A Minute With Ephraim Gopin, International Fundraising and Social-Media Consultant

"The 'why' of social media? But of course: to fundraise! Ummmm … not really! You are joining social media to help create brand awareness, to start conversations with people, to foster a feeling of community, to engage everyone you possibly can, to build trust … Do all those things and then you can begin to turn to your community for assistance. But two words of caution for the CEOs out there and for those of you who will have to get permission from the CEO to start tweeting, blogging and posting status updates: Patience grasshopper! None of this success happens overnight."