As the recession continues to handicap individuals across the nation, non-profits are increasingly seeing the crippling affects of donors feeling that they are unable to make charitable contributions. Traditional means of fund raising and donor solicitation are not enough, forcing non-profits to find new ways to obtain donations. More and more nonprofits are attempting to integrate social networking and social media tools into their fund raising toolbox while they simultaneously introduce communications strategies to encourage “micro-giving” and engage a younger generation.
Non-profits are beginning to creatively use platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to help fill in the gaps where traditional giving is now falling through. Social media provides non-profits the ability to garner attention for their cause, develop community relationships and have conversations in ways that traditional marketing never could – or at least not in a way that doesn’t potentially eat up an entire year’s marketing budget. Social media tools can enable nonprofits to increase their donor base, particularly among a younger demographic that may have not donated to charities otherwise. Instead of targeting solely wealthier benefactors, nonprofits can utilize social media to reach more people who are able to give smaller donations.
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