Next, you should create content buckets to guide the kinds of posts you will create. There are a range of media you can use for each bucket, including images, text overlay (text over pictures), simple animation/gifs, and video.
facebook for nonprofits guide
To begin, use a profile photo that can be easily recognized in the feed. Too often nonprofits upload their logo as their profile photo, but when viewed in the feed the text in the logo is too small to read and the graphic in their logo is often cropped and illegible. In this example, American Forests does not include the text in their logo in their profile photo and their cover photo powerfully speaks to their mission which creates a very good first impression upon first-time visitors.
Even more abysmal, Rival IQ also found that nonprofits have an average engagement rate of .11% meaning that on average one out of every 1,000 of your followers will either like, comment, or click on any given post.
Unfortunately, most nonprofits skip thanking their fundraisers, but according to GivePanel, fundraisers who are thanked throughout the process raise 35% more than those who are not. Facebook recently launched an automated Thank You tool that makes the thank you process easy:
Finally, for those nonprofits concerned about not capturing the contact information of your Facebook fundraisers and donors, limiting the promotion of Fundraisers within Facebook is a good compromise. Some donors will opt-in to provide their email address and your nonprofit could attempt to capture the contact information of your fundraisers by including a link to an opt-in form in your Thank You message.
Nonprofit Page Fundraisers enable nonprofits to crowdfund on Facebook. Ideal for important, time-sensitive campaigns such as Giving Tuesday and issues related to breaking news, nonprofits that have been approved to use Facebook Fundraising Tools can launch a crowdfunding campaign on Facebook in minutes.
For nonprofits that regularly use Facebook Live, have 10,000+ fans, and a highly engaged community (50,000 post engagements within the last 60 days), Facebook offers the ability to gain new monthly donors through their Subscriptions service.
Finally, Facebook Messenger Ads are worth experimenting with. As mentioned, Facebook Fundraising Tools will likely soon be integrated into Messenger. Those nonprofits that embrace Messenger Ads now are the best positioned to raise the most money through a Messenger Donate button.
With Network, on the other hand, your nonprofit will receive the donations raised about two months after the initial donation. This is because all of the donations collected in a month are deposited into the DAF on month one, then distributed to the intended nonprofits in month two.
Earlier in this guide, we covered the fact that Facebook fundraising donations pass through a DAF. Because of this, the platform handles all reporting and receipt issuance. While donation receipts are fairly hands-off for your organization, however, it is important that you understand the process in case any questions are sent your way.
Learn how to set your nonprofit social media strategy up for success. Get your message out and make every effort count with these timesaving tips. Bonus: Read the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.
Build communitiesGrow your base and recruit potential volunteers, speakers, advocates, and mentors. Social media can be a powerful community building tool for nonprofits. Create channels and groups where people can engage, share resources, and stay informed about issues that matter to them.
Nonprofits are often run by lean teams and supported by a network of volunteers with varied backgrounds, schedules, and skill levels. Social media policies for nonprofits allow organizers to provide structure and maintain flexibility.
When are the best times for nonprofits to post on social media? We break down the best times by platform here. Be sure to also check your analytics to confirm when your followers are most online and likely to see your posts.
The Facebook fundraiser tool allows both your organization and your supporters to create dedicated fundraising pages which can then be promoted and shared to encourage donations. These fundraisers are responsible for 97% of revenue for nonprofits on Facebook so making them available to supporters is a no-brainer.
And good news for nonprofits! The platform has made this live video feature into another avenue for fundraising by allowing organizations and supporters to add donate buttons to their Facebook Live. This means that viewers can donate as they watch the live video or once the video has been posted.
Last year, Facebook did something great for Giving Tuesday. They partnered with PayPal to match donations totaling $7 million. The match was reach in under in four hours! Overall, users helped nonprofits raise a whopping $125 million. Those numbers are staggering!! The year before, in 2017, Facebook partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to match donations. I am hoping to see the same trend continues.
