Social Media and Non-Profits: Fund-Raising and Friend-Raising

 Social media is an ever-growing opportunity for nonprofit organizations to market their brand, create awareness for particular issues, and solicit donations. The following resources are available to give you examples of effective social media activities, provide information on social media policy, and offer the best practices for effective social media use by nonprofit organizations.   

 Best Practices:

• Non-Profits on Facebook:  This page from Facebook – outlines applications and features of Facebook that you and your non-profit can use. It includes a quick start guide – as well as a pages manual, best practices and other resources. 
• Using Pay-Pal to accept donations via Facebook: Brett Bumeter at Softduit Media  walks you through setting up a pay-pal account and linking it to your facebook page.
• Five Must-Have FBML Templates for Facebook
• How to Create a Custom Tab for Your Facebook Page: Rosita Cortez at Social Media 4 Nonprofits has outlined how to create tabs and templates for your Facebook Page.

• This article by Amy Southerland at SPURspectives outlines why a social media strategy is important for non-profits: Why Every Non-Profit Needs a Social Media Strategy
• From Blackbaud - Recent online campaigns have shown the potential to double giving response rates when connecting a fundraising ask with an advocacy initiative: Connecting Online Advocacy with Fundraising
• Learn 10 easy ways to optimize your donate button and give it the emotional tone that touches people and invites them to donate: Tips to optimize your Donate Now Button
• This article outlines some of the major social media strategies used by non-profits: 13 Prominent Social Media Activities Implemented By the Top 200 Non Profits

ROI (Return on Investment) Calculators for Social Media:

• This is a simple calculator for ROI of Social Media  - input your own goals, time commitment and other information to determine what social media investments are right for you: Social Network Calculator
• This article suggests five easy and low-cost ways nonprofits can measure ROI with a minimal time investment of only a couple of hours a month:  Five Simple Ways Non-Profits can Measure Social Media ROI

Building your Online/Social Media Strategy:

• Strategies and examples for online funds development, use of social networking in your development plan.
• Why Every Non-Profit Needs a Social Media Strategy - Social Media is an established medium of communication for businesses and non-profits. This article outlines several reasons your organization should use social media.
• Creating your Organization's Social Media Strategy   - Beth’s Blog offers a great outline of several key areas your organization must address when developing your social media strategy. Included are references and examples - including templates
• 50 ways to improve marketing using social media – This listing from Chris Brogan highlights key uses for social media in your marketing strategy.
• 5 Social Media Myths – The Non-Profit Law Blog sets out to debunk 5 social media myths for non-profits

Evaluation:

• Using Negative Feedback to Your Advantage - Responding to criticism can be difficult – Jessica Sodoway outlines some key ideas to re-gain confidence and control online when faced with negative feedback. 

Examples and Case Studies:

• Case Study: Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
• Case Study: LiveStrong
• Sample Online Plan: Sample online Fundraising Plan
• These campaigns showcase just how much potential there is to empower constituents for brand-raising and, yes, even fundraising via social media: The Case (Studies) for Social Media

Find Volunteers or Pro-Bono Assistance:

• Virtual Volunteering Resources – Service Leader offers several resources, strategies and examples of managing and developing virtual volunteers
• Volunteer help for your Website - Here are some thoughts on how to find and manage website volunteers.
• www.craigslist.org - You can use craigslist to post job descriptions for volunteers or volunteer opportunities
• Executives in Action - Executives in Action builds the community by strengthening other nonprofit organizations. To achieve this mission, Executives in Action engages experienced leaders from the business sector as pro bono consultants to charitable agencies that could not otherwise access such talent.

Metrics and Monitoring:

• Frank Berry from NetWits outlines some key strategies to evaluate and monitor your social media impact: Social Media Monitoring in 30 Minutes or Less
• Jeff Shuck suggests several ways that you can use your data and analysis to think strategically about how online direct marketing can improve event fundraising results:  How Analytics Can Inform Your Online Direct Marketing Strategy

Servers and Hosts:

• 9 Social Media for Social Good Sites You Should Know

Social Media Policy:

• Social Media Policy Resources for Non-Profits - The Non-Profit Law Blog offers some resources for designing and implementing your social media policy.
• Creating a Social Media Policy for Your Nonprofit – The Wild Apricot Blog offers the perspectives of insiders on how to establish a social media policy.
• 10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy – Ten essential tips for social media policies are offered here.
• Social Media Governance: Sample Policies – This is a database of social media “e-Policies” from a wide variety of organizations that outline important and essential work-place policies for Social media, e-mail and internet use.

Technical Assistance/Tips:

• Tips for Creating A Non-Profit Website – These are some basic tips to design your website
  • 13 Useful Facebook Page Applications for your Nonprofit - There are several applications you can use when designing your Facebook page - this is a list of some basic and useful ones!

Working with your Staff and Volunteers:

• Managing Resistance  - Staff and volunteers may have some trouble getting used to social media or web-based work. This article outlines some common complaints – as well as conversations to have to move your staff/volunteers forward.
• Tips for Giving Social Media Projects to Interns - If you are thinking about giving a social media project to an intern or a new employee who is a recent college grad, keep these four tips in mind.