by Carla Ganiel
How many of you are using facebook, twitter or other social media to recruit volunteers?
I mean really using it? I’ve encountered several of my favorite organizations on facebook. I’ve even “friended” some of them, but I rarely receive any communication or updates after that initial contact.
If all you’ve got is a profile you never update, then you aren’t really using social media. The power of these tools is the ability to reach large numbers of people quickly. They are particularly well-suited to recruiting episodic volunteers. Need some help with a special event you’ve got coming up? Send out a message and see who responds. Then send a second notice about the event reminding everyone who didn’t volunteer to attend. Maybe you’ll engage someone who will volunteer the next time you ask.
The benefits of social media extend beyond volunteer management to fundraising and advocacy, too. A couple of months ago a local bank invited the public to help allocate its community investment dollars by voting on a slate of nonprofit organizations or writing in others. At the time, all I could think was how this type of fundraising opportunity was perfectly suited to an organization with a well-developed social media network and strategy. Then just last week, one of my fellow commissioners asked me to post an action alert on my facebook profile encouraging my friends to call their senators in support of the GIVE Act.
As a member of Generation X, I often warm up to new technologies more slowly than some of my Millenial counterparts, but social media is clearly here to stay. Volunteer managers would be smart to begin experimenting with ways to use this technology to reach current and potential volunteers, donors and supporters.
Not sure where to start? Find a young volunteer to help you, and start reading Beth Kanter’s blog , which is dedicated to exploring the many ways nonprofits can use social media in their work.
Carla Ganiel is a featured blogger and specializes in strategy consulting for nonprofit organizations.
