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Business 2 CommunitySocial Giving: How to Use Social Media for Fundraising
After working in social media for the past few years, I have yet to doubt the power of social for building a business or even a personal brand. But I was surprised in how helpful it was in, well….getting people to give me money.
I’m currently training for my second attempt at the ING New York City Marathon (since Hurricane Sandy canceled my first attempt). I’ve been running with the Athletes to End Alzheimer’s NYC team since June of 2012 and to date I have raised over $4,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association. I’ve worked hard to raise money—holding bar events, 50/50 raffles and even asking for support in person. But the most successful avenue I’ve had in fundraising has been social media.
Whether you’re looking to raise money for a charitable cause or running social media for a nonprofit, consider these top tips I’ve learned for fundraising in social.
Tell your story
Don’t be afraid to get personal. The cause or charity you’re raising money for has inspired you enough to run, bike, swim, etc. Don’t discount the power behind that. Before you tweet or ask your Facebook friends to donate to your cause tell them why it matters to you. I signed up to run 26.2 miles for the Alzheimer’s’ Association not once, but twice! The cause is incredibly important to me, so I don’t shy away from sharing why.
Neither does a marathon teammate of mine, Cindy Chin. Cindy started a blog to track her training progress, posting weekly updates on her runs and sharing memories of her grandmother, who was her inspiration for running for the Alzheimer’s Association. “I wasn’t very good at explicitly asking people for money. I took the passive aggressive approach. I would send email reminders to close friends and family about my blog and my progress and hoped that people would donate.”
The more responses and donations Cindy received from the blog the more she realized how much people enjoyed following her on her journey and wanted to support her—even people she’s never met. “I received a donation and had no idea who [the person] was,” says Cindy. “I emailed him to thank him and it turned out that my father-in-law was talking to him about my running and had pointed him to my blog. Since he was a runner himself, he wanted to help me out.”
By providing a glimpse into her marathon training—a very long, demanding process (trust me)—and her connection to Alzheimer’s, Cindy was able to provide a powerful reason why people would want to donate. And it has worked—she’s raised over $5,500 to date!
Asking for money is never easy. And even though you’re asking for money to benefit a charity it can still be a hard sell. Providing a backstory on why the cause is important to you and sharing your journey can be very compelling. The deeper connection a person feels with the organization, the more likely they will be willing to give money.
Share statistics
After you provide a personal connection to the cause, provide general reasons why people should care. Did you know that Alzheimer’s is the 5th-leading cause of death in U.S.? I didn’t either…until I started running for the cause. Research and share how your cause affects not just you, but everyone. Share the stats on Facebook, tweet them out, pin them and then send people to your fundraising page.
Show the impact of donations
While some people are motivated by emotions, others are motivated by facts. They want to know exactly where their money is going. Make sure you know how donations are spent by the charity before you ask for money. People will ask!
It can also be helpful to provide real results for donations. “Your $25 donation can feed one child for a week” is a lot more powerful that “please donate to help me feed the hungry.” Most charities will be able to provide this information along with exactly how they’re using the money.
Make a connection
Social media is a great place to not only connect with people you know but to meet new people with similar interests. Seek out and engage with others who are interested in your cause. Find the official social channels of the event you’re participating in and join the conversation.
A few years ago I participated in Cycle for Survival. Having never even attended a spinning class before, I was a bit nervous to partake in a spin-a-thon and found myself tweeting about it. I tagged Cycle for Survival in a few posts and used their hashtags to join in some conversations, which started my own discussions with both friends and people I’ve never met. It was fun and inspiring to hear everyone’s stories and I was surprised how interested people were in mine. I gained new Twitter followers and received donations from many of them. One even shared my fundraising page and encouraged her followers to donate. Social media helped personalize my cause and turned a donation request to a stranger into a call to action from a friend.
Shine the spotlight
So how did I thank my new Twitter follower / friend? I could have sent a direct message or reply but I chose to thank her with a public tweet, which showed her how excited I was to receive her donation and gave her the recognition she deserved for being so generous to a complete stranger. Having that dialogue in social allows other people to learn about what you are doing and how others are helping, which might inspire them to join in.
Have public conversations with your supporters and donors. Give them a shout out on Facebook. Encourage people to follow them on Twitter. Give them some social media love. A public thank you can go a long way.
Stay top of mind
Most people do want to help, but sometimes they need reminders. Don’t tweet every hour on the hour, but keep your fundraising effort a regular topic on your social channels. Talk about what you’ve been working on that week, share some statistics, share your fundraising page—keep your effort top of mind.
Make sure you include a call to action. If you’re holding an offline event, ask people to share your Facebook event. Ask your Twitter followers to retweet your blog posts. If you’ve engaged with someone a few times about your efforts, ask them to consider donating. Just like with regular social media marketing, your focus shouldn’t always be on one thing. Do your best to spread out your fundraising posts while keeping it an active theme.
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