How Social Media is Changing Nonprofit Culture and … in Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations...

Trends in Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations

2012

White Paper

Fundraising’s Social RevolutionHow Social Media is Changing Nonprofit Culture and Practice

About This PaperThe purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the ways in which nonprofits can use and

are using social media within their fundraising programs. Organizations and individuals who are

interested in getting started with social media practices or who are ready to take social media to

the next level will find foundational information as well as recommendations from well-known

experts and practitioners. Some of the information in this report is based on original research

from a survey conducted by WealthEngine in June 2011. The use of concrete examples of current

practices and what is working within successful nonprofit environments should help all nonprofits

use social media tools and resources to their best advantage.

WealthEngine Publications Team: Key Contributors:

©2012 WealthEngine TM, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction and distribution of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information

contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. This document is informational in nature and we do not

guarantee any of the information either expressed or implied. Readers are encouraged to consult with their appropriate legal,

accounting and professional counsel before implementing any suggested actions. WealthEngine has no liability for errors, omissions

or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof and shall not be held liable for any claims or losses

that may rise from the implementation of the best practices in this report. This document includes ideas for enhancing

WealthEngine’s products. These ideas are subject to change at any time.

Tony Glowacki, President and Chief Executive Officer

Sally Boucher, Director of Research, WealthEngine Institute

Shane Bair, Creative Director

Kimberly O’Donnell, Chief Marketing Officer

Lili Mehta, Consultant, Marketing and Special Projects

Jeremy Woolf, Senior Manager, WealthEngine Institute

Dawn Andreas, Program Manager, Eventbrite

Laura Coltrin, Product Marketing Manager, Eventbrite

Jennifer Huebner, Development Researcher, University of Virginia

Beth Kanter, Author, Consultant, Trainer on the use of social media in nonprofits

Lynn Lazar, Director of Prospect and Research Management at William Paterson University

Dan Michel, Digital Marketing Manager, Feeding America

Mark Miller, Associate Vice President for Philanthropic Marketing and Communication at Children’s National Medical Center

Ritu Sharma, Executive Director & Co-Producer of Social Media for Nonprofits

Angela Vaughn, Web Marketing Manager, The Salvation Army Chicago Metropolitan Division

Fundraising’s Social Revolution 1Fundraising’s Social Revolution 1

ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Becoming a Social Nonprofit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

The Social Nonprofit and Social Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Developing a Social Culture Is a Must for Social Practices to Take Root . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Creating a Social Structure Allows Social Culture to Flourish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Getting Started with Social Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Building and Growing Your Social Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Leveraging Social Communities to Support Organizational Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Turning Strategy into Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

The Ethics of Social Media for Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Multi-Channel Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Are Your Website and Email Mobile-Enabled? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Nonprofits Find Annual Giving Enhanced by Social and Digital Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Social and Digital Technologies in Major Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Influence on the Social Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Conclusion & Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Social Technologies are Enabling Individuals and Organizations to Have Greater Impact . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Appendix: Measuring the Success of Your Social Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Measuring the Success of Your Social Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

2

Introduction

Fundraising’s Social Revolution 3

Welcome to the social revolution. The world is catapulting

towards more connectedness, more interactivity and more

community. Change is occurring at exponential speeds

we can barely keep pace with. Like it or not, “social” – the

instant sharing of content using online technologies – is

the new norm, and social media and social technology

are the platforms and tools we must embrace if we are to

thrive in this new reality.

Business entities, nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, civic, secular and

faith-based organizations join families and individuals in co-creating this new world

community. This is not just about Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or YouTube; this is

about new ways of thinking, working, socializing, relating and communicating.

In the broadest sense, the widespread use of social media is breaking down

communication barriers and opening organizations, companies, governments

and individuals to new kinds of interactions and new levels of transparency. Social

media platforms have substantially changed the way organizations, communities

and people communicate and are notably different from traditional media for their

accessibility, lack of hierarchical structure and rapid interactivity.

Many nonprofits have been relatively quick to adopt social practices including the

use of social media and social technologies. According to a study by The University

of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research1, the 200 largest U.S.

charities (as compiled by Forbes Magazine2) are outpacing the business world and

academia in their adoption and use of social media. Previous research by the same

Center found that academia (colleges and universities) were using social media to

a greater extent than businesses, represented by the Fortune 5003 list of America’s

largest corporations by revenue.

The research is not so positive when looking at small- and medium-sized nonprofits.

For instance, research conducted by Georgette Dumont of the University of North

Florida4 concludes that while small and medium arts & culture nonprofits are

adopting social media tools and practices, they are doing so at a much slower

rate than their larger counterparts.

1 Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D. and Eric Mattson. US Charities’ Adoption of Social Media Outpaces All Other Sectors for the Third

Year in a Row. (The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. 2010) <http://www.ecauses.org> 2 Forbes.com. The 200 Largest U.S. Charities. < http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/14/200-largest-us-charities-11.html> 3 CNNMoney. Fortune.com. Fortune 500. <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/?iid=F_Sub> 4 Georgette Dumont. Nonprofit Engagement of Social Networks. (University of North Florida. November 2010)

<http://www.academia.edu/380014/Nonprofit_Engagement_of_Social_Networks>

4

This is not just about Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or YouTube;

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Large or small, highly or loosely connected, social tools and technologies

present a unique and compelling opportunity for nonprofits who dare to take

the social leap. This paper is designed to:

T Define the “social nonprofit”

T Review the best ways to become a “social nonprofit”

T Explore the ways in which digital tools and technologies are being used

by nonprofits

T Provide tips and next steps for nonprofits at every stage of the

transformation to “social”

In order to meet these goals we conducted multiple interviews with practi-

tioners and subject matter experts to compile proven and popular strategies

for social media engagement.

6

Becoming a Social Nonprofit


The Social Nonprofit and Social TechnologiesWhy is it so difficult for nonprofits to adopt social media? What causes many

nonprofits to say, “We tried Facebook, but it didn’t work for us?” Being a social

nonprofit is not simply posting regularly on Twitter and Facebook, or uploading

video to a YouTube channel. Being a social nonprofit involves a change of

culture: a new way of being in and interacting with the world.

