This week, we are looking at a nonprofit that serves our homeless community, Mobile Loaves & Fishes (MLF). This organization is a faith-based social outreach ministry committed to providing sustainable solutions for the homeless. Their mission is to provide food and clothing with compassion and dignity to those in need. MLF has a total of 17,208 volunteers and has served 3,321,458 meals to date.
The framework for accomplishing these goals is through two core programs, MLF Trucks and Community First! (CF!). MLF Trucks operates on a fleet of catering trucks that go out on the streets and provide food, basic clothing, and hygiene products to those living on the streets. While MLF was founded in Austin, MLF Trucks now also serves San Antonio, Rhode Island, New Bedford, and Minneapolis. The operation in Austin has 11 catering trucks and is organized by 8 local churches. CF! is an outreach program that confronts homeless and provides affordable housing with amenities to improve quality of life.
MLF’s social media presence can be found on:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLFnation
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mlfnow
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/mlfnow
- Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/mlfnation/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/mobile-loaves-&-fishes
- Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/105537891264904400109/about
Their social media presence is one thing that sets them apart. Their involvement in a wide variety of social media networks allows people to engage with MLF on the most popular sites and gives people options to following them on their favorite network. Nonprofit Quarterly recently published a blog post discussing Social Movement Leaders’ Thoughts on Managing Time for Social Media. This addresses the common struggle that nonprofits face with managing all of their social media efforts in a timely and efficient manner. This blog post summarizes Harvard Business Review’s blog post How to Make Space for Social Media and Forbes’ The Social Media Secretes of Top Movement Leaders into three key points:
- Make social media routine.
- Evaluate your results.
- Build relationships.
MLF is a great example of an organization that fits their social media outreach into their routine and manages time for it. Their posts are part of their online culture and keep their audience informed and motivated by highlighting efforts to serve the homeless community. For example, their Facebook page regularly posts about the everyday challenges some people in the community face in simply fulfilling basic needs. Here are a few examples:
MLF not only describes an individual’s journey for life improvement but also shares stories of others that try to impact the homeless community. The group also shares links to articles that showcase their efforts. Their activity on various social networks helps MLF build relationships for their various local affiliates and connects their stakeholders on a broader level. Keep up the great up Mobile Loaves & Fishes! Stayed Tuned…
