ChemArt Blog

4 Thoughts on a Silver Lining in the Cloud Over Philanthropy

Mastering Social Media and Online for Fundraising Success

According to a 2008 study by the Center on Philanthropy, 57.7% of respondents say they stop donating to a charity when they are “no longer feeling connected to the organization”. This emphasizes what should be your primary use fir social media and blogs – to keep current sponsors connected with your organization.

You can also use social media and blogging to generate funds, but this should be secondary to providing a transparent view of your organization inaction making use of the funds it receives. Check out these online charities for inspiration on using social media:

The Acumen Fund – Twitter: @Acumenfund

Goods 4 Good – Twitter: @Goods4good

ASPCA – Facebook: facebook.com/aspcateam

1. Ask . OK it sounds silly, but many employees feel insecure about asking their customers for referrals. Most customers are very open to being asked. They appreciate the opportunity to tell friends, family and associates about something good they’ve discovered.
2. Provide support. Make sure your customers have business cards, your email signature, a web site link or some other really easy way to pass along your information.
3. Offer incentives. The type of incentive you offer must fit with the kind of business your run. It could be a discount, service credits, and upgrade, a fee item or some other free item tat will entice clients to provide referrals. Test test test to see what works best with each type.
4. Get the right information. A phone number and contact name just isn’t enough. That’s just a lead. Use a referral form, checklist, or web-based system to capture details that make the referral more valuable. The best referrals are when the customer facilitates a meeting, visit or purchase by the referred person, in person, by email or otherwise. This makes the customer an active agent on your behalf.
5. Target the “influentials”. Seek referrals first from your most influential customers, especially if your resources are limited. These might not actually be your best customers, but they are the people whose opinions would carry the most weight with others in your industry, community or customer base. By targeting these customers, you have a highly focused effort with a good chance to generate the highest quality referrals.
6. Target related businesses. The health care profession is one of the most adept at fostering referrals between complementary disciplines – specialists, imaging services, physical therapists, medical equipment suppliers and others. Consider the same strategy yourself. Contact businesses that provide complementary services to your own and ask for referrals.
7. Build your relationships. It’s critical to build trust because many of your most influential customers won’t provide referrals until you gain their complete trust. Treat each customer as if they are critical to your next referral.

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As a non-profit/charity, you have the ability to get a lot of free visibility on the web. Here are some ways to get it:

1. Find directories (both large and small) that have categories accurately representing your nonprofit’s mission and submit to their website. Nine times out of ten, you’ll get the listing for free.
2. Send an email thank you to your sponsors and suggest they put it on a sponsorship page on their website, with a link back to your site. If they need a push, explain how this looks good for them and supports your initiative at the same time. You may want to thank your top sponsors with a video testimonial, which they can use to market their social responsibility.
3. Apply for the Google Grants program, where – if approved – you can receive $10,000 – $40,000 USD per month in free pay-per-click advertising on Google.com.
4. Contact popular social networks like Facebook and StumbleUpon and ask for free advertising credits – you won’t know until you try!
5. Create a Facebook profile for your nonprofit and provide an attractive badge for supporters to display on their profiles. They may not actually donate to your cause but they will help raise awareness. (you’ll need to have a Facebook profile to view the link)