Fundraising for Social Good

As the nonprofit cheerleader and advocate that I am, one of my favorite twitter feeds and blogs is @Nonprofitorgs (http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com). One of the most critical responsibilities tasked to nonprofits is raising sufficient funds for the organization. Thanks to social media, nontraditional approaches are allowing nonprofits to reach wider audiences, gain more awareness and visibility and therefore increase overall funds raised. The blog Nonprofit Tech 2.0 posted a great article on 6 online fundraising tools that many may have never heard of:

1. Swipegood: This resource enables donors to round up all of their debit and credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and allows them to donate the difference to the charity of their choice. It's an easy and effective way for people all around the world to put good use to their spare change.

2. Philanthroper: Just like Living Social or Groupon, Philanthroper is a daily deal site, although instead of selling you pizza for half price, the website shares a different nonprofit's mission and story daily. If you like what you read, you have the choice to donate $1 to the organization.

3. GiveBack: GiveBack allows donors to create their own foundations (giving portfolios) where they can follow their favorite nonprofits, donate directly, and allocate dollars raised through their online shopping portal.

4. Give A Tweet: Give a Tweet was founded to leverage the real-time power of Twitter to make it easy to donate to non-profits. Donors can either give directly to nonprofits, or match another donor’s gift. It’s a creative way for business brands on Twitter to get recognized for their philanthropy.

5. Cauzoom: Cauzoom allows nonprofits to create projects/cauzs that can then be crowdfunded or endorsed by individuals and businesses.

6. BroadCause: BroadCause is a social good platform where individuals can join cause communities and nonprofits can create wish lists, events, and fundraise. Integrated with Twitter, there is also a corporate giving component where brands can sponsor your nonprofit’s cause.

Social media is revolutionizing the way nonprofits conduct their fundraising campaigns and it provides these organizations with brand new tools that will enable them to continually increase their donor base and overall funds. Nonprofits have always had to struggle with having their message heard, however with the development of social media, their messages are not only heard but easily spread around the world.

What other fundraising tools do you use when supporting nonprofits or raising funds for your own organization? Share with us!