Social media and social technologies are the tools and platforms we use to

facilitate networking, content sharing, two-way conversation, feedback and

relationship building in our digital world. Social nonprofits use social technologies

to build virtual communities. The technologies and platforms are the tools, but

nonprofits don’t become “social” by adopting tools. They need content to share,

staff to listen and learn and contribute, a constituency or following for interaction,

plans to provide consistency, a blueprint to define goals and objectives, and finally,

a vision of the organization as part of the networked whole, not necessarily at the

hub, as illustrated below.

Broadcast Media Social Media

One way communication of traditional broadcast media contrasts dramatically with the highly dynamic

communication of social media. The interactive web of social communications reaches more people and the

message is more trusted.

The value of social media is its ability to create a viral, dynamic web of

communication. Traditional media broadcasts communication to a few outlets

(advertising, earned media, etc.) with minimal interactivity or sharing of content.

The viral, peer-to-peer model of social media communications gets information

to those who can act on it directly from sources they trust.

8

WealthEngine conducted a survey of 1,300 individuals in the prospect

development and fundraising fields to determine the extent to which they

use social media in their work.

The majority of development professionals responding to the survey indicate

they use social media most frequently for finding details regarding employment,

education, familial relationships and marital status. LinkedIn is the most popular

site, with 72% of respondents – and 84% of those who identified prospect

research as their primary focus – using LinkedIn as a regular source for this type

of information. LinkedIn was generally considered more reliable than other

platforms, such as Facebook and MySpace, and some respondents felt it was likely

to be more up to date than even corporate websites for accurate employment and

job title information.

Facebook is considered a useful research resource by 52% of respondents (54% of

researchers), with Twitter and YouTube a distant third and fourth in popularity for

research purposes at 13% and 12% respectively. Respondents are using these

sources, in addition to the ways suggested above, to:

T Determine the social and professional networks of donors and prospects

T Identify the interests, hobbies, causes and missions about which prospects show

interest and passion

T Dig deeper to build a more comprehensive picture of their prospect

T Find photographs and/or video of their prospects

The chart below shows the many ways nonprofit development professionals use

social media to enhance their work.

Percent of Survey Respondents

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Create an events list

Make contact via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

We do not use social media for this purpose

Identify new prospects

Research a prospect identi ed on social media by staff

Obtain contact information

Identify geographical location

Obtain a photograph or video

Identify connections to our organization

Determine social networks/relationships

Dig deeper to create a more comprehensive pro le

Identify interests, causes or missions

Validate information

Find information on employment, education, family, etc.

2%

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Percent of Survey

Respondents


Developing A Social Culture Is A Must For Social Practices To Take RootBefore nonprofits can become effective at harnessing or leveraging the power of

social media they must first look inward. What is the predominant culture of the

organization? Is it top-down and hierarchical? Does it value privacy and control?

Is it comprised of individuals working individually to accomplish static objectives?

Social nonprofits are none of those things. According to Beth Kanter, one of the

foremost experts in nonprofits’ use of technology and co-author of two books on

social media in nonprofits including 2012’s Measuring the Networked Nonprofit,

nonprofits must cultivate a social culture or ‘be’ before they can ‘do.’

As Kanter explains, “A social culture where everyone in the organization uses social

media to engage people inside and outside to improve programs, services, or reach

communications goals. Working socially challenges deep-set organizational assump-

tions about leadership, roles, and structure. It forces organizations to think hard about

what’s important to manage, and what can be left uncontrolled. Social culture strikes

at the heart of what organizations value and how they operate.” Kanter outlines

some of the important steps an organization must implement in order to create a

social culture in the book she co-authored with Allison Fine, The Networked Nonprofit:

1. Ensure Leadership Buy-in. Organizations cannot become social until their

leadership becomes social. The best way to create a social culture is to get the

organization’s leadership looking, listening and interacting on social media

platforms. This will acclimate leaders not only to the mechanisms and content

shared on social media, but to its instantaneous nature and more casual voice.

2. Promote Internal Discussion. Kanter and Fine stress the importance of involv-

ing internal organization stakeholders in an open and robust conversation

about social media. What is the value? What if it’s a waste of time? How will we

know? What if employees goof off on Facebook all day? What if we lose control

of our message? These are questions that need to be asked and answered, not

by a summer intern, but by the nonprofit stakeholders, including leadership. The

goal is to manage expectations and set known limits for social media use and

application.

Being a social nonprofit is not simply posting regularly on

Twitter and Facebook, or uploading video to a YouTube channel.

Being a social nonprofit involves a change of culture: a new way

of being in and interacting with the world.

10

3. Codify a Social Structure. Once a social culture has taken root, explains Kanter,

you can ensure that senior staffers have fully embraced it and that employees

know what they can and cannot do by putting it on paper. There are three steps

for creating an organizational policy:

a. Create the policy

b. Educate and train the staff

c. Use the policy to guide action

4. Create the Social Media Policy Document. Kanter recommends looking at a

variety of examples of social media policies, both corporate and nonprofit, before

creating your own.

The transformation to a social nonprofit begins with leadership and vision. Once

that vision is articulated and understood, following the steps above, organizations

should be sure their organizational structure will support and strengthen the social

culture by permitting social media and communications to permeate all aspects of

the nonprofit.

Creating a Social Structure Allows Social Culture to FlourishIt may well be that older and more established nonprofits will find it more difficult

to adopt a social culture. Because of existing infrastructure and investment in

traditional forms of communications and fundraising, in addition to staff who

may have a vested interest in the status quo, they may have difficulty gaining

momentum for a shift to a social culture. Younger, leaner nonprofits tend to

develop their culture around the already existing social infrastructure and are

therefore more likely to have social media and new digital technologies neatly

integrated within their systems and processes from the beginning.

While the journey to social may be harder for older nonprofits, every day it proves

more worthwhile and increasingly imperative. In the past year, from September 2011

to September 2012, Facebook has grown from 800 million users to 1.01 billion users,

representing a 26% year-over-year increase. There are now more than twice as many

Facebook users than there were internet users in the year 2000. Clearly, social media

is not going to disappear or become irrelevant. According to Ritu Sharma, Executive

Director & Co-Producer of Social Media for Nonprofits, “It’s important for traditional

nonprofits to begin engaging with audiences via social media sooner rather than

later. As their current donor bases age, these nonprofits need to replenish their base

with younger supporters. Social media is one way to meet these younger people

where they are, instead of asking them to come to you.”

