a regular basis and I still have a, and that’s okay. And so really wanting to make sure that funders recognize that we don’t need to just create new technology every time for the sake of creating something new, but really allowing the space for that iteration and really adjusting to the community needs is really important. I think also making sure that we’re funding inclusivity and so that can be things such as uh compensating people, you know, from the community for time, um, as they are involved in this development process, making sure that there’s money in the budget for all staff, not just a member of the tech team to get training on technology, but there’s money for all staff to get training on the different technologies that the organization is using. Um, and also the timelines that are given to nonprofits doing their programs allows for that really critical community listening and community input process into developing any technology and then ultimately developing and executing programs,

[00:51:49.02] spk_0:
I’m glad you just used community as an example because I wanted to probe that a little deeper how

[00:51:55.99] spk_1:
I

[00:52:11.32] spk_0:
guess, I guess I’m asking how you define community because you say that, you know, technologists and social impact or eggs and policymakers and communities can can be should be more involved in uh, technology development. How are you defining communities there?

[00:54:23.04] spk_1:
We’re not in a way because technology that N 10 builds for, you know, the community that that we have is very different than um, you know, that would be a bunch of nonprofit staff from mostly U. S. And Canada, but also all over the world, um of all different departments. Right? That that would be the community that intent has, but the community around, um, you know, the equitable giving circle in Portland. Well, that’s Portland’s specific very, you know, geographically different than the N 10 community. Um, it’s folks who can do monthly donations that want to support, uh, you know, black community in Portland, it community is meant to be defined based on what is trying to be built and and for whom it’s meant to be used. Um, and that’s going to be flexible, but I think where it really comes in is what we talked about in the book, in the funding section, but also all of the sections is what does it look like when we expect that transfer to community ownership is the final stage of technology development. Right. And so if that is the final stage, if um the community, you know, owning the technology that was developed by someone, um is the final step well, there needs to be a level of training and an investment that is very different than if you’re planning to keep this privately yourself the whole time, right? If you’re going to turn it over to the community to own it and maintain it, you’re going to be investing in that community in the process in a very different way. You’re going to be including people in a different way. You’re going to be thinking about knowledge transfer, not just technical transfer, right? Um and so that relationship with the community is inherent to the goal at the end. And I think that’s for us, part of what is so important about thinking about that big question of what does it look like for community to really own technology? Like even in the biggest widest sense, because right now, We as users don’t own the Internet, right? Really, there’s there’s 45 million people just in the us that can’t even access broadband. So the idea that the any of these tools, even in the widest biggest, you know, most access sense are are collectively owned isn’t real. And so that goes back to community, but it also goes back to policy, it goes back to how we’re investing in these tools, what values we are even using when we, when we access them? Um, that’s the whole book right there, I guess.

[00:55:00.40] spk_0:
Uh, the book is also, uh, a lot of questions. I always hope to get answers. When I read books this, this book, lots of questions questions at the end of every chapter and then they’re compiled at the end. They’re organized differently at the end. Why did you take that tack?

[00:56:06.65] spk_2:
Absolutely, yes. Our book does perhaps answer some questions, but it does provide questions. And that’s because what this work looks like varies based on the community you’re in based on your nonprofit organization, based on your role as a policy maker based on your roll thunder perhaps. Um, it varies. And so what your specific solution will look like. There’ll be some of the same building blocks, but the actual techniques you use will need to vary. And so the questions that we have at the end of each chapter at the end of the chapter on social impact organizations. For example, there are, I think 25 questions and five of those are questions that you ask someone as a nonprofit can ask of other nonprofits about technology. You as someone as a nonprofit can ask of your funders to start that conversation with some funders that we were just sort of summarizing now. What are specific questions that you should be asking of your funders were specific questions you should be asking of technologists that come to you and say, have we got a solution for you? Um, what are specific questions that you should be asking? Policymakers? Um, within the realm of what’s allowed for nonprofits to do part of the policy making process. And what are some real questions that you can ask of the communities that you serve and the communities you partner with to really get out, what are their needs and how might that tie to some of the technology needs for your organization?

[00:56:43.69] spk_0:
So what have we uh, what haven’t we talked about yet? That, that either of you would like to, uh, you feel like I’ve spent enough time on the well, here, I am asking you and then I’m proposing something. So I’ll cut myself off what, what what would, uh, whatever we talked about yet, either of you. That

[00:58:18.09] spk_1:
I mean, I think one thing that we have experienced is that there are some topics like how do we do this or how do we fund this or how do we make change? Um, you know, there’s some topics that recur throughout a lot of conversations, but ultimately, we have never had the same conversation about the book twice because that’s part of writing a whole book. That’s just questions, you know, and isn’t all the answers that isn’t Oh, great. You know, turn to chapter three where we list the 10 things you need to do tomorrow? Like there are no, I mean there’s probably 100 things, right? But um because of that, what we wanted to do when we wrote the book, even if, you know, we said at the beginning, even if no one reads this but ourselves, we want to feel like we are starting a conversation that we are just going to keep starting and keep having and keep getting closer to figuring out what’s next because it’s gonna be a whole long path. Um, and if it if we’re here to write a how to book that, who are we to write that? Right? Who are we to write the how to book on how we completely change the world? But what if we wrote a book that said, y’all, how do we change the world? Like really truly how let’s go, let’s go figure that out that motivates us. And so if it motivates us, it probably motivates others. And these conversations, I mean, I just love them because this yes, we had some of those recurring themes that all of us think about all the time. But this was a completely different conversation than we’ve had before and that, well, you know, different than we’ll have tomorrow. And I think what we’ve talked about the two of us is when we have

[00:58:31.93] spk_0:
not only not only different, but better,

[00:59:15.21] spk_1:
but when we have opportunities to talk about the book together with folks like you knowing that people are listening, right? Thousands of, of non private radio listeners, we want to, in a way have this be like a practice session for all of them so that when they finish the podcast and they go to their staff meeting, they’re like, hey, a food amy like never had their sentences thought out before they started probably said a million times. The bar isn’t high. I can just start asking questions, right? That’s why we have all the questions at the end. I can just start talking about this. There is no perfect, perfect doesn’t exist. So let’s not worry that I don’t know the exact way to talk about this technology project. Let’s just start talking about it and and get in there and have these conversations that we have almost model that process of just practicing the work of, of changing things.

[00:59:33.45] spk_0:
Anything you would like to uh leave us with anything we haven’t talked about that you would like to,

[01:00:00.54] spk_2:
you know, the subtitle of the book talks about building a more equitable world and we call out a few specific roles. But really I think it’s just important to recognize that we all have a role to play in building a more equitable world. And so if you see something in this world that you want changed. Hopefully this book does give you some real ideas about how you can go about doing that, some real questions to ask to find other people who can help you along that journey because really building an equitable world is an inclusive process and that includes you. So that’s that’s all I would add.

[01:00:43.80] spk_0:
She’s a for Bruce at a few uh underscore Bruce, her co author is Amy sample ward at Amy R S Ward and you’ll find the book the tech that comes next, how change makers, philanthropists and technologists can build an equitable world at the tech that comes next dot com. Amy, thank you very much. Pleasure.

[01:00:46.45] spk_1:
Thanks so much Tony.

[01:00:48.33] spk_2:
Thank you.

[01:01:39.63] spk_0:
You’re welcome. Thank you. Next week. Gene Takagi returns with Trust in nonprofits. If you missed any part of this week’s show, I beseech you find it at tony-martignetti dot com. We’re sponsored by Turn to communications pr and content for nonprofits. Your story is their mission turn hyphen two dot c o. And by fourth dimension technologies I. T. Infra in a box, the affordable tech solution for nonprofits. tony-dot-M.A.-slash-Pursuant D just like three D. But they go one dimension deeper. Our creative producer is claire Meyerhoff shows social media is by Susan Chavez. Marc Silverman is our web guy and his music is by scott stein, Thank you for that information Scotty B with me next week for nonprofit radio big nonprofit ideas for the other 95% go out and be great

Nonprofit Radio for May 10, 2021: Online Meetings For All & Online Accessibility Beyond Meetings

My Guests:

Cindy Leonard & John Kenyon: Online Meetings For All

Cindy Leonard and John Kenyon continue our 21NTC coverage, with strategies and tips to make your virtual meetings accessible and inclusive. They’re with Cindy Leonard Consulting and he’s with John Kenyon Consulting.

 

 

 

 

Martin Cacace: Online Accessibility Beyond Meetings

We identify potential issues, help you prioritize what to fix and pick out the low-hanging fruit. My guest is Martin Cacace at Bound State Software and this is also from 21NTC.

 

 

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[00:02:05.94] spk_1:
Hello and welcome to tony-martignetti non profit radio Big non profit ideas for the other 95%. I’m your aptly named host of your favorite abdominal podcast. Oh, I’m glad you’re with me, I’d suffer with a vascular necrosis if you killed me with the idea that you missed this week’s show. Online meetings for all. Cindy Leonard and John Kenyon continue our 21 NTC coverage with strategies and tips to make your virtual meetings accessible and inclusive there with Cindy Leonard consulting and he’s with john Kenyon consulting, both happily named and online accessibility. Beyond meetings. We identify potential issues, help you prioritize what to fix and pick out the low hanging fruit. My guest is Martin Kosei at bound state software and this is also from 21 NTCC on tony state too. It’s vacation planning time. We’re sponsored by turn to communications. Pr and content for nonprofits. Your story is their mission turn hyphen two dot c o Here is online meetings for all. Welcome to tony-martignetti non profit radio coverage of 21 ntc, you know what that is. The 2021 nonprofit technology conference conferences virtual this year Were sponsored at 21 NTC by turn to communications turn hyphen two dot C O. My guests now are Cindy Leonard and john Kenyon. Cindy is Ceo at Cindy Leonard consulting and john is principal at john Kenyon consulting. They both have aptly named companies. Welcome Welcome Cindy welcome john

[00:02:09.64] spk_2:
thank you. Thanks Tony, it’s great to be here. Thanks for having us.

[00:02:54.34] spk_1:
Pleasure to have each of you. Your session is intentional. Facilitation choices, creating online meetings for all to enjoy. I put the emphasis on all, but I think we’ll, we’ll explore, explore why we want to do that. So Uh, Cindy, let’s start with you. What, what obviously is very timely but, and, and online meetings we expect to continue right. I mean these are not going to die once the once 90 of the folks or you’ve either been vaccinated or had the coronavirus or whatever. Online meetings are not going away. What just generally, what could we be doing better? It seems like it seems like a lot of mediocrity.

[00:04:01.54] spk_2:
A lot of mediocrity. That’s an interesting. That’s an interesting way to put it. Yeah. So the part of this session, the idea was that, you know, now that everybody has been doing zoom and online meetings for about a year now, you know, we’ve all gotten used to the technological parts. Um, we felt like it was time to do a session that goes beyond that somebody at the Ntc, I forget the breakout session. Um, but they said that technology is a mirror. So when you hold it up to your nonprofit, it reveals all the broken processes and broken tools. And I thought that was very apt. And when you think about that regarding online meetings, you know, everything in terms of inequity, inaccessibility, um, lack of diversity, power dynamics tend to be magnified, you know, where those things existed in person meetings. The technology adds an extra layer of complication. That makes things more inaccessible, more inequitable unless you do specific things to counteract that. And so that’s what this session was largely about.

[00:04:12.74] spk_1:
John you want to add to the Cindy’s introduction at all?

[00:04:39.44] spk_3:
Sure. That like Cindy said, you know, we really tried to share what our vision is for inclusive meetings. And so that means that all folks can contribute equally if they desire and that it’s okay not to using things like you would in person like a talking piece to go around and make sure everyone is able to engage meaningfully and to share. And that it’s okay if if they don’t want to. But digitally we just list people’s name in the chat and have everyone go through so we make sure we don’t miss anyone.

[00:05:00.24] spk_1:
Mm Okay. Okay. Uh so how can we be more intentional as we’re setting up a meeting? Is that a is that is that a place to start? Can we like sort of maybe take this chronologically through uh through a meeting? The pre meeting? The during the meeting and then the post meeting? Is that by doing it justice, if we do it that way?

[00:05:38.94] spk_2:
Yeah, we actually um we split we split our section up into three main sections. One was about inclusion and Power Dynamics. Another section was accessibility techniques, how to before during and after with those and experiential and reflective techniques. So we actually demonstrated a variety of interactive activities that could be used to engage your as a facilitator to engage the audience. So those were the three main sections.

[00:05:45.34] spk_1:
Okay. Is it okay if we uh well I don’t, I don’t want to mess up your

[00:05:50.34] spk_2:
no, you’re fine,

[00:05:52.27] spk_1:
john can we do it? Is that

[00:06:06.04] spk_2:
okay? I think so, yeah, john and Griffin, Griffin Castillo, um who’s not with us today? Uh Griffin and john were covering the power dynamics portion of this. So I think starting there is probably a good idea to john.

[00:06:10.74] spk_3:
Sure. So yeah, tony if it’s okay, I’m going to talk about some aspects of inclusion and then I’ll start to do that. I’ll talk about before during and after a meeting.

[00:06:18.64] spk_1:
Okay, Thank you. Great.

[00:06:20.29] spk_0:
All right.

[00:07:00.64] spk_3:
So some of the aspects of inclusion that we want to make sure people are aware of are the some of the advantages that we bring to our meetings online from having the latest technology to having older technology or only phones and even recognizing folks have no internet access in some areas. Understanding there’s advantages when it comes to digital literacy with computers or software, even having a dedicated space to participate. Our co presenter, Griffin Castillo, is the racial equity ambassador for the Oakland School system and so many students are sharing space with other family members. Understanding some people can respond quickly versus those who are reflective thinkers. So providing different modes for people to share as well as the very common advantages of having expertise, seniority or rank or relational privilege. So you want to be aware of those aspects and then there are specific things you can do before, during and after your meetings to make sure that you’re creating an inclusive and accessible meeting.

[00:08:26.04] spk_1:
Okay. Okay. Well, I mean I gotta, I gotta start with the obvious. You know, I’m asking neophyte questions. You, you all spend, I’ve spent years thinking about these things and I’m coming at it quite a bit newer, uh, for folks who don’t have the technology that’s needed. How do we include them in a meeting that we’re planning online? That has to be online by because of the pandemic, by the way. If you hear any background noise, I’m having some renovations done. So maybe you’re banging. Yeah, there’s a little hammering, buying little drilling going on. So, uh, that’s, that’s, that’s your lackluster host with talk about a non private. I mean, I guess, uh, they’re much, there are much worse environments to have to be a party to a meeting in, but I’m in a lesser one than I than I would like. But that’s what, that that’s what that is, listeners. You’re, you’re hearing my stairs being renovated. Okay. So what about folks who don’t have any, they don’t even access, They don’t have digital access. How do we accommodate them? How have we accommodated them and how can we going forward in online meetings?

[00:09:10.84] spk_3:
Sure. So two of the ways we talked about were make sure that you’re providing offline readable versions of any documents or presentations for those who can’t see them live or can’t see them online but may be able to download them as well as documenting your notes and providing recordings, either video or audio to allow folks to review materials, digest them at their own pace. And that also supports accessibility, which are some of the pieces that Cindy talked about. Okay.

[00:09:21.84] spk_1:
It still seems like, I don’t know. It still seems insurmountable though if you’re, if you’re giving them a recording, but I mean if they don’t have internet access, how can you give them the recording?

[00:09:44.34] spk_3:
Sure. So the example I use, I often work with native american people and for example sometimes they need to drive a half hour in order to get a signal on their phone. Or they could go to a library on the reservation or wherever they are. So it is possible for them to get access. It just may not be live and it just may not be high speed. So as long as you’re providing those materials and there is a way for them to get them and put them on their devices or print them out if needed. That helps.

[00:10:16.44] spk_1:
So as you’re planning meetings you need to be aware that there may be folks that are going to raise their hand and say I can’t attend the zoom meeting at one o’clock tomorrow. You know, I don’t have that kind of access or I don’t have the, you mentioned even the privacy, uh, maybe they have online access, but they don’t have a private space to to listen and, and yeah, to listen and participate.

