Using social media for fundraising!

I've mentioned many times on this blog about the necessity of social media in companies and organizations. I came across an article from http://www.blueavocado.org/ that showed a concrete example of what social media can do.

Nelson Layag was able to raise $1,000 on Facebook without breaking a sweat. He used the Facebook Causes Birthday Wish application to send out notifications to his friends to raise money for a local non profit, the Women's Cancer Resource Center. Instead of birthday gifts for his upcoming 40th birthday, he wanted a donation made to the non profit. In just 3 days he had raised $1,000!

Nelson reflected on a few things that he learned from his experience:

• A couple of his favorite non profits were not set up on the application so he could not select them
• He was surprised that no one from the Women's Cancer Resource Center had contacted him to acknowledge what he was doing
• Even people who he had not spoken to in years had donated to his cause

I realize that this method is not going to become the main source of donations for an organization but it is a great way to get people involved and "lets people hear about your organization from a trusted source." Even people Nelson did not directly interact with were willing to support him. It is an easy tool to utilize and every non profit should be set up on the application (it's free!).

This is a great example of how social media can give non profits the extra boost not only to raise more money but build an awareness and a sense of community. This is grassroots fundraising at its best!

Has anyone used the Facebook Causes application before? If so, what has been your experience with it? If your organization needs help setting this up, please contact me!

--L

DMI's Community Weekend - NF Walk Edition

Happy Friday! What are your weekend plans? If you don't have anything to do on Saturday, I have a great event for you to attend.

It is the Children's Tumor Foundation NF Walk!

It's a 5k walk that takes place at Vasona Park in Los Gatos. The event starts at 9:30am and you can register the day of the event on-site. Besides the walk "there will be a raffle, food, and fun for the entire family!"

The walk benefits the Children's Tumor Foundation who are researching to find a cure for Neurofibromatosis (NF). "NF is a lifelong disorder that encompasses a set of distinct genetic disorders that cause tumors to grow along nerves and can affect the development of bones and skin." This is a great organization and need your support!

So check out the websites and go out to Vasona Park on Saturday for a fun walk and enjoy the great weather!


--L

Guinness World Records!

Is everyone doing okay with all this heat? I'm starting to feel like I'm melting away.

To avoid thinking about the hot weather, I was browsing through a recent edition of Adweek, and came across an amusing article titled Record Makers. It was about companies setting Guinness World Records as a marketing ploy.

I started reading the article because I thought it was funny but then I realized that companies are actually benefiting from this type of marketing. They are gaining a lot of publicity and a lot of traffic especially through social media. Guinness spokesperson Jamie Panas says, "Record breaking is proving to be a unique promotional tool for companies looking to stand out. It's also a way to make a mark in actual history and be a part of something global."

Also I didn't know this but "brands holding official Guinness records are entitled to use that imprimatur in their marketing free of charge."

I immediately started thinking of things DMI could do, like producing the largest mail piece. I actually looked up the largest envelope record on the Guinness World Records website and the current record is 32 feet 9 in long and 23 feet wide. We could totally beat that!

Is there anything you would like to see DMI attempt? Is there anything that your company/organization has attempted or would like to attempt?

Maybe we can be in the record books together!

--L

Rise in Charitable Contributions

Happy first day of summer! As if we needed to be reminded that summer is officially here...the weather speaks for itself. Hopefully everyone is staying nice and cool!

Everyone knows about our down economy and fluctuating housing market but there is a bit of good news out there. According to a recent article in Reuters, there has been an increase in charitable giving overall.

"A Giving USA Foundation report released today shows total charitable contributions  -- for individuals, corporations, and foundations -- rose 3.8% in 2010 to an estimated $291 billion."

Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of National Philanthropic Trust, discussed trends in charitable giving in the article and one of the interesting points was about social media. She believes that although many organizations are just learning how to utilize social media in fundraising, "there is a way to feed young donors so when they mature, you can position yourself to use that relationship in a different way. I think the younger generation coming up, who do a lot of mission-driven work, will be the refiners of this and it's going to be very exciting."

Another interesting point, was about how charitable organizations need to evolve with the changes in society's needs. She feels that the change in an organization occurs at the leadership level. "It requires nimbleness of leadership. Boards need the foresight and the person they hire has to have the bravery to say to the board that things are changing and we have to change with them. It's a very human-driven thing."

It is a very tough time to be in fundraising but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Social media is a wonderful new tool to cultivate donors and spread the message of your organization. I believe that using it effectively will benefit your organization in the long term.

There also has to be a "nimbleness" in the leadership group as stated in the article. It is important to recognize changes not only in society but in your community and in technology. I think being able to adapt and embrace change will allow your organization to be successful.

What are some successes or failures of using social media in your organization? Do you feel that change is important or necessary in your organization?

--L

What has DMI been up to lately?

I'm sure most of you have been wondering what we've been up to lately! Well here are some things that we've done!

• We finally got our sign put up in front of our building! (Doesn't it look lovely?)

•  We've dropped 961,147 pieces in the mail since the beginning of the year. (Amazing!)

• We got new business cards to match our website (check us out at www.datamarketing.com)

• We have been attending lots of local community events such as:

Silicon Valley Duck Race & Festival

Rise & Shine Benefit Breakfast for Hope Services

Regularly attend the monthly AFP luncheons (DMI is also a sponsor!)

We are only halfway into the year and so far it's been a great! Looking forward to the 2nd half!

--L