How Nonprofit Organizations Can Boost Donations Via Social Media

By Jacqueline Tabas

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis and now in its aftermath, nonprofit organizations have faced onerous financial burdens. Nonprofits rely on donations to survive, and fundraising became even more challenging during the pandemic. Sadly, this is still true post-pandemic due to economic factors such as inflation, high interest rates, and countless layoffs.

The Salvation Army reported in December 2020 that fundraising was down 18% compared to prior years. In November 2023, The Washington Post published an article explaining that The Salvations Army’s fundraising efforts were still not as successful as pre-pandemic in 2019.

Social media offers additional ways for nonprofits to achieve their fundraising and marketing goals. People became more comfortable utilizing their digital devices and social media during the pandemic. According to Statista, the average daily time spent on social media worldwide is 143 minutes. Nonprofits can capitalize on this by targeting a captive audience for engagement.

If you run a nonprofit, here is how to take advantage of social media's unique opportunities to increase your organization's success.

Benefits of social media marketing for nonprofit organizations

Social media is an effective marketing tool for nonprofit organizations. Social media:

• Significantly increases an organization’s reach (billions of people use social media).
• Offers an easy way to spread the word about an organization’s mission.
• Is typically free or low cost.
• Helps attract new donors and keeps existing donors engaged.
• Assists in growing a network of volunteers.
• Offers the ability to link to the organization’s donor page.
• Allows organizations to create interactive content that lets the audience feel more engaged.

Many well-known nonprofit organizations have employed social media tactics in successful marketing campaigns:

World Wide Fund for Nature: The World Wide Fund for Nature created a successful interactive content campaign called Earth Hour. The annual Earth Hour campaign requests that people turn off their lights for one hour and use the #EarthHour hashtag (among other things) to invigorate followers. In 2020, 90 countries and territories participated in the event, generating over 4.7 billion global social media impressions.

Make-A-Wish Foundation: The Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted wishes to many children since 1980. Reportedly, the Foundation’s efforts fulfill a child’s desire every 40 minutes in the United States. Make-A-Wish shares all of its video wishes on its YouTube channel. They also post videos of the children receiving their wishes on the foundation’s website, Facebook, and X accounts. The marketing strategy has increased Make-A-Wish’s interaction. You can view the success of their efforts here.

Save the Children: The goal of Save the Children is to improve the lives of children worldwide. Notably, the organization targets children living in war zones. For example, Save the Children created a video showing a Western child in a situation that a child living in a war zone would face. The footage helped donors better understand and empathize with these children. The campaign was responsible for a multitude of donations and video shares.

Amnesty International: Amnesty International uses X to raise awareness of ongoing campaigns and current social issues. Its X profile has 4 million followers and has posts daily.

Wings of Rescue: Pet rescue organization Wings of Rescue transports at-risk shelter pets from disaster areas and overcrowded shelters to shelters with empty kennel space. The organization has done a great job posting videos on YouTube, images on Instagram, and posts on Facebook to bring in donations.

Most popular social media platforms for nonprofits

While there are many social media platforms out there, here are the most popular ones used by nonprofits:

Facebook

With over 3.07 billion monthly active users, Facebook continues to be one of the most popular social media channels.

Facebook success strategies:

• Most successful Facebook posts are short because people generally do not prefer to read multiple paragraphs. If you write a long post and the action link is at the end, the viewer may never see the donation link. Put the donation link at the beginning of your posts, followed by brief copy.
• Including hashtags on Facebook posts helps popularize your nonprofit’s content and enables you to gain more followers. Utilizing the hashtags that potential donors might use will improve the page's visibility and should generate more donations.
• Gain more followers on your Facebook page or group by running ads on Facebook. The Facebook Lookalike Audience tool helps you target people similar to your supporters and donors to increase engagement.
• Share live events on Facebook. Live events allow supporters to see real-time updates of a fundraising event and inspire them to donate immediately.
• Consider generating a Facebook survey to boost engagement and followers.
• Ask followers to share their connection to your organization by tagging your nonprofit in their status section.

YouTube

With over 2.7 billion monthly active users, YouTube is the online video-sharing platform many businesses, nonprofits, and influencers use to market their products and services.

Video content is more expensive and time-consuming than articles or images, but this type of content has the most significant engagement among audiences.

YouTube success strategies:

• A YouTube channel is an essential component of a social media marketing program. Your nonprofit should have an established, central channel that is search engine optimized. You can make money from your YouTube channel if it becomes popular.
• Educational videos and content create awareness of issues important to your nonprofit and are good ways to make your brand visible on YouTube.
• Sign up for a free Google for Nonprofits account at google.com/nonprofits and click the “Get Started” button. To create a channel and find an ID, click here. With a Google for Nonprofits account, you can raise money via YouTube without requiring donors to go to outside sources. YouTube has also implemented various features to help nonprofits raise money, such as:
• Fundraisers: Similar to Facebook’s fundraiser tool, this allows you to display a donate button next to the video or Livestream.
• Community Fundraisers: Multiple YouTubers target the same cause to raise money on various channels.
• Campaign matching: Other businesses or YouTubers show their matching pledges during fundraisers or community fundraisers.
• Super Chat: Users pay to have their messages emphasized during a live chat with numerous participants. Super chats are popular forms of advertising during fundraisers and community fundraisers.