[00:11:20.14] spk_3:
Sure. Yeah. So I’ll talk about some of the things um, that that I covered and then I’m going to pass it to Cindy because she’s got some great ideas and when it comes to accessibility for people of all abilities. So one of the things tony that like you said before the meeting, it’s really important to discuss the issues that I mentioned about, you know, advantages and and our vision um with those with privilege to get by in so that they understand we want to allow all voices to be heard and that we think about ways to include everyone when we’re planning for meetings, Um that we, you know, make sure that that is part of our planning. That we ask attendees about accommodation needs up front during registration and that we have a plan to accommodate people with different abilities so that you know, we already know somebody who can do american sign language interpretation. We already know someone who can live caption. Uh, the presentation that we’re giving. Um, and I know for example, other pieces that that Cindy helped us worked on was if you have somebody who is sight impaired or blind, um reading the description of any visuals that you have. And Cindy was also great because she added something called all text that I’ll let her talk about two images. Cindy talk about that for us.

[00:11:47.04] spk_1:
Let them uh, we’re talking about inclusion. Accessibility. Cindy, Cindy is them Cindy. Thank you. I just you know, it’s all done in politely but you know, we got to be respectful. Right? It’s

[00:11:56.73] spk_2:
all right. Yeah. Absolutely. And I don’t walk if somebody says she her I don’t I don’t freak out. Okay. I do identify this non binary.

[00:12:05.14] spk_1:
Do the better you do the best we can. All right.

[00:12:07.24] spk_2:
Yeah. So yeah. One of the

[00:12:09.54] spk_1:
we’ll never make that mistake again. I assure you that.

[00:14:21.74] spk_2:
Okay. Um So yeah, so um one of the things that we did uh did we did do as an accessibility technique during the meeting and we probably should be doing this for radio interviews as well. One would think whenever we did our introductions uh for example, I said I’m Cindy Leonard from local velocity learned consulting. And I am a white white person with long straight brown hair and green glasses and today I have on a plaid sweater and I’m sitting with a yellow blank yellow wall background behind me and the idea of describing yourself um for people who aren’t either are excited or how vision impairment, but there’s also people that, you know, if you’ve ever tried to connect to a zoom meeting on your phone, the video isn’t always great or maybe you’re not in a place where you can watch the video, but you’re listening to it. Maybe you’re commuting or in your car. Um, so having that visual described is really important, not just for people with vision impairments, but for everyone, you know, and I talked a little bit during my piece about universal design, you know, and so one of the great examples of universal design design that is good for everyone helps people with disabilities. That is also good for morgan. What more of an audience is the concept of curb cuts Now, this is a low tech example, but the curb cut that, that little cut out at the corner of a sidewalk, you know, it’s, it’s great for people with using a wheelchair. It’s great for people using on a cane, you know, walking that have blindness. But insults are great for women and strong women with babies in strollers. It’s great for delivery persons. It’s great for older people who tend to trip on, you know, as we age, we tend to trip more. Um, so the idea is to make your power point and your meeting and your handouts more accessible and it helps everyone, not just people with disabilities.

[00:14:38.64] spk_1:
I’ve had guests from previous ntc’s make that point often. Uh Usually I think in the, in the context of a web, web, web design, uh it benefits benefits everyone. It reduces, you know, if if you’re using the right contrast levels, it reduces eyestrain for for everybody uh etcetera

[00:16:22.34] spk_2:
etcetera. Alright. Yeah, it really does overlap. I’ve been one of my, one of my consulting practice pieces is web website development, which I’ve been doing for about 20 years and there is a lot of overlap. A lot of the things that I’m saying about your power point back also applies to your website. So for example, the alternative text alternative text is what is red in lieu of the file name of a photo. So if I’m, let’s say I am a person who is blind and I’m using a screen reader software that is reading the web page to me or reading the power point debt to me when it gets to the images. If it doesn’t have alternative text which is descriptive text that you deliberately added to the image, it will read the file name of the image that’s been inserted or that’s uploaded. And that means, you know, it’ll read like, like image, it will say like I M G 678 jpeg. And that means nothing to anyone. So the idea is to describe the images in the alternative tax, so that, you know, whenever whenever I’m trying to figure out how to do that, when I’m either doing a website or a power point is I like to pretend that I’m sitting here in my office with somebody who has vision impairment and that I’m trying to, you know, like, here’s a picture, I’m trying to explain to them what is on the picture. So it’s helpful to me to imagine a person beside me that I’m trying to describe something to.

[00:16:47.54] spk_1:
Mhm john how about um if we transition um we’re a little bit all all encompassing, but uh that’s okay, that’s fine. As long as folks get the information, it doesn’t really matter what, what format it comes in or what, what, what theme we use. But like is there anything you can say specific to during, during a meeting that we haven’t talked about yet?

[00:16:50.64] spk_2:
The, the,

[00:16:52.14] spk_1:
that we need to

[00:18:14.44] spk_3:
Sure. So some of the things that we did in our session and that I try to do consistently is when I introduce myself as you mentioned earlier, using uh sharing that. I’m john Kenyon and my pronouns are he and him just as Cindy’s pronouns, are they in them and I’m not enforcing that or asking everyone to, to say that, but it just helps people with different gender identities feel included. Something else I do is when I introduced myself, I say that I’m coming to you from the occupied lands of the native coast, miwok people and that I send my respects to them and their leaders past, present and emerging again to just recognize that the land on which I am currently living was not originally my land and again helps people who are native people feel included. And that’s a practice I actually learned from my Australian colleagues because they are trying to be respectful of the Aborigines, the native Australian people. I’d also say that what we try to do is have real clear guidelines for participants. Something excellent that one of our session participants shared was doing, including things such as suspending judgment, suspending guilt, suspending assumptions and embracing awareness toward understanding, embracing leaning into discomfort. If you don’t feel comfortable with the topic or sharing, being able to lean into that,

[00:18:27.14] spk_1:
lean into meaning, express it,

[00:18:29.29] spk_3:
that’s right. Being in

[00:18:31.08] spk_1:
a forum where you can you can say something

[00:18:45.24] spk_3:
right and being able to say so, you know, tony you’re you’re our boss and you’re handling this meeting and you’re not letting any of, you know, the emerging leaders of the younger folks speak and you know, finding respectful and positive ways to bring that out. So for example, just to name that, to say, you’re not letting other folks speak, why is that? I’m not judging you, I’m not shaking my finger at you, but that we’re naming it,

[00:19:02.74] spk_1:
bring out the power dynamics

[00:19:23.54] spk_2:
and some accessibility related things that we do during a meeting are they’re actually pretty intuitive once, once you hear them, but if you don’t deliberately think about them, you know that you can miss things. But for example, use plain language, you know, every industry has a lot of jargon and you cannot guarantee everybody knows the jargon.

[00:19:25.89] spk_1:
non profit radio we have drug in jail

[00:19:28.50] spk_2:
in jail. I like it. I’m not hesitant to put people in like a

[00:19:32.48] spk_1:
transgress

[00:19:33.59] spk_2:
acronyms are another big thing in our second, everybody loves their, you know, so don’t say in 10 say the nonprofit technology network first, you know, okay, well,

[00:20:27.14] spk_1:
and then they don’t want to be the nonprofit technology network anymore. They’re like, I was thinking maybe he said that, but I’ve been admonished by the CEO maybe I said and 10 earlier, but example award that the N 10 Ceo is is a regular contributor, a technology contributor to my show, she’s admonished me to stop saying non profit Technology Network. So it comes from that comes to the top, but absolutely acronyms, you know, fundraising is full of them. I do plan giving and there’s all kinds of acronyms around trusts and just the, the, the assumption that everybody knows what you’re talking about. I mean I I shoot my hand up and say, what is that? You know, I’m right, right self, I’ve been doing it all my life, so it’s, you know, Uh, so I don’t mind people, but if one person doesn’t understand it’s probably 50 or don’t.

[00:21:11.84] spk_2:
Exactly. Another another point, another point is to give sufficient time a little more than you think you need to for people getting into breakout rooms on on the online software, forgetting to any third party exercises, responding in the chat box, any interactive activities. Not everybody is a fast clicker. You know, like I’m a power user. I guess you could say I’m on a laptop or a computer, so I’m really fast on the clicking, but not everybody is like that. People need time. Some people need more time to find what they’re supposed to be doing or where they’re supposed to be calling. So you want to be careful about that as well? Yeah.

[00:21:30.24] spk_1:
All right. Mm. Um, how about after after the meeting follow up, john you had mentioned. Uh, I think it was you john readable documents. Uh, what else, what else should we be doing and follow up to be sensitive to

[00:21:52.34] spk_3:
Sure. So just to reiterate, like I said, making sure that you have all your documents and notes and things like that that you can share with people so they can download them and read them off line or print them out. Something else that was suggested in our session. And that we try to do is post meeting surveys and ask, how did we do with inclusion? How did we do with accessibility if you’re an emerging leader? Did you feel centered? Did you feel excluded or included? Did we give everyone time and space to participate whether they’re able to share immediately or There are more reflective thinkers, like many of us are

[00:22:10.84] spk_1:
Cindy, anything you want to add there?

[00:22:13.57] spk_2:
No, not at all. But that’s great, john that was a great summary. I would like to send a shout out to our, we mentioned Griffin Castillo, one of our co

[00:22:22.66] spk_1:
presenter. I was gonna, I was gonna put a moratorium on mentioning him because he didn’t join us for the interview here.

[00:22:58.84] spk_2:
No. And now so are other co presenter his name, I don’t think we’ve mentioned yet is Jean Allen and Jeanne Allen is she’s, she’s a dual role. She’s with a nonprofit, she’s on the board of a nonprofit in north Carolina with his name, which name of which I cannot remember. Um but she’s also uh independent nonprofit consultant herself. She’s been at it for many years. Very smart lady. She ran she talked about all of the interactive how exercises how to include more engagement and your breakout session to make it more interesting or in your in your online meeting.

[00:23:12.64] spk_1:
Is there anything from that that you can you can share as well as you would have. But I mean for engagement possibilities in online Yeah, what can you reveal?

[00:23:53.04] spk_2:
Yeah, it was something as simple to an exercise. She called the chatter fall exercise chatter fall like a waterfall. Um And we put a put a question on the screen that says an idea emerging for me is why. And she had them all not hit send but deployed at their answers with the reflections in the comments box of chat box. And then she had them all had sent at the same time and it was just this beautiful cascade of all kinds of thoughts and comments all coming out at once. And there was a lot of, there were a lot of unifying ideas and themes emerged from that. And then she also showed us a tour

[00:23:59.21] spk_1:
which, hold on, tell me again, what was the lead into that? What was the statement that folks were supposed to fill in the blank? What we asked

[00:24:13.34] spk_2:
them to tell us an idea emerging for me, meaning emerging from the sessions of our is. And then they were supposed to finish

[00:24:18.85] spk_1:
Thank you.

[00:24:56.44] spk_2:
Yeah, it could be any question. Of course. Of course, Yeah. Um and Jeanne also did a live example of a google jamma board. So jam, like, like let’s Jam, you know? Um and it’s a really, it’s almost like an inner john you can help me with the description on this. It’s almost like a, like an interactive, multi user whiteboard. It reminds me of a smart board, did you have in a classroom or a meeting room? Except that everybody accesses it at the same time. And you could add post it notes and and print on it and scribble on it. It’s really eat right. The double suite.

[00:25:15.84] spk_3:
That’s that’s right. Yeah. It’s almost as if, as we often do an offline meetings, you have a wall where people are putting up post its and people can put up post its and write anything they want on them. We were able even showed folks how we were able to upload images and pictures. So it’s, as Cindy said, this nice interactive place where people can share, you could even do something like here’s a question. Do you agree or not? And put your posted five is totally agree. One is, I don’t agree at all. So you get a spectrum of answers and see where people lie on the answer to the question. It’s not just thumbs up or thumbs down.

[00:25:42.14] spk_1:
This is called a google jam board jam board. And how does it relate to using zoom for meetings? Is it a is it like a screen share? Someone shares their screen and they show their jam board and then everybody, everybody can participate how zoom

[00:26:01.74] spk_2:
meeting you give them a link and you send them off to the tool, they stay in zoom, they stay in the room so they keep zoom active, but you’re sending them to their browser and it opens in a browser tab.

[00:26:16.84] spk_1:
Okay. So everybody’s doing it independently along alongside zoom. Okay. All right. We have just a couple minutes left. Anything that we haven’t talked about that either of you want to bring up in a closing a couple minutes.

[00:26:28.64] spk_3:
Uh huh. Sure. So I think for my closing, I would just share a participant quote from our session which which really resonated with me and they said, even if I’m a participant rather than a leader of a group, I can still practice and demonstrate accessible and inclusive practices by describing visuals, Making sure I engage people in the chat, sharing my pronouns, making sure I provide room for everyone to share,

[00:26:49.34] spk_1:
john why don’t you describe your background? Let’s try to put this into practice and I’ll do it in my clothes, Go ahead or describe yourself on your background.

[00:27:15.94] spk_3:
Great. So I’m john I’m a white male, I’ve got gray hair and a little bit of a beard. I’m sitting in a room that has white walls. I’ve got a kind of a delft blue curtain behind me and some flowers, the flowers are called veronica. Um and so yeah, that’s and I’m wearing a dark blue shirt.

[00:27:44.44] spk_1:
I’m Tony, I have a red t shirt on my hair is mostly white, a little smattering of dark remaining. But, but it’s, it’s stunning and dashing nonetheless, even though it’s 90% white uh, you know, you’re supposed to not supposed to editorialize right, supposed to keep it factual. I have stunning, stunning, boring background of my hp printer and uh pretty much white walls behind uh in a red t shirt and I wear glasses. I wear glasses.

[00:27:48.84] spk_2:
Thanks. That was excellent. Uh huh.

[00:27:52.54] spk_1:
Yeah, they are Cindy Leonard. Ceo, Cindy Leonard consulting and john Kenyon principal john Kenyon consulting thanks to each of you for sharing. Thank you. Cindy. Thank you john,

[00:28:03.84] spk_2:
thank you for having us. Real

[00:28:05.84] spk_3:
pleasure. Thank you.

[00:31:44.24] spk_1:
Thank you for being with tony-martignetti non profit radio coverage of 21 ntc 2021 nonprofit technology conference where we are sponsored by turn to communications turn hyphen two dot c o. It’s time for a break. Turn to communications. Let’s talk a little bit more detail about them. The ambitious biden agenda released a couple of weeks ago. Is there anything in there that impacts your work touches on what you do at all? Anything you’d like to be heard on may be quoted on be a trusted source about you can improve your chances of getting an op ed published or being a source or getting quoted working with turn to because they have the relationships to make these things happen for you so so much better than you or someone in your office cold calling a journalist or blogger whoever it is that you’re trying to reach that doesn’t know you, you want somebody who’s got the relationships you want to turn to because your story is their mission turn hyphen two dot c o. It’s time for Tony’s take two. It’s time to plan your summer time off. Yes, I uh It’s finger wagging time. No camera here. But you got to take care of yourself folks. Please. You need to take care of yourself this summer. What a what a 18 months it’s been. Maybe last summer was a blur. Certainly you couldn’t go anywhere. And I hope you didn’t because it wasn’t safe. It’s changed. You know that master of the obvious. So plan your summer. Get it. Let’s get the plans going. Get the reservations made, book the week book the two weeks. You’ve got to block it and then preserve it, preserve it for yourself. Honor it. It can’t be interrupted. You got to set boundaries set that time for yourself and make boundaries around it. Honor that time. No, I’m sorry you can’t get together then. No, I won’t be able to do that meeting. No, now now that that weekend is not good. Now that week isn’t good either. You gotta make time for yourself and preserve it. Please yourself. Your family. If you have a family, get that time away this summer, you need it, you deserve it. You want to take care of others. Whether it’s on the professional side, those folks you take care of or it’s on the family side, you want to take care of your family. You’ve got to take care of yourself, please this summer, especially of all of all summers since last summer was such a bad bust. Set the time aside. Honor it. No encroachments, do it for yourself, do it for those who you take care of. That is Tony’s take two. We have boo koo but loads more time for nonprofit radio here is online accessibility beyond meetings. Welcome to Tony-Martignetti non profit radio coverage of 21 NTC the 2021 nonprofit technology conference. We’re sponsored at 21 NTC by turn to communications turn hyphen two dot C o. With me now is martin caucus a president of bound state Software martin. Welcome to nonprofit radio’s coverage of 21 ntc.

[00:31:53.94] spk_0:
Hi Tony, thanks for having me

[00:32:05.44] spk_1:
a pleasure, absolute pleasure. Your session was 10 common accessibility issues and how to fix them. I would like to start at the basic ground level. Let’s just define what accessibility is before we identify the issues.

