Increasing Nonprofit Donations Using Social Media

Is your nonprofit organization on Facebook? How about Twitter, Instagram, or Google Plus?

You may already have social media accounts, but you can do much more. You can use social networking to solicit nonprofit donations for your cause.

According to a report by The Case Foundation, 97% of nonprofits are on Facebook, but 74% only use social networking to announce events or organization-related information.

Your posts keep your fans and followers up-to-date. Great! But are they driving nonprofit donations? It’s time to think about building a more active social strategy.

The View Is Worth the Climb

Raising nonprofit donations via social media isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it. Social media marketing is effective. According to a study by Waggener Edstrom, people who engage with nonprofits on social media are more likely to get involved:

59% will donate money

53% will volunteer

52% will donate clothes, food, or other items

So What’s the Problem?

Why do so many organizations put off building a social media presence? If it works, why wait? It’s challenging because nonprofits tend to lack these three things: time, money, and a concrete strategy (2014 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report).

Even if you lack resources, a basic social strategy can impact your nonprofit donations. Be more conscious of your online brand activity. Explain how you use donations. Show your followers the importance of their contributions. Link to your donation website. Ask donors to download your mobile giving app and make a donation.

Request Nonprofit Donations Directly

Don’t be afraid to come right out and ask for donations. On Twitter, posts are 12 times more likely to get retweeted if you specifically ask for it. When the word “retweet” is spelled out, the desired response is 23 times more likely. (Buffer).

Apply this knowledge in seeking your own end goal. Be direct. Use your accounts to request funds. If potential donors don’t know you need help, how can you expect them to act?

For more information on raising donations using social media and mobile donation apps, check out our free whitepaper: “Nonprofit Fundraising: Removing Roadblocks and Meeting Goals with Mobile Technology.”