Using Social Media to Leverage Outreach of Non-profits

At no time in history has it ever been easier to support charitable activity.  Forget check writing;  you can just add it to your monthly wireless bill, as the Red Cross proved in its campaign to raise money for earthquake relief in Haiti. 

 

Actor Edward Norton recently announced his new website for funding charities called Crowdrise.  This site helps non-profits raise money and lets volunteers create and promote campaigns for their particular charity of choice.

Any volunteer can start a campaign with its own individual page on the website which has a fundraising goal and tracks progress in real-time.  The page creator then leverages the power of their social network by asking for donations using Facebook, Twitter, and email, to let others know how they can help the cause.

So, if you are a non-profit, why should you be paying attention?  Well, the tremendous power of this approach lies in its personal impact, the broadening effect of outreach and the undeniable public view and gaming nature of the application. 

It’s Personal

The creator (or host) of the campaign has a voice in telling the world why this particular charitable cause or event means something special to them.  Without the filtering effect of a PR department, this is often much more powerful, than the canned, scrubbed and bland messages pumped out by charities themselves. 

A well-written, personal account of the nature of the cause has a lot of potential to go viral as it is shared across the social networks.

When I think about the charities I know the most about, it is always because of a friend sharing their personal stories of why something is important to them, making me dig for more information myself. 

Gain more ambassadors for your outreach

Let’s face it.  Not all of us are socially inclined to don a little black dress, host a benefit dinner, or solicit contributions from others face-to-face.  A website like this makes it easy for the rest of us to make a big impact by telling a great story and sharing it with our online communities.

It’s gaming

Although I’ve never played any games online, judging by the requests for eggs, bulls, and Mafia connections I’ve received on Facebook, apparently many people do.  Crowdrise capitalizes on this behavior by awarding points to volunteers based on how much they have raised and by social mentions and recognition of other members.  

Crowdrise also offers special promotions to those who contribute money with a long list of prizes that will be awarded.  Donating just $9 puts you in the running for an Apple Macbook Pro to be given away by the end of July, and raising $7000 gets you a chance to win 3 showercaps designed by someone in Crowdrise Customer Service!

This points-based gaming aspect has a built-in social recognition factor, rewarding high contributors by featuring them on Crowdwise's website.  Its effect is immediate and plays to the psychological need for 'social proof' that a cause is a worthy one.  It is far more effective than the typical thank you letter a charity sends out to donors.

What does all this mean for our favorite local charities?  I think that not availing themselves of the social media platforms to provide compelling content that online volunteers can hook into is a big mistake. 

I've been in discussions with a couple of my favorite local charities and was frankly very surprised at how little interest they had in leveraging these outposts.  If I was to rally an online outreach effort on their behalf, I would want to know there were more resources to point potential donors to than a 1998-style website!

Oh, and did I mention that Crowdrise has a sense of humor.  You don't often see that in other charitable organizations!

I like that.  How about you?