Many nonprofit organizations I speak with have tried social media fundraising before with less-than-stellar results. However, I always preach about the benefits of social media, so I’m devoting Episode 8 in Season 3 to the best practices for these online fundraisers! In this episode, we chat with Stacy Nunnally from Safe Haven Family Shelter and the Tennessee Imagination Library and Lara Buckheit from DLyted about the importance of consistency in your social media strategy, how to add an online fundraising component to your major fundraising events, and how to find and activate influencers who support your organization.
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HERE IS THIS WEEK'S CHECKLIST:
☑️ Treat your social media relationships like any other relationship.
You would be annoyed if your friends only talked to you once per month, or only talked to you when they wanted to ask you for something. Donors feel the same way. If you hope to fundraise through social media, you need to be consistent, genuine, and post about more than the things you need from donors. Listen to the whole episode for Stacy’s advice on using social media as a means of thanking donors, strengthening connections with corporations, raising awareness about your impact and cause area, and more.
☑️ Make your fundraising asks, goals, and timeline very specific.
Listen to the whole episode for Stacy’s examples of great social media fundraising campaigns. You need to be clear about exactly what you’re asking followers to fund, exactly how much you need to raise in this particular campaign, and exactly how long you will be fundraising for this campaign. Stacy also did a great job explaining how to decide what to ask.
☑️ Empower the influencers in your circle to fundraise for you.
Stacy and Lara both had great advice on how to identify the influencers you already know, and what you need to provide to them so they can effectively fundraise online for your organization. Influencers can reach many more donors than you can on your own!
☑️ Use social media as a way to further improve your other fundraising campaigns.
If you host a fundraising event, a year end campaign, a planned giving campaign, or another initiative which seems to have plateaued in the amount of money you’re raising, social media can help multiply your donations. Listen to the whole episode for Stacy’s examples of how one of her organizations more than doubles their donations with social media giving!
☑️ If you don’t have a staff member who can take responsibility for your social media channels, set up a volunteer Marketing Committee.
I actually recommend every organization form a Marketing & PR Committee, even if you do have staff who have time to take charge of your social media accounts…but this is even more important without those paid team members. Listen to the whole episode for my advice on setting up a Marketing Committee!
☑️ Set up a FREE DLyted account so a percentage of your supporters’ e-gift card purchases will benefit your organization!
Go to DLyted.com and click the “Register Your Cause” button. When your supporters sign up with your organization’s unique link, 2.5-10% of every digital gift card they purchase will benefit your organization. It’s like Amazon Smile, but with a much higher percentage going back to your nonprofit. Then make sure you share about DLyted with your followers so they can get last minute Christmas gifts benefiting your organization!
And if you need more help...
☑️ Email me and tell me what's going on at your nonprofit.
What are your current goals? What issues are you facing? Give me some background information, and we'll go from there! I never charge for an initial consultation, and I'll be honest if I can't help you. I'll also be happy to connect you with the other resources in my network who may be able to provide better advice or services for your situation.