Ice Bucket Challenge Was a Hot Idea

Did you take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? Even if you didn’t, I’ll bet you at least talked about it.

Sure, the crazy-viral, social-media-based fundraiser has its critics. But come on! It was creative. It was fun. It was engaging. It was nothing short of a phenomenon! Wow!

Countless nonprofits use social media to create buzz. But when asked the tough question about how much money their social-media campaigns raised, they stare at their shoes and mumble about engaging younger audiences. The ice-bucket social-media campaign raised, at last count, $115 million and added more than 3 million new donors to the ALS Association’s file.