[00:33:21.64] spk_0:
Yeah. So I think you can define accessibility as making well in this case like your websites, uh, making it accessible to everyone and what that means is that there’s four different levels. So whether they’re perceivable, which means that people can like actually see what’s going on operable, which means I can actually not like use your website without um special requirements. So if you for example a mouse or something like that, they might not be able to use that um understandable. So that means that they want to be able to you want to be able to make sure that people when they go to your website or accessing some content that they can understand what’s going on. It’s not confusing and robust. It means that it’s just a future proof and it can be used across various types of like uh technology. So like web browsers or um screen readers and stuff like that. So it kind of encompasses all that is making it is making your website be accessible to to everyone apart from if they have um impairments or anything like that, disabilities.

[00:33:37.24] spk_1:
We know what the penetration rate is among nonprofit websites. If we use that definition of accessibility. Um sorry,

[00:33:37.91] spk_0:
can you say that again?

[00:33:38.78] spk_1:
Do we know what the penetration rate is? How common are accessible websites in nonprofits using your definition?

[00:34:20.64] spk_0:
Uh, to be, I don’t have a specific number per se, but from just from my research and from browsing different types of websites. non profit websites. It’s not it’s not too common, like it’s something that I think it’s becoming more uh top of mine, but like I see it in proposals or RFP s and stuff like that more and more and more and more often, especially if the organization has like some government funding and the requirements come from that, but it’s not something that’s um commonly found. So

[00:34:32.64] spk_1:
there’s a lot of room for improvement. Yeah, I think so. Okay. Okay. Um can you help us spot potential problems on our own website? Yeah. Good. Sure.

[00:35:04.24] spk_0:
Um Yeah so that’s kind of what uh my talk with and at the conference and I just wanted to give people some some tools and like some understanding of what’s going on their website. So they can they could take them take them home and start working on it and see you know, how can we make our web sites more accessible? It might not be like fully accessible in terms of the various levels but at least getting started. So at the most basic level. So somebody has used enough system technology. Can you can use your website that goes a long way. So. Yeah,

[00:35:14.44] spk_1:
well we’re not gonna be able to do everything overnight. It’s not gonna be like flipping a switch but no we can approach this incrementally and make it more make our site more accessible.

[00:36:00.13] spk_0:
Yeah, exactly. I think that’s the right approach. So I think, to begin with, I wanted to like differentiate between a couple of different issues. So like sometimes these issues are caused by their technical issues, so it might be caused by the templates or in quotation marks, the code. Um, so you might need a developer, uh, to, to help you with it. And other ones are more like low hanging fruit. I think it’s just like things that are related to content. So a lot of the nonprofits use like content management systems to up their websites to create blogs and content. So some of this stuff can be like fixed through just having an understanding of, okay, what are the guidelines that should follow, um, to create more accessible content?

[00:36:15.33] spk_1:
Okay, yeah, So let’s let’s let’s focus on the low hanging fruit, the stuff we can do on our own because our listeners are small and midsize shops. So, you know, they may very well not have an internal developer and hiring an external developer maybe outside their means. So let’s start the stuff we can we can do on our own. Yeah, let’s do that thing. Yeah.

[00:37:06.53] spk_0:
So the first one is it’s pretty basic, but it’s um, it’s page title. So page titles are very important for for orientation. It’s the first thing, like for example, screen reader reads when you’re like when you line on a new page, it’s a good way to differentiate and move between pages and move between pages. So, um, you want to make sure that page titles are unique and they provide um enough information to know what that page is about. Um, another tip that you want to be looking for is that you want to make sure that the most unique and most relevant information comes first. So rather than putting like your organization name first, you want to put it at the end and make sure like whatever the pages about it comes up at the beginning. And this is also some of these practices are also like best practices for the web, but also for like a Ceo and things like that.

[00:37:18.53] spk_1:
Can you explain why does the organization name go at the bottom? Why is that lower?

[00:37:31.73] spk_0:
Because you want to make sure that whatever is the most important part, the most relevant to that page Comes 1st and then your organization comes

[00:37:34.17] spk_1:
after they already know they’re on your organization site. So

[00:37:53.03] spk_0:
yeah. So perhaps if you’re on the home page, you wouldn’t follow that. Like maybe like depends how your SEO strategy is. But if you’re on the about page or or blog article, you want to make sure that the title is at the beginning of the title of the blog or the title of your about page, because that’s kind of what that person is looking for, otherwise it can it can be distracting. Okay,

[00:37:58.53] spk_1:
okay. What else? What

[00:39:35.12] spk_0:
another thing is just headings like this is again pretty basic things, but you want to make sure that when you’re correct, craft and content. Um and a lot of the usability guidelines go hand in hand with like uh just sorry, the accessibility guidelines go hand in hand with usability. Um So when you’re making like, let’s say creating content for the web, you want to make sure that it’s split up and you’re using headings appropriately, so the continent’s more digestible, so it’s easier to understand, but it um and then also if you’re using these headings, you want to make sure that they follow a hierarchy. So typically pages will start with heading one, which is the largest heading. That will be the page title. And as you work down the page, you want to make sure that that hierarchy is maintained. So then that would follow by an H two tag, which again, if you’re using a content management system, you would be able to just select the H two tag is similar to like award uh like a more document and things like that. Um And then a little bit more technical is you want to make sure that when you when you’re selecting these headings that they actually look like headings and on the code side, you want to make sure that there for like their semantically um tagged as heading. So what that means is like in the actual page code is there’s like a little tag, this is H one H two H three, so it needs to be created that way because they’re used as anchors for again, for screen, right? Just to to be able to understand what’s going on. Some people that sounds like they’re sections,

[00:39:39.62] spk_1:
that sounds like it’s just a matter of highlighting the code. Sorry, highlighting the text and tagging it as H one H two H three. Yeah,

[00:39:53.72] spk_0:
exactly. And there’s little tools that you could use, like you don’t have to know how to look at the code. Like there’s plenty of um

[00:39:55.62] spk_1:
yeah, we’re trying to result there’s we’re trying to avoid the code for for right now. Yeah, you can do at our desk if we’re not a developer.

[00:40:02.85] spk_0:
Yeah, you could do this like um as long as you, if you’re using WordPress, you can just select the right appropriate tag and if the theme or or the template you’re using is properly done, then you shouldn’t have any issue.

[00:40:16.41] spk_1:
Okay. Okay. Other low hanging fruit, I’m sure you’ve got a bunch of this bunch of these. Yeah.

[00:41:24.11] spk_0:
Yeah. So another one is uh your link, text a lot of the times, like people will put in something like for more information about my organization click here now um you you want to make sure that you’re when you’re creating links that people understand, like where they’re going, like where that link is taking them and so you want to be able to when you’re creating these links, you want to create, create context rich links. Um And the reason for that is because some some assistive technologies that allowed them to view all the links in one page, just so you land on a page, see all the lengths and they’re listed in order. So say that you have a lot of click here’s like they don’t really make sense out of context, so it doesn’t really help them, it’s confusing. So rather than doing something like that, you want to make sure that the the lengths make sense out of context. So you want to say, learn more about my organization, that’s the entire link. So when somebody is scanning through all the links, it makes sense to them.

[00:41:25.41] spk_1:
All right. So it’s a matter of which words are linked. Yeah,

[00:41:29.37] spk_0:
exactly. And

[00:41:30.00] spk_1:
linking the word here here here.

[00:41:42.41] spk_0:
Exactly, Yeah. And and the same thing goes with buttons, for example, you don’t want to have like buttons that are just generic like submit. You want to make sure that they’re descriptive. So, again, this goes hand in hand with usability. So you want to make sure that the button says for example if it’s a newsletter, subscribe to newsletter so they know what the action they’re taking.

[00:41:58.21] spk_1:
I see. All right. That that explains something that I’ve wondered about why some people have or some I see mostly in journalism too. And now I’m thinking about it you know like five or six words will be highlighted as the link. One of them.

[00:42:27.20] spk_0:
Yeah. And it’s also it’s also but yeah. Okay. And it’s also better for S. C. 02 because you’re that’s kind of uh in essence like google crawls your site through a boat. So and it’s very similar to a screen reader. Read it. So they would they look at the links and it’s like okay, this link is this. Um And then you would you answer that phrase and then that’s how it starts to understand what’s going on on your website and where web pages to navigate to. Yeah.

[00:42:38.70] spk_1:
Rich links. All right. Give us more. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:43:09.30] spk_0:
Yeah. Another one is um text alternatives. I’m sure everyone well not everyone, but this is more familiar. Like all text is the text alternative description of an image. So of course, if you’re if you can’t see and using a screen reader, you can’t see what the image is about. Uh So you can you can provide a description for the image um about what that image is about or the or why that that image is there. So what’s the function? Um If it’s just like a decorative image, you don’t you don’t need to put anything, but if it serves a purpose, it’s important to have that their

[00:43:18.98] spk_1:
description.

[00:43:26.30] spk_0:
So typically when your uploaded a new image on your content management system, you have the option that they will be like a little descriptor field even say I’ll text and then you can just put it in there.

[00:43:33.60] spk_1:
All text. Yeah.

[00:43:55.50] spk_0:
Yeah. It’s it’s it’s very common. It’s just a lot of times you’re like uploading a lot of images and going through like doing a million things. So it’s one of the things that’s easy to miss and it can be hard to also to think about what uh huh what, what to put in there. So I think, yeah,

[00:43:57.40] spk_1:
I guess otherwise the person, the screen reader is just going to see like a file name.

[00:44:02.49] spk_0:
Yeah, exactly.

[00:44:03.68] spk_1:
Yeah. Image seven dot jpeg. Which is Yeah.

[00:44:32.29] spk_0:
Yeah. Or maybe a default value that the program are put in there. Might say default. Yeah. It’s not great. Yeah. And then in the same and lines with the, with the links that we talked about before, a lot of times you use images as links. So you want to make sure that in the all text, your including the destination, if you’re using an image for a link, making sure, okay, where is this link taking me? It’s it’s kind of tied into what we talked about before,

[00:44:40.09] spk_1:
yep. Okay. But the content, content and links. Okay. Others uh yeah.

[00:45:26.89] spk_0:
uh number five would be multimedia like so a podcast for example, um Not available like two people with with hard of hearing or death, um, visuals and videos are not able to people who are blind. So you want to, you want to provide a way to to help these people. Um not only that, it’s just people without, with without disabilities were out, I don’t know, taking the train or something, you want to watch a video, but you don’t want the sound to be on having captions. Um it’s very useful. Um, if you’re learning a new language, like I learn english like having captions, it’s very useful to understand what’s going on. So there’s many uses of why multimedia should have um, should provide an alternative to to consume that. So like a transcript

[00:45:31.14] spk_1:
transcripts, podcasts,

[00:46:42.88] spk_0:
Yeah, a transcript for podcast, for audio and visual content maybe captions. I mean they can be quite elaborate elaborate to to create, but uh, it’s it’s one of the requirements for or guidelines for accessibility. Um, I think these next two are the ones that I talked about before, but um, and they kind of go hand in hand. One is simple content. Like a lot of what I see a lot is just like people just dumping information and information on their websites. And I think it’s important, especially with, for people with cognitive disabilities are really anyone if you’re landing on a page and it’s just like blocks attacks that you have to scan through and trying to understand what’s going on. Like it’s not very usable and again it’s not accessible. So you want to make sure when you’re creating content, you really think about what message you’re trying to convey and you you formatted in a way that’s simple and use a simple language. So Try to aim for an 8th grade level and there’s some tools there that kind of help you with that and help you edit your content so it’s more digestible.

[00:46:46.16] spk_1:
Okay. 8th grade, I’m wondering if I’ve even heard lower than that. Like sixth grade? I’m not sure.

[00:46:59.68] spk_0:
Yeah, I’m not sure. I think I think there is I use a tool called Hemingway editor and I think that one even goes down even further. But yeah, I think if you get to eighth grade and it gives you a check mark.

[00:47:04.17] spk_1:
Okay. Okay Hemingway is that a free resource that listeners can use?

[00:47:08.29] spk_0:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You just go I think it’s just if you google Hemingway editor, it’s just like a free tool you can use online.

[00:47:18.78] spk_1:
Okay. That’s cool. Thank you. I like I like resources. All right. And you said something related to that?

[00:49:58.87] spk_0:
Yeah, So the same same thing. It’s uh your your layout. We talked about the heading simple content. All go hand in hand layout in terms of like how you’re structuring your page, you want to make sure it’s just simple, straightforward. Um I’m not going to go into more than this because it goes into more like design and things that you really can, you can really change without the help of maybe a designer or developer. So I won’t touch them more on that. But the next one I will touch on is contrast ratio and this is another one that’s quite popular when you think of accessibility, like okay, like it needs to be like the contrast needs to be enough so people can can read what’s the tax? Um Right, so one of the things you want to use is there’s plenty of tools out there if you if you just google contrast checker. Um I think one I have here in front of the web, I am dot org and it’s contrast checker. That’s I think the one I use most of the time. Um you just put in two colours and there’s just like it spits out to two different results, whether it passes or not. Um So that that’s pretty straightforward. It falls within like the template sort of but uh now more and more like with the CMS, you can you can change anything right? Like you can change the colour depending on the flexibility of the template. Um, A big one is images, so like a lot of nonprofits like to use images, um because obviously it’s an easier way to like resonate with your audience. Like you can, you get a better feel of what what they’re about. But the problem is that they like, it’s common to overlay text over there and now you’re giving your staff the ability to upload new images and then change the text. Um and then that becomes really tricky if, if it’s not a nice theme or if the image is not great. Um Now you’re having contrast issues. So like, for example, having like simple overlays, it’s like making sure your image is dark enough, so there’s some contrast um goes a long way, There’s other tips for in terms of design that you can do to overcome that but um like putting like a little background on on the actual text so it stands out more. Um But yeah, I think it’s one of the tips, let’s just be careful and the images you’re picking, making sure there’s enough contrast or and if it’s not adding some sort, if you if you have the skills just adding a bit of like a darker um rectangle overtop, like through whatever image processing software that you use

[00:50:31.26] spk_1:
and you can check this with which the well by the way, I want to just make sure everybody knows CMS is your content management system, just in case everybody questioning that, I’m not gonna put martin in jargon jail because I think CMS is pretty, pretty widely known, but if you get if you get to giardini martin then my jargon jail. Yeah. Okay. Sounds good. But I’m not putting you in there for CMS. I think that’s pretty, it is widely known but just just in case there’s any listeners who don’t know CMS is your content management system and stunning. Absolutely. But be careful because you’ve transgressed, I

[00:50:34.59] spk_0:
don’t know when I go to jail, I don’t have a jail free card. So Yes, that’s right.

[00:50:40.76] spk_1:
Well I I allow um uh parole is not too hard to get.

[00:50:42.66] spk_0:
Okay. That’s good. Good to hear.

[00:50:44.42] spk_1:
What’s the contrast checker again that resource that folks can use.

[00:50:56.06] spk_0:
So it’s web uh it’s web A. I am dot org. Okay. Um and then if you go to the website it’s just under the resources as contrast checker. Yeah.

[00:51:02.36] spk_1:
Okay. And you can just google contrast checker as well.

[00:51:04.73] spk_0:
Yeah, there’s there’s probably like more than 20 different tools but

[00:51:10.96] spk_1:
martin picasa recommended one is web A I. M.

[00:51:14.66] spk_0:
Yeah. Yeah. They have a few other tools. That’s the one that’s

[00:51:17.37] spk_1:
it’s got the blessing. It’s got the yeah, it’s a blessing. All right.

[00:51:21.38] spk_0:
Sure. Let’s go with that. All right.

[00:51:23.36] spk_1:
So does that does that exhaust the ones that folks can do on their own without a developer? Let’s

[00:52:23.35] spk_0:
see. I think the last one is actually um it’s not really an issue but something that’s nice to have is an accessibility statement. And during my uh talk, a couple of people like this um so they’re an excessively statement is just it’s an important it’s kind of think about it like a privacy statement. But for accessibility it shows your users that you you kind of care about accessibility and about them provide some information about the accessibility of the content. What steps are you taking to to do um to make your website accessible? And then you can provide an option to to receive feedback. So if they notice any problems they can they can they can reach out and let you know because issues will come up as you create new content or things get updated, there’ll be regressions and um you kind of have to stay on top of it. Accessibility just periodically do checks to make sure that uh nothing nothing fails. So

[00:52:26.15] spk_1:
yeah, that bleeds into maintaining accessibility over time. We have a few more minutes left. What’s your advice around keeping this up?