Additionally, Google covers all starter fees so that nonprofits will receive the maximum funds raised.

Instagram

With over 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram is a video and photo-sharing app owned by Facebook. It is popular among 18 to 34-year-olds.

Instagram success strategies:

• Hashtags are vital on Instagram. Ideally, use them liberally when publishing content. Hashtags help build a following because people search for content and accounts by searching hashtags related to their interests.
• Instagram offers the option to host a live event. Nonprofits can specifically use Instagram live events to share fundraising events, allowing followers to participate actively in donating.
• Gain more followers by hosting interactive question-and-answer sessions through your Instagram stories.
• Stories tend to be viewed more than regular Instagram posts. People are likelier to look at stories than scroll through an entire Instagram feed. Highlighting your best stories will increase followers and inspire donations.
• You can easily add donation stickers to your Instagram stories to inspire others to donate. By sharing your Instagram stories on Facebook, you also allow Facebook followers to use the donation sticker.
• Tag other organizations or individuals you work with in your stories and posts to increase engagement and visibility. When you create a story or post, Instagram has a feature that allows you to post your location, which gives your content a broader reach and further establishes your credibility. There are also ways to apply these same features to Facebook stories and posts, and you can publish the same content shared on Instagram to linked social media channels, such as Facebook and X.
• Contact influencers interested in supporting your nonprofit and ask if they would mention your organization in their content.

X (Formerly known as Twitter)

With over 550 million monthly active users, X is a site where users post and interact with other users via mini-messages called “X’s.” Many businesses have used X to increase their visibility and engagement with consumers.

X success strategies:

• Your message/bio in your profile's "About" section must be cohesive and transparent for people learning about you for the first time. If donors are to donate, they need to understand and care about your organization.
• A simple way to gain more followers on X is to advertise your X account on other social media channels. Connecting other channels in some form draws more followers and helps grow an account.
• Always be concise in your wording, and support your X’s with images or videos.
• Post often or daily to X. Frequent posting with hashtags offers a more significant opportunity for people to discover your organization's content and account and provides more opportunities for engagement.
• Engaging with other X accounts can increase your number of followers. Social media is primarily about instantaneous communication. Social media thrives on reciprocity and interaction; engaging with related accounts inspires reciprocal engagement. When you interact with other users on X, there’s a chance that those accounts will share your nonprofit’s account and content with their followers, which can lead to even more followers for you.
• Live Xing allows supporters to watch real-time fundraising event updates, increasing followers and donations. Similar to Facebook Live events, this could inspire people to donate instantly.
• The X Poll is an excellent tool. It allows you to create your poll and immediately see the results. A poll inspires more engagement because it requires more effort than reading text or watching a video. Also, if people enjoy voting, they are likely to share the poll amongst their followers, hopefully helping your charity gain more followers and boost engagement.

Pinterest

With over 498 million active monthly users, Pinterest is a platform for promoting, saving, and finding information via visual content. It has evolved as a way to showcase a brand, a business, or a nonprofit. It provides an optimal outlet to showcase solid visual content and can be an additional engagement tool to drive traffic to a nonprofit's website.

According to Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council, "Pinterest is a place where people get inspired and then take action. Leveraging the platform gives nonprofits a unique, impactful way to share their causes and encourage people to support them."

Pinterest success strategies:

• Infographics perform well on Pinterest. Posting infographics that share relevant and vital data about your organization eliminates the need for users to click on your website.
• Pinterest is effective for collecting donations and even selling goods. You can use Pinterest to sell items related to your work, even if you already have a store on your website. Link your donation page to Pinterest images.
• Archive donation landing pages from previous fundraisers. “Pin captions” can showcase past fundraising events. If a user is impressed with a pin that advertises the cause’s past success, the Pin could refer them to future, pertinent fundraising occasions.
• Utilize Pinterest for networking purposes by following related accounts who may be interested in donating or following your organization. You can also connect with influencers who are passionate about your cause; influencers can promote the charity on their personal Pinterest accounts.
• Promoting pins, especially donation-focused ones, is also crucial. Boosting such pins around important gift-giving-oriented holidays when people are more cheerful and generous is wise, especially since people browse Pinterest for gift inspiration.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the leading employment networking platform, with over 310 million active monthly users and 875 million registered professionals.

Nonprofits can use LinkedIn to contact professionals involved in social responsibility or philanthropy. Large corporations have senior employees coordinating donations and partnerships with nonprofits; these employees all have a presence on LinkedIn. You can use the platform to network with these individuals and develop advocates for your cause.

