Think of this as a process of educating others. You are sharing the story of what you do and the problems which are being addressed; giving examples and making a case for why people should support your efforts. Being able to show results is essential because without that story, who will back you?
Nonprofits and charity organizations are a dime a dozen and many are not legitimate or honest. Being transparent and encouraging open communication is the first step towards cultivating relationships - and it's far better than just waiting until you need funding. Rather than just focusing on the short term, establish connections for the future.
I believe that just about ANY organization can benefit from:
- Claiming and setting up social networks
- Sharing your mission statement across each channel
- Giving examples of your work and daily activities
- Engaging with followers and building connections
- Utilizing social platforms as news centers
Now, we can probably all agree that these points listed above sound like a great idea, right? However in the real world where volunteers and resources are limited, it often doesn't happen. We tend to put off what is not critical RIGHT NOW, and thus growing an audience often falls by the wayside. It's may not appear as essential as day to day survival; managing to pay bills; dealing with being understaffed and often overwhelmed. I understand that most of you out there don't have extra hours in a day, and that the process of staying afloat becomes the most important task. Probably one of the last things on your mind is taking the time to write up and recap a successful mission or chronicle of your daily events.
And yet the benefits of building your "social spokesperson model" can be huge; ultimately almost working on your behalf as a silent partner. What if things take a turn for the worse? Say for example, a natural disaster occurs, you temporarily lose a primary fundraising person to illness, or find out that certain donations you were receiving are no longer available. Who do you turn to and where is your support network? Unfortunately if you haven't built one yet, some of the last ditch options might be similar to something we see often; an organization rushing to set up an emergency donation site such as GoFundMe - and that's not the answer. "Waiting until something goes wrong" and then turning to social networks - in most cases - doesn't work.
We cringe each time we are contacted for assistance with an organization in crisis; when often through no fault of their own, they have fallen on difficult times and are struggling to just keep the doors open. At best, it's a rush situation which requires immediate action and development of an emergency plan, and it's still doubtful if enough stop-gap measures can be implemented to save the ship. Let's stop and evaluate where you are right now. Keeping in mind that the best strategy for a nonprofit is to "ask less", meaning you only do so when absolutely necessary so as not to wear out your welcome, do you have some key components in place?
- Do you have a wide resource of followers?
- Is the public aware of your work and achievements?
- Is this a reasonable time to put out a request for assistance?
- Have you recently asked for donations?
If everything indicates that this is indeed a suitable time to create a fundraising campaign, the last question would be if you have a wide enough resource of people who follow you. This is where the daily posts and updates, bringing your followers into a day in the life of your mission, and establishing those connections will matter. If you've done the work in showcasing your cause and building engagement across multiple channels, then you may be well on your way to resolving a temporary crisis. I cannot stress enough that having that wonderful cushion of support and funding is not something to be taken lightly, nor is it easy to gain. It's the result of many small actions which done effectively over time, has created a network of people who believe in you. It is for those reasons that we strongly encourage you to begin building, nurturing and growing the brand that represents your work, today.
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