This is a copy of the email that was sent by Google.

We just found out about this project and wanted to make sure you had the information.

Google is working on a secret new pilot fundraising project for US-based 501(c)(3) organizations and they’re now contacting nonprofit organizations that might be interested in being early adopters.

Our understanding is that you should first be enrolled in the Google for Nonprofits program in order to be a pilot tester. Download the step-by-step guide by filling out the form below.

Once you’ve been accepted, Google may contact you to provide more information about the project and answer any questions you might have.

Of course, please feel free to contact us directly by calling (480) 685-5647.

By Christina Kelley, Director of Integrated Media Fundraising

Sure, we would all like to hit the ground running.  While I believe ANYTHING is POSSIBLE, it may just be too high of an expectation to set that as you implement a social media campaign, your fundraising efforts will sky rocket.

Social media fundraising is an extremely valuable way to raise funds for your nonprofit, and I suggest it as one of the main tools of fundraising for social change.  However you are not going to create a Twitter and Facebook profile and suddenly have 400,000 followers and donors.

Here are vital and key items to consider as you approach social fundraising.

Build your Community

The daily mantra in the beginning should be “community first, fundraising later”.  Building your community by creating a strategy and gaining the attention of your target audience will add to ease and successful fundraising.  By reaching a wide spread audience, your efforts of raising money for charity will exponentially turn into international fundraising success.

Interacting, engaging and conversing through social media networks will attract and capture an audience that is interested in your goal, your mission, your values, and contributing to your cause.

Big Dreams equal Big Results

Dreaming big and having high goals will lead to great results for your organization.  ANYTHING is possible, and having big dreams for your social fundraising efforts, doesn’t have to conflict with realistic expectations.  Big dreams will lead you down the path of social media fundraising and generate big revenue.

Dream big, and then work backwards to identify what you need to get started. Then talk about it with your audience and let your audience build while getting excited with you and for you.

Creating a Strategy for Success

When you choose to utilize the power of social media and viral marketing for your organizations benefit, make the commitment and go all in.  Start asking questions…

Who?

Who will I engage? Who will do the engaging?  Who will I get help and social media training from?  Who is my target audience?  Who is passionate and interested in my cause?  Who will be the community manager?

What?

What social platforms will best enhance my strategy?  What content will I choose to communicate?  What are the long term and short term goals?

When?

When will our organization implement this social media plan?  When do I post content?  When do I blog?  When do I start fundraising?

Where?

Where is my targeted audience?  Where are the social media experts?  Where is the social media training?  Where will the content be created?  Where will the social media campaign be implemented?

How?

How do I implement this strategy?  How do I know what social platforms are best for my goals?  How will I engage my community?  How will I build my community?  How will I measure results?

Why?

Why are we entering into a social media strategy?  TO FUNDRAISE and SERVE OTHERS!!!

Have Fun and Be Fearless

There is no way to do social media marketing wrong.  Yes, we all want to get to the end result quickly and the right way!  The truth is there is no cookie cutter formula to an effective online social fundraising strategy.

Every organization is unique, and while there are surefire best practices to follow in the social media and internet marketing world, there is always going to be something unique to each campaign and strategy.  Play with ideas, talk about them, utilize the community online through polls and surveys, find out what people are interested in, and allow your community to guide your social media marketing and online fundraising efforts.

Leave the fear behind as there is no way to fail.  Every post, every tweet, every blog will bring a lesson of learning and only enhance your social fundraising skills.

So take that first step and tap into the power of the internet.  Turn up the temperature and watch your social fundraising thermometer rise. And if you don’t want to do it alone, no worries, there are millions of experts out there to help.  And, by the power of the internet, your online community will be sure to provide feedback…just watch and see how many “likes” you get!

Was this article helpful?  Let us know!

Storytelling + Marketing + Powerful Fundraising

By Christina Kelley, Director of Integrated Media Fundraising at CharityAccelerator.org

Story telling is at the core of all marketing.  Internet marketing, direct marketing, they all include some kind of story.  People want to know why, why should I focus my attention on this cause?  Why should I donate to this organization?

Most of the time, this question is not being asked consciously.  It is our humanity that evaluates the question why and then makes a decision to either say yes or turn away.  The power to capturing attention and loyalty is in the messages being sent.  The power is in the story.

All content created for a marketing campaign tells a story.  The more truthful the story, the more the story speaks to the heart.

When you tell the story of WHY your organization was created, it comes from a place of truth.  That place inside your heart, your experience that caused either you or a group of individuals to take actions and solve a problem.

For example, a friend of mine created SparkRelief.org, a non profit organization that matches people with a need to people who can help.  He founded SparkRelief.org because he lives in an area where fires often cause evacuations.  When someone is forced to leave their home as a fire is close by, the state of panic, threaten and worry kicks in.  They often feel as if there are no options and don’t know where to turn for shelter.  My friend is compassionate and empathic, and he wanted to make a difference in the lives of others.  He saw a need, and created an algorithm for others who want to help and have resources.  His organization and the algorithm may not speak to the heart.  Perhaps if you saw it, you may just think “its just another organization out there”.  But when you hear the story, it becomes real and hits that place of your heart where you can relate.  Perhaps one time you need help and someone gave to you.  Or maybe you saw a need for someone else and gave something you had to fulfill the need of others, and they were grateful beyond belief.  The story is what lands in the heart of the audience and makes the cause real.

