Social Media Fundraising – the Who, not What

Mon June 1, 2009

With the huge growth in social media, individuals and organizations have increasingly looked to social networking sites as the next opportunity to find new sources for fundraising.  Many are disappointed when the Facebook (or other network) pages their organization sets up doesn’t yield stellar results, even when pushed very hard.  Sally Heaven over at Connections Cafe suggests that most people either think that: 

“…the use of social medial for nonprofit fundraising is:

• the greatest thing since sliced bread, or
• a flash in the pan that doesn’t deserve the attention it’s getting and will be over before you know it.”

I agree with Heaven that this argument is a lot more nuanced.  I would file it as another entry under, “it’s a tool, not a strategy.”  And this new tool is less like email and direct mail and more like your finance committee and annual fundraising event.

Social media sites are just another way (with tons of potential) to engage your supporters.  Facebook doesn’t make it any easier for YOU (ABC Non-profit Director of Development) to raise money online, it makes it easier for your supporters to engage their friends and networks to raise money for your organization.  Just like your finance committee or you annual 5k run/walk-a-thon/other event are tools that require major commitment from members, utilizing social media also requires your members to do the heavy lifting.  

The tools, white not ubiquitous, there are plenty.  They range from off-the shelf solutions that can be customized and integrated with your web site (Convio’s Team Raiser, ActBlue,) to external sites (FirstGiving, ChipIn) to social networking applications (Facebook Causes).  

Any of these tools make it possible for your members to set up fundraising pages to raise money for the organization.  Each of these tools not only provide the mechanism for making a contribution, but also allow them to publicly set and track those goals as well as reach out to their networks to raise money.

But I would advise NOT focusing on the tool.  Any of the above (and many more) could work for your organization.  If you want social networking to be “the greatest thing since sliced bread,” then you need to find the storytellers and networkers in your group and help them tell your story.

Social networking sites have great potential not because they allow you to connect to potential donors (or members, activists, etc.), but because they allow your members to share their passion for your cause with their networks. 

So what should you focus on to make social networking a successful way to raise funds and friends?  I would follow a similar process to setting up your finance committee or recruiting hosts for your annual event:

• Identify the people are most passionate about your cause.  Make it super easy for them to tell their story, set up their fundraising page and identify how to push it out to their friends.
• Identify the supporters who are the best networkers/social-networkers.  We all know the person who has 1000 facebook friends or followers on twitter.  Share stories from others to help them develop their story.  Once they are on board, these people often master the tools themselves.
• Use the organization’s presence to amplify the voices of it’s members.  Share their posts on facebook, retweet their tweets asking for support to their network.  This not only supports your early adopters, but will help in recruiting more folks to do the same.
• Rinse and repeat.  Help promote those once they’ve started and keep working to identify new people to grow your list of raisers.

In summary: Tools only work when you use them well.  Fundraising (or friend raising) is about building and utilizing relationships.  Social media is another tool that makes it easier for your organization’s supporters to advance your mission.  If the tool isn’t working, focus on helping the people using it, not the tool itself.

-Stephen

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