Simple Tips for Social Media Use for Non-profits

I’ve had several conversations in recent weeks with non-profit board members and executives wrestling with how to utilize social media in their fundraising efforts. They almost universally know they need to do something, but they don’t necessarily know what or how.

As the success of the recent “Big Day of Giving” on May 6 illustrates, social media can be a powerful tool for engaging prospective donors to support a cause – both by giving and by spreading the word to others.

I dug up this pretty concise and clear post from ExactTarget.com that discusses this very topic. This might serve as a simple primer for organizations still struggling with what to do:

5 Simple Tips For Fundraising with Social Media » The ExactTarget Blog

While the whole topic of social media remains daunting for organizations with little to no staff and extremely limited resources, the payoffs of an effective, engaging social media presence can be well worth the effort. And development of at least minimally effective social media needn’t drain an organization’s resources – it becomes much less daunting and time-consuming when it is integrated as a part of one’s daily activity, something that requires familiarity and perhaps training, but pays dividends in the long run. Getting creative through use of college interns and trusted volunteers can also prove beneficial for non-profits with shoestring budgets and skeleton staffs.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and other media are no longer “new.” They’re a part of people’s lives on a daily basis, and organizations that aren’t utilizing those platforms to share their stories and engage constituents are truly out of touch with the times…and artificially limiting their own ability to raise funds.