You’re swamped and can’t possibility add another “to do” in your pile. All small non profits are plagued by the same issues.. not enough time, staff and resources. You, your small staff (staff what staff?? – you mean me and me?) and your volunteers (yes relatives and friends count) are over whelmed by trying to balance the good works of your org and the thousands of other tasks that have to do with running a non profit and damn it – getting people to notice you.
In a perfect world, people would be lined up and excited about your cause. After all who doesn’t want to save the earth, kittens, children, etc.. Your cause is important! Why should you have to promote it? People should just KNOW that you are doing good things and want to give you money and support! Well the sad fact is that getting noticed among the many thousands of non profits out there is the name of the game. As a consumer, if you had the same amount of money to spend on a can of soup would you spend it on the brand you know or one you’ve never heard of? The more noise you make the more attention you get. Squeek squeek.
The easiest and fastest way to make noise is to have a dynamic online presences. What you say? I’m on Facebook! I have a website! You mean I have to do more? Yeup sorry. This is pretty simple stuff… and I do mean basic! So why am I addressing this? Unfortunately it needs to be said and it pains me when I see great organizations struggling and missing the basic stuff.
Facebook – so you set up a page.. what now?
1) First off.. yes you should set up a PAGE… not a group. There are limits on what you can do with a group vs. page. Identify yourself as a non-profit and make sure that info page is completely filled out. Now is not the time to be coy. As the administrator you can appoint other administrators to post relevant info on the page (staff or volunteers).
2) Causes – make sure you sign up for Causes! This is the official Facebook non profit place for donations and other nonprofit activities. Causes will verify that you are a non-profit and you can set it up to take DONATIONS on your behalf. Go back and re-read that last sentence. This means that your ‘fans’ can feel confident you are who you say you are and make a donation right from your FB page. Make sure you add the Causes to your FRONT PAGE not in boxes so that everyone can see they have that option. Micro philanthropy is the biggest trend right now -small donations by many people make a big difference. Even if they don’t donate your fans can recruit others which means FREE publicity and yes NOISE.
3) Keep it current! – What should you post on your wall? Other than the obvious – news, updates etc link back to your website on those “spotlights” on who you are helping, what you are doing, relevant statistics. One of the most effective messages I’ve seen is when xyz animal rescue org posts relevant news articles on animal abuse. It doesn’t have to be about your org specifically it can be about HOW your org can help and or demonstrate why your cause is so important and necessary.
4) Motivate your fans – grassroots fund raising – Start a movement for something tangible! Sometimes its hard to keep going back to the same group for money for the same cause.. so I say mix it up! If you have a large and diverse fan base you can target fans in a specific area. For instance say you are a national recycling org so you identify something specific at a specific location (starting a recycling program in xyx, CA) and ask those CA fans to donate a small amount ($5 or 10) towards the project and rally other friends to support it . Small amounts make it attractive and doable in this economy and encourages fans to take action to recruit more friends in their geographic area to participate. Change grassroots often… rotate… get different groups involved. Have a contest -who can get the most people from their network to join? or donate? (numbers not dollars) send them a prize. (Causes will track this for you) Donors being able to take ownership of a cause is very attractive. No matter how much money you raise… you have paid nothing and gained more NOISE.
5) Diversify your FB workload – Acknowledge your fans and stay current- so simple in concept and some of you will say are you insane? Every time someone fans your page you should say thank you at the very least. So who has time for this if you don’t have staff? Your volunteers aka friends and family… diversify the job so that not one person is responsible for everything. One person is in charge of sending thank you’s, someone else is in charge of answering wall posts, another on finding relevant articles and posts. Have one or two fans that are very active? Recruit them !! or do a profile on them on why they feel your org is important. You want to make sure that the people you are assigning are those whom you would TRUST to represent you and your organization.
Lets take a look at your website – or maybe ask someone who’s never seen it before to take a look at it. Sometimes we are too close to our message.
1) When was the last time it was updated? Weekly? daily? Monthly.. Make sure that you are making updates regularly – new pics, new events, results, stories etc. Keep it fresh and alive. Can the reader tell that your organization is ACTIVE and things are happening? Or is your website just taking up space? Can’t think of anything? How about a “spotlight” article on someone who benefited from your services? The recipient of funds you raised? Tell a story!
2) Is there a DONATE button on your website? Where is it? It should be on every page on the menu or navigational page. Don’t make your donors look for it! What if you’re not equipped to take donations online? There are several services that will take a donation for you – all you have to do is sign up and use their button. Typically there is a fee but it is usually minimal. Shop around.
3) Who are you? Pretty basic question… the ones that naturally follow are: who do you serve? where (community?, state?, country?, worldwide?) , Why? Does your “about us” page answer all these questions without legal mumbo jumbo and fancy filler? My philosophy is give it to me straight.. at best I’m going to skim the info so the message has to be clear. There is way too much information to be had in this world and only a limited amount of time. Make the time spent on your website COUNT.
4) Whats Happening? I can’t tell you have many websites I’ve been to and news letters I’ve received promoting events and KEY info is missing i.e. date, time, location. Also don’t assume that your reader knows what the event is about. Make sure your message is clear and say what what you want them to DO. Be clear! Do you want them to attend? donate money? buy something? or is it a FYI?
5) Contact info- Lets face it unless you are the Ford or Bill Gates Foundation (in which case you what are you doing here?) you want your readers and potential donors to be engaged and you want them to contact you. Remember you want this! I can see that you don’t want to be inundated with calls by donors (ok raise your hands if this is a problem) but at the very least make sure there is an email and mailing address. The mailing address helps your donor make sure you are legit if they want to research you and the email address – need I explain? Don’t hide it…and please please make sure you acknowledge the email. Even if you can’t answer the email right away acknowledge that it has been received and you are working on an answer then FOLLOW through.
6) Make sure you link your website to your Facebook page and your email signature – there are instructions on how to do this on FB. Or if you need help you can contact me.
That’s all folks, seems like a lot of work but how remember you get out of it what you put in.
Jenny “making noise” Lai