[00:53:44.05] spk_0:
Yeah. So I think to to keep this up, but you gotta understand that again. Regressions are common if you’re constantly updating your website and upload in your content. I think having manual checks periodically, so maybe once a month you have a bit of a checklist to go through. Um It’s a good idea. I think sharing some guidelines with your team, it’s it will go a long way rather than be um reactive and unfixed changes as they come up. Like you can make sure the new content that you’re creating meets the guidelines. So just having like a little checklist of. Okay, well, these are the common things that you want, we want to stick with will go a long way and then later, like, or if your budget allows, there’s a bunch of automation tools that will like run tests for you um on your website. So if you’re a bigger site and you have thousands of articles or things like that you might want to look into into that and and and accessibility of is it important to you that it might be worth it? Um So for example, I have here um like from DEak X. So it’s like an extension um There’s also accessibility insights from Microsoft or again the same website I linked to before. Well webbing. Uh they have a wave evaluation tools that you can wait. Let

[00:54:03.84] spk_1:
it goes more at the time. By the way, I have some floor work going on. So if you hear a circular star or some hammering or drilling okay, renovations outside and no worries.

[00:54:05.58] spk_0:
If you’re a crying baby, that’s that’s my baby outside the

[00:54:08.74] spk_1:
daughter. So.

[00:54:09.46] spk_0:
Okay. I

[00:54:15.14] spk_1:
haven’t heard any. All right, okay, great. Wait, let’s tick through those um those those resources again a little slower.

[00:54:18.03] spk_0:
Yeah, sure. Um So there’s acts by deke um Let’s see if I have the I don’t really have. Yeah. So like the website is D E. Q. U. E dot com for slash X.

[00:54:34.04] spk_3:
X X

[00:54:35.37] spk_1:
X

[00:54:36.11] spk_0:
A X E

[00:54:38.02] spk_1:
X C four slash X. Okay.

[00:54:40.94] spk_0:
Then the other one is again the it’s the same website I mentioned before. They have an evaluation tool. So all these are kind of like extensions you install in your browser and then you can click a button and that tells you all these all the issues on your page. So it’s kind of like a handy thing.

[00:54:56.81] spk_1:
Yeah, the other one was what? Web dot A. I am.

[00:55:01.14] spk_0:
Yeah. That’s right.

[00:55:05.64] spk_1:
Okay. And and so all right. So there’s there’s a accessibility checker there as well.

[00:55:08.01] spk_0:
Yeah. And then the last one is by Microsoft is just this one is easy. Its accessibility insights that I owe.

[00:55:24.84] spk_1:
Okay, accessibility insights dot io Yeah. Alright. We like free tools like free totally bring this, bring this uh

[00:55:45.94] spk_0:
and I guess I’ll do one more. Um There’s a Khan Academy has one that is quite friendly. I don’t I mean I like it, it’s just like a little tool that you add to your bookmark and then whenever you go to a website you just click on that and it creates like a little pop up. Um So if you google just con economy and it’s uh it’s T. O. T. A. 11 Y.

[00:55:49.66] spk_1:
Way Con con K. H. A. N.

[00:55:54.82] spk_0:
Yeah akademi

[00:55:56.66] spk_1:
Khan Academy. Yeah.

[00:55:58.49] spk_0:
And then the tool is it’s T. O. T. A. 11 Y.

[00:56:03.53] spk_1:
T. O. T. A. 11 Y.

[00:56:05.67] spk_0:
Yeah so I think I don’t have an actual you’re all for it but it’s said to I use. Okay, so we can find

[00:57:29.43] spk_1:
an account academies. Okay. Yeah. Okay. All right, thank you for those uh free resources. I like those. We’re gonna leave it there, martin. All right, okay. Cool. Well thank you for having me my pleasure. He’s martin to CASA President abound state software. Thank you again martin and thank you for being with 20 martignetti non profit radio coverage of 21. Ntc the 2021 nonprofit technology conference where we are sponsored by turn to communications turn hyphen two dot c O next week. First generation wealth with Esther choi If you missed any part of this week’s show, I beseech you find it at tony-martignetti dot com. We’re sponsored by Turn to communications pr and content for nonprofits. Your story is their mission turn hyphen two dot C O. Our creative producer is Claire Meyerhoff shows social media is by Susan Chavez. Mark Silverman is our web guy and this music is by scott stein, yeah, thank you for that. Affirmation Scotty You with me next week for nonprofit radio big non profit ideas for the other 95 go out and be great. Yeah.

Nonprofit Radio for July 10, 2020: Digital Accessibility & Inclusive Design

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My Guests:

Laura Patch: Digital Accessibility
How to make your digital products more accessible. Think data visualization, color choices, alternative text, screen readers and more. Laura Patch from Sierra Club reveals the details. (Part of our 20NTC coverage)

 

 

 

 

 

Nic Steenhout: Inclusive Design
Nic Steenhout says forget upgrading for accessibility. Rather, he wants you to design inclusively from the beginning. Whichever path you take, the point is to eliminate barriers to communications. He’s an independent accessibility consultant. (Also part of our 20NTC coverage)

 

 

 

 

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[00:01:55.54] spk_1:
big non profit ideas for the other 95%. I’m your aptly named host. Oh, I’m glad you’re with me. I’d be stricken with lateral epic condo leitess if you strained our relationship with the idea that you missed today’s show. Digital Accessibility. How do you make your digital products more accessible? Think data visualization, color choices, alternative text screen readers and more. Laura Patch from Sierra Club reveals the details. This is part of our 20 NTC coverage. Also inclusive design. Nick Steen How says Forget about upgrading for accessibility. Rather, he wants you to design inclusively from the beginning. Whichever path you take. The point is to eliminate barriers to communications. He’s an independent accessibility consultant. This is also part of our 20 NTC coverage on Tony’s Take two Dismantling racism were sponsored by wegner-C.P.As, guiding you beyond the numbers wegner-C.P.As dot com by Cougar Mountain Software Denali Fund. Is there complete accounting solution made for non profits tony-dot-M.A.-slash-Pursuant in for a free 60 day trial and by turn to communications, PR and content for non profits? Your story is their mission. Turn hyphen two dot ceo. Here is digital accessibility. Welcome to tony-martignetti non profit radio coverage of 20 NTC. That’s the 2020 non profit technology conference. We were supposed to be in Baltimore. The conference was canceled, but we are persevering, virtually irrespective. Our coverage of 20 NTC is sponsored by Cougar Mountain Software Denali Fund.

[00:02:20.44] spk_0:
Is there complete accounting solution made for non profits? You can go to tony-dot-M.A.-slash-Pursuant Mountain for a free 60 day trial.

[00:02:32.04] spk_1:
My guess now is Laura Patch. She is digital project manager for the Sierra Club. Ah, Laura. Welcome.

[00:02:33.74] spk_2:
Hi. Thanks for having me.

[00:02:35.39] spk_0:
Uh, pleasure. I’m glad this worked out. And, uh, I know you’re well and safe and glad. Glad to hear that.

[00:02:41.64] spk_2:
Yeah.

[00:02:54.94] spk_1:
Your ah topic is everyday accessibility. How everyone can make digital products more accessible? Why is this important for all for all

[00:02:55.93] spk_0:
nonprofits, irrespective of what proportion you think your users are. Your visitors are that with with disabilities.

[00:04:03.24] spk_2:
Um, So there is definitely a portion of the population that has permanent disabilities that we should be concerned with. They have high buying power. Um, disposable income that will on make them want to donate to your lovely non profit. And by having accessible, uh, digital products, you make sure that they can participate in your mission, but awesome. Their situational disabilities. If you think about the last time you took your cell phone out and it was great and funny and you couldn’t see your screen back, actually an acceptability issue. And if you focus on creating high contrast images like you would for somebody who has color vision problems, then you’re benefiting all the people using your website on their phone in break fun. So thinking about this situation, all ones will help your organization as well.

[00:04:04.64] spk_0:
Okay. Okay. Thank you. I want people to understand that I’ve had NTC guests say that. I don’t know. It was a couple of years ago, since since we’ve covered accessibility, but yeah. Thank you. Um,

[00:04:30.74] spk_1:
there’s a little pause in the video. Um, So what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna pause the recording. I’m gonna ask you to leave the meeting and come back in. Okay? I’m gonna pause now. All right, let’s see if

[00:04:31.92] spk_0:
this works a little better. Maybe not so much video hesitation. Um, so this is, uh you’re covering every digital product you say. Not just This is not just for websites.

[00:04:45.04] spk_2:
Correct? In my presentation, I talk about how to make your documents, your slides and a data visualisation more accessible.

[00:04:54.84] spk_0:
Okay, um, should we, uh, should we start with documents that Okay,

[00:05:23.84] spk_2:
Yeah, but, um, So one of the things that I suggest is to make sure that you use the actual heading setting whether you’re using Microsoft Word Google docks, whatever your platform is, um, this is important, because if you take text and inject, change the format of it, then screen readers can’t tell somebody that right? Whereas if you use heading one heading two heading three, a screenwriter will include that and what it reads to the person so it helps them navigate through your content.

[00:05:39.50] spk_0:
Uh, okay. I don’t think many people are doing that. I think most people just radio heading and then boldface it.

[00:05:49.94] spk_2:
Exactly. Yeah. You really want to take the time, Teoh Change it so it’s heading, and you can actually adapt style so that once you apply heading one, all of your heading ones have that style. It’s really actually easier work.

[00:06:01.74] spk_0:
Yeah, Okay. Right. Then you rather than you have to do it manually. Ok? Um okay. What else? What else? For documents.

[00:06:17.54] spk_2:
Um, this is one that people also frequently forget. We’re doing a better job on websites, but all images should have alternative text. Uh, that should be a no longer than two seconds is preferably even shorter than two sentences. It should describe what’s happening in the image without using words like image of photo of, um, and this again also helps with screen readers. It helps if the images loading slowly as well. So if you have poor Internet connection, you’re again on your cell phone. With no cell service, you can still tell what is conveyed in a image by the alternative text. Okay,

[00:06:49.11] spk_0:
why do you say, why do you not use the language photo of our image over something like that?

[00:06:55.94] spk_2:
Because the screen reader will tell people that it will say image, and then it’ll tell your alternative text so it’s repetitive to keep saying it. Describe what people might feed.

[00:07:10.17] spk_1:
Okay, Okay, Anything else with with images?

[00:07:12.54] spk_2:
No, not.

[00:07:14.04] spk_1:
Do you have to be concerned about color, color of our images or anything like that?

[00:07:30.34] spk_2:
If you’re gonna put text over the image than yes, you want to make sure that your image background in that text have Ah, High column, cross radio. There’s some places on the Internet You can check to make sure that that’s working well, but basically you want toe have either a light background with dark text or vice versa on. And if you can’t achieve that because a lot of things were happening in the image than doing some sort of floating background behind your text with playing around with capacity. I’m concerns that will work while too.

[00:08:05.43] spk_0:
OK, I’m sorry. What do you mean, capacity was the opacity. Opacity? Yes. Okay, I’ve seen that. All right, Opacity, SS. I’m trainable. Alright? Opacity, Of course. All right. Um, yeah. More documents, Sure. Sure.

[00:08:10.31] spk_2:
Yeah. So those are some good tips for documents? Um,

[00:08:14.85] spk_0:
was that it? Is that it for documents? Okay. Okay. Um, where should we go? Uh, uh, data visualization, right?

[00:08:24.14] spk_2:
Yeah. Expands more on that color stuff that we were just talking about. Where you go, you have high contrast colors. Um, you do have colors, like, Say, you have a graph that has five color. So it becomes really difficult to make sure that every single one of those colors have five contrasts. You want to add pattern.

[00:09:08.14] spk_1:
It’s time for a break. Wegner-C.P.As changes to paycheck protection program Loan forgiveness There have been many, but none this week. Congress skipped a week. Wegner hasn’t up to date free wagon. Or that explains the latest go to wegner-C.P.As dot com. Click Resource Is and recorded events. Now back to digital accessibility with Laura Patch.

[00:09:42.04] spk_2:
So I have some visuals for this in my presentation. So let me see if I can describe it Well, um, imagine that you’re looking at a map of route map of buses, right, and you have five routes and there’s purple, blue, green, yellow, red. And if those arrows for the route across each other and you can’t tell the difference between purple and blue, you can’t tell where the route goes. But if you add a pattern to the color saying one of them is a stolid line and one of them is a dotted line, then you can continue to follow the path, even if you can’t tell the difference between those two colors.

[00:09:54.94] spk_0:
Okay, okay, good, Yeah,

[00:10:16.44] spk_2:
yeah, On this works in grafs as well. If you have a pie chart, my yourself makes this really easy. But you can do it in other programs where you can add patterns to your wedges. So do a light color in the background. And then do you hired darker color of the same shade, right? So it could be like blue with blue polka dots on top of it so that they can tell that high fly slice goes to whatever your label is on the side.

[00:10:30.09] spk_0:
Okay? And if you don’t do this, what is it? The problem that all the colors are gonna look similar to someone who has accessibility issues?

[00:10:39.64] spk_2:
Yes. If you can’t see colors than they can’t tell what high slice goes toe. What data point?

[00:11:05.96] spk_0:
Ok, um, same thing with bar charts. Is there anything same would apply to bar charges? Most pie charts? Um, graphs. You talked about lines? That’s the analogy. Analogy. There is the map. Right line. Line. Line line graphs. Okay, Okay. Yeah.

[00:11:31.99] spk_2:
The thing to think about right is that accessibility guidelines say you can’t use color alone to convey a meaning. So when you’re looking at graphs, you want to make sure that somebody can tell like if they can’t tell the difference between colors, they can still understand the information you’re trying to convey. Um, so another way to think about it is like if you’re looking at pins on maps, right, they might have different colors for restaurants. First days, uh, community service places, but you can’t tell the difference between those two colors. That doesn’t really help you if you add an icon to that pin suddenly like the icon of a fork tells you. But that’s an eatery versus just the color of the pen.

[00:11:52.74] spk_1:
Ah, I see. And then how will a reader interpret that?

[00:11:58.04] spk_2:
That’s an excellent question, usually aboard, to make sure that there is data labels as well. So label that as restaurant versus just the information.

[00:12:23.86] spk_0:
Okay, okay, I could see a mean a map. I’m just tryingto understand how a screen reader interprets, um, a map like that Local A. T M’s or gas stations. It can do

[00:12:59.08] spk_2:
that. Uh, maps. There were some of the most difficult things to make Fully accessible, said. There’s basically and if especially for a non developer person, it’s very difficult because there’s things you can put into the code of amount toe, give things, labels. Um, so most of the time If you’re thinking about accessibility from a non developer standpoint, you’re gonna be thinking about the visual ramifications. So those I Hans in your, um, in your pens, I always having a list of the information instead of just the map. Visual is really helpful to because the screen reader can read the list as opposed to the not itself.

[00:13:18.04] spk_0:
Okay, that makes sense. I was wondering if you’ve, uh, well, yeah, it wouldn’t make sense for the for people who don’t have a disability toe leave out a map and just do a list. But actually, so have both. Okay, the screen reader could make sense of the list. OK, OK. OK, um, anything else about data visualization?

[00:13:32.54] spk_2:
No, I think those are the key points for developers.

[00:13:38.74] spk_0:
Okay. Okay. Um what else? Uh, what what

[00:13:40.99] spk_1:
was the other category? You had

[00:13:42.84] spk_2:
a slides.

[00:13:44.44] spk_0:
Oh, for slides. Okay, Power point or Google slides. Okay.

[00:14:42.64] spk_2:
Um, so the same thing. Kind of occurrence for slides as it does for images and documents. You want to make sure you have that alternative text. Um, but the thing that’s unique about slides is that you want to make sure you’re paying attention to the order items are on. Um, if somebody can’t use a mouse, we’ll use the tab button on their keyboard. Um, and the order that your items on your slide are is the order that this screen reader will also like, read your side through. Right. So an easy way to test how a screen reader is gonna read your content to someone is to use that tab button and navigate as if you don’t have a mouse. Um, So, for example, if you want your slide title to be read first, you want to make sure that the first tab is that and I’ve seen a lot of slides where it will be the image, footer, slide content and then title. And you’re like, Well, this would make no sense it was going to be in that order. How

[00:15:00.60] spk_1:
do you change

[00:15:07.13] spk_0:
it? Is that the sequence with which you put them on the on the template slide as you’re making it? Have you control with the tab sequences?

