At the heart of every nonprofit organization are the donors and volunteers.
The generosity of the donor base ensure programs and services are available. The volunteers assist Staff and help ensure events, fundraisers and administrative tasks run smoothly.
If you run a not-for-profit agency or provide social media services for a charitable organization, you know how challenging it is to build engagement and excitement. This is especially true, as agencies do not want to overload donors with emails and social posts. As a volunteer Member of the Board for the Bay Area Crisis Nursery, I understand the challenges nonprofits face when trying to successfully execute an online marketing strategy.
For the Bay Area Crisis Nursery, a local nonprofit in Concord, California, the first thing we provided them was a new, responsive website. Once that project was completed, we moved forward with applying for a Google for Nonprofits grant on their behalf.
Google for Nonprofits is an All-in-One Solution
The Google for Nonprofits program is the all-in-one solution for Nonprofits who need reliable email and collaborative marketing tools. What we like most about the Google for Nonprofits program is their offer of paid Google products for – free! The Bay Area Crisis Nursery was able to save money by switching to Google Apps for Work for the business email, document storage/sharing, and video.
In addition, they also utilize Google AdGrants to help drive awareness around their mission, volunteer opportunities, and fundraising events. As Google continues to increase their product offerings for their Nonprofits, the Bay Area Crisis Nursery will benefit by staying current in a changing digital landscape.
Facebook Continues to Increase Tools for Nonprofits
The second area we assist the Bay Area Crisis Nursery with is social media management. Specifically, we help manage their Facebook page. We were really excited when Facebook rolled out the verified business feature and are even more excited about their upcoming Facebook Fundraisers initiative.
Facebook announced that they would soon be making it easier for verified nonprofits raise funds – all within Facebook. Nonprofits will soon be able to run fundraising campaigns within their company’s page. If your nonprofit has a verified page and is a valid 510(c)(3) organization registered with the IRS, you can request more information here.
Additional Tools for your Nonprofit
- TechSoup – Techsoup has been around for three decades. They help nonprofits obtain the needed tech, knowledge or skills.
- GiveDirect – Based out of the California’s Bay Area, Give Direct is a secure donation service provided exclusively to the members of Independent Charities of America. Member organizations are able to process credit card donations at little to no cost.
- mGive – mGive offers three different types of programs for 501(c)(3) non-profits. Each program is based on annual revenue generated and has varying features from program to program. The community program for those nonprofits with annual revenue under $500k and seeking to grow offers 0% transaction fees for mobile pledging capabilities.
- Norm – Norm offers a social media interaction opportunity for non-profits. Volunteers can tag their social media posts in an effort to potentially earn rewards for a non-profit of their choice.
