Social media is a powerful thing. Using social media as a way to spread the word about a good cause can be the most powerful way for a charity (or even a small group or individual) to make an impact in the lives of almost anyone who is connected to the Internet. There are thousands of charities (big and small) that have created Facebook Pages and Twitter accounts in order to make a name for their good causes. It is a fact that when it comes to donating money in 2010, the average person will prefer to donate online. Social media can be the perfect solution to any fundraiser if the campaign is executed properly. The following are a few campaigns and charities that I think are doing the whole “using social media to promote a cause for the good of humanity” the right way…starting with the “big” and ending with the “small."
1. Social Good Summit
I must start by promoting the Social Good Summit which will take place on Monday September 20, 2010 in NYC. The event is sponsored by Mashable and 92Y Street and will feature speakers such as Susan Smith Ellis (CEO (red)), Howard W. Buffet (advisor to the President), and Judy McGrath (CEO of MTV Networks). The goal of the Summit is: “to leverage social media for social good.” According to Mashable, “every speaker will explain how digital media and innovative ideas can combine to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the UN’s framework for creating a safer and healthier world for us all.” So there you have it. Some of the most important people in the world believe that digital and social media can be part of the fix to the world’s biggest problems. THAT’S how powerful social media is.
2. Stand Up to Cancer
Just this past Friday, the Stand Up to Cancer campaign aired an hour-long live telethon on all the major television networks in order to raise money for cancer research. But online, SU2C is a perfect example for how a charity should portray itself via social media. On the SU2C Facebook fan page (link) there is a tab to “Donate Now” where Facebook users can use their Facebook Credits to donate. SU2C has also teamed up with omg! from Yahoo on Facebook. omg! from Yahoo! has agreed to donate $1 to SU2C for every person who likes their Facebook Fan Page through Monday September 13, 2010. How easy is that? You don’t even have to spend a penny and you can support Stand Up 2 Cancer. DO IT!
3. Pepsi Refresh Project
Pepsi has dedicated millions of its earnings to fund ideas that will make America a better place with the Pepsi Refresh Project. ANYONE can submit an idea to the Pepsi Refresh website and ANYONE can vote for the ideas that Pepsi chooses to promote. (They choose 1,000 ideas every month.) The ideas are separated by category and the amount of money that will be needed to make the idea come to life. This is an absolutely brilliant idea by Pepsi; letting anyone on the Internet vote for any of the ideas up to 10 times per day truly empowers the general population who just want to create something for a good cause. And the beauty of the Pepsi Refresh Project is that it is up to the idea creators to spread the word about being involved in the Project in order to get the most votes. With the power of social media promotion anything can be possible if carried out in an effective manner!
4. Sean's 2010 NYC Marathon Fundraising Quest
(Here comes perhaps a shameless plug…but an example of how social media can help a good cause nonetheless!)
My good friend Sean McGrath will be running in the NYC Marathon this November for a charity called Team for Kids. Sean’s goal is to raise $3,000 for TFK and one of the first places he started his fundraising efforts was on Facebook with a Page called Sean’s 2010 NYC Marathon Fundraising Quest. Sean has done an excellent job of keeping his fans updated on who is donating the most money, events going on in support of his fundraising, and how his overall marathon training is going in general. On his page, there is a link to the Team for Kids website where anyone can donate any amount. Sean is just a grad student looking to do some good in the world and a perfect example of how anyone raising money for any good cause can go out and make a Facebook Page or a Twitter account and create some buzz for what they are trying to raise money for. It’s tough to get people to donate any amount of money in today’s world, but if you make a good connection with the help of social media, you just might be able to get something out of it. Please check out more about Sean’s 2010 NYC Marathon Fundraising Quest and Team For Kids here (http://www.runwithtfk.org/Member/PublicPage/104) and if you are the slightest bit inspired pretty please donate! Do it for the kids…and in honor of the power of social media!
@SocialMedia #FTW!
-M
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