[00:15:11.46] spk_2:
Yeah, that’s the default way. Feel like as you add things, that will be the order, but you can right click on any item on your slide and send it to the back. Send it to the front. Defended forward. Backwards. So you just want to play around with that until it’s the right order that you want.

[00:15:29.93] spk_1:
Oh, that’s what that

[00:15:30.75] spk_0:
thing means. Send forwards finback. Okay, okay.

[00:15:45.74] spk_2:
That can get a little tricky for designers, because it’ll be like putting Bill block certain things with another square or some things that you do have to pay attention. Tilly, if you’re destroying what is visually you showing as well. But for the most part, you want to make sure that cat order makes us

[00:16:09.44] spk_0:
okay. Okay? And and that applies, um, for either Google slides or Power Point. You just right. Click on some right click on an item, and that’s how you can set the sequence. Okay. Okay. Um, anything else slides? Slides wise.

[00:16:13.49] spk_2:
No, that’s right. For slides.

[00:16:24.04] spk_1:
Okay. Okay. Um, should we should we say anything more about color choices overall? Well, we’re

[00:16:26.43] spk_2:
okay. There’s Cem programs that you can check your contrast levels, um, as well as develop a color palette that it’s accessible. Um, so if your organization hasn’t done much in accessibility, you might want to talk to your design team just toe. Tweak some of those colors to make sure that their high contrast I see our club actually just recently changed our color palette to make it more accessible so that we can use more color combinations,

[00:17:06.28] spk_0:
Can you, ah, name any of those resources that are available to check color contrast, and you can send us to,

[00:17:59.58] spk_2:
uh, mine. My favorite is color palette Accessibility Checker. It allows you to put your full color palette into their system and then check each color against all of the colors in your palette for that accessibility purpose. Um, if you’re Jeff checking two colors for contrast purposes. Web aim color contrast Checker is a really good one on both of those. Tell you a and double A levels. So the Web accessibility has level A. Which is the least, uh, the minimum that you need to dio Double A, which is what most organizations looking for and tripled a triple. It is very difficult to do when you kind of have toe constantly, maintain it toe, reach it. So if you’re thinking about all the lawsuits that are coming out about accessibility, they’re mostly talking about double standards.

[00:18:07.43] spk_0:
What are some of those lawsuits around our visual products.

[00:18:52.84] spk_2:
Yeah, the big one that came out in within the last year is the dominoes case. Um, somebody was trying to order pizza online, I think, actually through their up on and was unable to do so. So they sued dominoes for acceptability. Um, and won the case. Oh, okay. Do you want one of the things that we’re still trying to get figured out is the 88 definitely applies to digital products. Over those bases are considered public domain, like public public domain, but like the public space similar to if you walk into the restaurant. Um, but the congress hasn’t actually passed anything that’s told us what those guidelines are. So most people are using the web accessibility, Web content, accessibility guidelines as what be our gaming for, But it’s not legally state that yet.

[00:19:11.94] spk_0:
Okay, Okay. But it is a benchmark for for now, until the courts Yeah, decide on a standard. Okay. Um what else? What else should we be talking about?

[00:19:34.94] spk_2:
Um uh oh. I have one more resource that might be helpful, but for people. But it’s called the color blindness simulator. Um, and it allows you to upload an image and then check different ways of color blindness. Though it’ll stimulate a red color blindness, the blue color blindness. So you can see what that image looks like if somebody can’t feel the images.

[00:19:51.34] spk_1:
Okay. And what is that again? Color

[00:19:53.81] spk_2:
color blindness in later

[00:19:57.54] spk_0:
simulator. Okay. Okay. Um, those are excellent. You ticked off like dozens of I don’t know to Doesn’t things or something. Excellent. Um, you leave it there. Does that sound like

[00:20:06.74] spk_2:
a

[00:20:07.39] spk_0:
good coverage? Okay. Cool. Uh, thank you very much. Laura Patch. She is digital product manager at the Sierra Club. Laura, Thank you very much.

[00:20:16.87] spk_2:
Thank you.

[00:20:22.24] spk_0:
And thank you for being with tony-martignetti. Non profit radio coverage of the the virtual 20 NTC were sponsored by Cougar Mountain Software.

[00:21:47.29] spk_1:
We need to take a break. Cougar Mountains software. Their accounting product Denali is built for non profits from the ground up so that you get an application that supports the way you were That has features you need and exemplary support that understands you. They have a free 60 day trial on the listener landing page at tony-dot-M.A.-slash-Pursuant. Now, time for Tony’s take two. You’re dismantling racism journey. That’s our newest special episode, and it’s out. You will have a long journey. So start with this single step. My guest is pretty itchy. Shaw. She’s president and CEO of Flourished Talent Management Solutions. Starting where you are with your people, your culture and your leadership. How do you gather data about racist structures that are right under your nose? Who do you invite to the conversation? She helps you see the way forward next week. I’ll have it on. She helps you see the way forward next week. I’ll have it on YouTube If you want to wait for the video, that is Tony’s Take two. Now it’s time for inclusive design with Nick Steen. How welcome to tony-martignetti non

[00:21:58.79] spk_0:
profit radio coverage of 20 and TC 2020 non profit Technology Conference were sponsored at 20 NTC by Cougar Mountain Software. With Me Now is next in how he’s an independent accessibility consultant. Nick. Welcome.

[00:22:06.64] spk_3:
Hey, tony. Thanks for having me. Really nice to chat with you.

[00:22:10.24] spk_0:
Thank you. I’m very glad we could work this out virtually. And, uh and it’s good to know that you’re well and safe outside Vancouver, British Columbia.

[00:22:20.40] spk_3:
Yeah, it’s difficult times, but we’re staying safe yet.

[00:22:32.10] spk_0:
Alright, Alright, um, your NTC topic is forget accessibility. Think inclusive design s O. What is it about accessibility that you want us to? Who forget?

[00:24:41.84] spk_3:
I think that when we’re focusing on Leon excess stability, we’re forgetting that accessibility is good for everyone. No, As as an individual with a disability myself, I will never forget that implementing where backs disability is above and beyond for people with disabilities to be able to use the web. But if we’re thinking Onley in those terms, we tend to forget that, uh, making sure color contrasts are good. You know, you’re not using great text on great background. That’s good for people with low vision. But it’s also good for you when you’re using your mobile device and full sun when you’re talking about making sure the the target area for ah click is big enough for someone who has cerebral policy and doesn’t have fine motor control to click on that little check box. It’s also good for someone that has big fingers and trying to fill a form on the bus or public transit. Uh, when we’re talking about plain language, we’re also talking about? Well, maybe maybe someone has a functional in permit. Maybe it’s a young mom with a very young baby that has colic. So she’s trying to juggle a sick baby in one hand and read up information on her mobile phone on the other. And the cognitive load is very, very impacted. So there’s all these things that are really important for people with disabilities, but that I also happen to benefit everybody a little bit like in the physical world. We started implementing curb cuts that was good for wheelchair users. Sauce good for parents pushed airs for their kids, for delivery people with it appears on unstable. You, um, you may have to edit me and post.

[00:25:08.14] spk_0:
Yeah, let’s keep going. Ah, lot of times the, uh, the the way it appears is not. The word is not what’s getting recorded. I’ve had that happen a couple times, so we’ll just Kentucky as long as we can still hear each other. Yeah, um, and if the video becomes unusable, then we’ll just do the audio. Yeah. Also cuts also help those of us who are pulling luggage. Yep.

[00:25:28.39] spk_3:
So it’s it’s really a question of universal access. And when we’re start thinking about what we’re doing, we really should talk about inclusive design. It’s it’s going from, um it’s going from situation that are equal, but different to situation where everyone can benefit.

[00:25:35.96] spk_1:
Yeah. Okay. What is your own disability?

[00:25:41.02] spk_3:
I’m a wheelchair user.

[00:25:49.59] spk_1:
Okay. Does that impact screen use? No, it

[00:27:10.24] spk_3:
doesn’t. Not for me. Um, but I’ve had a situation where I was, Um, a few years ago, I managed to broke a wrist because I slid on ice in my I can’t out of the sidewalk felon in the street broke arrest. So I had a problem moving around, obviously. And about a week later, I broke the other risk in a car accident. So I was severely impaired from being able to use the keyboard. Normally, type about 80 words minute. And when that happened, I was starting to fingers and it was very, very awkward. Eso having been a an accessibility expert for a large number of years, I was also faced with having to to learn things I knew were there on you. The tools, for example, Dragon, naturally speaking, to be able to to speak to the computer for, for interacting and you all that I had used all that in testing. But the point was really brought home about no. As a wheelchair user, I realized the barriers in the physical world. But as, um, as a suddenly web disabled user, I had to relearn all these things again.

[00:27:53.64] spk_0:
Yeah, I see how deeply personal this is for you. Um, I’ve had guests on talking about accessibility. I know we’re supposed to You wanna think inclusive design? But those guests were framing it as accessibility on and, uh, I’ve never heard anyone mention the size of a radio button the size of anything that you need to click on as being difficult to land on for someone with cerebral palsy Or, I guess, other neuro muscular disabilities as well. Yeah. Um,

[00:29:18.64] spk_3:
yeah, it In general, we tend to to know about accessibility for screen reader users because it’s been the most obvious. The biggest barrier is for people that are have vision impairments and then rely on SSF technology like screen reader users. But the fact is, there’s a whole range of disabilities that effect using the Web. There’s obviously people with no vision or low vision There’s people with hearing impairments that, for example, if there’s no transcript for your show, they’re not gonna be able to interact with the shore or get material out of the show. But aside a side issue to someone who is born deaf and grows up deaf. Where American Sign language is their first language. The grandma, the structure of the language, is so completely different from English. So when they’re interacting with content, a lot of these native SL users English is their second language. And then if we don’t try to in plain English, it makes content difficult to digest. There’s just all kinds of little things that if it’s not something we’re used to, or we don’t stop to think about it, there’s impact all over the place.

[00:29:43.54] spk_0:
Yeah, Okay. Yeah. Um, let’s see. So, um, how should we? How shall we continue? Um, and there are other. Are there other design concepts I ideas that you want to share, just like your listing them and explaining them? Or should we approach this some other way?

[00:29:46.94] spk_2:
Oh,

[00:31:33.78] spk_3:
sure. If we’re gonna use video, let me share. You’re one of the a couple of the slides. I have in my, uh, in my deck for the presentation, which might actually bring something to to the viewers. Um, we’re tired, King a lot about, um, equality making the Web equal for everyone. And in this slide, I have an image of, uh, three kids, very short kid, the middle height kid in a tall kid looking at a ball game over a fence, and they’re all on, uh, all on the box. That allows them to be a little bit higher, but the box is the same height for everyone’s. The very tall kid gets to see very well above defense. But the very short kids still can’t see above it if we contrast that to equity, which is a concept that we’re talking a lot about Is that well, they’re very talk. It does not need any boxes to see over defense. The kid that’s no halfway between the two can use one box and he can see over the box and then a very short kid. If you stack two of those boxes suddenly he can see over defense. So we’re talking of an equitable situation, and that’s one of the concept that I want people to realize is we have to stop thinking about access abilities in terms of equality, but we really should start thinking about it in terms of equity. But if we push further, um

[00:31:52.69] spk_0:
and thank you, Nick, for explaining what’s on the slides because, ah, lot of people won’t be seeing the video. It’s an audio podcast. And then if our video is good, I’ll put that on the YouTube channel. But most people are just getting audio through the podcast. So you’re thank you for sounding like a screen reader as you describe what’s in the

[00:33:54.14] spk_3:
Yeah, it’s funny you mentioned that it’s something I’ve gotten used to do, and I do. Presentations is that I rarely put visuals up on the slide that I won’t take time to explain because I don’t know who in my audience has vision issues. I don’t know who may not be able to process an image. They’re better at processing the odor words then then what they’re seeing. So I always try Teoh to make sure that I describe what’s going on because it just it just makes on. Um, the other thing is that, um, when we’re thinking about this relationship between equality and equity. We could also start thinking about barrier free, which is the step beyond that, which is really thinking inclusively if in our thinking process, we think about whichever thing we design. And that includes offense, where we have to go through the process of what would be an equal experience, what would be an equitable experience? How about we do offense that everybody can see through without needing boxes to get up? So in this image, I have the same three kids an offence. But instead of being a psyllid plank fence, it’s actually a wire friends that everybody can see through. So I really want people to shift thinking from this idea of us versus them, people with disabilities and people without disabilities, disabled people versus abled people. I want to get people started to think about. We’re all in this together, and we have to build barrier free, um, environments, whether it’s in the built environment or on the Web. So it’s really important to to start that shift in thinking

[00:35:32.74] spk_0:
okay on, and it’s sort of, um, um, I don’t know if revolutionary is too strong a term, but you’re you definitely want to shift that you run a shift, at least if not if not revolutionary, it’s ah, It’s a substantial movement from where people are thinking now, Um, my sense of it is ah, lot of Web and I and I guess we shouldn’t even limited to websites. But because all digital products, right, Whether it’s ah, yeah, we’re a word document using headings, using the headings, um, format versus you, writing the text and then highlighting it Which reader isn’t gonna recognize? So it’s all it’s all digital products, not we’re not only talking about websites. Um, my sense is that most of the thinking is that you create something and then maybe you go back and try to adapt it, which would be, you know, uh, adding, adding the same, that would be your will be the first picture that you just showed, which would be changing it. What changing the way it appears for everybody or the ways design you have the way it appears for everybody. After I’ve already done my design and creation. Then I go back and yeah, and ad code for ah screen reader. Let’s say all right. My sense is that that’s the more prevalent on yeah, more prevalent methods methods.

[00:38:24.82] spk_3:
That is what’s happening mostly out there. We really want to shift the thinking in terms of thinking about accessibility from the get go. Obviously, in our my my talking about accessibility, I never forget. The primary goal of this is making things work for people with disabilities because we have such a need to access information, quicks example. So much of the information now is Onley available online because of the coronavirus. But so many of the size that provide that information is not available because they’re not accessible. So we have. We have a failure of the system for people with disabilities accessing information, which is critical and even, maybe vital. So we want to think about accessibility from the very early phases off the first design, where this wire frame or even just concepts, one of the complaint. A lot of the people I interact with and have done for over 25 years that have been involved in this wonderful world is that people say, Hey, Nick, accessibility. Yeah, I get it, but it’s so expensive, and then I start telling them about and experience from my own life uh, I know someone who built house, and they just had two steps under the entrance and the door was fairly narrow, you know, it was 28 inch door or something like that. 30 inch? Not sure. And then they became a wheelchair user and they had to retrofit the house. They had to actually remove the front door. They had to remove bricks around the front door to make a bigger opening. They had to put a ramp in. And of course, that was very expensive. But had they actually build house that was accessible in the first place? Had they put in a door that was wider and had no step entrance? That added cost at the time of building would have been maybe three, maybe 5% mawr, instead of costing tens of thousands of dollars to To fix digital accessibility is the same thing. If you build it accessibly in the first place, it won’t cost you any more because in theory your designers, your developers, your quality and assurance testers everybody in that chain and that workflow should be having the skills and the knowledge to build it accessibly. Now the reality is and doesn’t always happen, but, um, it’s good. So exists. Ability does not have to be expensive and can be baked in from the start. A little bit like blueberry muffins. Have you ever tried to bake blueberry muffins and put the blueberries after the muffins are cooked? It’s not gonna work.

[00:39:23.22] spk_0:
Have not have not tried that. Now, Um, the only reference I could think about in, uh, popular culture blueberry muffins made That makes me think of the movie. Ah, casino. Where the The head of the casino, Um uh, tells the baker that he wants, um, the same number of blueberries in every muffin because he just cut open a muffin that had very few. And his breakfast companion had ah dozen in his And, uh, so and that. But that’s not what you’re talking about. Sorry. That’s a silly digression. I like movies. Um, and casino is a very good one.

[00:39:55.02] spk_1:
Time for our last break turn to communications relationships. The world runs on them. We all know that turn to is led by former journalists so that you get help building relationships with journalists. Those relationships will help you when you need to be heard. So people know you’re a thought leader in your field, and they specialize in working with nonprofits. They’re a turn hyphen two dot ceo. We’ve got, but loads more time for inclusive design from 20 NTC.

