Using Social Media to Create Supporter Action

From television celebrity news shows to charities to consumer products, I’ve heard companies say a ton of times “Like us on Facebook.” I may be one of the ignorant masses, but I can’t help but wonder what good that could do. Of course it shows advertisers their popularity and social presence to get more money and approval ratings, but if I “like” you once and move on, what’s the point? How do you move supporters who “like” our non-profit organization into partners who are dedicated to participating in your online fundraising efforts?

I must admit that 90 percent of the time when I browse the posts on Facebook it’s rarely to search out a cause or person in need. I like to see what my friends are doing, where they’re at and pictures of their kids. I am connected to several non-profits and I do enjoy their one or two sentences about the projects they are working on and I like to see pictures of their progress. Rarely do I link to their site to donate. I have I feeling that most people are casual Facebook followers like I am.

On the Guarian.co/uk, Tom Latchford writes an article for non-profits to attract Facebook users like me to get actively involved in their charitable organization online. Latchford writes that organizations need to support the donor journey while communicating with the masses. There are definite steps to a charity-donor relationship: 1) Attracting people so they sign up for your e-mails and posts, 2) Prompting them to become supporters, and 3) Getting people to partner with you as advocates.

So how to you initiate attracting people for step 1? Latchford suggests that, “There are people talking about topics related to your charity all over the web, all the time. These are warm prospective supporters, already actively engaged in the topics your charity cares about. Topics on Twitter are found using the hashtag (#), so your charity should be finding the hashtags for the relevant topics and engaging with the people contributing to these conversations. You need to tap into these conversations and cultivate their interest in your cause. The true power of Twitter is tapping into pre-existing communities in this way.”

The next step is to invite your potential donors to check out your website which should be interactive, engaging and meaningful. “The website should be the transactional hub, managing the relationships with people as they contribute in various ways. Whether it is through appeals, an online shop, raffle tickets,
volunteering or attending events, the site is a vehicle for accelerating towards or accomplishing your charity’s vision, with your community of committed contributors acting as a driving force,” explains Latchford.

Finally, non-profits need to cultivate donors into partners by having them actively connect to their online relations to promote your cause. Latchford proposes that, “The key is to understand that most people have more impact through their influence than a direct donation alone. These social media approaches challenge the institutional fundraising models. My theory is that we should seek out the right people, trust them and aim to move those supporters to a level where they are as effective as a paid member of staff. When you do this, you get results.”

That may all sound wonderful, but you may be wondering how to even establish an online presence for your charity. To establish this online social presence, using a social fundraising platform such as Fundly is key. Social fundraising tools can keep your donors engaged to create a community of doers who will also bring along their friends and contacts with a similar passion for your cause.

Online Technology Key to Obama’s Fundraising Success

President Obama always seems to be on the cusp of innovative and new ideas whether it concerns health care, aiding homeowners with their mortgages or addressing unemployment. Regardless if you approve or disapprove of his policies, you have to admit that he always seems to be on the cutting edge. It is obvious that in this race to return to the Oval Office for a second term, he is treading new ground in the realm of online political fundraising.

Like the majority of Americans, the president seems to be glued to his mobile phone. Always with Blackberry in hand, he is constantly abreast of impending news and connected to his various contacts. He is also taking this same approach in his fundraising efforts.

NPR.com reports that the president’s campaign committee, Obama for America, took contributions from more than half a million people in the final three months of 2011 in which 200,000 of them were brand-new donors to his campaign. One reason is due to the immense effort his campaign is focusing on social media fundraising. “You know, they spent a million bucks in the quarter, basically, on technology,” says Clay Johnson, author of The Information Diet: A Case For Conscious Consumption. He says he’s not surprised to see that the Obama campaign spent about as much on Internet ads as it did on postage — more than $2 million.

“Now, the online advertising and the postage, that’s about either getting new people into the campaign or convincing people to donate. But the million dollars in a quarter on technology is about creating infrastructure,” Johnson says.

According to this same article, it appears that this is just the beginning of Obama’s efforts to dominate the online world to gain more donor support. It was reported that his campaign spent close to $400,000 on software and Web hosting, more than $600,000 on computer equipment and more than $43,000 at Apple stores just in a three-month period starting from last October. It is interesting to note that last quarter, Obama also invested $65,000 in text messaging.

In this fast paced world where everyone is connected to the internet, it seems rather obvious that this is the best way for politicians to gain support and financial backing. With the new strategies that are being formed in this election and the innovative devises that are continually being advertised by computer companies, who knows what the 2016 presidential elections will look like?