Social tools and technologies are being used by nonprofits in a wide variety of

ways, by a wide variety of departments, and by individuals at all levels and areas of


responsibility. Social media and online technologies cut through organizational

structures and hierarchies, thereby helping to perpetuate and deepen the social

culture at organizations where social practices are taking root. Social practices also

have the power to create internal, cross-departmental dialogue and work groups,

which strengthen organizational structures and breed understanding, insight,

innovation and creativity.

Social tools are often used in nonprofit organizations in the areas of:

T Education and advocacy

T Prospect development including prospect identification

and prospect research

T Fundraising including events, engagement & cultivation,

email and online campaigns

T Marketing & public relations including constituent

engagement, brand awareness, media relations,

service recovery, crisis communication

T Human resources including staff and volunteer

recruitment, internal communications, training

While a few nonprofits have one or more full-time staff devoted to social media,

others may have a single staff person devoting part of their time to social media,

and still others may have no formal structure in place. While designating a staff

“point person” is a necessity, ideally the social media strategy and implementation

are shared across multiple departments and a cross-departmental team or

committee approach is employed.

Mark Miller, Associate Vice President for Philanthropic Marketing and Communica-

tion at Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC) in Washington, D.C., explains

their approach. “To plan our content, we’ve formed what we call a ‘hive’ with staff

representing marketing, fundraising, public relations, and internal communications.

We meet each Friday to review the past week’s social media activity and to plan for

the week ahead. We evaluate the level of engagement for our content using a tool

that gives us information on the number of clickthroughs, comments, shares, and

other data. We can also compare what was popular on Google+ vs. Twitter and

Facebook. We track every mention of our name on any of the platforms, as well as

topics that are related to our mission. For example, our marketing team may want

to monitor discussions related to cancer, obesity, or other conditions.”

Their content management tool also allows them to schedule posts automatically to

Facebook, Twitter, and G+, so they don’t have to do that manually several times each

day. The social media team at CNMC plans about one month ahead, but remains

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flexible and alert to opportunities and challenges as they arise in deference to the

immediacy of these communications mediums.

Developing a structure where all stakeholders can take ownership of the social media

strategy means that all stakeholders can influence content and messaging, and that

the messaging is consistent and coordinated, while not necessarily created by one

person or in a single “corporate” voice. It also allows the activities designed or created

to benefit one objective to be exploited for the benefit of other objectives.

WHAT’S WORKING? Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC) Uses Social Media to Grow Email List

Mark Miller, Associate Vice President for Philanthropic Marketing and Communica-

tion, and his team at the Children’s Hospital Foundation conceived of a fundraising

campaign for Valentine’s Day 2010. They asked supporters, via email, to donate

$25 and send a valentine to a sick child. “The campaign didn’t work too well as

a fundraiser,” says Miller. “But the next year, we simply asked people to send a

valentine, without asking for a donation, and we asked them to share that

opportunity with their personal networks through Facebook and Twitter.” This

time, the campaign struck gold. While it generated several thousand dollars

for the organization (through a secondary call to action for donations), the

real success was substantial growth in the organization’s email list.

The campaign was repeated in 2012, resulting in a 35% growth in the foundation’s

email list. “We added 6,570 new names to our list in 2012, and 78% of those resulted

from people on our current email list sharing it with their networks on Facebook

and Twitter. Much of the remainder was generated by their sharing it via email and

blogs. Our own Twitter and Facebook posts were productive, but the real power of

this campaign was peer-to-peer sharing.” The “Send Your Valentine to a Child in the

Hospital” campaign has been one of the hospitals most successful and is a featured

exhibit on the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration website (sofii.org).

What was originally conceived as a fundraising idea became an astonishingly

successful list building exercise, and now the organization is able to track those

new names to determine the best ways to further engage them to become

donors, volunteers or social ambassadors.


Getting Started with Social TechnologiesFor many nonprofits that have made the decision to embrace social media and other

online technologies, the question becomes, “Where do I start?” Interviews with Laura

Coltrin, Product Marketing Manager, and Dawn Michele Andreas, Program Manager,

of Eventbrite, and Ritu Sharma of Social Media For Nonprofits, uncovered six steps for

nonprofits that have not yet made the transition to social technologies:

1. Start Small. “You don’t have to do it all at once,” says Andreas. “Everyone is over-

whelmed by the idea of going social. Find out where your clients, donors, and

prospects are, and that’s where you should spend the most time.” How do you

know where they are? Ask them – send a survey, do a focus group. Look them

up and see if they have Facebook pages. If so, do they also list a Twitter handle?

Are they on LinkedIn? “One simple way to test their presence on different sites

is to send an email including widgets (social media icons with links) or links for

your different platforms,” suggests Coltrin. “Measure the click throughs and you’ll

know where the email recipients are spending more time. Did most people click

on the Twitter icon? Then that’s a good platform for you to have a presence on.”

If you simply don’t know, assume they are on Facebook. Facebook has over one

billion users – most people who are on any platform are on Facebook.

2. Follow and Learn from Those Who Are Doing It Well. “The only way to do it

is to do it. Create a Facebook page, then follow and generate ideas from organi-

zations that are doing it well. There is a lot of information out there, read it and

learn. You will stumble, but the only way to achieve success is to actually do

it,” says Sharma. Who to follow? You could follow the stars, like Charity: Water,

but Andreas suggests looking at the pages of organizations similar to yours, to

see how they are doing it. “Pay attention to the look and feel of the page, the

photographs, the voice and structure of the content. But more than anything,

the sign of a great social media presence is how engaged the members are. Are

they commenting? Answering questions? Chatting with one another? Are they

retweeting? There are different metrics for different platforms, but the sign of

good social media is that it is social.”

3. Ask Questions. “Once you’ve identified the nonprofits of your type who have

an engaged presence in the platform you’ve selected as your primary focus,

ask questions,” suggests Sharma. “Interview them. How did you start? How did

you grow the community? How much time do you devote to this activity? How

do you manage it? Who manages it?” Learn from their answers and put regular

processes into place.

4. Set a Goal. Coltrin recommends setting a goal and working backwards to

accomplish it. “The goal might be how many followers you will attempt to gain,

or how many posts or tweets you will make.” Defining your strategic priorities,

whether it is to grow the community of followers, to monitor what is said about

your organization online, push out a particular amount or type of content to

enhance your reputation as an industry thought leader, or acquire new names

or email addresses, is a must in order to determine your level of success and to

improve processes for better results.