[00:40:00.61] spk_0:
Any other idea what other ideas do you want to share around inclusive design?

[00:43:23.50] spk_3:
For me, one of the other important concept to think about his accessibility is not a checklist. We’re using standards and guidelines. For example. The standard right now for checking it for site is accessible. Not is the Web content accessibility guidelines Version 2.1. That’s the most recent version of the guidelines. And if we’re going through that, we end up using a checklist. Our ultimate images have alternate attribute. Can we get through to all the elements on the Web page using the keyboard? Only is there enough contrast between text and background? And there’s There’s a long list. There’s like nearly 80 success criteria, and each of them have specific testing checkpoints to to look at. But if we think Onley in terms of conforming to the standard, we’re falling back into this trap of looking at putting the blueberries back in the muffin after the muffins have been baked. We’re looking at basically the minimal amount of work we need to do to get away with with it to not be sued, for example, whereas I really want people Teoh thinking in terms of, we want our website to be usable by as many people as possible with as little difficulty as possible. So we should think about getting away from accessibility In terms of checklist. The checklist is useful as a way of getting a pulse of the health of our website, but we have to look at everything else as well. And if we’ve thought about Texas ability from the very early stages of the project, then at that point that should be fairly easy. The checklist is just there as a safeguard, but we’re looking also at the best practices. For example, a ramp you’re looking at a ramp in the built environment. The Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility guidelines called for ramp to have no more than one in 12 radiant. That means the ramp doesn’t go longer than a shorter than 12 foot. For every foot of height it goes up, and that’s a minimum. Most people would, uh, mobility impairments should be able to do that. But what about putting a ramp that is with a gentle slope where it’s one and 15? Maybe it’s not gonna hurt anything. You’re just adding a couple feet to your ramp. Nine times out of 10. You don’t have a space limitation to do that. And suddenly you’ve made it easier for everyone. So thinking. In terms of digital accessibility, we can think about similar issues. For example, color contrast. The guidelines says you have to have a contrast of 4.5 to 1 to be sufficient for people with low vision. How about you? Do you use something like sticks to one? You increase the contrast a little bit, use better colors. Maybe you use a folded font appropriately. And at that point, you’ve you’ve gone beyond checklist and you’ve made the site more usable or usable for everyone.

[00:43:50.10] spk_0:
Yeah, all right. Beyond the standard of beyond the beyond the minimum standard. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:43:51.16] spk_1:
You make a distinction

[00:43:55.07] spk_0:
between disability and impairment. Could you flush that out, please?

[00:45:05.09] spk_3:
Yeah. I’m coming at it from having worked in the independent living movement for for a number of years, where one of the basic concept is my disability is not the fact that I use a wheelchair. My disability is the fact that you have 15 steps to get into your building. My disability is not that I’m blind, but that you’re not offering alternative format for your menu. Uh, so we’re talking about the difference between a condition and a disability. The impairment is I’m wheelchair user joys blind, Julius deaf. Those are the impairments, the condition. The disability comes into effect when society builds environments that have barriers. So in effect, the disability has not come from within. The disability comes from without. If you build something that has barriers, you disabled me. And that, I think, is a very important distinction to make.

[00:45:34.77] spk_0:
Yeah, very good. Yeah. I could see how this is. Like I said, deeply personal for you. Um, and you think you’ve been thinking about these things for decades? These these concepts, um, and the disabilities that the culture of the society has has built the disabilities that society has built. Um, how do you want to Ah, you want to wrap up, please.

[00:46:44.41] spk_3:
I’d like to leave people with one message about accessibility. It’s a continuum. it’s not a bill. I’ll or in all you know, it’s not because you feel you can’t make everything accessible that you shouldn’t even try. The more you do it to, more accessible things are gonna be and start now, just starting now, make little changes. Your you know your webs that doesn’t use headings. See if you can implement headings. Look at the little things you can do the low hanging fruits, because the more you put in, the easier is gonna be for more people to use your your site or your documents. Whether it’s pdf word whichever Web based resource is, start now and do as much as you can without necessarily worrying about being an expert. That’s done this for 20 years. Um, talk to people about excess abilities, see what they suggest and try to implement in your in your workflow in your website whether you know you’re the executive director of non profit that never really thought about it and start thinking about it. Start the discussion.

[00:46:58.82] spk_0:
Thank you. Next in help Independent accessibility. Consultant. Thank you very much for sharing neck.

[00:47:04.38] spk_3:
Thanks, tony. It’s been a pleasure.

[00:47:06.61] spk_0:
My pleasure. Please stay safe outside Vancouver and thank you very much for being with tony-martignetti. Non profit radio coverage of 20 NTC were sponsored by Cougar Mountain Software Denali Fund. Is there complete accounting solution made for non profits? Tony-dot-M.A.-slash-Pursuant Mountain for a free 60 day trial? Thanks a lot for being with us

[00:47:58.98] spk_1:
next week. More from 20 anti sees Smart speakers. If you missed any part of today’s show, I beseech you, find it on tony-martignetti dot com were sponsored by wegner-C.P.As guiding you beyond the numbers wegner-C.P.As dot com by Cougar Mountain Software Denali Fund Is there complete accounting solution made for non profits tony-dot-M.A.-slash-Pursuant Mountain for a free 60 day trial and by turn, to communications, PR and content for non profits. Your story is their mission. Turn hyphen two dot CEO

[00:48:29.56] spk_0:
creative producer is Fair Meyer Family Sure profit other 95% go out

[00:48:48.37] spk_7:
and be great talking alternative radio 24 hours a day.

Nonprofit Radio for May 31, 2019: Tech Accessibility & Resilience & Sustainable Impact

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Keith Casebonne & Aurora Holder: Tech Accessibility
Keith Casebonne and Aurora Holder want you to advocate for accessible tools that will make all workers more efficient. From 19NTC, Keith is at Disability Rights Florida and Aurora is from Disability Rights Wisconsin.





Ananda Leeke & Meico Whitlock: Resilience & Sustainable Impact
Ananda Leeke and Meico Whitlock want you to use tech with intention and foster a culture of resilience. They’ve got lots of strategies for mindfulness and intention. Do you know the Eisenhower Matrix? Also from 19NTC, Ananda is with Ananda Leeke Consulting and Meico is the Mindful Techie.





