Social Media Fundraising Tips for Non-Profits Mike Girard - Radian6
go to original June 23, 2012

Whether you’re just starting your social media journey or looking for some ways to enhance your current approach, here are five ways to raise support (and funds) for your cause.

Create a Community

Social media can be an excellent platform for raising money, but make sure that’s not all your organization is using it for. It’s easy to get into the “Me, Me, Me” trap – asking for likes, retweets, and donations. The problem with this is that it doesn’t do much to ingratiate your organization with new and existing followers and donors.

Use your social presence to create new relationships and strengthen existing ones. Updates about your programs, mission, and events will show your followers that the money you are asking them to donate is going to active causes.

Tug at the Heartstrings

Facts and statistics are important, and any president or executive director of a NPO can rattle them off in a heartbeat. The problem? Facts and statistics are abstract and difficult to personalize, regardless of how skilled the communicator is. Let the passion for your cause come out and highlight the stories that tug at people’s heartstrings. Use pictures, videos, and a narrative to tell the human stories that inspire your employees and volunteers to get out of bed each morning and work so hard.

Be a Thought Leader

As an NPO, you champion a particular cause, so turn your organization into an authority on that issue. You’ve got the facts, statistics, research, and institutional knowledge already, so make it work for you. Connect with other NPOs nationally and internationally that work on similar causes. Forging these relationships will increase your reach and provide resources for sharing information and best practices for fundraising and advocacy.

Establish a Call to Action

Fundraising campaigns have goals, as well as set time frames, and so should your social media fundraising. Your organization may have an annual event that you will want to coordinate your social media outreach with, but you should consider leveraging your community for separate online campaigns.

Once you’ve created your campaign and call to action, make it beyond easy for people to donate. Don’t bog them down with having to fill out detailed forms. Get the essentials (name, address, e-mail, and payment info) and let them be on their way. The more work someone has to do to donate online, the less likely they are to give.

Maintain Your Relationships

This is an essential part of nurturing an engaging community. It’s important to remember that people who make online donations need to receive a tangible acknowledgement of their gift. Whether that is by thanking them online or through the mail, it’s absolutely essential to maintain this connection. An individual who gives but isn’t cultivated in any way isn’t likely to give money again and certainly won’t give bigger gifts in the future.

Looking for more resources on using social media for your fundraising efforts? Download our ebook, Four Steps to Integrating Social Media Into Successful Campaigns.

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