December 3, 2014
By Ritu Sharma, CEO, Social Media for Nonprofits
The final numbers are rolling in, and by all accounts the three-year-old day dedicated to giving known as #GivingTuesday is proving once again that Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t the only spending days top of mind in our communities.
That the long weekend of frenzied indulgence and gluttony kicked off by Thanksgiving can be bookended with such generosity is heartening.
And the generosity is evident in the numbers. Here are the results from some of the day’s top campaigns:
Nonprofit leaders are humbled and overwhelmed by the results, which continue to be record-breaking: All this while U.S. Black Friday sales dropped 11.3% and Cyber Monday sales were up less than expected at only 8% (despite an increase in online sales), as noted by Mashable.
We reached out to leaders in our network to see their reactions on the success of
Read More
POSTED IN: Blog
November 24, 2014
By Ritu Sharma, CEO, Social Media for Nonprofits
For those seeking the best talent or opportunities in professional fields of all kinds, LinkedIn is the go-to social network. But beyond the basics of a place to host your resume and search job listings, LinkedIn is breaking out as a place to shine as a thought leader, and to attract mentors, partners and ideas worth developing.
These benefits aren’t limited to the commercial sector. Nonprofit decision makers should know their organizations can also gain from a presence on LinkedIn – especially if business professionals are your demographic (then you can even use LinkedIn for fundraising).
There’s a learning curve anytime you decide to add your organization to a new social network. Luckily LinkedIn has an entire section dedicated to nonprofits, and how to make the most of the platform. I’m going to break down some of that information to make it even easier.
Here are a few features you need to know about:
1. Company Pages
If your organization’s CEO or other key staff have personal pages on LinkedIn, that’s great. But they don’t take the place of a company page, which offers a snapshot of your organization, like a mini-website – but on LinkedIn’s prime turf.
A company page gives your organization formal credibility, and a singular location to share information on upcoming campaigns, volunteer and paid job opportunities, and more. All of which can (and should be) be amplified by those in your organization with personal profiles on LinkedIn.
2. Pre
Read More
POSTED IN: Blog
November 20, 2014
By Ritu Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder, Social Media for Nonprofits
#GivingTuesday is only entering its third year, so it’s fair to say that everyone is still in the midst of the learning curve – though second- and third-timers are certainly further ahead than those taking on the challenge for the first time in 2014.
Strategies and successes by others are what inspire the efforts of every nonprofit that takes up the mantle. Our #GivingTuesday series continues with some of our favorite winning strategies:
1. Harness the #UNselfie – With over 7000 #UNselfies shared on #GT2013, who wouldn’t want in? Take a page from the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s playbook by putting out a call for constituents to capture and share cause-specific #UNselfies (like still-photo versions of the #IceBucketChallenge).
2. Partner with Local Businesses – Businesses and nonprofits in Niagara NY collaborated so that guests at a local emergency housing shelter were able to receive free haircuts donated by an area salon, while staff from the community Target painted and refreshed the shelter’s common areas.
3. Partner with Your City – There’s no need to go it alone if there are others who want to work with you. Baltimore,
Read More
POSTED IN: Blog
November 16, 2014
By Ritu Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder, Social Media for Nonprofits
With #GivingTuesday coming up fast, nonprofits are looking for every strategy they can leverage through the final – and most generous – months of the year. This third installment in our #GivingTuesday series offers up tips on one of the most important: fund matching.
It’s a simple quid pro quo: in exchange for publicity for the business matching you, donors are incentivized because they know their donations will go further.
There are a few different types of matching you can solicit. Use any or all of them to let your boat be lifted by #GivingTuesday’s rising tide.
Corporate Sponsors
Every nonprofit dreams of having a huge corporation champion them with a promise to match the total of their fund drive, but most nonprofits aren’t large enough to garner that kind of support. Instead, they should focus on:
- Businesses who’ve sponsored them in the past
- Companies most aligned with their cause
- Prominent businesses in their community
The Knight Foundation’s
Giving Day Playbook details this further as “civic-minded individual donors with whom your community foundation already has a relationship, banks and other businesses in your community who want marketing exposure, local private foundations and local United Way chapters.”
It’s possible you could have a connection t
Read MorePOSTED IN: Blog
November 15, 2014
By Ritu Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder, Social Media for Nonprofits
We have been hard at work supporting our community of nonprofits around the country with various presentations, webinars and sessions on fundraising and how to apply those lessons in social fundraising specifically to #GivingTuesday. You'll find below our list of blogs and presentations, all in one place to help you prepare for your big giving day ahead. While these are #GivingTuesday focused, the lessons can easily be applied to other giving days around the country.
We want to help amplify your efforts! Please send us an email leading up to #GivingTuesday and share your campaign with us. We will help amplify your message by sharing it with our audiences worldwide. To make it easy for us to support you, please send us template copy appropriate for each platform (Tweets, Facebook posts etc).
SM4NP Blogs:
