Very Few Charities Are Taking Advantage of Social Media Fundraisers

Posted: June 4, 2011 in Benevolent, Charities
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Is your nonprofit organization taking advantage of fundraising opportunities through social networks? According to a recent post in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, few charities are raising a significant amount of money through social networks.

The Nonprofit Technology Network; Blackbaud, a fund-raising software company, in Charleston, SC and Common Knowledge, a technology-consulting company in San Francisco, sponsored the study. Fewer than 3 percent of the 11,196 nonprofit groups that responded to the Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark survey said that they raised more than $10,000 on Facebook in 2010. Nearly nine out of 10 organizations in the survey said they have a presence on Facebook. Almost 60 percent of the groups use Twitter and nearly a third say they are on LinkedIn.

Of the 27 charities that reported raising more than $100,000 on Facebook, 30 percent had annual budgets of $1-million to $5-million. Here are some interesting statistics found in the 2011 Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report:

  • Facebook is Still on Top: Nine of out ten (89%) of nonprofits (all sizes) report having a presence on Facebook. Twitter has the second highest adoption rate with 57% of nonprofits indicating they have an account on this micro-blogging site.
  • Master Social Fundraisers Come in All Sizes: Small nonprofits ($1 to $5MM annual budget) make up 30% of the organizations who raised $100,000 or more on Facebook over the last 12 months. Called “Master Social Fundraisers,” these super savvy fundraisers touted an average Facebook community size of nearly 100K members (99,911).
  • Average Community Size is Up: The average Facebook fan base for nonprofits is up 161% in 2011 to 6,376 members.
  • Enviro/Animal Welfare & International Service Organizations Outpace the Sector: Slicing the survey results along nonprofit vertical sector, Environmental/Animal Welfare recorded the highest average Facebook community size – 8,490. International Service groups reported the highest adoption rate of Facebook (97%) and 4 times (7,630 followers) the industry average Twitter base.

For your FREE copy of the 2011 Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report click here. Be sure to take advantage of these proven methods of raising money for your nonprofit organization before it’s too late!

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