Facebook offers nonprofits the ability to fund raise in several ways. Individuals (Personal Fundraisers) can setup their own campaigns, and encourage their friends and family to donate to a cause. The other method available to nonprofits is Facebook donate buttons. Think outside the box for GivingTuesday. Tap into your existing audience for donations. If you plan to use Facebook Ads, the end of the year is the most expensive time to run ads.
Facebook remains the most popular marketing tool for nonprofits, with over 97% of nonprofits using Facebook according to a recent HubSpot survey. As of 2021, Facebook has over 2.74 billion monthly active users. The users are fairly evenly spread, with people aged 13 through to 80 using the platform. This makes it a great tool for attracting both volunteers and donors, as well as spreading awareness of your organization to a wide range of people. You can then keep track of your volunteers using volunteer management software such as Rosterfy.
Check out the GivingTuesday workbook. Use it as a step by step guide to creating a successful GivingTuesday campaign. You can even follow along with this video companion guide (captions are available in English and Spanish).
Check if you're eligible for a Nonprofits edition through the Google for Nonprofits program. Once you activate Nonprofits edition (free of charge), you'll be able to upgrade to the Business for Nonprofits or Enterprise for Nonprofits, at prices discounted for nonprofits.
Eligible nonprofits have access to Nonprofits edition at no cost. If you're an eligible nonprofit on a Google Workspace trial, make sure you upgrade your account to Nonprofits edition before your trial period ends.
And most importantly, reels provide a whole new way to fundraise that is distinct from your traditional methods and allow your supporters to share your reels and react to them more easily. Reels give you an opportunity to get creative and test out different challenges or campaigns that tend to do well in this format. Spend some time seeing how other nonprofits are using reels to make money and then dive in!
Look at what other nonprofits are doing in the reels space and learn a lesson or two from them. Check out this article we did on some nonprofits who are really crushing it on social media and study their brands to see why.
As Instagram grows and evolves, many nonprofits are finding it difficult to get organic exposure. However, Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, said in a recent interview that the company is working on an update to bring back the chronological feed in 2022. This is great news for your nonprofit. It means your followers will be able to see your content more readily and reduces the risk of it being buried by the algorithm.
Surprisingly, The Open Data Project indicates that only 13% of nonprofits are currently using these tools. By accessing these features, eligible nonprofits and their supporters can fundraise directly through the platform. This is done in a few ways:
The donate button on Instagram now allows nonprofits to raise money directly from their Instagram Business Account. Followers will see the link on your profile and be directed to a page where they can donate to your cause.
Social media holidays like #givingtuesday, #nationalvolunteerappreciationday and #internationaldayofgiving are great opportunities to give your content a little boost. These days are meant to shine the spotlight on charities and nonprofits and encourage people to open their hearts (and wallets) to share a little love.
The goal of using hashtags is to amplify your content and bring new followers to your account. Many nonprofits wind up using broad hashtags like #nonprofit #charity or #donations. While including a few popular hashtags can boost your reach, using too many can cause your content to have little to no impact.
Disclaimer: The following is just a brief overview of some of the rules and guidelines for Facebook giveaways. This is not legal advice. Please obtain legal guidance from an experienced attorney before publishing your Facebook giveaway rules and regulations.
That singular fact should take some of the gloss off Facebook for nonprofit marketers in our country. Still, other issues exist as to why nonprofits are increasingly looking for alternatives to Facebook. I'll admit that our team is also less enamored with Facebook than we used to be in the past. And, at some point, I anticipate that there will be increased shifts away from the platform.
Kristy Fontelera is a creative professional in corporate and nonprofit social media advertising and brand strategy. As the chief marketing officer at Funds2Orgs and Elsey Enterprises, she works with a suite of global fundraising brands and manages national campaigns for her clients. She hosts a monthly webinar with Funds2Orgs, teaching nonprofits how to make an impact with their social media strategy. Kristy is a passionate individual that loves nothing more than to help others make an impact in their market and the world. 2ff7e9595c
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