The business of social business is getting big; and that’s great news for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Sites that allow you to set up a web page and raise money online are popping up all over the internet. Sites like www.razoo.com and www.firstgiving.com are great examples of this. As I started to research this idea a little more, however, I discovered a different approach to social business and crowdsourcing with a new company called CharitySub (short for Charity Subscription). CharitySub is a self-described social business that operates on a different model than Razoo or First Giving. The company enlists members who commit …
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This monthly Social Media and Nonprofits column is contributed by Amy Stephan. Amy is a consultant and non-profit professional with more than 10 years of field experience working in fundraising and development. She provides nonprofits with help in fundraising and major gifts, capital campaigns, board and volunteer development and staff leadership, working with organizations of all sizes to plan, implement and assess social media strategies. While holding leadership positions with local branches of organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the American Diabetes Association, Amy developed a passion for all things related to fundraising and non-profits. In addition to her non-profit work, she is a freelance writer and blogger who has worked as a full-time writer and editor for daily newspapers and magazines. Amy on Google+
Amy Stephan's Posts
When nonprofit organizations (NPOs) approach fundraising there are four basic steps or stages that need to be addressed – discovery, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. While face to face connections and personal relationships play vital roles in each stage, social media can lend a helping hand. Using social media to complement each stage can free up time for development staff and help cast a larger net for donor prospecting. Discovery Finding donors is the first step in fundraising. You can’t solicit a gift if there’s nobody around to ask. Some NPOs, like universities, have a built-in feeder system – alumni are …
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Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) around the world strive to tell their story to potential donors and volunteers every day. We strive to come up with that powerful message that will move people to action. Video is one of the most vibrant ways to paint that picture and create a lasting impact. In the past, NPOs avoided using video because it was expensive to create and challenging to broadcast. New technology and the onset of social media have changed all that. Creating video has never been easier. Just about every cell phone comes equipped with a video camera these days and free …
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Social media is a must for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). I say it every single month on this blog – NPOs have to get in the social media game if they want to stay relevant and grow their donor base with the up and coming (of age) donors. What I haven’t addressed is why NPOs shouldn’t use ALL social media networks unless they have a very large staff to manage them. So today we take a look at which social media networks are best for NPOs and why the answer isn’t all of them. The needs and target audience of a …
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Social media is everywhere these days. You can’t escape it. You really shouldn’t want to escape it. When used properly, social media can be a nonprofit’s best friend. It offers free advertising, easy promotion, and once you’ve given it a little TLC, it gives you a built in audience. The problems arise when Nonprofitss get serious enough to establish a presence online and then neglect it. Just because you forget about your online world doesn’t mean everyone else will. The good, the bad, the ugly – it all ends up online. And if your NPO isn’t hitting the airwaves quickly …
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Back to basics is a theme I’ve seen with many nonprofit organizations over the past couple of years. With the economy slow to rebound, many NPOs have found that investing money in new ideas and new platforms isn’t really the right move for right now. This also means that many NPOs have avoided jumping into social media or expanding on their use of it. The basics are good – it’s what put most large NPOs on the map. The problem is that in the ever changing landscape of business and technology, even the basics have to change a little. NPOs …
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The holiday decorations are put away and the New Year’s Eve ball has dropped. January is here and it’s traditionally a rough month for non-profit organizations. With the holidays just wrapping up, volunteers have started to down-shift and take a little time off to relax. The annual appeal gifts have tapered off and donations are trickling in at best this month. Staff may have started preparing for spring events, but corporations and personal donors won’t start thinking about contributions for another 30 days. These things make January the perfect month to get your social media plan in place for 2012. …
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Annual appeals are a staple for nonprofit organizations. We count on them to beef up our bottom line come December and use them as an avenue to stay in touch with the donors we know we can count on year after year. Unfortunately, many NPOs have become too reliant on the low lying fruit of donors and are no longer producing an annual campaign that is appealing to anyone. NPOs need an annual appeal makeover and taking your campaign online is a great place to start. Social media is one way to breathe some new life into annual campaigns. I’m …
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I recently wrote a blog for Idea Girl Media about building a strong board and what areas nonprofits should address when structuring their board. While “Non-Profit Essentials: Blocks For Building Strong Boards” addresses the “what” when building Boards, one reader commented that it’s finding the “who” that can be troublesome for small nonprofit organizations. NPOs should be striving to recruit C-level Boards (CEOs, COOs and other high ranking executives from local companies), but how do you break into that elite circle? “Recruiting high end board members is no different than cultivating potential major donors. The key is building relationships, and …
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Video may have killed the radio star, but technology hasn’t killed customer service. As non-profit organizations (NPOs) slowly begin to embrace social networking, there are still those who feel that using technology to interact with customers is impersonal and diminishes the level of service offered. Strictly relying on auto-generated responses when dealing with customers online is a bad idea, but used properly, social media can actually improve your interaction with clients. Social media opens a new door for contact with donors and volunteers. While more traditional methods of direct mail, email marketing campaigns and face to face meetings aren’t going …
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As social media takes the world by storm, many small non-profit organizations (NPOs) are being left behind in the digital realm. Despite the fact that 88% of NPOs are experimenting with social media, ask small shops why they aren’t diving into the social media feeding frenzy and the answer is often the same – they don’t have the staff resources or budget to pull it off. While the fear of how much time and money a social media campaign requires is understandable, the reality is that any NPO can join the frenzy. The first step is to be realistic. As …
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Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) across the country support just about any and every cause imaginable. While their missions may differ, the need to raise money is a constant. As more and more entities join the chase for the mighty dollar, many are turning to social media to fundraise. What most NPOs don’t realize is they’re headed down a dead end street. Social media is the latest and greatest buzz word in the non-profit industry. Organizations of all sizes seem to be racing to the Web to create profiles, post blogs, tweet messages and ask the public to like them – all …
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