A lot has been said about the growth of social media. However, many organizations are finding it difficult to pin down the best fundraising strategies using these tools. Facebook’s Causes application has 26 million active users, but charities are finding it hard to find much fundraising support from these users. With Twitter quickly becoming the social media of choice for organizations, people are wanting to see results.
Because Twitter is still new and being developed, charities need to employ various strategies. Twitter offers various options such as “Tweetsgiving”, which is a Twitter option for charitable causes. Twollars and Tweet4Good are also other options on Twitter.
Besides simply asking for donations, Twitter can also be used to promote your organization. Create a presence online by giving updates and bits of information.
Larger charities have found strategies like “follower-challenges” to be helpful. The Washington Post reports as an example, “Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation recently found a donor who was willing to give $25,000 if the Foundation's CEO, Doug Ulman, could reach 25,000 followers in three days (he started with roughly 10,000 followers at the beginning of the challenge). Ulman was able to surpass 25,000 and reach the goal.”
Twitter isn’t going to replace all fundraising options completely. Still, it offers viable options to provide additional support and awareness. Having a diverse source of fundraising options is especially important when you are struggling to find funding.
Additional information taken from The Washington Post’s article “Tweetraising: The Potential for Charities On Twitter”
-- Jessica High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is a subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online