5 Steps to Creating a Successful Fundraiser

I love event fundraising and the excitement it brings: generous people getting together to further a worthy cause, deliciously-bad-for-you food being served and the account totals that are calculated at the end of the event. A fun evening AND the chance to help others; what could be better!? Here are some guidelines to help your event run smoothly from recruiting volunteers to social media fundraising.

Right now I am on a committee for a Crab Feed to take place in early March so my mind is in event mode. I am in charge of the decorations and live and silent auctions, but somehow committee members seem to have an opinion and hand in all the other areas of the event, too. While this is far from being my first non-profit event that I am involved with, I am still learning a ton about the process of creating a successful fundraiser. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1)      What is your specific goal? What project are you working towards and what is your financial target? When people know how much you want to raise, it’s much easier to reach a specific amount. If you aim low, that’s where you’ll end up.

2)      Is this a one time or annual event? – When you keep this idea in mind, it will determine how you plan. Keep meticulous records, take pictures and video for the following year’s advertising and announce it at the event so your donors can plan to save the date. It is also important that everything runs smoothly so that your guests will want to come back and bring friends.

3)      Carefully choose your volunteers – The leader of the non-profit that I am volunteering for in the Crab Feed is awesome; she is gracious, appreciative, listens and has a great passion for the cause. The volunteer leader under her is quite the opposite. Determine what your volunteers’ strengths and weaknesses are so you can apply their skills to the best job suited for them. Choose your volunteers and their roles carefully because they reflect you and your charity.

4)      Relationship building – The best way to get donations for an auction is through relationships. Do you go to a particular restaurant every week? Ask for a gift certificate. Do you have a faithful donor who owns a spa? Ask for a product gift basket. Sending out a mass of donation letters to companies is basically a waste of time and postage.

5)      Get the word out – Facebook, Twitter and e-mails are a great way to promote your event through online fundraising tools. Instead of sending save the date cards, write a few posts or tweets. Online communication is also a good way to ask for donations (but be specific on what you are looking for.)This method is perfect for informal information and requests, but stick to the tried and true invitations for formal events. A donation link on your website is also perfect if someone is unable to attend; they can still contribute through without being present. Finally, you can use this medium for a general thank you and update on your goal, but send traditional thank you letters for those who donated or participated.

Political Fundraising: Individual Donors vs. PACs

From government intervention to taxation to health care, we all know that there is a chasm between the views and ideals of Republicans and Democrats. Apparently there are different takes on political fundraising, too.

“The Democrats and Republicans really have opposite problems right now,” said Anthony Corrado, a professor of government at Colby College in an article in thedailybeast.com. “The president has a head start and will out-raise whoever the Republican nominee is, but it’s going to be a financially competitive race because on the other side of the ledger, the super PACS will step in to help erase Obama’s advantage.”

Corrado has strong statistics to support his opinion; Obama has raised about $30 million more than his four Republican competitors combined. However, the Republicans are far in the lead concerning PAC giving with such numbers like Karl Rove’s American Crossroads, which raised $51 million last year and Restore Our Future, the largest of the independent groups supporting Romney which collected more than $30 million last year. “By comparison, supporters gave Priorities USA Action, the main super PAC backing Obama, just over $4 million,” states The Daily Beast reporter Laura Colarusso.

Colarusso explains that the Democrats aren’t tapping into the PAC trend because “in 2008, Obama’s record haul was made possible by the fact that he broke a campaign pledge and opted out of the public financing system. He was the first candidate ever to take that step, and he justified it with the prospect of hostile outside spending. But Democrats haven’t embraced that lesson and have instead rallied against the Citizens United decision that effectively elevated money into a new form of protected political speech. Many supporters of the party have been reluctant so far to contribute to the super PACs the decision effectively empowered.”

On the flip side, Republicans are thriving on this new policy for political fundraising because of anti-Obama sentiment and the fact that individuals can give to independent groups without a donation ceiling. However, many GOP nominees’ numbers from individual supporters are suffering because their party’s funds are divided between candidates while many Democrats widely continue to support President Obama.

“The president still has the advantage,” says Corrado. “The real question is going to be whether conservative small donors will rally behind the eventual nominee to provide the money his campaign will need in a contest against Obama or if he’ll have to rely on the super PACs.”

Presidential Candidates are Big Donors

As a nonprofit organization it’s hard not to think about how the new president will affect the philanthropic world. Will the impending Commander in Chief cut back government spending impacting the poor, the arts and education? Will increased income tax reduce donor giving levels? Will privacy and copyright law proposals concerning the internet return therefore limiting online fundraisers? What priority do these candidates place on the nonprofit world?

