More and more charities are turning to social media to raise funds, according to a recent report from the Institute for Philanthropy.

Social media helps drive donations by directing people online, to mobile-giving portals and prompt them to donate via text. 

However, some charities are losing money because they are not making it clear how to donate. 

The paper urges charities to make the journey from first contact on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to donation as smooth as possible. 

“Every barrier means money lost, so the path from conversation to donation must be as smooth and intuitive as possible,” says the report. 

Social media can also help charities share knowledge with communities, reach isolated groups and get feedback. 

The report says: “Service providers should already be taking advantage of the opportunities to hear feedback from their beneficiaries provided by digital tools, and at the very least should not be ignoring conversations that are already taking place.”

A recent study by The Guardian also revealed the growing importance of social media for charities.

Charities have an average of 18,929 Twitter followers and 35,360 Facebook likes. 

Charities are not using social media to its full potential and are neglecting the relationship-building side of things.

Only 21% of the charities have their own hosted community. 

The Guardian’s charity and social media study in September was based on the results of The Charity Social 100 index.

Posted by 

Nicola Carpenter