Lupus Does it Well

I haven't posted in many weeks, primarily because I was nose-to-the-grindstone with clients and work. Work, then post.

However, this article by Ragan Communications awakened my posting slumber because it hit on social media as a fundraising tool, which numerous nonprofits are asking me about right now.

This is a well-done piece which I think provides some insight in a very compact presentation. I particularly like its discussion of two factors:

1) The team doesn’t create all the material. There’s a lot of posting/sharing information that the staff was already using internally (journal articles, etc.), which provides a constant stream for those who want to be “in the know”. This is of value to many supporters of a cause/organization. It takes little time, but does require some up-front organization to ensure that it gets done.

2) He taps into/leverages the “network effect” aspect of the medium (friends bringing friends) to grow the followers organically.

However, I want to point out some factors they don’t overtly discuss:

1) This is a single-cause group that draws on a national audience. That level of focus many organizations lack, but is a powerful gatherer of like individuals, which is evident here. Those dealing with Lupus now have a vast community dealing with extremely similar issues.

2) Of the money raised, a cut is going to the credit card companies and Facebook groups, so discount it from direct donations. The question then becomes, are we losing any because those who would donate directly are donating through this system? Is this offset by the increase in donations?

3) It discusses social media-based fundraising without discussing the wider relationship-building that an organization MUST do to achieve this. Social media is a fantastic tool, but should not be thought of as a panacea for fundraising. It’s just technology. The organization has to be adept at building and cultivating relationships before social media can accomplish for them... OR accomplish on a long-term, regular basis. If you find an organization who is using social media well to this effect, digging deeper will reveal that they were already doing relationships well (or found that social media was the opportunity to fix that).

Personal Note: What social media is about

I wrote this almost a a journal entry. The kind I trade back and forth with a close friend on a regular basis. However, I realized what an important reminder it was when we're caught in all the technology of social media. Whether you're Facebooking for yourself or your managing a large account for a company or organization, this is what it really comes down to...

Looking for a card to send my father for Father's Day this weekend.

I have a box of blank cards I've collected for all occasions. It sounds like I'm being really prepared, but it's more that I get enamored with a card, often in a museum gift shop, and have to have it. It goes in the box.

In this box is a collection of cards featuring Washington, D.C. landmarks. I laughed at myself because I bought these in 1994 while I was living there... with the intent of sending them as thank-you cards to all my aunts/uncles. There was lots of excitement that the eldest cousin had completed college, so I had received lots of congratulations from them. Procrastination... and they never went out.

All of those aunts/uncles and cousins are with me on Facebook now. There are a lot of them. I'm from the distant part of the family (the rest of them grew up in the same community), so it was like being suddenly included after being an outsider for years. Though I'm already one of them, now I'm one of them. They share their inside jokes here, so now I actually get them instead of just smiling and laughing along. Well, at least the ones that aren't just stupid.

Ironically, being involved in PR, marketing, fund raising, and sales, I have spent a significant portion of my career nagging others ("advising clients") to send thank-you cards. I've gotten much better at it since. D.C. was where shy, young Casey also received one of the best pieces of (obvious) advice ever. "Take people to lunch, especially people you don't know." Bob Maynes, known as one of the U.S. Senate's mast amazing press secretaries, and also as a strange guy (read: wasn't a clone of everyone else). I really liked Bob. He was the boss who knew exactly how to work with me... some good guidance as to what he wanted to accomplish, then leave me alone to figure things out. So I did... 'cause that's how I roll. (Bob also paid me the ultimate compliment. "You get shit done. You'll go far.")

I wish I'd taken all that advice earlier. Done more of the cards (though Facebook has eliminated the need to send them to quite a few folk... now they're just reserved for those I really need to touch... and they make a big statement in that). Taken a wider variety of people to lunch on a more regular basis. It's amazing what those two actions can accomplish. What a personal network can do for you. Earned by letting others know you care enough to pay attention and remember them. So simple.

Though I'm no slouch as a networker, I raise my foot for a good, hard kick for all the times I've neglected those actions. Then I remember... regret is how we learn. Do it different from now on.

It's also about going beyond your circle of like-minded friends. Seek out, break bread, and follow up with other as unlike you as those you immediately like. Take a chance and ask someone who intimidates you. Networks are how entrepreneurs build their businesses, how great fund raisers find donors, how journalists break that next story, how artists find audiences, how anyone who works for a living finds that next great gig, and how politicians get to the Whitehouse.

Ignore the hype and the next shiny new thing for a moment. Social media's just a tool for what great networkers already know.

I need to send Bob a card. Wonder if he's on Facebook.

Social Media is Not an ATM For Nonprofits

Came across this article today by Ken Okel, who does a lot of work with nonprofits. I'll give you the first paragraph and then link directly.

If you think your organization is going to make a wheel barrel of cash from social media, then you're very wrong. Social marketing is a tool that can help raise the profile of your nonprofit but you'll be disappointed if you think it's an instant cash machine. Let's go through some of the myths associated with online fundraising (continue...)

He nails some of the key myths about using social media as a nonprofit fundraising tool.

This is NOT to say that social media can't be a tool for fundraising. However, fundraising is about developing relationships with organizations and individuals who can identify with and be persuaded to support your cause(s). Key point: it's about relationships. Social media is a tool (and a powerful one if used effectively), it is not a panacea. If your organization is struggling with fundraising, social media will not solve the problem. You need to learn how to fundraise.

It can be a teacher, though. I'll do another post on that.