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Hello and welcome to Tony martignetti non-profit Radio. Big non-profit ideas for the other 95%. I’m your aptly named host. Oh, I’m glad you’re with me. I’d be forced to endure the pain of Bobby’s aosis if you ticked me off with the idea that you missed today’s show. Tech Accessibility Keith Castle Bon and Aurora Holder want youto advocate for accessible tools that will make all workers more efficient from 19 NTC. Keith is that disability rights Florida and Aurora is from Disability Rights, Wisconsin and Resilience and Sustainable Impact. Ananda Leak and Miko Whitlock. I want you to use tech with intention and foster a culture of resilience. They’ve got lots of strategies for mindfulness and intention. Do you know about the Eisenhower Matrix? Also, that is from in-kind teen NTC. Ananda is with Ananda Leak Consulting, and Miko is the mindful techie. I’m Tony Steak, too. Be a good American. We’re sponsored by pursuing full service fund-raising, data driven and technology enabled Tony dahna slash pursuant by Wagner CPS Guiding you beyond the numbers regular cps dot com and by text to give mobile donations made easy Text. NPR to 444999 Here are Keith Castle Bon and Aurora Holder. Welcome to Tony martignetti non-profit radio coverage of 1990 si It’s a non-profit technology conference were at the convention center in Portland, Oregon, and this interview, like all our 19 ntcdinosaur views, is sponsored by our partners at Act Blue Free. Fund-raising Tools help non-profits make an impact with me Now are Keith Castle Bon on Aurora. Holder. Keith is the technology and communications manager for disability rights, Florida and Aurora. Holder is manager at Disability Rights Wisconsin. Welcome to each of you. Thanks for having us. Welcome is disability rights in every state in the country you’re representing Wisconsin and Florida. Is there one in every every state? Correct. There is its federally mandated. Oh, okay, okay. I mean, the organization is federally mandated, but what do you mean? Having protection and advocacy organization that’s independent from the government is federally mandated in each state. So what, Like you have an independent kind of watchdog to look at, like, institution that might be practicing, you know, inhumane practices against the clients they would having this independent agency that comes and overlooks that because it’s really hard. Maybe the government to regulate. That is, it was rolled out because they were seeing so many atrocities and nothing was being done about it. So they decided you need to be an independent agency from the government, although we’re funded by the government. But we need to have that ability to come in and look at that. But we do have elevated writes that maybe other organizations we have to look at records and things like that. Are you also funded by individual gifts as well? You fund-raising? You okay? So it’s not not unlike the Legal Aid Society krauz required by law to have defense available on DH. It’s partially funded by government. Then they also do their own fund-raising. Well. Essentially, the federal government gives us money to be the watchdogs for our individual states for disability rights. So it’s kind of interesting concept that I think different in a lot of other non-profits out there. Let’s talk about the advantages to having well being a tech accessibility advocate toe having having technology be accessible on DH. The advantages, too. The world at large, not advances don’t only accrue to those who have specially need accessibility. Is that my I like going in the right direction. Aurora. Yeah, what are what are some? What’s the fight to make the case? Aside from the legal requirement? What? What would I say? It’s a tech. A accessibility advocate. How about I start making the case in my organization that what we’re trying to focus on is making sure that people know that you know, accessibility way? Want to move towards a universal like everything is available to everyone like your software isn’t just available to certain pop population that you’re looking at how to make a universal and so that’s a lot what were focusing on and what’s the advantage to doing that, um, that you’re hitting a wider audience because there’s so many disability, you can’t you can’t just do one little thing and accessibility. There’s so many things we’re trying to cover such a wide, wide net, that just looking at it in the different approach of making it universal, versus what makes sense for me as a developer or whoever is creating them thing that they’re going in there. They’re really looking at it in a lot of different ways, teething about all the different users that might be using it. Also, there’s like money, incentives. You’re when you’re not making a software like shopping out that’s accessible, then you’re you’re losing out on a bunch of people that cannot act, you know, by stuff on your website. You’re on because they have economic power. But you’re not. You’re not accessing. Yeah, Keith, what can you have the outset here? Well, on the plus side of making things accessible, you’re also making them usable for everyone. And in fact, one of the things that will showing our session is that a lot of accessible technologies out there end up helping people who don’t maybe technically have a disability. S o. How is that flush that out a little bit? How does that work? What are some examples of that? Well, so one product that we’re going to mention eyes, a piece of software that you can put on your computer screen to adjust the colors and brightness of the images on. That’s good for people who might have get migraines for looking at their screen. Uh, we’re just getting headaches, dizziness, whatever. This software can actually make it easier for you to sit at your desk and do your job, which is great for people with disability. But I know people without disabilities that use that all the time just to help get there. Get through there. Day, Okay? No. What are the standards that disability rights is enforcing? Is there there a code? How do you measure whether there’s compliance or not against against what set of standards? Well, there’s so there’s originally there was a section five away, which is law from the seventies, that mandates that any government entity needs to be accessible, and that goes into services and other things. Now, of course, in the 19 seventies, you know we didn’t have websites. We have a lot of technology we have today, but that law has been broadly interpreted to include those things. Thie, Americans with Disabilities Act in 18 90 also adds to that a good bit on Does talk about technology to some degree? Uh, other than that, there’s not a lot of specific laws in America that other countries have different laws in America. That’s kind of where the laws end. But then, too, on top of that, there’s a lot of accessibility guidelines out there that you can follow one that really is common is the world. Our Web consortium has their Web accessibility, content guidelines. That is sort of like a framework to make sure that websites are accessible, for example. So okay, are there they’re specific tools. Are we able to talk about specific tools and resource is for for making your sight accessible? Um, well, our our session in particular isn’t trying to focus on websites. Actually, because there is so many accessible website, you’re not Okay, So we’re trying to focus on as I t manager attacked person in your organization. Anybody dealing with technology that you’re thinking about how to make what you’re putting out there accessible like that could be your instructions. That could be just an e mail that you’re sending to your staff. Video training videos, like all kinds of stuff that people would have to, um do as part of training e-giving staff information is accessible and not assuming that your entire staff, I have told you, like if they had a disability and what they could do to accommodate it because they’re way did find statistically that there could be upwards of 30% or more of unreported disability. You know, like people that just aren’t saying anything, and that’s fine there. You know, they don’t have to reveal all that, but making sure that you’re thinking about that, not putting you know, your head in the sand, just pretending like, Oh, well, you know, I don’t need to put all text on that image that of that screen shot I did in my instructions. Like, you know, you know, it probably won’t affect anybody in the staff, but you don’t know there’s somebody that uses the screen reader every day, Teo, because maybe their vision’s going Or there’s a variety reasons. People you screen rears its not just for people that are blind, you know, and just being more cognisant of different types of disabilities in ways you can. You can make easy adjustments. Or it could just be someone that’s has time, keep, you know, being keeping track of time. Or they’re you know, they’re just going on and they’re, you know, working on stuff, and they can’t seem to keep focus. There’s there’s all kinds of things that you could be aware of that could help that, and being people in the field, we’re seeing that with people And if you’re not realizing what’s out there than you’re not helping those individuals realized because they don’t may not realize what tools are out there. Yeah, okay, it’s time for a break. Pursuing you are the first impressions. The sea book is still up. How to combine Strategy analytics and Creative to captivate new donors and keep them coming back? That’s their e book on donor acquisition. Had to make that great first impression so that donors stay with you. And don’t just make that one gift and then trail off as we know Don’t have attention is like 75%. You don’t want that. You get the book through the listener landing page. It’s at tony dot m a slash pursuant with the capital P for please. Now back to tech accessibility. So alright, this’s the with the what the team is putting out for for general consumption or just for within their own team. It’s you she’s thinking about organizational levels organization wide. Yeah, OK, yeah. So examples you mentioned. Example User guides. What else? What else should listen to be thinking about what? Even if they may be, they don’t even have their own team but right related related to tech. What kinds of things should be conscious of that? That that should be tech? That should be accessible, right? Well, we’re moving to all these cloud APS and stuff, but nobody’s really test like a lot of them aren’t accessible, actually to screen readers and other technology assistive technology that would help people disabilities read or submit things to it. So are you evaluating that before you purchase that software so that you are like, Let’s say you have a online recruitment software that you’re using? Teo Get in people that they can apply in your website? Well, if it’s a screenwriter, can’t read the form fields and, you know, look through it and pushing cement. Then they’re not applying for that job, screening out all those people who could be accommodated but can’t apply right? Sure, Keith has some more samples. Okay, well, And in the office, for example, You know, your office manager buys a new copier, and I wouldn’t give a thought to anything about accessibility, but someone on your staff eyes in a wheelchair, and they can’t open the lid or reach the control panel. Now there are copies out there that the control panel flips down, and so it becomes accessible when there’s handles to lift him up, you know, closed the lid. So there’s they’re out there. The solution’s air out there. But you have to put a little time and effort into finding them. And and that’s the kind of things we try to promote awareness of because it’s not that anyone means that he harmed anybody. They’re just not sort of thinking that far ahead. Exactly. So we want to make him a lot more aware. Especially something. So ordinary is a copier. Exactly. You wouldn’t think I use it. Fine. You know what? It’s obvious when you say it, um, so I’d like to raise more consciousness. So what else? What are the things in the office tech wise? Should be conscious of that we may not be, Well, any software that anyone uses, which we’ve already touched on, a little bit of cloud acts, that sort of thing. You want to make sure that you know, if you’re if you’re an organization, this client base, like most non-profits are you want to know that you’re your client database system is accessible. You might. You might buy something that looks great, has all the features. One. And then you set up the implemented. You take months, and the gentleman that uses the screen reader goes toe access that software and finds out this wasn’t making any sense to me. I can’t. I can’t follow what I need to do. And if you if you if you If you build that sort of accessibility testing into your purchasing your framework requirements are P, whatever, exactly then then you could you confront. You could work with that. And you can. You can find the right tools out there which, in and of itself, could be a challenge. Because not every vendor is very forthcoming with, you know, they’ll tell you it’s accessible. Uh, even if it’s not, you really have to be vigilant. Do your own research because they want to make a sale. Would you have to ask, You know, are you compliant with these? You said the consortium has guidelines. So is your product that we’re considering compliant with these. I forget the name Well, there’s 65 away and Ada, and you’ll get a lot of blank stares. You ask these questions and they won’t have a clue what you’re talking about. Well, we’ll get back to you. We’ll talk. Let me talk to my boss and I can’t take any times. I’ve never heard back from them because they don’t really know what to say. So it’s something that you’ve got to do your own research, and it takes a lot of effort because the vendors aren’t very helpful. Okay. All right. Um, what else? But obviously your website, it should be possible that that one’s easy. There’s, I think, is a person to heightening accessibility culture that’s apart. We’re covering as well about called you in your organization, start making that step and changing the ideas of what you know, having people open up and think about Oh, man, we do that all the time. But I didn’t think about that in the way of accessibility in the work we do or planning for what? If you do hyre somebody that’s that has a disability on DH, then you didn’t You didn’t think about that when you purchased all that different technology for whatever that that might happen down the road. And so now you’re kind of, you know, you’re eliminating what they? Khun! D’oh! How do you start to change that culture? Aurora, would you start at the top or you have conversation down below And then bring it up You Khun Dio school combination of stuff just from like again You start saying, Well, I’m going to make you know, make sure all the stuff communications, digital communications that you’re sending out are accessible. I’m going to have a framework of when we’re evaluating software that I’m going to make sure that accessibility is Check your your building in this part of your assessment are ready. You’re going, Tio, apply the theory of universal design if you if you’re non-profit does create certain things like that’s more applicable if you’re doing, you know, actual designing of software and things. But I know some non-profits that do do that. They create aps, they do grassroot efforts things, and they should be aware of that. Things that they need to do to make sure that that’s universally designed Well, so everybody can be a part of that. I’m thinking through my list here. Leadership to leader leader shevawn buy-in. It has got to be critical walking in other people’s shoes, testing it yourself, have you, you know, gone and taken put installed a screen. And there’s lots of free ones out there that you can put on your computer and, like go through maybe a sight or form or software anything and just run through it and see, Is it Can I get through this and sometimes showing that to your superiors? If you can actually demo it and make it something real, then you know that makes it more real to him. They see it and they say, Oh, wow, I didn’t realize that such and such of are, you know, products it won’t work. If this individual is blind, let’s say, or or or whatever Those are Roger’s point. You hyre someone in the future. Yeah, exactly. Who needs these accommodation? Right? And if your product is working, like on an app or something that goes out to the public again, you don’t want to find out after the fact that such you know someone can’t access you’re at because it doesn’t have the accessibility features built in. But you can demo the process before you put something out and show it to a superior to the director that goes a long way to getting them to sort of start to change the culture in on then that no two vendors not only sometimes you create something, not something you know, A lot of days of databases are remade, you know, serums. You could test that. But sometimes you get something made for you, like a website, or you know, So it’s checking with them and really, are the references legit? Are they? Do they really care about accessibility of the hiring staff that are trained to look at those things? Is that part of their value system? Looking at that, I had a time before you jump into a big project where we just got this really big, beautiful website, but most of it’s inaccessible. I think we’ve tried both actually schooled vendors on the fact that their software was inaccessible when they didn’t know the insert, we’d end up testing it and say, Well, by the way, it does not work with Screen Reader. It has this problem. Is this flaw etcetera? And then they’re just Oh, okay. Do they always make changes? Not necessarily. But you put him on the spot. If there If there, uh, if they’re unaware, then you kind of you can show them and, you know, at least maybe a few of them will make a change. Hyre Remember you mentioned cloudgood a lot of cloud platforms or not screen meter accessible. I mean, we’re like, like software like databases and things like that, like Microsoft’s doing a really good after and making accessibility of priority for them. So, like if it’s maybe your whole Google, too. I mean, they’re all there realizing that they have to make their products, they have to fall that universal design principle, right? But then there’s a lot of, like, you know, people that create software, that they don’t have it as part of their value system that they make sure their designers and developers are understand universal sign, understand what makes a software accessible and aren’t thinking in that mind sat at all. And so they just hyre, you know, whoever, and they don’t train them. Maybe some are good, and they don’t. That doesn’t matter in the train after the fact and be part of their value system, but often you find that it’s not, and people are building these acts that are supposed to be available for millions of people, but they’re really not, or it becomes an afterthought. Sometimes that we were hoping more people you know don’t think about it is an afterthought is it’s part is part of your process, just like you would develop a budget just like you would test the software. You know, like all these components that you might do is just part of your chart of your process and your values. OK, ghisolf sometime left another six minutes or so together. What else you’re gonna covering your session that I haven’t asked you yet? We haven’t talked about well. Part of what we mentioned earlier about talking to changing the culture is you can start with, you know, you could start yourself and and make sure that your own communications, your own email, your own documents are done accessibly. And so one aspect of training is that really talk about your specifics and how to get it down to choosing the right fonts, for example, that are more that’s being more readable. Fund for someone with dyslexia, for example, maybe letters are easier to read. Uh, so there’s a lot of nuances like that using the tools that you already have. Microsoft Office or Google docks things like that, and they have features that allow you to make three documents accessible without doing anything, really all that special. It’s all right there. You don’t need to buy special software or anything like that, but people don’t do it. They don’t even know about it, or they feel like it’s not worth the effort, but the efforts really minimal. And so we’re going to show what some of those things are and how you can create PowerPoint presentations. Dahna brochures, etcetera that that that are are are just fully accessible. So what were you going to be showing? Well, so, for example, in in any modern word processor, there’s a feature called Stiles, and everyone seen them like you opened up Microsoft Word and they’re at the top in the toolbar is all these little book two different styles, you know, titles, heading, anyone heading to et cetera. The most people don’t do that. Most people will right the title and those selected, and they’ll make it bold. We’ll make it blue and they’ll make it, you know, 20 points, fonder, whatever. Well, visually, it looks great. but there’s no meaning to it. For someone who uses a screen reader or other assistive technology to explain that, that’s the title waken visually see the best title. That’s great. If you think about picking up the newspaper, you scan a newspaper, you know, by looking through the headings, and then you have something you’re interested in. You know, maybe you choose that article. Start reading it an individual with screen reader, whether it be a document, a website, whatever, if, if it’s not properly, you know, marked up essentially with four of those for morning, right? The formatting is like, you know, metadata. That’s in these styles. That and that’s the key. And so when you use that same with screen Reader has a tool that they could just read the headings. They could literally do the same thing that you know, if you visually scan a document to see what you want to read, it’s the same thing. But if you don’t if you don’t tell them what a heading is, the only choice it has is to start from word one, you know, picture picking up a newspaper and read in the title of it every time you want to go down to the bottom, you have to start at the top again and read the name of the paper, the price the you know, the editor that gets really old really fast. So when you when you mark these things up properly, they can jump to where they want to go, and it just becomes a more usable document for that. If you’re, like, all doing all caps, that’s like screaming. And there’s all these new and people do that with, like, you know, they’ll write out something. I’m really want someone to know. This is important in here, but you know you could you can make it all caps with styling without affecting the screen reader use durney something into a color and raising the font size doesn’t communicate anything with styles have that formatting metadata built in and yeah, and the same time in the end, if you’re writing a long document and you want to reform at it, But you know, if you do with the way you used to doing it, you gotta go back in and re select. Everything changed that, you know, color from blue to red or whatever Well, if you just change it in the style with the snap, it’s all done. Everything’s updated, so there’s lots of good reasons to do it just for your own workflows. People just don’t think about that. And if you’re a 19 manager, we talk way. Do like we create president power point presentations and styles that we might put into staffs a word Or, you know, like just we’ll plug it in there so that they have that framework to work from right away and they don’t have toe because everybody’s new and they may not know, like you might have new staff that don’t know how to use that that kind of tools until you teach them. But they we want to make that easy. And as I t managers or attacks, we can go in and add those pieces so that at least if someone’s going to get that Power point presentation on Gay didn’t get that accessibility training. If that’s part of what you do at your agency, they can know that that one. If I use this one, you know they have a start in creating it’s not 100% right because they don’t add all text to have bitterly but in their world. And it’s no not accessible start framework. And you could do that as I T manager. You can also develop check lists of things. You go through it with you when you’re adding and having a new staff come on like things that might help them in orient. You two, maybe what their needs are like. It could be everything from, you know, simple things like ergonomics. Um, it could be increasing the font size on their screen. They may not. Some people don’t realize that that that a lot of built in to windows and everything you, Khun, go up Tio 125 1 150% on on the screen. So everybody’s struggling, you know, we’re tryingto look at that screen they didn’t realize. You know, there’s this quick little setting I’ll have to do is turn that upto 1 25 and things got a lot better and a coworker just last week who left your reading glasses at home and I said, Oh, no worries and I did exactly that. It turned up to 100%. She’s like, Oh, I don’t even need him anymore. But, you know, just no one really thought about it. Yeah, there’s an example to of helping the non disabled community. Teo benefits a side benefit of accessibility. Nothing I was thinking of was not all. Not all challenges and disabilities are our permanent Somebody. Somebody might have an eye infection. Andi need a screen reader for a week, for sure. Well, they’re taking their course of antibiotics, so it could be something temporary as well. Okay, uh, on don’t know, too, if if you if your people in your organisation realised that you have a culture of trying to help, you know, to improve your accessibility standards. People that do have disabilities that maybe don’t want that out, they’re more likely feel accepted. They’re more like to feel included, and they’re more likely to give out ideas and participate when they fill that they have those connections and that their agency cares about those things. Otherwise, they feel like they’re marginal lines. We’re gonna leave it there. That’s actually very good. That’s a perfect ending. All right. They are Keith Castle, bon technology and communications manager at Disability Rights Florida and Aurora Holder, I t manager at disability right to Wisconsin. Keith Arora. Thanks very much. Thank you, Tony. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for being with Tony martignetti non-profit Radio coverage of 1990 season non-profit Technology Conference This interview Like all our 1990 si interviews brought to you by our partners at ActBlue Free fund-raising Tools to help non-profits making impact Thanks so much for being with us. We need to take a break when you see piela is their accountants. You know what accountants do? Do you need one? Do you need a new one? Do you need the help of one? That’s pretty much the same as needing one talking heat Heat Coach Tomb. He’s a partner in the firm has been a show on the guest on the show and a show on the guest. He’ll be honest with you and tell you whether Wagner can help you with your accounting needs. A place to get started is at wetness cpas dot com Now time for Tony Steak, too. My video is two ways to be a good American abroad. As I said last week, this’s from my trip to Brussels, Belgium, for a day and witnessing some bad behavior with language and currency money in in Brussels by some, um, Americans who were Ah well, last week I said ugly, unsympathetic to thee to the native people that they were visiting. And I think you should be a little more sympathetic. Little more outreaching, a little more giving right. That’s how to avoid being that that bad American. So my video, of course, is the positive way. Two ways to be a good American abroad. You can check that out at tony martignetti dot com, and that is Tony’s. Take two Now here is resilience and sustainable impact. Welcome to Tony martignetti non-profit Radio coverage of 1990 si. That’s the 2019 non-profit Technology Conference. We’re in Portland, Oregon, at the Convention Center. All of our 1990 siente views are brought to you by our partners at Act Blue Free fund-raising tools to help non-profits make an impact. My panel now is Ananda Leak and Mika Whitlock. Ananda is chief mindfulness officer at Ananda Leak Consulting, and Miko is a speaker in trainer on DH. The mindful techie Ananda we go Welcome. Thank you for having a pleasure. Miko, Welcome back to non-profit radio. Thank you. Having a welcome for your first time. Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you Mind. We’re talking about your session topic, which is activating a culture of resilience and sustainable impact. Ananda, let’s start with you. What? You give us the headline and lead here. What was the need for the session? The need for this session was Teo really help non-profit organizations and the staff that worked for them understand that they can take better care of themselves one by slowing down and looking at how they communicate, how they’re interacting with each other, the rituals that they have setting on intention as well as looking at how do they want to use technology and a healthy and a mindful way I’m also looking at What would they like to do with these changes in the next 30 16 90 days? And that was something that nickel focused on the intention, the values and then your action plan. Okay, Miko, you wantto introduce us to the topic as well, Please. Yeah, So you know, we live in a damn time where technology and access information is really driving with our person dahna fresh in a life and in the nonprofit sector particular way, have a challenge of described as what best describes as a fire drill culture. Right. Jeff Kanter? Yes. It was on your panel but could not be here. Yes, she had to leave last night. Yes. So Beth describes his culture a fire drill culture where we are sort of moving from crisis to crisis. And we have to do list. That’s right. Now, Long and we have our project listens a mile long. But oftentimes those things that are on the project we started to do list. We ask ourselves, what is our intention? What is our mission? What are you driving toward? We often have a list full of things that aren’t actually related or lined. And so this is about getting in alignment and using tech to do that versus letting it rule you and being unintentional unmindful. Exactly. Okay. Yeah. This is related to what you and I talked about last year. You were? Of course, you were the mindful techie last year. And I remember something you said that’s stayed with me. And I’ve implemented this that you, uh you tell you tell clients up front that you don’t answer email over the weekend. That was right. I hope you’re right. Yes, I’m doing it. Yeah, so it’s xero. It’s about establishing your rules of engagement. And so it’s one of things you can do where people are overwhelmed, like I have all these things to do. I feel like there’s just application for me to be on 24 7 Well, one of the simple things you can do simply to communicate. Here’s how I communicate Well, here’s the tool that I use. Here’s what you can respect expect in terms of a response. You could do this as an individual. You can do this for your team. You can have a discussion as an organization, and what this allows you to do is for you to turn off your phone, turn off your email and know that if you need to be reached, that your team has been given instructions on how to actually reach your something is truly urgent. And if you’re not reachable, they know, like what the next step in the process is. They know what, who Dakota contact or what the protocol is. There aren’t able to reach you and Ananda Help! Help tie this together. So how does uh uh, well, he Miko calls and rules of engagement, I would say setting boundaries. But however you describe it, how does that help you be a more resilient and sabat sustainable organization? Well, first of all, when you make that commitment to yourself, that’s really saying to yourself, I am prioritizing me. I’m practicing self care and that’s the piece. The mindfulness piece that we emphasize yesterday and our session is that whether you’re listening to yourself or listening to others speaking to others, speaking to yourself, all of that communication starts here. It starts with ourselves. So when you invest in, I’m going to set a boundary with how much time I spend communicating with people as well, a CZ using the technology that allows you to kind of settle in and see what’s really happening, really Take the time to say I’m a little out of balance over here. I’m a little out of balance over here, and this is what I can do to bring more balance in if you’re a leader and we had a lot of folks that lead teams in our session, you’re setting an example for how the folks are interacting and and what you do is a leader your team follows. So if you’re all over the place, if you’re stressed out, then your team is, and that doesn’t work for anyone. You want to be productive, you want to be effective. And the way that you could do that is using mindfulness and slowing down and practicing self care. And then that changes the culture that helps you become a resilient person, team and organisation and sustainable and sustainable. Because because unmindful sort of chaotic, what does best say Fire, fire, fire, fire, drill kind of organs that culture is not sustainable. People going to leave because they just can’t work in that kind of environment. Exactly. People stay, people stay home. You have higher rates of Peterle. I’m taking health leave before those things. You have people who maybe it wouldn’t take three hours to do something if they were arrested. If they had the time, If they weren’t responding to emails all times during the day and night and even on the weekends, so is really looking at Hey, how are we treating ourselves first? Because that that impacts your clients that impacts their bottom line in pressure. Dollar. You know your profit. Yeah. This is not just about health. Know which is which is should be sufficient, but for a lot of people, it’s not. It’s also a bottom line costs. Yeah, And if your health outcomes or poor because you’re in a on unsustainable work environment, then that’s going to impact your your your health insurance premiums. Yeah, and people who are stressed out make more mistakes, you know, And productivity. Yeah, and you have to keep coming back to fix it. And so you’re using a lot of time. Use a lot of energy. People are not working at their best. They’re not working smart. So I’m guessing you had a lot of strategies for Ah, avoiding the the the fire crisis kind of management organizational culture. Okay, why don’t you kick us off mindful Techie? Yeah. So, Mikko, one of the first things is really taking a step back to get clear about what is your intention And what is your vision? Any particular point in time? If you have a list of Mao longer things that you have to do, the reality is that you only have a certain number of hours in a day, and in a week you have a certain amount of energy and attention that you’re able to give to those things that are on your list. And so you want to make sure that whatever you’re choosing to focus your time on is Number one mission, Aline. That’s that’s personally and professionally. The second thing you want people to do is not all of those things are off equal importance that are on your list. So you wanna be able to prioritize. Prioritize means to essentially say yes to one thing and no or not right now to something else so that you could give your time and attention and focus to what’s actually important. Have you Have you seen that Eisenhower Quadrant? Yes, I knew that if I used the pool okay, so well, we don’t have the benefit everybody most. Most of our audience is listening. Some will be watching video, so there’s no point in drawing. And I don’t think I can get Teo please. So, essentially, the Eisenhower principal, this is ah ah, tool. That’s attributed to Eisenhower’s just a foursquare quad. It’s essentially helps you identify what’s urgent versus important at this particular point in time. So what needs your time and attention right now? What can be scheduled? What can be delegated or our automated and what could be eliminated from your list altogether? Because it is not really relevant or it’s not really important. And one of the challenges with along to do Listen project list is folks think that everything is of equal importance. So they stressed themselves out, trying to do everything simultaneously. And when I work with people on this, that really asked a series of power of questions. And one of them is, if you could only do one thing of those 50 things that are on your list, which one thing would be so impactful that would make everything else on that list either easier or irrelevant to do? Here’s an example that came up in the workshop. A woman said, I have. I hear what you’re saying about prioritizing and picking one thing, but I have 50 things on my list. What I don’t I don’t know where to start. And she ended up actually answering her own question because what she realizes that Okay, well, if I prioritize actually training my new staff. Then I would actually have less things to do because that my staff would be empowered to do those things. And so if I said over the next 90 days, I’m going to focus on that that thing on my long to do list first, you actually shorten your to do list by doing one of them exactly prioritizing that as number one. Exactly. Okay, all right. And so another tip that folks can use. And this is just working in larger groups and your team’s. One of the things that came up in the mindful communication group is that people did not feel like they were heard. They felt like when they go to meetings, they’re really just waiting so that they can get out what they need to get out because they’ve got an agenda. The folks that are running the meeting have an agenda, and no one is really slowing down tto list, and you’re just really ready. Just to respond is like you’re talking, and then I’m not listening to you because I’m preparing my next statement. So I offered to the group that won you start your meeting with a mindful moment. That’s something where you can have 30 seconds, 60 seconds, maybe a minute. If you have more time, you can do a mindful meditation, but just taking some deep breaths so that everyone can arrive. Another thing folks talked about was that when they have one on one communication with folks, folks are looking away their on their phones there. By the way, when I’m looking away, I’m looking at volume. You almost looking the number of minutes. OK, I’m not I mean, I’m not turning 90 degrees to go, right? Aye. There’s two things that attract your volume and write and how much time we spend. So we’re right here together. Rules of engagement. Exactly. One engaged with me. I got you. Tolerate. I’m going t 10 degrees offer. You’re looking at it. I totally understand. And I’m with you and you’re with me. You’re you’re you’re managing this process. So I I understand that However, if you’re all over the place and your were supposed to be talking, I don’t feel heard, so I don’t It’s Yeah, Well, that’s one. That’s one person made that comment that it’s rude, but what it is is that you’re missing an opportunity to really hear what your colleague is saying, which is involving the bottom line, which is the profit, which is what? Doing good work. You’re missing that opportunity and it’s it’s really saying You don’t respect yourself and you don’t respect the other person. So one thing that people can do is institute a rule where you put your cell phone down, maybe collect the cell phones, put the laptop down, meeting at meetings. Yeah, meaning so people can really engage with each other or dedicate a particular part of the meeting for people to Because because I know in meetings folks are taking note lorts and so they’re using their phone. They’re using their their computers. But to dedicate a portion of that meeting so that people are one on one, they get to see it. Your present. Some of the components of mindful communication are one. You have the intention to be present, too, that you are actually present. How how do we become president? We become president with our breath just simply taking a deep breath in and out. Your breath is with you at all times. I say, make your breath your B F F. The third component is making sure that you’re that that person recognizes that you’re there. That’s the active listening, the act of speaking. We have that eye contact, you know, and and then engaging with folks. I know what I’m going to say, but you’re going to say something else so that I actually hear you in. It’s responding. It’s like giving that affirmation So all of those things really do help shape the culture that helps with folks understanding that there heard that allows people to feel respected. That allows you to get out what you need to say. It bills team confidence in helps productivity. It resolves conflicts. If you have a conflict with someone else and you’re looking away, that doesn’t do anything except add to to the issue, so it helps you transform problems into possibilities. It za superpower that we’re all missing mindfulness, you know, time for our last break text to give the five party male many course that dispels the myths around mobile giving. You know how to get the thing. You text NPR, too, for for for 999 and break down the myriad myths around mobile giving like that it has to go through through a phone company, and the donor’s phone bill is where is that puts a limit on the amount that they can give. It doesn’t have to work that way. That’s one of the myths on you will crush the others by getting the email many course over five days. Text NPR to 444999 and we’ve got butt loads more time for resilience and sustainable impact. I have some of that, and I don’t mean this trite Lee. But some of that is just things that I think I I grew up, I think a lot of grumbling being called, you know, courtesy your your your attentive When people are talking to you, you’re listening. You know you’re not thinking of your next sentence napor waiting for them to pause so you can get it in. But you’re listening on DH. You’re giving them your attention and no, now we say you’re you’re mindful of your on intentional about your presence, but I think on again, not trite. But like a lot of it is common courtesy that I don’t know if it’s technology has led us away from or its are burdensome work schedules. That is maybe a combination, you know. But I hear a lot of what you’re saying as courtesy. It is courtesy. But what you said what you just said with the technology and are burdensome schedules and then just the drive of of our country. I can’t talk about other countries, just a drive of our country, that we want it right now. All of that has taken courtesy and its dumped it out the window. I mean, we’re altum. I’m sure we’re all taught that, but you’re trying to get stuff done and you have someone who’s pressing you. You’ve got deadlines. The best of us have those intentions and myself included. But if you’re so wrapped up in responding and and I’m using myself because that as an example, what are you going to do to slow down? But it’s it’s the breath. A lot of time. A lot of times I will say maybe not a lot. Occasionally I will say, you know, could you just repeat what you said? Because I apologize. I my mind wandered for those last couple senses, or, um, nothing I’ve done is put off discussion so I can’t focus on this right now because of this other thing. Can we delay whether it’s a day or 15 minutes or whatever? You know, I know that I can’t give you my full attention. Yes, I’m sorry that I can’t because we had scheduled something, But I can’t do it right now. I won’t be at my best with you. I’ve done that occasionally. People always understand, and I think they’d rather reschedule. I’m you know, I’m sorry I’m disappointing you, but we’ll have a much better outcome if if you can meet me halfway and we could do this tomorrow or next week Yeah. Miko. Another strategy principle for us. Tow. Be mindful and intentional and contribute to our resilience and sustainability. Yeah, so I think around the technology to do it, I’ll just give AA few things. So one is, you know, to really take a look at your smart watch, your smartphone, your tablet, all those things which are really wonderful to do our work. But to really assess of all the acts that you’re using, which of those things are mission critical versus which aren’t mission critical and for the things that aren’t mission critical that getting in the way That of distracting. Turn off the push notifications. If Facebook Instagram, this is a good one. You said this last year too, but it bears repeating by no means. Yeah, if dated. Exactly. You don’t have to write your own ticket. These notifications all Exactly. If you know the CNN breaking news alerts. If those things aren’t mission critical, turn off the alerts. That is Facebook will be their instrument would be there. Standing will be there if you want to follow that. But we’re going toe Take back our attention. Take back our time. Take back our focus extend the quality of our focus so that no one on this point that when we are talking like my phone isn’t buzzing And then I’m trying I’m trying to think about okay, this thing I didn’t respond too well. Who like me. What is it? What does pocket buzzing? What? What’s there That is compared to what I’m doing with you and then I’m like Sorry, Tony, could you repeat the question? Your pocket is lighting up. You know there’s something else that I took away. It was it was either from the panel last year. Or Amy Sample. Ward is a regular contributor on the show. She talked about technology and social media. It was it was either your panel or or she and another interview suggested turning off the badge in the mail on your phone. Yes, I think the number in your phone was yes. Panel. Yes. And I did it. Yeah, and I don’t feel that I don’t feel stressed. I don’t have to see the number one. It’s going up. It’s this high is for, and I haven’t been there yet. It doesn’t matter. The little little old thing is there. I don’t know. It’s not even there isn’t there, and it’s not his blank. No, it’s not even there yet. It just just the icon without the badge. I don’t need to know that I have one or six or 12 messages. I’ll get to it when I get to it. You don’t need to tell me the check. E mail. It’s not something I’m going to forget in 2019. I can’t possibly forget to check email, and I think this is particularly important with email where we get more chemo. Then we have the capacity to actually address in some cases. So turning off the notification that shows you how many messages awaiting that little badge that lowers your anxiety level? It actually works, you know. Worked for me. Yeah, Just I worked for me and part of it. The part. The reason that worked was because the devices are intentionally designed to capture your intent. Your attention, right? And so there’s a lot of thought that goes into the notifications, how they flow, the sound, the color and all those things that actually influence that. So I’ll take this. Yes, it stop the damn badges. Red. Yeah, it’s great. It’s another. Yes, the reds. Exactly. Stop what you’re doing and come to my number and look in your email. So here’s a bonus too. Okay. If you turn your tablet or your phone. Two gray scale. But you’re essentially looking at a black and white device, right? And it has less appeal. So you’re not just picking up your phone, you know that random moments, thinking Okay. What am I like visually engaging, less engaging? Exactly. So you have children. You have to pause and think about. Okay. Well, what am I doing at this moment what I want to do with my device in my hand, because all of a sudden becomes like a less attractive toy if you become the less attractive, shiny object, if you will, because you’ve turned off the color setting. Is that in the color on iPhone? Is that in colors and brightness? It’s a city, its inaccessibility setting, its inaccessibility in-kind osili excellent. I wouldn’t have found it there. All right, I’m gonna try it awesome. And another another set of tools that people can use. And this is going back to the breath. So many of us in the nonprofit world we sit all day long. Or maybe we’re standing outstanding debts, and if you are, that’s a That’s a beautiful thing. But you’re in front of that screen, whether it’s your your your laptop, your phone or your watch. What I suggested to folks yesterday in the sessions that you use either the phone ringing the email that’s requiring your attention, whatever the next assignment is in the next to do list. Item two. Step away. Take a break. Before you engage into that, you can either use your breath by just simply doing and out in and out before and you can always get up and go to the bathroom. Who’s going to stop you? That was one thing. If you’re in a meeting and things are getting whatever way that they are, you can get up and move and go to the bathroom and re align yourself. Take some breaths in the bathroom. I’m I’m famous for going to the last stall and breathing. Maybe doing some stretching some office yoga. I mean, I work it out. The bathroom is is my escape. Okay, I would extend that. So one of the tips that I give two folks for, you know, if the turning off the notifications turning off the badge. If you like this just a bridge too far for you. I offer people this mantra. I would say to you, you should try it. It’s not a bridge too far, but But if if you’re in that situation, is the mantra called eat poop? Sleep. So again, the mantra is called Eat poop sleep, and the idea is that way. All have to eat way. All the poop way will have to sleep, and those are opportunities where we can put away the tablet, you can put away the phone. So for 30 minutes while you’re eating, you know you can be by yourself or be actually engaged with someone else and conversation while you’re pooping on the toilet, your phone can not be with you. And hopefully, while you’re sleeping, you’re not also texting and trying to read CNN at the same time, right? Hopefully you can turn that off and maybe buy a real alarm clock and charger device in a different room. So though, if you’re looking for a place to start and you feel like all the other things that I shared and all these other people are sharing tips and hacks, quote unquote aren’t doable for you poop sleep. I have an example of that. It wasn’t pooping but was being I was in the men’s room yesterday. It was in the men’s room and two different guys came in. They were holding themselves with their right hand, and they were holding the phone with their left standing at the urinal. Yeah, I couldn’t believe two different guys sequentially. They didn’t see each other, but I saw both of them. Can I take a lot of time when I washed my hands. Uh, so I was in the hand washing section. But these guys were watching their phones while they were peeing in the urinal. I couldn’t believe it. So please, you should be able to do more than eat poop sleep. I understand they’re people who can’t sew your starting point, set a low bar, wait to start my way. Yes, I think we all should. Wear should be able to go further than that. Alright. Way. Still have some more time in a couple more minutes? Ananda, you have you have another? Yeah, you do value. So you know, we we sometimes find ourselves so stressed out that we eat in front of our devices and one of the things that this is years ago, a colleague suggested to me, Just move. Remove yourself from the desk. Don’t eat in your in the work area. Go someplace else. There’s there are other places to go, or if that’s what you’re finding yourself doing and you don’t have any other place to go, then each your food and go walk, Go duitz. Move your body. It’s like the mind needs to see something different. Just changed the geographic oppcoll area. We went to dinner last night. I think we were talking. It was either during dinner, one of one of our social outings during during the conference, and Miko was talking to someone About what? This is such a great food city. You shot out the restaurant? Oh, yes. Blossom. What is it? Blossoming lotus. Blossoming lotus. Awesome food. We love you. The carrot. Chinese, Japanese. It was vegan. Vegan? Yeah, they had some great carrot ginger soup. Oh, my gosh. The collie flower was amazing. I have Bob. Yeah, Yeah, they had a great smoothies. Great t everything. Oh, yes, that took me to a whole Another place. So yeah, You see how food can just transform you? You wantto make sure that when you’re eating that you’re enjoying the meal. So mindful eating is like taking the bite’s slowly chewing, just savoring the tastes, lowly doing and not trying to do anything else. Just enjoying the meal, even taking a walk and picking up your feet and putting them back down. That’s mindful. Walking. You can google it if you want to know more about it. Good. The process of just bringing some presents to your activity other than the work space. Just moving yourself in that space of Yeah, I’m here. Maybe it’s just Maybe you just need to stand outside. I know sometimes for me it’s cold and D C and just going to the corner and coming back and at the corner of CVS. But I just need thio, move my body and stand outside, and I’ll just bring you in and out, just changing, changing your geographical location. But the story I was telling with Miko was that someone talked about how they work from home and that they’re really in this open space. And so they’re sleeping and they’re working in the same space, putting a sheet over their work area so that that allows you to say, I’m done and that’s the end of the day and it’s done. It’s like covering it up or closing a door, doing something that separates the space Home office. Yes, yes, cleaning off your desk, you have something that I do religiously cleaning off your desk. Yeah, there’s a there’s a science behind them, so when you’re one of the challenges with eating at your desk, is not that just that you’re eating at your desk, you’re not getting away from it, is your brain doesn’t actually shut off. So you’re because their brain is associating you sitting at your desk and you sitting in front of your screen. Is you still working? So even though you’re eating it, maybe you’re not actively working. Your brain is still in work mode so that the physical act of closing the lid cleaning after dafs covering it up, I’m moving to like a different physical space signals to your brain. Okay, we’re going into a restaurant or eating in that dance. Yeah, Okay. We’re going to rescue to recovery move. Okay, We’re gonna leave it there. OK? Was excellent. Thank you. Thank you for this back and forth. Thank you. My pleasure. They are. They are Ananda Leak, chief mindfulness officer at Ananda Leak Consulting and Miko Whitlock, Speaker and trainer. Mindful Techie, you are with Tony martignetti non-profit radio coverage of 19 ntc 19 2019 non-profit Technology Conference. All of our 19 ntcdinosaur views are brought to you by our partners at act Blue Free fund-raising tools for non-profits to make an impact. Thanks for being with us next week. Unconscious bias and your normal is my trigger. If you missed any part of today’s show, I beseech you, find it on tony. Martignetti dot com were sponsored by pursuing online tools for small and midsize non-profits, Data driven and technology enabled. Tony dahna slash pursuing by Wagner CPS Guiding YOU beyond the numbers Regular cps dot com and by text to give mobile donations. Made Easy Text. NPR to 444999 A Creative producers. Claire Meyerhoff Family. Boyce is the line producer. The show’s social media is by Susan Chavez. Mark Silverman is our Web guy, and this music is by Scots. Dina Brooklyn, New York Thank you, Scotty. Here with me next week for non-profit radio. Big non-profit Ideas for the other 95% Go out and be great. You’re listening to the Talking Alternative Network. 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