14

5. Commit to a Consistent Schedule. “Find your drum beat,” advises Sharma.

Once you’ve found a structure and defined objectives for your social activity,

determine how often you will tweet (6 times daily?) or post to Facebook (3 times

a week?). Stick to your schedule. Consistency is important and you must keep

it interesting and relevant. Mix content from internal and external sources, and

educational or human interest content with calls to action. Empowering others

in your organization to create content is one way to keep the information fresh

and relevant.

6. Start Conversations Internally to Make It Easier for Outsiders to Jump In.

“Many people don’t want to be the first to comment,” says Sharma, “but are

comfortable stepping into an ongoing conversation.” So encourage your staff

to not only start conversations and pose questions, but to jump in and respond

to other staff members’ posts as well. Before you know it, you’ll be hosting

engaging conversations and building relationships. Of course, no employee or

volunteer should ever misrepresent themselves online or pose as an outsider if

they are actually an insider.

Building and Growing Your Social CommunitiesAfter you’ve laid (or reevaluated) the framework for your social media program, the

next step is to grow your social community. Sharma suggests that nonprofits just

starting out plan to spend five to six months to build a solid community. Following

are six methods to grow your base:

1. Organic. “Use all of your direct communications channels with your donors

and friends to promote your social media presence,” suggests Andreas. Include

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and other widgets (linked icons) in all your

communications. Directly ask your supporters to “like” your pages, follow your

tweets, and “join the conversation.” “This request can be one of two or three

points you make in a communication, or it can sometimes be successful as the

only request,” adds Sharma.

2. Recommendations. Once your donors and friends have “liked” you, ask them

to recommend your page to their communities. Sharma explains, “This is the

‘network multiplier effect’,” and it is very effective at increasing the reach of your

social communications. Statistics show that this effect can increase the response

to your promotions by two, three or even four times.

3. Post Relevant Content. All of your efforts will be useless if you are not regularly

posting content that is relevant to your audience. Post original content, repost

or link to others’ interesting content, and remember to keep it engaging and

interactive for the user. “Articles, photos, videos, surveys, quizzes and contests

all help keep it lively,” shares Coltrin. You should also participate in discussions

in groups that attract followers similar to yours. Attracting these members to

follow links to your content will gain you additional followers. And ask your

friends, supporters and partners to re-post your content on their relevant sites.


4. Publicly Share with Others. Don’t be afraid to showcase your existing ‘social’

relationships, by sharing your opinions, thoughts, photos and articles in other

groups and users’ forums. If you post relevant content for a related group on

their Facebook wall, LinkedIn group or shout out to them in a tweet, others will

see you and will be likely to show their support for you online.

5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Including your organization’s name in your

Facebook URL increases the opportunities for the page to be found by search

engines. “Links between social sites, like Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and your

organizations Blog, all help raise the profile and ranking of your nonprofit on

search engines, and that increases organic traffic to your social media platforms,”

explains Coltrin.

6. Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Ad Campaigns. “The prior suggestions all

target people who are already connected in some way to your nonprofit,” says

Sharma. Ad campaigns are one way to profile people who meet specific criteria

who aren’t yet connected to your nonprofit, and target them with creative and

relevant messaging to attract them to your site and your cause.

Any and all of these are great ways to grow and nurture your online communities.

With a thriving community, you may now wonder how to leverage those online fans

to support your organization’s objectives.

WHAT’S WORKING? Feeding America Grew Facebook Community by 445% in One Year

Dan Michel, Digital Marketing Manager of Feeding

America, shares the success they have found using

Facebook ad campaigns. They began the paid acquisi-

tion program in FY2011 starting with a base of 45,000

Facebook fans. Using Facebook advertising, which

Michel describes as reasonably priced, they grew the

community of fans to over 200,000 by June 2011.

The goal for Feeding America now is to “go local.” Michel explains, “Feeding the

hungry takes place at the local level. We want to focus people who like us

nationally to their local food bank where they can have a more direct impact.”

Feeding America is implementing this strategy during September which is Hunger

Action Month. They created a Hunger Action tab on the organization’s Facebook

page, allowing their 300,000 fans to find their local food bank and “like” it. Feeding

America is measuring the success of this endeavor by the growth in size of local

food bank’s Facebook communities.

16

Leveraging Social Communities to Support Organizational Objectives


Turning Strategy into ActionOnce you’ve developed a social community and following, the next steps involve

action. How can you leverage this resource to meet your organization’s objectives,

whether these are for marketing, fundraising, programmatic or other strategic goals?

We’ve identified three stages of involvement organizations go through to reach

social maturity and reap the full benefits of their social networks.

1. Listen to assess what people are saying, monitor and observe behaviors and

relationships and learn from peers and constituents.

2. Engage by posting content, answering questions and effecting actions.

3. Integrate relationships into existing organizational activities by recruiting

advocates, drawing donors and prospects closer and identifying and leveraging

influencers.

1. Listening as a first step in social engagement enhances service recovery,

feeds program enhancements, identifies brand ambassadors, and fosters

morale.

Many nonprofits, including Feeding America, got started in social media by

listening. Feeding America began active listening as a way to hear what was

being said about hunger, and also what was being said about the organization.

Dan Michel, Digital Marketing Manager, explains, “Listening is an important first

step to enable us to engage with the public to dispel myths and stereotypes

about hunger, and also educate our constituents to proactively prevent

misunderstandings.

Tips for Listening in Social Media

T Designate staff “listeners.”

Appoint individuals to

monitor and respond to

comments, both negative

and positive, and be sure

they are empowered.

T Leverage time saving tools.

There are many free and

affordable technologies

to assist nonprofits with

monitoring what is said

about them on the web

and within social groups.

Consider Hootesuite, Simply

Measured and Sprout Social

for starters.

T Keep your chin up.

Don’t be afraid of nega-

tive comments – look at

them as an opportunity to

turn a critic into a fan. For

example, CNMC noticed a

father who had checked in

via the geolocation program

Foursquare was in their

lobby. While waiting to

register he grew impatient.

Knowing this enabled CNMC

staff to send a fruit basket

and assist with the check-in

process. They were able to

turn a potential critic into a

raving fan.

T Be responsive.

Direct customer service

inquiries to specific social

media outlets only if/when

you have someone to review

and respond.

