Most nonprofits are now at least dabbling in social networking
Posted by katya on Wed, April 29, 2009Most nonprofits are now dabbling in social networks, according to a new survey on the nonprofit industry’s use of social networking for marketing and fundraising from NTEN, Common Knowledge and ThePort Network. You can find the full study here.
I use the word dabble because I think most of us are still grappling with how we should be going about using social networks and tools. Last week’s Washington Post story suggesting Facebook is solely a fundraising strategy and the ensuing controversy shows we need to be focused on the potential to build relationships with supporters, rather than seeking dollars, on Facebook and elsewhere.
Included in this survey’s highlights:
-Among commercial social networking sites, Facebook is the most popular, with 74 percent of nonprofits maintaining a presence. Nonprofit communities on Facebook are still relatively small, with an average size of 5,454 members.
-Four-fifths of nonprofits are committing at least one-quarter of a full-time staff person to their social networking efforts. More than half of nonprofits intend to increase social networking project staffing over the next 12 months.
-Approximately one-third of nonprofits have built one or more “house” social networks. Of those with their own social networks, 86.3 percent host communities of 10,000 members or less.
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