When we speak to organizations about social media, we’re often asked, “How can we raise money using these tools?” or “How can we get all of our Fans/Followers to donate?” Unfortunately, Facebook and other social media platforms have not proven to be the panacea for raising money that some had hoped. Articles have even been written in major newspapers calling fundraising via Facebook and other social media platforms a dismal failure.

Although it is true that social media remains a relatively untapped resource for direct fundraising, we believe this misses the point: social media is an amazing tool for cultivating prospects and building community. A recent post on the NTEN Blog by Peter Deitz (Social Actions) is a great read for those trying to figure out how Facebook specifically can be used as part of an overall development strategy.

Deitz points out that these tools are great for raising “meaning” more than money currently. Where else can you send out a quick message (or photo or video…) that is immediately viewable to hundreds or thousands of your supporters? Deitz writes:

As a strategy, your goal in using Facebook is to create as many meaningful opportunities as possible for people to learn about, contribute to, and most importantly, spread the word about your shared interest in a particular mission.

Facebook is potentially an incredibly effective cultivation tool. Organizations can engage directly with their constituents on topics of interest. More importantly, Facebook allows these constituents to communicate with each other and build a strong, vibrant online community, all tied together around your organization’s mission.

Photo from URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp Facebook Page

Building community is exactly what the nonprofit Jewish overnight camps we work with at the Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy do best! Bringing that mindset to social media can result in an engaged constituency ready to take action when asked, whether it’s to attend an event, volunteer, or (eventually) make a donation. But – like in traditional fundraising – it’s important to cultivate these relationships beforeexpecting them to give. Facebook and similar tools now make it easier than ever to build strong relationships that will pay off down the road.

An obvious conclusion to this line of thinking is that the amount of money raised on Facebook must not be the only metric to measure how effective these tools are in the overall development process. Deitz mentions that other metrics might include the

number of supporters or Fans recruited, number of comments on status updates, number of “likes” for status updates, number of visitors referred to the organization’s website from Facebook, and number of Causes or Birthday Wishes created that benefit the nonprofit.

Once you’ve engaged your community online and built strong relationships, you are ready to move to the next step in the fundraising process: the ask. If you’ve been able to build your mailing lists from your Facebook Fans, you might make the ask offline via traditional methods like direct mail, or in a Newsletter (or eNewsletter). You might make the ask in person at an event or on a simple status update on your Facebook Page.  We’ve written previously about using Facebook Applications like Causes to raise money online, too. And, if you have built a strong community online, you may even convince your supporters to make the ask for you. As Deitz writes:

When the time comes to raise money, the most basic approach is to ask supporters and fans to share a status update that links to a donation opportunity and to explain in their words why the donation opportunity matters.

As an example, Celia Baczkowski, Director of Development & Alumni Relations at Surprise Lake Camp, often uses her personal status updates for promoting ongoing fundraising appeals:

Think about how powerful it would be for a supporter of the organization to do the same, their personal plea for donations showing up in all of their Friends’ News Feeds! When an organization unlocks that potential, the money will follow. But – just like offline fundraising – it takes time and effort to raise “meaning” and cultivate donors before this can happen. Facebook simply makes this engagement and community-building process easier.

How have you used Facebook or other social media platforms to engage your constituents, build community, or raise “meaning” in your organization? Let us know in the comments!

Earlier this year, friend of the GIJP Technology Program Debra Askanase guest-blogged on eJewishPhilanthropy about Facebook Pages. Her blog post: The Facebook Page is the New Website stressed the importance of a fresh, engaging Facebook Page for all nonprofits. She went even further, positing that “the place of the nonprofit website will soon fade in importance as social network profiles become your organization’s number one online identity.”

I agree…to a point. As Debra states, your constituents are likely using Facebook. A lot. And the numbers are only growing. Facebook isn’t only for young people anymore. Some are concerned that Facebook will lose its “cool” factor and younger users will leave in droves as more and more parents (and grandparents) get online. But it hasn’t happened yet.

Plus, more and more people are searching for and finding information on Facebook, rather than leaving the site for a traditional search engine like Google. This makes it more important than ever for nonprofits to have a vibrant Page to interact with their constituents on Facebook.

However, the traditional website is far from dead. Websites still play a very important role in disseminating basic information in a simple, easy-to-navigate format. If you are looking for an organization’s phone number, address, or mission, the website is still the easiest place to find that information. For more details about how to get involved by volunteering or donating, the website offers the best format for sharing lots of information.  Traditional websites also offer the easiest way for users to submit information via online forms and download application materials. And, no matter how large Facebook gets, it will never have 100% participation. Some users will want to find out basic information about your organization without signing up for Facebook or figuring out the interface.

Finally, although it doesn’t appear to be on the horizon just yet, Facebook may not always be the social network of choice for the vast majority of users. If/when there is a shift in user habits online, the standard website will be your organization’s “base,” offering simple links to all the organization’s social media presences…wherever they may be.

So go ahead and embrace Facebook. Build a Page and update it regularly. Interact with your Fans.

But make sure you keep your website up to date as well!

Do you know someone who is bettering their community through service and outreach? I just learned of an initiative of the UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America that aims to “celebrate the selflessness and courage” of these individuals. They are even giving the winner $25,000 to help support their cause!

The initiative is called Jewish Community Heroes. It is being billed as the “largest-ever Jewish social-networking effort” because of their use of social media and “crowd-sourcing” to both collect nominations and allow users to vote for the five finalists.

The five nominees who receive the most votes will be honored at this fall’s General Assembly (GA) in Washington, D.C. (Nov. 8-10, 2009).  A panel of judges will select the Jewish Community Hero of the Year from among the finalists.

Any individual, who is at least 13 years of age and a resident of the United States or Canada is eligible to be a nominee, provided that their work impacts a community in North America.

“Jewish Community Heroes celebrates those in our communities who exemplify tikkun olam (repairing the world), one of the three core values of UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America,” said National Young Leadership Media Co-Vice Chair Lisa Kudish in a press release.

 I am particularly interested to see how they integrate their website, which was developed with Blue State Digital, a leading technology and online strategy firm that helped the Obama campaign raise more than $500 million and engage millions of volunteers, with their Facebook Page and Twitter Account. Every nonprofit can learn from their experience using these tools for outreach and engagement.

In the meantime, go ahead and nominate someone you consider a Jewish Community Hero!