We want to hear from you! What is your story?  What are some ways you convey your story to the public?

Organic Social Media

I loved the tag line of a blogger that I follow, “Be Human”.  Yes, she was referring to social media, Twitter, and Facebook.  As a social media expert and strategist, it felt like a huge relief to read this and be reminded of our humanity behind the social network platforms.

Social media and online marketing campaigns are hugely successful and have big impact, when there is a natural flow and voice behind each platform.  The people behind the computer are not robots, and our targeted audience is human too!  Yes, we are using technology and digital means to communicate, but we are human.

I’ve listed out three key reminders and thoughts to keep in mind while executing a social media strategy.  Here you go…

1. Write as if you were speaking to someone, in person or on the phone.

Have you ever been so excited about something and called a friend to let them know?  They get excited too!  Why does this happen?  It happens because in the moment you are speaking from the heart and the person on the other end of the message can feel it and hear it.  Its not a sales pitch to enroll them in your excitement, it is sharing from the heart.  Creating content from the heart and from that deepest place of passion is what will ignite others on the receiving side of your posts and tweets.

1. Post content as you feel inspired. 

Now, I’m not saying to totally ditch the automated systems as they are super convenient and can give you a day off when you need it.  What I am saying though, is when you feel inspired by relevant content, post it!  Just like speaking and creating content from the heart is felt and warmly received on the other side, inspiration is contagious.  We interact in our daily lives through what inspires us.  We are not robots automating every hug, every smile, every phone call or hand shake.  The online world is just as responsive as our family, friends and co-workers are.  People dig inspiration and can feel it.  You are much more likely to capture your target audience attention and their heart by letting some of your social media efforts be led by inspiration.

1. Listen and Engage.

One of the key aspects to effectively gaining followers and friends while building and nurturing your online community is by listening.  Think about this one as a real life application.  For example, my mom always calls me and rambles on and on about herself.  Yes, I have the patience to listen and am excited to hear her voice, however it wears off after about an hour.  But its important to not that SHE feels good being heard.  The only reason I lose patience is because I want to be heard.  Same goes for our internet interactions!

Our online communities are a delicate balance of giving and receiving.  If we are always posting about our service or our product and never commenting or liking others shout-outs, we are ignoring a huge side of the equation.  A great tool I have found to balance the conversations online is to check out everybody else, before I post or say anything.  It may seem like a stretch but I like to ask myself at the start of every day, “What is my internet family saying today”.

This post is to be continued, as there are so many key areas in which we can focus our social media engagements and make them more like real life.  When we remember our humanity, we remember others humanity.  Not only is it an excellent approach to supporting and building your customers, clients, donors, and friends on the internet, it’s a fantastic way to enjoy the bigger picture and grass roots of marketing!

To create a branded online presence, join the online conversations and communities through social media platforms that will allow your organization to

• Connect to a wider, global audience
• Create awareness and spread organization mission and goals
• Increase availability of resources and contributors
• Raise funds through new and existing donors

Create an Integrated Media Marketing Plan

The integrated media-marketing plan is designed as a holistic online internet marketing structure in which all parts work together, speak together, link to each other to build a limitless audience. The integrated marketing structure is focused on calls to action, which drives qualified traffic to generate donations.

Platforms

Social media encompasses countless websites and platforms.

Facebook: Users tend to be middle- and upper-class young adults ages 18 to 34, though older generations are creating Facebook accounts in growing numbers. Facebook is the number-one photo-sharing site in the world, and also offers users the option to upload video, blog posts and links to other content.

Twitter: This microblogging platform allows users to make short, 140- character posts, which are then displayed in a feed along with the posts of other users to whom they’ve subscribed. Here it is most effective to post relevant information, announce events and recent blog posts and interact with the Twitter community. By monitoring relevant keywords and phrases, you can effectively join conversations and suggest resources when appropriate.

Project Scope

There are three steps that must be done before designing and implementing an integrated media marketing strategy.

1. Listen – We tune in to your current audience, donors, participants, and find out what they are already talking about, what similar organizations are talking about, what kind of content they are posting, and how often.
2. Planning – It is determined in this phase, the most effective timing of posts in relation to content topics, responses, and trends on each social media site.
3. Document – Keywords, topics, responses, and trends are all used to create relevant content and join in on the conversation.

Social Networks Setup

Choose deliberately which social platforms will work best for your organization and take the time to set them up, well. Useful content, pictures, and planning will make build the foundation of your social media matrix, the right way.

- Facebook Causes Page
- Facebook Fan Page
- Twitter Profile

Social Networks Media Management

To build a relevant action oriented online community to enhance communication with targeted audiences that share common interests and resources. The conversations and engagement initiate interest and participation in organizational goals (driving traffic to donations).

And at the end of the day, social media just isn’t for everyone.  That is why their are millions of experts out there excited to take the task off your hands!  CharityAccelerator.org is a group of internet marketing experts serving non profits, so non profits can serve their mission.

• Looking to give back and make a difference for others?
• A go-getter who “gets it done” regardless of the obstacles?
• Extremely positive with a “can-do” attitude?
• High-performer in other aspects of your life?