LinkedIn success strategies:

• Business professionals use LinkedIn for networking; thus, connecting with a donor via LinkedIn is a good virtual alternative to an in-person introduction.
• Many nonprofits have had success using LinkedIn to acquire talent. LinkedIn can help you discover new team members, board members, and volunteers.
• LinkedIn also has a “status” feature. Use the status update line to push relevant facts and ask supporters for donations.
• Take advantage of the “groups” feature to join several groups closely related to your mission. Try to frequently post in these groups to create more visibility and gain more connections.
• Post articles to LinkedIn.

TikTok

With over 1.8 billion active monthly users, TikTok is a social platform for short-form video sharing. It has become enormously popular with Generation Z. Through TikTok, you can create videos tied to emotional music and intertwine them with a trending hashtag. Making an emotional appeal and having a trending hashtag has helped TikTok videos go viral and garner more followers.

Examples of TikTok successes:

Oregon Zoo TikTok campaign video. When the Oregon Zoo posted a video of an adorable elephant swimming to a heartwarming song and affiliated it with an Earth Day hashtag, it received 4.7 million views, 861,000 likes, and 2,561 comments.

American Heart Association TikTok campaign video. Dance challenges are prevalent on TikTok and are a great way to inspire donations. The American Heart Association conducted a "Keep the Beat Challenge." Supporters created videos of themselves dancing to "Keep Their Beat." The challenge promoted the American Heart Association while raising money and awareness for American Heart Month.

Save the Music Foundation TikTok campaign video. Use TikTok to inspire involvement and donation through storytelling. The Save the Music Foundation shared videos of young, ambitious musicians playing their music and used text overlays in the video to tell viewers their inspiring life stories as the video played. The videos allowed viewers to listen to each musician perform while being able to read how Save the Music impacted the person's life.

National Walking Day TikTok campaign video. Charities can use informative content to spread awareness. For their National Walking Day Campaign, United Way produced a short video of two people walking while highlighting the health statistics of walking frequently and the safety measures to consider during COVID-19.

Basic Social Media Tips for Nonprofits

Here are some general tips to keep in mind no matter what platform you use:

• Postings should be regular. Organizations that are successful with social media will post once a day or more. An occasional posting does not successfully build an engaged audience.
• Optimize your organization’s profile on each social media site with a clear mission statement, bio, and image.
• Use relevant hashtags, such as #dogrescue or #cancercure. People on social media use hashtags to find content and accounts related to their interests. Be careful to use hashtags sparingly, as overuse makes the post's content less visible than the hashtags themselves.
• Consider scheduling regular postings with software tools such as Hootsuite or Buffer.
• Monitoring the analytics of your postings is essential to enhance your marketing strategy. For example, you can monitor the number of follows, likes, comments, and traffic to your website from your social media postings.
• Use interesting visual content.
• Ensure each post links to your organization’s website, particularly to the donor page.
• Use call-to-action words in postings, such as “please help,” “please like,” “please repost,” and other such phrasing.
• Invest in videos—videos can result in 12 times more “shares” than text and images.
• Make sure that your website displays social media icons on every page.
• Use humor and funny images when appropriate.
• Tread lightly on controversial subjects.
• Be prompt when engaging with your audience, answering questions, replying to comments, and responding to messages.

Additional Marketing Strategies for Nonprofits

Consider the following marketing strategies to supplement your social media program:

• Crowdfunding. Your nonprofit can fundraise virtually via crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is an excellent way to attract a large group of people to donate small quantities in unison, and there are many ways to share crowdfunding goals on social media channels. For example, GoFundMe.com reported that a five-year-old boy wanted to help less fortunate children during the holidays. He led a 20-minute meditation session and then asked his attendees to donate to the Coalition for the Homeless in his name; he raised $30,000.
• Email newsletters. Consider emailing a weekly newsletter to subscribers. Newsletters are a great way to keep your nonprofit at the forefront of people’s minds. Newsletters can include news updates, new images, new videos, references to the nonprofit on social media, links to donation pages, information about upcoming events, and much more. An email newsletter also allows you to build up your newsletter subscriber list, which becomes valuable in maintaining engagement with clients or donors.
• Content marketing. Employ content marketing strategies by creating articles for your website and other business sites. Stories should have links to your website and your donation page. These posts can help drive traffic and Google rankings. Nonprofits should employ content marketing strategies by creating articles for their website and other sites such as Medium.com or AllBusiness.com.

Social media—a cost-effective marketing strategy

A nonprofit organization can use social media to increase donations and improve visibility by successfully employing a comprehensive marketing strategy. While starting and implementing a coherent marketing strategy using social media can take time and effort, it is a highly cost-effective method for many organizations.

More articles from AllBusiness:

• How to Encourage Creative Thinking at Work—And Why You Should
• 3 Retention and Engagement Strategies to Keep Employees Committed to Your Company

About the Author

Jacqueline Tabas is a content marketer and social media manager based in San Francisco. Jacqueline has extensive experience in content marketing, content development, blogging, copywriting, posting, and conducting analytics for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and other social media sites. She has been an advisor on social media marketing to many organizations, including nonprofits, technology companies, retail companies, and fashion brands. Connect with Jacqueline on LinkedIn.