While the holiday shopping season may emphasize the need to gift friends and loved ones with expensive gadgets and games, there always remains that part of the population who enjoys giving for the purpose of truly giving to the community. Donations to non-profits and charities – whether made in honor of a friend or as a supportive thank-you – are naturally sought at this time of year, with organizations offering various incentives in exchange for funds. Any non-profit not already soliciting donations via social media, however, is missing out on a great opportunity to raise funds and awareness for its cause.
Tweet, ReTweet, Repeat
Think of your organization and how it is structured. How many people follow your Twitter account, and how many people within your organization use the social network? Twitter works as a viral tool for parsing information and news. These days it doesn’t take much for a rumor to spread through thousands of posts, but Twitter isn’t just used for gossip. A thought-out campaign to have supporters post a URL to a landing page for donations could generate enough “re-tweeting” awareness among their followers and in turn bring new and lapsed donors to your door.
Give Your Organization a Face
Facebook is especially friendly toward specific causes. The aptly named Causes application allows users to set up a method for taking donations through Facebook. All you need to do is set up the application, encourage Facebook friends to join and donate, and a widget on your profile page will let visitors know how much is given to your organization. In addition, your organization is given a special Causes page to let visitors know your top earners, recruiters, and fundraisers.
Shine a Lens on Your Charity
The social network Squidoo, a page generator built on the foundation of adding specific modules to define your topics (including YouTube videos, Amazon links, and Twitter feeds), is an active supporter of non-profit organizations. Squidoo users who create new lenses have the option of donating royalties from ad click-throughs to the charities of their choice, and as a 501 (c)(3) you have the opportunity to apply for inclusion. If accepted, you can take advantage of Squidoo’s user-friendly lens building system to create pages on a variety of related topics. Promote the lenses through your other networks and encourage ad clicks to generate revenue.
