Social Media

Out of nowhere, a huge fad sweeps the country. It dominates social media and leads to a blizzard of think pieces, which are followed almost immediately by a backlash, as critics warn of the fad’s baleful consequences. Eventually, people get bored and move on to something new. That could well be the story of "Pokemon…

Let me start by declaring what this post is not about. It’s not about making an image or video go viral. It’s also not about "post to Facebook" or "share on Twitter" messages after a supporter has donated or signed a petition (the after-action social share). It is about how nonprofits can move the needle…

Yesterday, we looked at three ways nonprofits are hopping aboard the "Pokemon Go" train in a quest to be the very best, like no one ever was (at attracting donors and raising some funds). And while many organizations have embraced the game and its players in creative ways, it turns out it might not be a good fit for every nonprofit. For example, the Holocaust Museum...

Be The Match, a nonprofit that manages a bone marrow registry to help blood cancer patients, needs a new way to recruit young, healthy donors, so it's looking for them on apps popular with Millennials. "What we've found is that while anyone between the ages of 18 and 44 can join the registry at no…

Facebook Live is taking the news feed by storm! This (relatively) new live broadcasting feature lets any person, brand or nonprofit live stream events, reveals, celebrations and more. The Humane Society, The White House, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and many smaller nonprofits are broadcasting news-as-it-happens, museum tours and even feeding time for baby raccoons!…

Add this to the list of reasons donor relationships are so important. Last week, Facebook announced its latest feature to benefit nonprofit organizations. U.S. Facebook users will be able to create dedicated fundraiser pages to raise money for causes close to their hearts, USA Today reported. On the pages, users can share their stories, add photos and videos, set fundraising goals, and invite friends to donate to verified nonprofits without ever leaving Facebook...

Social media is one of the powerful tools that fundraisers have sitting in their back pockets. At no cost to the nonprofit or to the participant, powerful fundraising messages can be communicated to the participant’s personal network. This includes many potential supporters that the fundraiser may not have been comfortable contacting directly. Additionally, this is an effective method for increasing the visibility of both the nonprofit and the participant’s upcoming event...

If your job title falls under the category of “one-person development department,” it’s very likely that, sometimes, you feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off. Ah, the pressure. How on earth is a smart development director to do it all? Brace yourself for the big news, folks: You shouldn’t want to focus on all of that stuff, because you don’t have to focus on all of that stuff. Just look at Trader Joe's...

Many of you are planning to redesign your websites in the near future, and it is to this part of the audience I would like to direct this article. On my last flight, I was seated near a young woman who must have been about 20 years old. As you may guess, she spent most…

Whatever social media tools you or your organization uses, note that social media is here to stay. Future social media vehicles will come and go, but the need to constantly push content in competition with others is, and will be, a fact of life. Ask yourself if you effectively use social media...