18

Feeding America and many others have discovered that it’s not such a bad

thing to know what is being said about you, especially when making strides to

improve image or grow a brand/mission. In fact, social media, including blogs,

Facebook, Twitter, and newer platforms such as Google+ and Yelp, provide

organizations an easy way to listen to their constituents, to respond in timely

and authentic ways and to capture ideas and suggestions for ways they can

improve. Says Mark Miller of Children’s National Medical Center, “When we

get a negative comment, we can quickly respond and often turn the problem

around. Sometimes, we even get a thank-you for being so responsive. We view

negative feedback via social media as an opportunity to be more aware of our

families’ needs and improve our service.”

Most nonprofits have found that negative comments are far outnumbered

by positive ones. Many of those who comment or post on Facebook, Twitter

or within LinkedIn groups are thanking the organization for their service,

commenting on a great experience, or recommending the nonprofit to others.

Nonprofits of every kind are finding that social media is making word of mouth

marketing and advertising exponentially more effective. Miller is able to share

hundreds of examples of heartfelt and emotional testimonials like the one

below from the hospital’s Facebook page:

CNMC is also able to share these positive comments, praise, and testimonials with

their staff internally. What better way to encourage excellence and promote morale

than to share thanks and kudos directly from the mouths of grateful recipients?

2. Engaging constituents with relevant content and meaningful responses to

drive website traffic, improve marketing reach, enhance brand reputation

and expand media coverage.

As we all know, relationships take work. And social media relationships are no

different. The nonprofit who has made a commitment to social practices must

commit to regular posting as well as monitoring social media platforms.

“My daughter is celebrating her 4th birthday today. And

it’s all thanks to the wonderful, amazing staff at Children’s

National. Thank you for saving her life 4 years ago. Our lives

are profoundly different because of the surgeons, doctors,

nurses and support staff at Children’s. We have so much love

for you guys. And an immeasurable sense of gratitude.”

- Children’s National Medical Center’s Facebook Page


According to Miller, there is no magic formula. What to post is largely depen-

dent on the platform, and nonprofits should experiment to see what works best

for their audiences. “It is definitely possible to post too much,” he shares. “One

day, we had a lot of news, a research study and other announcements, and we

posted four times on our Facebook page. We saw a measurable drop-off in

followers – people actually “unliked” us, and that told us we overdid it. So you

can do too much – even if it’s good, relevant content.”

For Miller and the team at CNMC, the right frequency seems to be one or two

postings to Facebook and three to four “tweets” on Twitter each day (including

replies and retweets). They post to Google+ about two to three times a week.

Dan Michel at Feeding America normally posts to both Facebook and Twitter on

a daily basis, with 3-4 Facebook posts and a few more frequent posts to Twitter.

WHAT’S WORKING? Children’s National Medical Center Changes Social Content and Manages Frequency Depending on the Platform

T Facebook, according to Mark Miller, Associate Vice President for Philanthropic

Marketing and Communication at Children’s National Medical Center, is very

social, friendly, supportive and conversational. “It feels like a club or a community.

We post pictures, videos, links to our website and blogs, press releases, event

summaries, and more. Of all the platforms, we get the most clickthroughs on

Facebook, and it’s one of the top drivers of traffic to our website.”

T On Twitter, Miller has learned to tweet in very short, digestible chunks. “We get

fewer click throughs with Twitter, but more retweets or sharing of the content.

We need to be sure that the tweet has information in it, so even if they don’t click

on a link, the post is still valuable.”

T Google+ is different, according to Miller. As an early adopter, he sees the Google+

community as being less cluttered than Facebook, easier to use and simpler. It is

a great place to post your most relevant content, because its audience are largely

opinion leaders. “We are selective about what we post to Google+,” he says. “We

have more than 150,000 followers there, and we don’t want to overwhelm them

or over-promote. Google+ is for our ‘cream of the crop’ content.”

20

But Michel clarifies that this is content posting (not responses), though they also

respond frequently on both platforms. “Some people get the idea that this is just

another weird broadcast medium – that they just need to post good content.

But that misses the point. It’s about a conversation, and listening and respond-

ing is important.”

Content posted on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,

Google+ and others may often include links to the organization’s website and

therefore serve as excellent tools to drive potential supporters and clients to

further engage with your organization. This gives you many new opportunities

to capture their interest and contact information. Track referrals to your website

from social sites, and the path they take when they get there. Begin to under-

stand their interests and motivations. Feeding America uses calls to action and

advocacy to push social media fans to their website where they can provide

their email address (for future calls to action) and can send a message to their

representatives or industry leaders.

Social media provides an opportunity to expand the reach of your marketing

messages without costing a lot. “We know that at any given time, most people

aren’t looking for a hospital,” explains Miller at Children’s National Medical Center.

“So the question is how can we build a relationship with families so they know

we’re here when they do need one?” That’s why CNMC focuses on giving parents

practical information to keep their kids healthy and safe. This might include

information on bike safety, flu prevention tips, or how to prevent sports injuries.

“If they do eventually need a hospital or specialist, they know us, they know we

care, and they know we’re credible. Social media also lets parents see that other

parents trust us and have had positive outcomes.”

Establishing your organization as a thought leader in your field through

content generation and distribution can also enhance your organization’s

brand and reputation. Distributing original research and content, commenting

on current events that impact your mission, and calling out interesting research

and thought leadership within the news making community, serves to develop

your local, regional or national reputation. The research need not be compre-

hensive—statistics, surveys, etc. can be highly valuable to share. Moreover, the

results can be scaled for multiple social media postings. While it used to be

that organizations and people had to depend on traditional media outlets to

establish reputations outside of local communities, social media has put

reputation establishment within anyone’s reach.

When possible, content and commentary should tie social media and social interaction with your organizations website.

OrganizationWebsite

Social Media Networks Community of Fans

Organization Response

Organization Content

Community Feedback


3. Integrate social media relationships into prospect research and fundraising

activities.

Social Media is broadly used in prospect research to collect data on donors and

prospects, as well as to identify connections and build prospect lists.

Forty-eight percent of individuals identified as prospect researchers in

WealthEngine’s survey use social media at least daily for their work.5 Eighty-five

percent use social media for finding details related to employment, education,

relatives and marital status. Sixty-two percent are using it to identify interests,

causes or missions for which the prospect may have an affinity.

Jennifer Huebner, a research analyst at the University of Virginia, explains

how she has successfully harnessed the power of LinkedIn. “I’ve set up

searches within LinkedIn with specific criteria to locate alumni who have

recently been promoted or changed positions. This has been a great way to

identify prospects who may warrant a second look. We have used it not only

in ferreting out details of employment histories, but also as an opportunity for

our gift officers to proactively reach out to prospects with congratulations and

build relationships with them.”

