Social Media

Many charities run contests to attract followers to their Facebook pages. But the big challenge is what prize to offer the winners. And how do you connect that prize to the organization’s mission? ChildFund International, a child sponsorship charity that works in 31 countries, faced those questions and came up with a solution that appealed to some of its biggest supporters.

So the charity’s “Experience of a Lifetime” contest, which ends July 31, will give one person the chance to travel and meet the child he or she sponsors through ChildFund’s programs.

Four fundraising experts discussed donor giving trends and what they mean for fundraisers at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater New York Chapter's Fund Raising Day in New York. SankyNet CEO Harry Lynch discussed online giving.

In their session, “Miss Manners: Online Communication Etiquette,” at the sixth annual Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference held in National Harbor, Md., last week, fundraising and marketing experts Katya Andresen, Jocelyn Harmon and Sarah Durham talked about best practices for engaging with supporters online.

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association is working to “advance the adoption of sustainable energy practices within the built environment.”

There are many ways to justify having a social presence as a nonprofit (and not too many good reasons not to have one by now). But how do you measure its value to your nonprofit?

What changes will we see in fundraising over the coming years? And what does that mean for the technology we use? Here are a few predictions.

Nonprofit techies aren't waiting for the full roll out of the newest social network to start figuring out ways to use Google+ to do great things.

Within 24 hours of Google's invitation-only "limited launch" last week, "social good oriented geeks had posted stuff on how to use it to make change," said Lucy Bernholz, a San Francisco-based blogger who writes about philanthropy.

Some early adopting social activists lucky enough to be invited to test-drive Google+ planned to use it to organize questions for President Obama's Twitter town hall Wednesday, she said.

A Few Words of Caution: Small to medium-sized nonprofits should take Facebook case studies and best practices based on the success of large nationally and internationally well-known nonprofits (with huge e-mail lists and multiple communications and development staff) with a heavy dose of skepticism.

Communications professionals at America’s grantmaking foundations are responding to the digital age, according to a new survey from the Communications Network. The survey of 155 foundation communicators shows U.S. foundations are making use of all forms of digital communications, especially social media, a top priority. The survey results suggest the growth of social media and other emerging digital technologies is changing the way foundations communicate with target audiences.

Certain ideas make so much sense that one wonders why no one thought of them sooner. Case in point: Global leaders struggled for decades to think of a way to improve education. Ten years ago, Fred Mednick, Ph.D., started his nonprofit aimed at supporting those who can best provide that education.