The presidential hopefuls have released their recent tax returns and their charitable giving is quite impressive. According to CNN reporter Charles Riley, in 2010 President Obama donated $245,075, or 14.2% of his $1.7 million income, Romney donated almost $3 million, or 13.8% of his income, while Gingrich gave $81,133, or 2.6% of his income to charity. (On a side note, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have yet to release their tax returns.)

“Romney and Obama are very generous charity-wise,” said CharityWatch president Daniel Borochoff. Gingrich is still doing pretty well, but Borochoff said his giving level is “more like an average donor for the income.”

So what charities are benefitting from these generous donors? In 2011, the Romney’s gave $2.6 million in cash contributions to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and in 2010 they gave $1.5 million. The Romneys also have a foundation that they started called the Tyler Foundation in which they filtered money to other charitable organizations such as Harvard Business School, City Year, the George W. Bush Library and the Boys and Girls Club of Boston to name a few. The Obama’s spread their generosity to groups ranging from the American Red Cross, the University of Hawaii foundation, the National AIDS Fund and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. On Gingrich’s tax returns , it was unclear as to what organizations he delegated his funds to other than $9,540 to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

Honestly, the amount of giving is quite impressive but the fact that these presidential nominees are so generous does not surprise me. After all, isn’t being president like being the ultimate public servant? He has the interests of the country at heart, he needs public approval to achieve his goals and he has to love people to interact with so many with varying and diverse backgrounds.

Social Media Strategies Top Priority for Nonprofits in 2012

Social media fundraising is becoming more popular as a valued resource for nonprofits organizations. Whether this shift is because of the success that peers are sharing in the field or because of the attention it is getting for political fundraising pertaining to the upcoming presidential election is anyone’s guess. However, the fact remains unchanged that more charities are turning to online fundraising and the numbers of participants and fundraising dollars are higher than ever before.

Charity Dynamics, an online marketing and consultation firm, conducted the 2012 Digital Marketing Survey which involved 70 of their clients. They found that, “73 percent of respondents indicated that their organizations plan to address social media strategies in 2012. This is up significantly from the previous year when 51 percent felt social media was a top priority. Additionally, 62 percent of those surveyed indicated that converting one-time donors into repeat donors is a key priority for 2012. This also is up significantly from the previous year when only 36 percent indicated repeat donor conversions was a key area of focus.”

Furthermore nearly 98% of the organizations surveyed replied that they are using social media and 90% said that they are actively seeking out resources to use this technology better in order to reach their nonprofit’s goals.

In addition to the expected forms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and e-mailing, the survey found that, “the mobile channel is expected to grow sharply in 2012, with 51 percent of non-mobile users indicating that they plan to implement a mobile strategy in the coming year. Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed indicated that their organizations used mobile technology in 2011 to support their fundraising and marketing activities–up from 27 percent last year.”

There are many different ways that nonprofits can implement social media into their fundraising strategies. From weekly updates on Facebook to e-newsletters to a link to receive donations on their website, there are countless ways to open the line of communication with donors. The most important goal with using online resources is to build a strong relationship with your supporters.

What Makes Some People More Innovative?

Clayton Christensen is a personal hero of mine.  I count myself lucky to also call him my friend, and as if in a perfect trifecta, he is also an investor in Fundly.  I have learned many things from Clayton, which does not make me unique.  He has been a mentor to Andy Grove, Steve Jobs, and many other successful innovators.  His book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, is one of the bestselling management books of all time, and his class at Harvard Business School is the most popular class in the history of the school.

Clayton was recently in Silicon Valley speaking to a group of non-profit professionals about innovation, and he called us as a group onto the carpet.  He told us that the non-profit sector is not configured for long-term success.  We are not the only ones… Clayton predicted the disruption and reconfiguration of the newspaper industry, and those who listened did very well, while those who ignored did not.  He is predicting the disruption of higher education right now.  Clayton was not all doom and gloom regarding the non-profit sector, but he did point out some misalignments, and he made a few salient points:

We are not set up to meet the needs of our supporters.  They give us money, we take their money and do our thing.  We don’t thank, ask, or give back.  This is unsustainable We are too dependent on grants. We do not have a common language–we do not talk to each other…  supporters, donors, non-profit leaders…
The good news, he said, is that non-profit leaders are not afraid of hard work.  That is what we do.  But in order to solve new problems, we need to come up with new ideas, and this will take innovative and disruptive thinking.  “Old ideas will not solve new problems,” he said.

Here is one of my favorite clips about innovative people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JNtA_jRztQ&feature=player_embedded

Most non-profit leaders I meet are the person Clayton describes–curious, confident, and innovative.  Now we have to throw off the shackles of convention and old thinking, stop letting foundations tell us how to behave, begin to build meaningful bridges of understanding with our donors, and invest in a sustainable future.  I have lots of ideas on this… more later.