Social Media: Findlay Hancock County Community Foundation

Social Media Campaign
Findlay Hancock County Community Foundation
Submitted by Findlay Hancock County Community Foundation

Lots of organizations are using social media; some are even raising funds in that space. We certainly expected to see some flashy social-media efforts doing just that in this category.

But the one thing any organization or consultant will tell you about social media is that you have to have a plan. And the realization and implementation of that truth is what made the Findlay Hancock County Community Foundation’s entry stand out.

The foundation began using social media in 2010. But in 2012, it realized that it really needed a plan. So it came up with one. Rather than wring its hands and wonder how to raise money — NOW — on social media, it set a very clear strategy of using the platform — mainly Facebook — to build relationships that could ultimately lead to gifts. So halfway through 2012, the foundation developed the objectives to:

• Build brand awareness
• Acquire, engage and convert individuals to lasting supporters
• Cultivate the next generation of donors
• Drive traffic to the website
• Target its desired audience, women aged 45 to 54

The foundation used industry research to create its objectives and diligently tracked its progress. Once it starting posting regularly, “we started to see exciting results, and we’ve continued to increase out engagement and reach since then,” the submission form states.

According to the foundation, using social media enabled it to recruit more than 500 community members to attend an event, raising $4,187 in contributions; one donor was inspired to pledge his support for three years after watching a YouTube video on one of the foundation’s cross-cultural projects; and the foundation’s Facebook page more than quintupled engagement from the first quarter to the third quarter in 2012.

Here’s to social-media plans and the organizations savvy enough to have them!