Nonprofits are increasingly using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as key components of their annual fund-raising appeals.
Just how effective are these efforts? And what can fund raisers learn from those who have been experimenting with these tools?
Allison Fine, the host, talks with Katya Andresen, chief operating officer at Network for Good, and Lena Shaw, social media marketing manager at the University of California at San Francisco, to learn how charities successfully used social media as part of their year-end fund raising appeals.
Related links:
Network for Good's Online Giving study
The Chronicle's survey of year-end giving
Charity Abandons Direct Mail — And Donations Spike
The Challenge for Children campaign
University California San Francisco campaign raises more than $1-million
Comments
1. ktrevelyanhall - February 04, 2011 at 06:11 pm
Great information! Hope to hear more podcasts like this one.
2. gaiagraphics - February 05, 2011 at 02:29 pm
Katya, I have your book, subscribe to your website, appreciate your perspectives, and generally agree with you - except for your pushing the death of direct mail.
A recent direct mail appeal we did - a single 4pp self-mailer sent to only 4000 residents of our small city - earned twice as much as we needed to buy land for open space. It helped that we could offer a full-color wildflower book we published last year as a premium for donations above $100. It helped that we have a few consistently generous donors who gave $10,000 each or more to this effort. But most of the donations were from individuals. The smallest donation was a single dollar bill (we said in the appeal that "even a dollar will help").
Facebook and all the rest of social media being used so happily by marketers because they are "free except for your time" are wonderful channels, no question. But I was glad to hear the young woman you interviewed for this podcast stick to her opinion that direct mail remains a viable marketing channel, because the fact is that direct mail still brings in the money and that's why we continue to use it.