How to Turn Your Stakeholders into Fundraisers: Social Fundraising and How Measurement Can Make It More Effective. When nonprofits marry tried-and-true fundraising techniques with social media, social fundraising is the result.
Social fundraising is only a couple of years old and very much an emerging practice, but it has already shown tremendous power and promise in its ability to turn an organization’s stakeholders into fundraisers. With 90 percent of nonprofits having a presence on Facebook in 2011 and virtually all nonprofits having some presence in social media, best practices in social fundraising are evolving quickly as nonprofits use measurement to learn what works best. Social fundraising can be defined as “people asking personal networks to give support.”
It encompasses more than just the transactional act of making a donation; it includes many ways in which individuals and their friends can support social good efforts. If measured purely in terms of dollars raised, the future looks bright. About:blank. How WaterForward works. from charity: water on Vimeo. charity:water continues to break new ground and be an innovator in the online fundraising space.
Its newest online fundraiser, Waterforward, is based on a simple question: What if the billion social media users in the world collectively chipped in a few dollars and helped solve the “wicked” problem for the billion people around the world who don’t have clean water? I first heard about this unique fundraiser when I interviewed charity:water’s Paull Young. Here’s how it works. The site is an online book of the faces of people who are helping to bring clean water to those who don’t have it. WaterForward was the brainchild of Michael Birch, one of charity:water’s supporters and formerly the founder of Bebo. You also get see what your total impact was. At the time of this writing, there were 21,023 people in the book and total amount raised $210,230. Nonprofit Newswire. July 22, 2010; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Online gifts to nonprofits jumped 23 percent from March through May this year, compared to the same period in 2009, according to a new index that tracks donations.
Total charitable contributions during that time—including gifts made through traditional venues—increased only 6.2 percent. The new tracking index was created by Blackbaud, a Charleston, S.C. -based consulting firm for nonprofits. The report looked at activity for nearly 1,800 nonprofits of various sizes that had combined annual online revenues of about $400 million. While online giving makes up only a slice of total donations, the numbers are growing. Remember, though, that giving is, in fact, down even while online giving is up. Social Marketing: “Nothing” in Rhode Island. May 10, 2010; New York Times | The renowned community organizer Saul Alinsky used to argue that if you want to bring about change, don't obsess about what you don't have but take advantage of what you do have.
That philosophy seems to be the guiding spirit behind a new campaign launched last week by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. The campaign is organized around the theme "Nothing," something which is unfortunately in abundance for many Rhode Islanders suffering through the recession. As part of the campaign, along with a website, YouTube videos and other promotions, the food bank is selling some 40,000 "Nothing" branded cans in stores for $2.99 each. Online Fundraising on the Rise.
Donations Ban on iPhone Apps Irritates Nonprofits. Dialing for dollars. December 5, 2010; Source: The Star Press | Whatever opinion you hold about them, telephone marketers exist because they successfully sell things to people—whether they are Ginsu knives, magazine subscriptions, or a nonprofit mission.
In the latter case, however, the practice of outsourcing fundraising to a call center has come under increasing scrutiny, particularly concerning how donations are split between the organization and the telemarketer. In Indiana, the State Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) finds itself the subject of newspaper coverage about its fundraising practices. Having dumped two consultants that were permanently prohibited from telemarketing by the Federal Trade Commission—the pair raised $2.7 million for FOP and kept $2.4 million as fees—the Star Press reports that FOP hired Group Consultants Inc., a company run by a John Keller, who also has a "questionable track record. " American Red Cross- Textmessaging fundraiser for Haiti. April 14, 2010; USA Today | This article begins with the dramatic juxtaposition between the day before and the day after the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
The day before the earthquake, a test of fundraising through text messages by the Red Cross fell flat. The next day—the day the quake hit—those test results were blown out of the water. Text messaging has now leveraged $32 million and rising for groups seeking to help earthquake victims in both Haiti and Chile. This story reports that fundraising is facing a "potentially dramatic shift in the way charities and non-profit groups organize and raise money.
" It should be noted the origin of text messaging philanthropy can be attributed to American Idol voting. The article also mentions study results compiled by Convio, which found are Gen X'ers (30-45 years old), and Gen Y donors (19-29 years old) are the groups that are increasingly using text messaging to give. Nonprofits Cry Foul! Unauthorized Website Raising Money in their Names.