WHAT’S WORKING? Feeding America Uses Social Networks to Extend Brand Reach

Feeding America has 300,000 followers between

Facebook and Twitter, according to Dan Michel, Digital

Marketing Manager. Any way you slice it, that’s a big

audience and a big reach for press releases, news articles

and blog postings that might otherwise reach a pretty

limited audience. When many of those followers share

the messaging with their personal networks, the news

almost instantly reaches many thousands more people

than an organization could reasonably reach given the

costs of traditional methods of distribution. This reach

can also be leveraged to thank partners and supporters.

5 Tony Glowacki and Kimberly O’Donnell Mullins. Social Media Impact in Prospect Research. (WealthEngine, Inc. July

2011)<http://info.wealthengine.com/rs/wealthengine/images/APRA_2011_SocialMedia.pdf>

22

There are a number of ways to identify new prospects and supporters from

existing social networking friends. Nonprofits are using the networking data

visible in applications like Facebook and LinkedIn to proactively identify their

supporters’ connections. These connections may also be good prospects for

the organization. The WealthEngine survey found that 56% of researchers

responding use social media to identify the social networks and connections of

their prospects and donors, and 27% are using it to identify new prospects.

Nonprofits are also identifying prospects and potential prospects through

existing groups on social networking sites. For instance, a health-related

organization might join health and wellness Facebook groups in their region or

nationally. There, they can listen and learn what members care about, and add

relevant and meaningful content in a non-threatening manner. In this way,

they can identify the interests and passions of group members and determine

where there is potential overlap with their organization’s mission.

As Children’s National Medical Center found with their Valentine’s Day campaign,

social media and email campaigns can be a significant source of new names and

email addresses. They have since launched a Tats for Tots campaign, requesting

supporters to send a temporary tattoo to a sick child with a message or joke.

Again, they asked responders to share the opportunity with their networks and

have reaped the benefits in new names of potential supporters.

The Ethics of Social Media for ResearchMost WealthEngine survey respondents strongly caution themselves, their organ-

izations, and anyone using social media as a source for prospect data to be fully

aware that social media data is self-reported and should be verified using other

sources where possible. Many researchers either do not include details from social

media if they cannot be cross-verified, or at the least include a note within the

profile that information is self-reported and not verified.

Seventy-five percent agree that social media is ethical to use, because it is public

information just like any other public source, but almost all draw the line at creating

connections with prospects (“friending”) for the purpose of collecting personal and

otherwise hidden information. Some respondents also expressed concern over

using their personal accounts for research. Many researchers use their organiza-

tion’s LinkedIn account rather than their own, for example, to validate employment

history. Among the 5% that disagree it is ethical to use data from social media in

prospect research, their concerns center on the accuracy of the information. Many

respondents commented that the use of this data should be in accordance with

the APRA Ethics Statement which says in part that any data collected and recorded

be both accurate and appropriate to the fundraising process.


Multi-Channel FundraisingWithin nonprofit fundraising, organizations have many opportunities to leverage

social media and online technologies for engagement, cultivation and giving.

Most experts agree that social media as a stand-alone fundraising channel is

unproven. Dan Michel, Digital Marketing Manager for Feeding America, says

“Everyone wants to make money,” but cites the Nonprofit Technology Network

(NTEN) Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report that shows that only 3% of

nonprofits have raised over $10K using social media. “There are spikes, particularly

around disasters, that make us think we can be doing more, but those are spikes,

and completely erratic.” Michel suggests that fundraising through social media is as

yet unproven, but he believes there is potential. “I went to a conference recently,

where a participant said, ‘I am in my twenties, and on social media now. I don’t

have a lot of money. But when I am in my forties, and I do have money to give,

I’m going to give to the charities that are talking to me now.’ That tells me there

is value as well as fundraising potential in developing these relationships now,

whether or not they have an immediate fundraising impact.”

Many nonprofits have discovered that multi-channel fundraising, just like multi-

channel marketing, is the most effective approach. A multi-channel approach

simply integrates social media and online fundraising channels with traditional

direct mail, event, email and/or telephone strategies. A recent study by NTEN

and M-R Strategic Services found that in 2011, by adding social media to the mix

of fundraising appeals making up a campaign, the quantity of donations increased

20% on average, leading to an overall increase in funds raised of 19%.6

MultichannelFundraising

TelemarketingEv

ents

Peer-to-Peer

Direct M

ail Email Campaigns

WebsiteSEM

Facebook Advertising

Social Media

6 M+R Research Labs and NTEN Nonprofit Technology Network. 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study.

<http://www.e-benchmarksstudy.com/>

24

Are Your Website and Email Mobile-Enabled? Without doubt, making forms, email, websites and other content mobile friendly

is an important consideration for every nonprofit and commercial enterprise. It

is predicted that by 2016 the number of mobile connected devices will exceed

the world’s population in 2012.7 More and more of our population will connect

to the web via a smart phone or other portable tablet-like device. For organiza-

tions behind the curve on developing mobile-friendly content and apps, this must

surely be an area for resource investment. Is it necessary for each organization or

fundraising initiative to have an app? Not necessarily. Unless you are sure that

your initiative is going to have a strong response or long shelf-life (like the Salvation

Army’s 120-year-old Red Kettle Campaign, for which there is an iPhone app out this

year), you may first want to concentrate on making your emails and web content

display well and navigate easily on mobile devices.

Nonprofits Find Annual Giving Enhanced by Social and Digital Technologies The Salvation Army’s Chicago Metropolitan Division (SACMD) serves the greater

Chicago area, Northern Illinois and Northwestern Indiana territories. Angela Vaughn

is the Web Marketing Manager for the Division, and is responsible for deploying

email campaigns, updating and maintaining the organization’s web site, social

media posts and updates, mobile alerts and peer-to-peer online fundraising

campaigns. “I’m responsible for all things digital for the division,” she explains.

The SACMD sends both engagement and solicitation emails to nearly 65,000

constituents. “We get better open rates for the engagement pieces – our

e-newsletter – than we do for the solicitations, but at 17% and 14% respectively,

both are very respectable.” The recently released 2012 eNonprofits Benchmark

Study published by NTEN and MR Strategic Services shows overall open rate for

fundraising solicitations at 12% and newsletter opens at 13%.

