In the digital age, nonprofits have all kinds of opportunities to get the word out about their causes, gain supporters and advocates, and raise much-needed funds. Through wise use of social media, nonprofits can build an audience that is potentially worldwide, unlimited by geographic considerations. By leveraging social media fundraising, nonprofits can receive the resources they need while building relationships with earnest people who want to make the world a better place.
Share and Share Alike
What makes social media so effective for fundraising? Simply put, it’s about share and share alike: how nonprofits can share information and calls to action across their online channels and encourage their supporters to do the same. The largest platform for cause-related sharing is the social networking giant Facebook, but similar content on Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn is also widely shared. Another significant means of sharing is email, so nonprofits will want to provide their supporters — as well as people who want to learn more — with email newsletters that highlight important news related to their causes as well as information about how to get involved.
Giving Online
Another boon to social media fundraising is the capacity for giving online. When people can donate online to your nonprofit, it is extremely convenient for both them and for your organization. Currently, the most popular way for people to donate to causes is the “Donate” button on nonprofit websites, but social networking sites don’t lag far behind as platforms for donation. What’s more, social channels can be linked to websites and vice versa so that nonprofits can make themselves available through as many digital avenues as possible, thereby attracting and retaining more supporters.
Engagement
As vital as engagement is for businesses that wish to connect with customers and prospects across online channels, engagement is every bit as vital for nonprofits who wish to bring supporters aboard their cause. The common thread of all social media use is, of course, sociability, in whatever context that occurs. In the context of a nonprofit organization, sociability is about connecting with people to raise awareness of a cause and encouraging the donation of resources – money, time, supplies, or all of the above – to support that cause. Engagement means communication, and constructive dialogue happens when a nonprofit creates content that informs and moves people, not only to care but also to respond.
Online fundraising is on the rise, and many people look to social networking sites as a means by which to engage with causes they care about. If you operate a nonprofit, one of the best things you can do for your cause is to build an internet presence, through which you can communicate with people who support your cause. Social media fundraising is filled with possibilities, not only to receive financial and volunteer support for your nonprofit organization but also to connect with numerous thoughtful and caring people, no matter where they might be in a geographical sense, who are on your socially-conscious page.
Photo by Beth Kanter on Flickr.com.
