Need a cash injection for an important community project? Want to fundraise for your local animal shelter?
Here are some cool ways that nonprofits (and individuals) can go out there and make more fans, gain new followers, and drive social shares in order to drive donations.
This new way of fundraising is all about making a difference and having fun at the same time.
‘Viral’ Video Challenges
We all love sharing online videos. Not all charity challenges go viral of course, but you can always try!
Videos are a great way to connect with people on an emotional level, and showcase your cause in a short and snappy soundbite.
By coming up with a fun pledge challenge that is easy for people to film, you can spread your message far and wide whilst actively engaging people in peer-to-peer fundraising.
It’s great because you don’t have to necessarily supervise the campaign – the right mix of ingredients means that the challenge can run itself.
- Getting people to film themselves undertaking a small challenge or passing on an important message can be hard – you need to use all your powers of persuasion. Learn about the psychology of social sharing and get key influencers and stakeholders to start off the challenge to get the ball rolling. You could even use paid Facebook video advertising to help you get the word out there.
- You want to awaken emotions in people, but you can always try to make them laugh too. Humor is a great driver of social shares and we all like to let loose every now and then.
- Keep the challenge very close to your cause and brand – otherwise it can get diluted; people will forget why they were filming their friends throwing buckets of water over their heads.
- Don’t forget to explore all the different social channels available to you – videos on Instagram are a new way of reaching your target audience.
Matched Donations Campaigns
Running a matched donations campaign online is super rewarding – for every dollar you raise, someone else puts some money in too.
The relationship between the charitable organization, the matching donor, and the campaign messaging will be key to your success. You don’t want people to mistrust or dislike the matching donor – it might put them off donating all together.
- Campaign visuals are key to raising engagement levels – design some fun social media banners and get the matching donor to schedule loads of promotion too.
- Counters help create a sense of achievement and gamify fundraising – look how much we’ve all achieved together!
- Get your campaign all over social media with hashtags, promotions, and shares. Drive traffic to key landing pages where people can donate and follow campaign progress.
Creating Real Connections
Charities like Lend With Care recognize the importance of human connection in driving donations. On their website donors can actively choose which entrepreneur they want to support – whether that’s a pig farmer in Vietnam, or a jewelry seller in Kabul.
Pictures, names, and real life stories add to the atmosphere of real community giving.
- For social enterprises that operate in a similar way, it’s a great idea to match the intended recipient of funding with the donor. Whether that’s through an online portal, or a personalized message – the key is to drive human relationships.
- Animal and nature charities can use the same strategy by providing concrete examples of the animals, communities, and livelihoods people have helped save. Pictures tell a thousand words – they help send a clear message of gratitude and solidarity, and give people something tangible to connect with.
- Make sure that you frequently share real life stories through your social profiles to remind people of the valuable work that you do.
Crowdfunding
There are loads of online crowdfunding sites to choose from – joining up is a great fundraising strategy for ambitious organizations, charities, and individuals.
- Spend plenty of time researching crowdfunding to make sure that you make the right choice for your platform. Once you’re there, you will need to invest time into developing compelling messaging – fill out your profile well with plenty of evidence and photos so that your cause looks genuine.
- The best type of online crowdfunding offers people loads of value propositions from day one and gets them genuinely involved in the project. Engage with donors and sponsors over social media and email; keep them interested in the project in the long-term to encourage repeat donations and advocacy.
Seasonal selling
Make money for nonprofits…and turn a healthy profit? It’s totally possible with the right products and timing.
- Setting up a credible online shop is not as hard as it used to be – use all the tools and expertise out there to help you make a success of yours.
Think long and hard about what products you’ll be selling and why – the best products already have a ready market and offer something valuable to the consumer. - Charity greetings cards are a good place to start with seasonal selling, but you can branch out to all sorts of products and branded merchandise.
Selling handicrafts online is a great way to capitalize on Christmas shoppers looking for a quirky ethical gift – you could always set yourself up on Etsy before launching your own store. - People love to shop and give simultaneously. Use social media to shout about your awesome ethical online store and the profits your are excited to raise for charity through your venture – it’s a great marketing strategy. Offer people the opportunity to donate more at checkout to maximize donations.
Social media hashtags
Invent your own hashtag to galvanize support and social shares.
A social media hashtag is a great way to crystallize your cause and messaging into a short and snappy phrase.
- The best hashtags are memorable (maybe a little surprising?), easy to remember and make people want to use them. Spend plenty of time brainstorming your hashtag so that you get the balance right.
- Make sure your campaign lasts long enough in order for your hashtag to gain traction; Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you will need enough time to make sure your hashtag reaches enough people and has an impact.
- Sometimes, less is more. Overdoing it with too many hashtags or plugging a new one every month may get a bit much. Focus your hashtag efforts around key tentpole moments for your cause.
Fundraising online and on social media is all about standing out in a sea of noise and chatter.
Keep your online fundraising genuine and focus on what people are getting out of engaging with you. Always spend time thanking people and liking their retweets and shares.
Work with online influencers like bloggers and bloggers to get your message out there.
Remember, social media isn’t just a great donation driver, it’s also a core part of your PR & marketing strategy. What nonprofit social media challenges do you think have had the biggest impact?
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About the Author
Kayleigh Alexandra is Content Marketer & Startup Specialist
“Passionate about writing for the startup and entrepreneurial audience, I have recently been part of setting up an exciting project at MicroStartups.org. We donate all our website profits to charities that help people reach their full potential. Find out more on Twitter.”