Comments on: Social Media Fundraising: Unsustainable, Scarcity-Based Begging?

By: Ehren

Ehren — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:16:05 +0000

If the URL and post and comments weren’t datestamped, I might not have known most of this discussion occurred almost two and a half years ago. I think the same anxieties still surround fundraising on social media, but it has moved forward to become more professional, established, and measureable.

It might be fun to re-read everything swapping in “direct mail” or “phone solicitation” for social media fundraising. When those methods were new, they similarly weren’t well understood (or, so I imagine).

It would be foolish to ignore what will grow to 1 billion reachable, online donors on Facebook in the coming years. Are some organizations going to cannibalize their existing relationships? Will feelings be bruised? Absolutely. For online fundraising to support the nonprofit sector the same way that direct mail has (and it must), you gotta break a few eggs.

By: Nonprofit Fundraising Using Social Media |

Nonprofit Fundraising Using Social Media | — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:09:50 +0000

[...] Social Media Fundraising: Unsustainable, Scarcity Based-Begging [...]

By: GRHorst

GRHorst — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:38:19 +0000

Hildy,
Maybe we just started one of those relationships? My passion is just to bring people together and stop the divisiveness that seems to grow worse every day. We really need each other now more than ever. When I think of all the time and money that is wasted each day, when there are so many causes that barely get by, it just bothers me to no end. I realize this is extremely quixotic of me to think I can change the world via social media but I have to try something, lest I lose hope. I just know there are many, many good hearted people out there who have been marginalized by tradional media forums and have given up. I never give up, no matter what. It’s just too important to the future of the world. I don’t want to be remember as the generation that blew it. Thanks for making the effort to be someone who makes change happen. Keep up the good work.

By: Hildy

Hildy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:39:19 +0000

GR: Yes absolutely! I also think you will find that the more you spend time in the social media arena, the more you will find it to be an excellent way to engage with people’s hearts & minds. I can speak personally for the real live friends and supporters with whom I have personally connected by engaging online. Eventually, those relationships move from Twitter (as an example) to email to phone to in-person. And that is all based on exactly what you are suggesting – real relationships based on shared passion.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here!
HG

By: GRHorst

GRHorst — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:33:32 +0000

Hildy,
I’m new to the fund raising world but it seems to me that we are missing the point when non-profits beg for money. We need to find ways to engage people, not just their checkbooks. By asking for money in lieu of active participation in our causes we are neglecting the most valuable part of the process, a real live person whose skills and ability are worth more than money. I believe the money will come more often from a person who truly cares and feels connected to a cause. Social media is a great way to introduce people to causes but it is lacking when it comes to involvement. I believe it is more valuable to have a person show up once a month to walk the dogs at the shelter than for them to just write a check. Unfortunately, we have become a society where participation is more easily achieved by financial means. It would seem obvious to me that in tough economic times more people would be willing to donate their time than their money. The result of that would be two-fold. They see the direct result of their effort (i.e one big smiling dog) and they feel connected to others who share their commitment. I know from personal experience that the most joy one can receive comes from spending time with people I care about and doing things that matter. Money helps but it will never be more important than humanity and a commitment to the common good.

By: Robert Parrish

Robert Parrish — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:16:06 +0000

This information has been very helpful. I have long throught that many non-profits are unable to create a real partnership with their donors. I am raising supporters to partner with me in order to teach English in China.

By: Hildy

Hildy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:19:49 +0000

Kurt:
Of course these efforts are done with good intent. We all want to do the right thing – it’s just knowing what the right thing is that sometimes eludes us!

You may find some of the articles re: resource development in our online library helpful – you’ll find the library here:
http://www.help4nonprofits.com/H4NP.htm
and the specific articles re: resource development here:
http://www.help4nonprofits.com/H4NP.htm#Fundraising

I hope that’s helpful – and thank you so much for sharing your experiences!
Hildy

By: Kurt Greenbaum

Kurt Greenbaum — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:46:22 +0000

Thank you for your informative post. I also appreciate your remark in the comments about these efforts being “initiated out of good intent.” That was certainly my plan when I started one of these for an event my church will be sponsoring toward the construction of another well in a region of the Sudan. My effort was as much toward the fund-raising as it was toward experimenting with these tools. My conclusion, quickly, is that something like a “micropayment” doesn’t work. In any case, your points are good quite valuable to a relative newbie like myself.

By: marnie webb

marnie webb — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:09:47 +0000

I really *really* agree that this kind of fundraising doesn’t result in sustainable change in support of the issue at hand. And I say that as someone that has done some twitter begging and certainly has responded to some.

Ultimately, I think these tools can be a way to bring attention to a cause — giving deeper education and getting deeper commitment than you can do in 140 characters. Creating, in essence, the kind of relationships that Beth is talking about in her comments.

But there’s another reason I worry about the sustainability model — it doesn’t build a financial fix into the system of change. So, it’s wonderful for people to use Twitter to donate to food banks but even more wonderful would be how to figure sustainability into those programs at the grocery store — so there’s more of a link.

I think that it gets to easy to get busy with the kind of fundraising we all do all the time and not to get to building the relationships or building models that genuinely promote change.

By: Jack

Jack — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:43:37 +0000

Beth said…..”I think that it isn’t the tools so much as how you use them.”

Exactly.

Best,

Jack.