An insight into some of the best practices NGOs can follow to make the most of Social Media and employ it effectively to raise funds.

2. Why should NGOs look at Social Media to raise funds?
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3. The Top 5 Social Media platforms used by NGOs
• With the surge in Facebook,
Twitter and other social
networks, you can now
reach a much wider
audience to raise money for
your cause.
• Fundraising using Social
Media is increasingly
becoming an important part
of digital fundraising
activities along with
websites, e-mail campaigns,
etc.
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4. How to build your Social Media strategy ?
• Raising funds is the most difficult
task for an NGO.
• To achieve it using Social Media,
you need a properly planned,
focused strategy.
• The strategy should aim to first
engage the audience, then create
a credible image and trust for the
NGO, and finally, motivate the
supporters to get actively involved
and contribute funds.
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5. Engage
• Sharing is one of the best ways to increase your
interactions with your supporters.
• If you wish to get more volunteers, first establish
your support to the cause.
• Supporting a cause will allow you to connect with
others who also support it and would thus be
more willing to contribute and help out.
• You can then use social media to engage your supporters with interesting, persuasive
content that they can share with their respective network of friends.
• This will increase your visibility and let you connect with a much wider base of potential
donors.
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6. Build Trust
• The next step after getting the audience
involved is to identify the level of their
trust and support.
• You can find that out by exploring answers
to these questions:
 How many people care about the
organization?
What do fans care about the most?
What is the organization doing that
most people identify and connect with?
How clearly have you understood the
profile of those target supporters who
care about the organization and are
most likely to contribute to the cause?
• This will help you draw a list of initiatives that will build trust among your supporters and
motivate them to contribute to your initiatives.
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7. Steps to Motivate Action
• It is not enough to just have a call-to-
action on your website and wait for
the money to pour in.
• Neither is it enough to share videos,
pictures, persuasive posts with your
target audience of supporters.
• You need to make it very easy and
convenient for interested donors to
make a contribution before they
change their mind.
• Here are a few tips to make it easier for your supporters to contribute and thus
maximize the benefits of your efforts to raise funds using Social Media.
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8. Connect the missing dots
• Bridge the gap between your physical,
website and Social Media presence.
• Promote your online presence in your
newsletters and include your website
address on all of your collaterals.
• Share the link of your donor form at the
end of requests for contributions on
your Social Media platforms.
• Use widgets to enable sharing on your
website.
• Make it easy for your supporters to
connect with you and with each other
too.
Screenshots courtesy Catalysts for Social Action
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9. Help them, help you.
• Make sure you provide your donors
with various options.
• Let them decide how and when they
want to help you.
• Make sure that your online donor form
is not too complicated.
• It is a good idea to reduce fields that
require manual typing and include
more multiple option choice fields.
Screenshots courtesy GiveIndia
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10. Ask your supporters for help!
• Be specific about the help you need rather than
asking for it indirectly.
• While it is important to share stories about your
organization and its causes, it is also important to
motivate your supporters to create new success
stories by funding your initiatives.
• Share your vision with your supporters and tell
them specifically what they should do to help
you achieve it.
Screenshots courtesy Olympic Gold Quest
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11. Tell your supporters how they made a difference
• Each one of your supporters desires to make
a difference.
• When they choose to contribute funds to
support your cause, thank them.
• Acknowledge their contribution. Tell them
how it helped you and what it changed for
the better.
• Sharing such appreciation will only motivate
your supporters to contribute more to your
initiatives.
Screenshots courtesy GiveIndia
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12. Example of effective website communication for fundraising
• GiveIndia, an online portal in India which
allows an individual to donate to registered
NGOs, receives a lot of support as it helps
NGOs to work towards sensitive issues that
affect the society at large.
• Another reason it enlists support is the simple
communication through images and icons that
clearly explain the working of the organization
and the benefits of contributing to it.
Screenshots courtesy GiveIndia
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13. Example of effective website and Social Media communication for
fundraising
• Barack Obama effectively used his website and Social Media presence to
garner 87 percent of his campaign funds before he got elected as President of
the USA.
• 90 percent of the contributions were less than $100, but the large number of
contributors he connected with using Social Media, could not be matched by
his rival candidates.
• Obama continues to use Social Media to raise funds as he campaigns for a
second term as the President of the USA.
Screenshots courtesy http://www.barackobama.com/
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14. Where Social Media scores over Traditional Media
TRADITIONAL MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA
Lets you connect with a specific set of your Lets you connect to a group of your target
target audience. audience as well as their respective network
of friends and acquaintances.
It’s a one-way communication channel. It’s a two-way communication channel that
allows for immediate feedback and
response.
Content cannot be shared easily. Content can be easily shared with friends
and other group members who are part of
the same network.
Is very costly. Is relatively cost-effective because a lot of
the platforms can be used free of cost.
Impact of the communication cannot be Impact of the communication can be easily
measured easily. measured using a number of free or paid
analytical tools.
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15. Make the most of Social Media
• As an NGO, garnering funds for your initiatives is one of
the most difficult tasks you face.
• Though the members your target audience might
support your initiative with all their heart, they may not
be very forthcoming when it comes to actually making a
contribution in terms of funds.
• Your Social Media strategy should be directed towards
overcoming this apprehension.
• Bridge the gap to make it easy and worthwhile for your
target audience to cross over from being just a
supporter to becoming an active contributor.
• The guidelines suggested above will definitely prove
helpful and allow you to make better use of Social
media.
• For any more assistance, we are always at hand.
• You can contact us and be rest assured that you will
definitely get your Digital Marketing and Social Media
strategy right.
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16. Contact Details
Founder & Director
Siddharth Hegde
Email: siddharth.hegde@ethinos.com
Twitter: @siddhegde
Mobile: +91 9820217252.
www.ethinos.com
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