Contrary to the opinion of many, fundraising is rarely a nonprofit organization’s primary occupation or objective. Yet, it’s an ever-present issue that nonprofit leaders are never free of.
So it is instructive to see executives of high-profile, not-for-profit entities turn to social media as a truly dynamic mission-enhancing and fundraising reinforcement.
What are some of the ways nonprofits are reaching out to donors in branded, subscription-based social networking communities?
Well, the first thing a custom-tailored online community does is provide a nonprofit organization with simple, effective data collection based on member registration. This easily accessible profile data provides a solid connection between constituents and the organizations they voluntarily belong to. This connection makes it simple for community administrators to communicate directly with members during fundraising campaigns. These fundraising efforts happen online, with minimal effort, and with negligible marketing costs.
But direct fundraising requests are just one way to engage donors in your causes.
Inspiring advocates with a clear call to action stirs their passion and gets to the heart of the community’s mission. For example, CARE, one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations, urges members of its CARE Connections community to sign up for email updates on women’s empowerment and fighting poverty. 
This links individuals to an ongoing cause and generates increased donations at the same time.
In the Events area of CARE Connections,
community managers post special events of interest to members. Events such as Evaluating HIV/AIDS Programs in Africa and Human Well-Being and the Environment. CARE constituents who have deep commitment to these issues are more likely to attend as well as donate to the cause.
The Groups area of CARE Connections is another place where members gather, connect, share content, and express their passions about a variety of causes. Group activity naturally generates donations over time. In addition, community administrators can reach out to Group members with mission-related merchandise (t-shirts, for example), with a portion of the proceeds set aside to meet fundraising goals.
Other nonprofit organizations have developed creative ways of engaging members in their partnering quest to achieve mission objectives. One strategy is to involve constituents directly in the direction of the community. Asking members to submit their best ideas for improvements to the community generates a robust response, amplifying activity and interaction.
even if they have not yet joined your social networking community. Post-event, be sure to follow up the offline gathering with an online conversation that rallies members around an event’s primary objectives. Above all, give your advocates easy, simple ways of expressing their opinions about your organization’s events, causes and movements.