BlackBaud & Charity Dynamics: How to use social media to raise funds?

In recent decades, fundraising through contests (“a-thons”) has become an important part of nonprofit fundraising. This method is successful because it can be so targeted or personalized that new donors are often influenced by their friends or siblings to give generously to the nonprofit they support.

And this form of fundraising is also perfect for using social media tools, which are inherently very targeted and personalized. So we were not surprised by the research report jointly released by BlackBaud and Charity Dynamics. The conclusion of the report is clear: if you, as a nonprofit, are not providing social media tools for fundraising to fundraisers, you are missing out.

So how can fundraisers use social media tools more successfully? Here are a few key points revealed in the report:

• Fundraisers who used social media tools raised 40% more money than those who did not.
• Fundraisers who used Twitter raised more than those who did not use Twitter, three times their original goals and ten times the amount raised online in the past.
• Compared with fundraisers using other social media tools, fundraisers using YouTube are the most active in offline activities and are more likely to balance online and offline communication channels to raise funds;
• Donors attracted through social media tools are more likely to be first-time donors to nonprofits. On average, 75% of people who join a donation campaign through social media tools are new to the organization, compared to 50% of all donors.

Download the white paper: Raising more money for independent fundraising campaigns through social media

The following is a summary of the report:

1. Introduction : Social Networking is Revolutionizing Independent Fundraising: In 1999, the emergence of personal fundraising web pages, coupled with personalized fundraising emails, revolutionized independent fundraising. Since then, the amount raised online has grown by an average of 50% per year, and today, online donations account for 30% of most major U.S. fundraising activities. In particular, the recent explosion of online social media—most notably Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—is destined to revolutionize the field of online fundraising.

Figure 1: Fundraising Amounts Received Online in the United States, 2000-2008

2. Use FaceBook and Twitter as fundraising tools:
Looking back over the past two years, the number of Facebook and Twitter users has increased dramatically, and the combined number of users now exceeds 344 million (in the United States), so the potential of using these social networks as fundraising tools is absolutely huge. An online fundraising tool that integrates or fully utilizes Facebook and Twitter should at least have the following features:
(1) Allow independent fundraisers to log in using their Facebook or Twitter accounts;

(2) Allowing independent fundraisers to send messages to Twitter (tweet) and update Facebook status directly from their personal fundraising console;

(3) All Twitter messages and Facebook status updates contain links back to the personal fundraising homepage;

(4) Ability to generate reports on Twitter and Facebook data and usage, and count the amount of money raised.

3. Analyze the success of Twitter in fundraising applications <br /> Analysis data shows that independent fundraisers who use Twitter set fundraising goals that are three times higher than those who do not use Twitter. Twitter users also perform well, with their actual average online fundraising amount being 10 times that of fundraisers who do not use Twitter.

Figure 2: Comparison of fundraising goals and actual amounts raised by fundraisers who used Twitter and those who did not in 2008-2009

4. Analyze the success of FaceBook in fundraising applications <br /> Unlike Twitter, where messages are limited to 140 characters, FaceBook provides more options for designing fundraising applications. The various advanced applications supported by FaceBook are invaluable aids for both rapidly growing nonprofit organizations and independent fundraising campaigns. Generally, a full-featured FaceBook fundraising tool should include the following features:
(1) Friends (fundraisers) and independent fundraisers can inform each other of updates through feeds;
(2) Design an eye-catching fundraising mini poster or badge and publish key information related to the fundraising event on the canvas page;
(3) Enable independent fundraisers to seamlessly connect their Facebook page to their respective online fundraising pages through the Facebook application.
Figure 3. Mini fundraising poster on Facebook

Just like fundraisers who use Twitter, fundraisers who use FaceBook for fundraising tend to be more successful than those who do not use social media. Data shows that fundraisers who frequently update their status with fundraising information tend to achieve better results, and if fundraisers add the FaceBook application to synchronize fundraising information to friends more quickly, the results will be further improved.

The data shows that the most successful fundraisers tend to use a combination of several social networking tools. In general, they raise 40% more money than fundraisers who do not use online social networks.
Figure 4. Comparison of fundraising goals set and actual fundraising amounts between fundraisers who used different social media networks and those who did not use social networks in 2009

5. Analysis of YouTube Fundraising Applications <br /> If “a picture is worth a thousand words”, then the fundraising potential of a video can be imagined, and its fundraising effect may be very huge. An online fundraising tool that integrates YouTube videos should at least do the following:
(1) Establish a YouTube video media library for independent fundraisers to use;
(2) Allowing independent fundraisers to choose videos from the video library or videos they create themselves;
(3) be able to produce reports reflecting online donations attracted through the video;

6. Comparison of fundraising through social networks and fundraising through email <br /> According to statistics, each independent fundraiser sends an average of 28 contacts to solicit donations, and an average of 25 people will eventually make donations and become donors. The average fundraiser has 130 friends on Facebook, and the average number of friends on Twitter is 70.
Figure 5. Average number of contacts for 500 fundraisers using Facebook, Twitter and email

The real value of Facebook and Twitter is that they help fundraisers greatly expand the scope or number of fundraisers. According to data, fundraisers who use social media can mobilize significantly more donors than those who do not use social networks.
Figure 6. Average donations attracted by fundraisers using different social networks

Many people believe that the use of social networks and fundraising through emails are in a trade-off relationship, with the former eating into the latter's share and status. In fact, this is not the case. Through research, it has been found that most fundraisers who use social networks send much more emails during the fundraising process than those who do not. Therefore, it can be concluded that fundraisers who use social networks are usually able to combine social media and emails effectively.
Figure 7. Average number of email addresses sent by fundraisers using different social networks

7. Analysis of the composition of independent fundraisers and donors <br /> Research shows that social networking sites have created a large number of opportunities for independent fundraisers to raise funds. Currently, more than half of fundraising activities are carried out through social networking media. On the other hand, the number of fundraisers who use multiple social media at the same time is also increasing.
Figure 8. Percentage of fundraisers using various social networks

The data shows that the average donation amount per person raised through social networking sites is lower than that raised through email. This may be because the donors reached through social networking sites are wider than those reached through email, so the proportion of donors who are not so familiar with independent fundraisers or non-profit organizations is definitely higher than that of email contacts. The study also shows that donors attracted through social networking sites are younger on average.
Figure 9. Comparison of average donation amounts from fundraisers attracted through different social networks and emails

Figure 10. Comparison of the average age of fundraisers attracted through different social networks and emails

8. Ensure third-party fundraisers adopt social network guidelines
(1) Make everyone aware of the importance of social networks and teach non-profit organization staff and independent fundraisers how to use social networks for fundraising;
(2) Repeated reminders: Whether in the nonprofit organization's self-introduction or in the workbook provided to independent fundraisers, clearly list the channels and methods for donating through social networks. For existing contacts, ensure that they join the social network where the donation application is located. Remind them during each donation activity and send special email reminders. The latter can increase the mobilization success rate by 30%.
(3) Make comprehensive use of various social networks while not abandoning traditional email and offline methods.
The white report finally mentioned:
As social networks continue to develop, donations through social networks will become more and more popular, while the status of traditional donation models continues to decline. Therefore, it can be said that knowing how to use social networks for fundraising and conducting continuous evaluation and review has become a key to whether non-profit organizations can continue to succeed in their future fundraising activities.

Reprinted from: //article.yeeyan.org/view/ecauses/113040