With a solid email solicitation and engagement strategy in place, the SACMD

has been planning to invest in and expand its social media presence and reach.

SACMD runs a blog and maintains a presence on Google+, Facebook, Twitter,

Foursquare, YouTube, Flickr and LinkedIn. Content and messaging is supplied

by volunteers and several departments, specifically communications and special

events. For the past two years, they have used Facebook ads and Google Adwords

to grow their digital and email communities. These strategies have helped to

increase their Facebook following over five-fold from 1,500 followers in 2010 to

their current following of over 8,000.

7 Cisco. Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2011–2016.

<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.html>


WHAT’S WORKING? The Salvation Army Chicago Metropolitan Division (SACMD) Practices Multi-channel Fundraising by Integrating Social and Mobile Technologies with Email, Online, and Events

The SACMD finds social media and digital technologies are helpful for two of their

largest annual fundraising events – Donut Day and the Red Kettle Campaign. They

use social media to push out lots of messages, including historical facts, event

details, and kickoff information. They also dedicate a text-to-give number for each

event, and encourage text donations in addition to online and traditional donations.

Mobile numbers are also used to push text alerts about the events.

Foursquare is another social technology that is

proving useful in their integrated, multi-channel

fundraising strategy. Currently, they use it to

promote events, including the Donut Day and

Red Kettle fundraising campaigns. Angela Vaughn,

Web Marketing Manager for the division, anticipates

growth in the use of geolocation technologies like

Foursquare for promoting thrift store locations and

events, as well as happenings at the individual

institutions and corps.

“Our next big push is to develop a mobile friendly donation form,” says Vaughn. “The

analytics show that a lot of our web users are mobile, and that group is growing. We

need to make it easy for smart phone and tablet users to contribute.”

Fundraisers have found social media helpful in

enhancing traditional campaigns with multi-

channel techniques and within major giving to

engage and cultivate donors.

26

Social and Digital Technologies in Major GiftsMany organizations are viewing social media content as a fertile field from which

to pluck relevant, timely and useful information to identify and cultivate major gift

prospects. By connecting via social networks, prospects are identifying an affinity

for the organization, and as they reveal their interests and passions, as people do

in any relationship whether on- or off-line, it allows the organization to cultivate

them toward a truly meaningful giving experience. William Paterson University of

New Jersey is one institution having success engaging and cultivating constituents

through social media channels.

Lynn Lazar, Director of Prospect and Research Management at William Paterson

University, describes their strategy for using social media: “We are finding creative

ways to use social media—not with the sole intention of bringing in money—but

to create a buzz about us and help reconnect the University with alumni and

friends. We are hopeful that this will support our engagement activities, which will

ultimately help us reach our fundraising goals.”

William Paterson’s experience illustrates how social media and digital strategies can

contribute to cultivation and major gift fundraising efforts. It provides fundraisers

one more way to make contact and begin building or growing a relationship. Social

media doesn’t take the place of face-to-face cultivation and fundraising, but it does

provide an additional communication channel, and one that is interactive,

sometimes viral, and convenient.


WHAT’S WORKING? William Paterson University Uses Social Media to Enhance Engagement and Major Gift Cultivation

With the use of Google Alerts, William Paterson staff have begun tracking news

regarding alumni and send out weekly updates of newsworthy alumni. After a

news alert is received about an alum—a promotion or other milestone—the

Stewardship Manager sends a letter to them recognizing their news. Sometimes

it’s also posted on the University’s Facebook page. “There are many different ways

to use the information gathered, for us it’s all about celebrating our constituents.

Social media allows us to engage with alumni, donors, partners and the commu-

nity in a faster, more meaningful and effective way,” shares Lynn Lazar, Director of

Prospect and Research Management at William Paterson University.

Sometimes social media uncovers a fundraising

opportunity. “An alumni posted on Facebook that

he had a new business venture,” says Lazar. “While he

had never given to the University before, we brought

it to the attention of our alumni and marketing

departments who then published an article in our

alumni newsletter on him and other alumni in the

same industry. He was appreciative and advance-

ment began further cultivating the relationship.”

Today, he has contributed to the university, and the

relationship is successfully advancing.

“We’re starting to see the impact we can make with the use of social media along-

side our prospect research tools, and we like what we see,” concludes Lazar. “Social

media is helping us engage constituents in a bigger way and we are furthering

our philosophy of giving back first, asking second.”

28

Influence on the Social WebThe digital social world continues to evolve, and in some respects, mirrors the

offline world. It has often been said that “word of mouth” is the best advertising.

But as Malcolm Gladwell found and reported in his acclaimed book The Tipping

Point, some people are more influential in their word of mouth recommendations

than others. Some people are “connectors” or “ultra connectors.” Mark Schaefer,

author of 2012’s Return on Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring

and Influence Marketing suggests that through social networks, energy and deep

knowledge of a topic, these connectors can cause epidemics of interest and

action.8 Schaefer shares the story of World Vision, the Christian humanitarian

organization, which has found a way to harness the power of influential

members of its community.

New technologies are making it easier for organizations like World Vision to find

out who their influential community members are. These new technologies,

including Klout and PeerIndex, are social scoring mechanisms that use complex

algorithms to compute “influence scores” for any individual with an online presence

on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other applications. While still in its infancy, social

scoring promises to be a useful – albeit controversial – development in the social-

sphere. Whether influence scores are used in marketing or fundraising, or a blend

of both, who wouldn’t want to identify their most knowledgeable, trusted and

well-connected constituents to enlist as advocates for their mission or brand?

8 Schaefer, Mark (2012-02-15). Return On Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring, and Influence

Marketing (Kindle Locations 519-522). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.


WHAT’S WORKING? World Vision Leverages the Power of Influential Bloggers to Draw Attention to Their Mission and Engage New Supporters

World Vision, the Christian humanitarian organization,

has been sponsoring trips for influential bloggers to

experience first-hand the work of the organization and

write about it. World Vision knows that these bloggers

are influential with their constituents, and have tapped

into that social influence to help make the mission and

true work of the charity come alive for their readers.

Quite a concept: engage influential members of your

community to share their passion and experience with

your mission to the rest of the community.

