Fundraising or Fools Gold?

Like an old-fashioned gold rush, the 21st century social media craze promises much to organizations who need to raise funds.  At first it seems so easy to use the Internet to raise funds for a cause, association or for-profit business. But in truth, it takes great tools combined with vision and lots of elbow grease.

The perils of our unbridled enthusiasm for social media hit home, once again this week, as I read the following headline in the Washington Post's style section: To Nonprofits Seeking Cash, Facebook App Isn't So Green.  Apparently, many nonprofits and associations have discovered that what may have worked brilliantly for Barak Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign was not a panecea for them.  According to The Post,  a tiny fraction of the 179,000 organizations that embraced Facebook's Causes Application have raised even $1000.  While disappointing, the results are not surprising.

Like other online tools, Facebook's Causes offers mere communication and fund raising capabilities, not solutions for organizations that adopt it.  There is no substitute for a compelling idea and/or a process designed to move people to action. An ask without a give makes it more difficult  to move donors to action -- especially when your organization is competing with thousands of others for attention.  For those attracted to the cause, Obama's online ask for donations (spread virally using Facebook, or otherwise) promised in return the potential for change.  What can your organization give to your prospective donors?