Are you into Twitter? Be sure to follow Trio Solutions Inc.’s CreateAthon progress. Lots of great creative juices flowing.

Trio Solutions Inc. is happy that Jordan Freeman joined our team. Jordan is a recent graduate of NC State University (but we aren’t holding that against her) and will be working on our Nonprofit Nook Web site as well as a variety of other marketing projects during her time with Trio.

No one can avoid the subject with all the media attention. However, most of us live in a dream world and think things like foreclosure will never affect us. Well, it’s time to wake up. The national housing crisis is real and very close to home.

Sunday the Charleston Post and Courier reported on foreclosure statistics in the Tri-County area. They were staggering! Charleston County had 451 foreclosure filings for the 2nd quarter of the year and Berkeley County had 225 for the same period. That’s a 59 percent increase from the same quarter last year. Dorchester County experienced a 73 percent increase from last year and even areas like Mount Pleasant doubled with around 200 filings. No one is exempt from this crisis, Kiawah and Seabook islands had a dozen foreclosures. Up until this point I knew there was an issue, but didn’t realize my local community had been affected in such larger numbers.

Trio has been working with a nonprofit organization over the last few months to address the foreclosure issue.

Family Services Inc., based in Charleston, received a grant from the federal government at the end of 2007 to assist South Carolina residents with mortgage default counseling. By working with a homeowner and his or her lender to develop a reasonable action plan that offer relief to the borrower and help save these folks’ home.

Last year Family Services’ staff assisted more than 500 S.C. residents in foreclosure and was able to save more than 350 homes from foreclosure. Already this year, they have assisted more than 800 homeowners facing foreclosure throughout South Carolina.

The more people they can reach the more homes they can save. All of their services are free to anyone having financial difficulties.

On August 9 they will hold a statewide mortgage default clinic in Columbia at the Radisson Hotel on Bush River Road from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s a one-day event where homeowners can meet with a HUD-approved counselor one-on-one to discuss their options.

I would urge South Carolina homeowners having trouble paying their mortgage, to attend this clinic or call 1-888-320-0350 to receive free foreclosure counseling. To learn more visit www.ForeclosureHelpforSC.org. The sooner a homeowner’s issues can be addressed the more likely they will have a positive outcome.

I am happy to say that with a little over a month since the Nonprofit Nook Web site launched, we have over 80 members! Jessica M. and I have been promoting the Web site like crazy. She is the social marketing guru who has taken the Nook into the world of facebook. I have been concentrating on finding partners and posting new content daily on the site. We even got a shout out in the Post and Courier! It is really coming together! I just wish that I could get members to start talking to one another, but I know that will come with time. It just seems like the biggest member benefit would be sharing information with each other. In the next phase we will be adding a feature that allows you to receive notification when someone has posted in the community or a new event has been added to the site. Hopefully this will result in an increase in traffic on the site on a regular basis. I just keep reminding myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day. So, are you in the Nook? If not and you are a nonprofit making the most of marketing, events and Web, join today!

At Trio Solutions, we practice what we preach. One thing we always encourage our clients to do is market research. The Nonprofit Nook is no different. The Web site has launched, but that doesn’t mean it is complete. It is my hope that it will continue to evolve and truly prove itself to be a vital resource for nonprofits. Although we had some ideas of what would be beneficial on the Web site, we recognized that we needed to hear from nonprofits what they want from their membership in the Nook. Therefore we signed up participants to the first Nonprofit Nook focus group at the SCANPO conference. Focus group participants will be providing feedback on their experience with the Web site over the next few weeks. I am interested to receive the feedback and will be sure to share it with you.

We launched our official Facebook page today. Between Facebook and Google what does the future hold? One can only imagine. In the meantime, check us out on Facebook and become a Fan.

Trio on Facebook

One of our clients recently asked us about double spaces after a period. The funny thing is that double spaces after a period originated with the typesetting machine or typewriters. Adding an extra space made it easier for the reader. However with word processors and computers the need for that extra space diminished. It’s not incorrect to put two spaces, it’s just not necessary nowadays. The typeface of digital fonts and a single space provides enough space to indicate the sentence is over and the next one has begun. But if you are still working on a typewriter, be sure to add that extra space. The ironic thing is the other day my five-year-old son and I were visiting my mom at her office and he noticed the typewriter in the corner of the room. He said, “Grandmother, what is wrong with that computer?”

My son had a “perfect” day in kindergarten today. You wondering what that means? Well, put it this way - we have been struggling since the first day of kindergarten to get a smiley face for every section of his day. Learning to read - check; understanding the concept of adding and subtracting - check; goofing out in the bathroom - check; pouring milk into peas at lunch - check. You get the point. Well today we made a significant turn. The teacher was pleased with every aspect of his day. We made a big deal of this milestone and all he wanted in return were Legos. Legos it is! The feeling of accomplishment was priceless. His gold medal was Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase. Watching his happiness made me yearn for the days when life was so simple. I thought to myself, if only I could go to the office and get through an entire day with smiley faces. Maybe if society followed the rules of kindergarten we could all get through the day with happy faces and Legos as our prize. Wouldn’t that be nice?

We are always good listeners.
We are helpers, not hurters.
We are walkers, not runners.
We are builders, not breakers.
We are talkers, not shouters.

Another Trio employee hard at work … Jennifer, VP of planning services discusses event logistics for the MedExpress grand opening.

Krista, our VP of marketing and PR strategizes with Lollipop on how to ensure the success of the MedExpress grand opening event.