Research bears out the genius of their strategy. Consider a business to business

(B2B) approach that uncovered the value of the blogging community. As

Schaefer reports, “Base One, a London-based B2B agency, surveys procurement

professionals across Europe every year to detect changes in the ways those

professionals are acquiring information for their decision-making process. As you

might expect, the number of people utilizing social media sources such as blogs

in the purchasing profession is increasing year over year, especially among those

under age 30. But here’s where it gets really interesting. Bloggers are rated as the

most influential sources of information. Higher than supplier websites. Higher

than trade shows. Even higher than the word-of-mouth recommendation of a

fellow professional.”

As with World Vision, recruiting and supporting bloggers so they may fully experi-

ence and provide a voice for your organization—or those to whom you provide a

service—can be an impactful addition to a social strategy.

30

Conclusion & Recommendations


Social Technologies are Enabling Individuals and Organizations to Have Greater Impact Over the past 7 to 8 years, the world has changed dramatically and irrevocably. The

widespread accessibility of low cost internet access, digital technologies and social

media have made the world a place in which many more connections can be made,

anyone who wants a voice or platform can have one, and companies and organiza-

tions are more open to and accountable to their constituents than ever before.

As we’ve seen, nonprofit organizations are adopting social media and other new

digital technologies to contribute to every aspect of their strategic objectives. And

even as these innovations are changing how organizations relate to the world, they

are also changing the way people and departments within organizations relate to

each other.

Digital strategies cross many organization goals and functions, including fundraising,

communications, public relations, human resources, programs, service recovery,

prospect development, volunteers and more. Those organizations that are adopt-

ing social strategies and becoming social nonprofits are finding these strategies

are driving greater collaboration and improved multi-channel, integrated efforts

across departments. When harnessed effectively, the proliferation of information

and its application through social media can be an exceptional communications

and fundraising tool for an organization. At the end of the day, these technologies

are enabling organizations and individuals to come together, find common ground,

and make a positive impact in their communities and around the world.

Recommendations

1. Start where you are. Technology can be intimidating, but don’t let that stop you. Social technologies are forgiving of

the uninitiated and there is lots of advice out there. The sooner you start, the faster you will feel comfortable.

2. Get your organization’s leadership listening on social media. Start with a small experiment to get them involved and

engaged. Once they “get it,” expand your trials.

3. Build your community using a variety of methods. Whether you use organic means or paid fan acquisition or a

combination of both, social media is a cost effective way to identify fans with an affinity for your organization.

4. Remember it’s a conversation. Listen first, then post and respond appropriately.

5. Engage constituents with meaningful, relevant, funny and interactive content. Be creative, involve others within and

external to your organization, and have fun!

6. Integrate social into all levels of your organization. This isn’t just for marketing and brand awareness; you can leverage

social media to uncover and build relationships with donors, prospects and ambassadors.

7. Consider now how you will invest in making your website and email communications mobile friendly. The future is now,

and a good percentage of every nonprofit’s supporters and prospects are accessing the internet via mobile devices.

8. Measure your social activities. We may not yet know the full value of them, but if you begin to track and measure today,

you will have the benchmarks to compare against tomorrow.

32

Appendix: Measuring the Success of Your Social Efforts


Measuring the Success of Your Social EffortsFollowing are a few of the ways nonprofit organizations are measuring the success

of their social media investments.

Most organizations measure their success in the social media space in

several ways:

Number of followers or fans in the nonprofits community

Growth rate of the fan community

Number of “opens,” (for email) or clicks (for embedded links)

Number of actions completed (for calls to action)

Participation rate (for appeals)

Average gift size (for appeals)

Many organizations are beginning to dive deeper to find the value in social

media by measuring things like:

Percent share of the “conversation,” for instance Dan Michel, Digital Marketing

Manager, monitors what percent of conversations about “hunger” Feeding

America is mentioned in

Percent of online giving coming from web and unsolicited sources (including

social media “fans”) vs. email solicitations9

Number of Facebook fans per email subscriber (average for all nonprofits: 103

per1,000)10

Facebook “action rate” (number of likes & comments/members of the

community) (average for all nonprofits 2.5 per 1,000)11

The cost and value of a Facebook Fan (cost average for all nonprofits - $3.50

and value over one year - $214.81)12

9 M+R Research Labs, and NTEN Nonprofit Technology Network. 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study.

<http://www.e-benchmarksstudy.com/> 10 Ibid 11 Ibid 12 NTEN Nonprofit Technology Network, Common Knowledge and Blackbaud. 4th Annual Nonprofit Social Network

Report (2012) <http://nonprofitsocialnetworksurvey.com/>


ReferencesBarnes, Nora Ganim, Ph.D. and Eric Mattson. US Charities’ Adoption of Social Media Outpaces All Other Sectors for the Third Year in a Row.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. 2010

<http://www.ecauses.org.>

Cisco. Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2011–2016.

<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.html>

CNNMoney. Fortune.com. Fortune 500.

<http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/?iid=F_Sub>

Dumont, Georgette. Nonprofit Engagement of Social Networks. November 2010 University of North Florida.

<http://www.academia.edu/380014/Nonprofit_Engagement_of_Social_Networks>

Fine, Allison and Beth Kanter. The Networked Nonprofit. John Wiley & Sons, June 2010.

Forbes.com. The 200 Largest U.S. Charities.

<http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/14/200-largest-us-charities-11.html>

Glowacki, Tony and Kimberly O’Donnell Mullins. Social Media Impact in Prospect Research. WealthEngine, Inc. July 2011

<http://info.wealthengine.com/rs/wealthengine/images/APRA_2011_SocialMedia.pdf>

M+R Research Labs, and NTEN Nonprofit Technology Network. 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study.

<http://www.e-benchmarksstudy.com/>

NTEN Nonprofit Technology Network, Common Knowledge and Blackbaud. 4th Annual Nonprofit Social Network Report. 2012

<http://nonprofitsocialnetworksurvey.com/>

Schaefer, Mark Return On Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring, and Influence Marketing 2012. McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.

About WealthEngine ™, Inc.WealthEngine TM, Inc. is a leading provider of sophisticated wealth identification and prospect

research services to charities, hospitals, institutions of higher education, political campaigns,

advocacy groups, and other nonprofit organizations, as well as to firms that offer luxury goods and

financial services. Four thousand clients use WealthEngine’s products for comprehensive research on

individuals, companies and foundations. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, WealthEngine serves both

the United States and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.wealthengine.com.

wealthengine.com [email protected] 800.933.4446

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