Facebook and fundraising
The challenge of attracting supporters is leading some charities to fundraise on Facebook.
With over 70 million active users, of whom half visit the site every day, it was only a matter of time before charities started to capitalise on Facebook's popularity.
As the site grows, so too does the opportunity for all not for profit organisations to spread the word about their cause and raise much needed funds whilst doing so.
No matter how small or large your charity, the low costs and huge potential audience, makes Facebook an excellent experiment in fundraising via social networks.
Facebook facts
Founded in 2004 for US students, the social networking site has exploded in popularity since it was opened up to all users, two years ago. Today, Facebook is the fifth most trafficked website in the world and there are around eight million UK users.
If you are new to social networking, Facebook is a website which allows each user to sign up for a profile page, and link up to view the pages of friends, family and colleagues. The site also allows people to link together by uploading and sharing photo albums, messages, events and by joining groups.
Alongside this rapid expansion of members, Facebook's features have developed hugely. External developers can now launch fun applications for members to add to their profile pages. Applications are diverse, and range from Scrabble gaming to sending virtual cupcakes. Now charities have also realised that these add-ons could be a valuable asset to their online marketing strategies.
Growth of Facebook fundraising
Relatively unknown since 2007, fundraising on Facebook is still in early stages of development, but leads the way in charitable web applications. Charity presence on Facebook originated in standard profile pages which users could join as a 'friend', but is getting increasingly sophisticated, with charities taking online donations and launching their own applications to advertise their causes.
The launch of the Causes application really helped to make fundraising possible on Facebook. Causes enables not for profit organisations to set up their own pages for users to 'join' and show their support by advertising the charity's brand on their profile. The idea is to publicise your charity using Facebook's network set-up - allowing friends to spot your organisation on others profiles and join your cause themselves. Relying on this type of networking can be very successful - some charity groups have hundreds of thousands of members.
Several high profile charities including Childline, Marie Curie and NSPCC host their own Facebook pages which members can join, just as if they were adding a friend to their virtual social circle. Pages like this provide a space for members to chat, a message board to promote news and events, and a downloadable logo button to spread your charity's brand.
Some charities are taking their Facebook presence one step further, and devising fun applications to catch the attention of potential supporters. The Church of England's Christmas campaign allowed Facebook users to animated cards, and was a successful publicity campaign. More recently, a group of environmental fundraisers launched 'Lil green patch', a virtual garden application backed by sponsors who donate cash to green causes each time the feature is used.
Why use Facebook for fundraising?
Facebook is great for reaching younger supporters, but user figures show that it's not just for kids. In fact, the site''s fastest growing demographic is the over 25s. So, using Facebook could help your charity to reach a huge range of individuals with relatively little time, effort and money.
Statistics from Facebook show that users spend an average of 25 minutes on the site every day, and that 95 per cent use applications. These are encouraging figures for charities looking to launch profile pages or applications - the chances of reaching supporters through Facebook could be substantially higher than through more conventional paper leaflets or newspaper adverts.
An added bonus of promoting your organisation through Facebook is that it can cost you nothing. Setting up a profile is free and easy, and fundraising applications like Justgiving and Causes charge only a small percentage in fees, which may be less than what you will invest in raising money through more traditional means.
If you are investing time and effort into your charity's presence on Facebook, it is important to know how this is paying off. Organisations can monitor who is linking to their cause and alter their approach accordingly. This is sophisticated and valuable market research which could be costly to carry out on your own.
