Quirky QR codes - what are they and why use them?

Yesterday we tweeted an article about use of QR codes within nonprofit organizations and it got re-tweeted more than any other post we’ve put out this week. It looks like the nonprofit community is really interested in what can be done with these funny squares as our familiarity with their appearance grows and more and more people download QR reader apps.

Some of you might be asking, “What is a QR code?” The answer is this:

QR stands for “quick response” and this strange-looking little square is a barcode that holds encoded information, commonly URLs. By downloading a QR reader app, smartphone users can take a picture of the code and have it read and decoded. If you try your app on the above code, you’ll be directed to the donate page on our website (feel free to take a minute and make a contribution!). The codes can be generated for free on a number of websites (I usually just Google the phrase “QR code generator” and click one of the many links that come up).

QR codes are one of the newer, fancier arrivals on the technology bandwagon that nonprofits are hoping to utilize effectively. Here at NPower, we used our first QR code on a volunteer recruitment flier that was taken to the SMC Seattle event last week. The code directed potential volunteers to a survey that would assess their skills and determine if they might be a good match for our Day of Caring volunteer project. It made sense because the URL for the survey was long and wonky, and would not be effective if it were printed on a hard copy flier. The link to the article above has some other good examples of how they can be used.

Has your organization found interesting uses for QR codes? Share them in the comments below.

-  Mandi Moshay