This text is part of the special Philanthropy section
In just a few years, online donation platforms and fundraisers launched on social media have multiplied. Charities’ missions are gaining visibility, while facing more competition for people’s attention. Their use is in any case an integral part of new strategies for measuring the commitment generated by a cause.
According to Julien Pierre, professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Sherbrooke, a major change has occurred in the relationship between donors and charitable organizations since social media came into play. “The philanthropic mechanisms are generally always the same: they are people or organizations who have enough income to commit to a donation. On the other hand, brands and organizations, including informal organizations, will take advantage of social media to gain visibility around their mission. And this, more than to generate funds,” he explains.
In this sense, he therefore believes that we can speak of microphilanthropy. “We will have microfinancing, microdonations, in small online campaigns which are produced each time and which will reach more people,” he underlines. This is part of the fragmentation of communication strategies that we know today. »
There are small initiatives here and there, but there are also, at the same time, larger campaigns which are more public relations and during which influencers are targeted. “Not social media influencers, but people within their community,” says Mr. Pierre. Today, nonprofit fundraising programs integrate both strategies. They combine smaller individual donations, particularly through social media, and a smaller number of major sums from influential people, often at larger, offline events.
Between viral visibility and financial commitment
For charities, there is a need to strategize, as these blitzes can be done inexpensively in order to engage the community. But they must also remain relevant, so as not to blend in with the mass of campaigns that precede them. “Organizations must ensure the virality and circulation of their mission on these platforms. It also shows that there is an audience and it legitimizes everything with future donors to then ask for larger sums,” explains Mr. Pierre. “They say: ‘Look, we have 500,000 or 1 million people who encourage us, so, by rallying to our cause, you can reach this audience’,” he illustrates.
For communications managers, like Emilie White of the McConnell Foundation, which supports organizations that work on community resilience, reconciliation with indigenous communities and climate change, social media is used to measure engagement rates and success of an initiative. “In June 2023, for example, a transfer of capital to Indigenous-led organizations was announced. So that’s $30 million, starting with a $10 million capital transfer last year to the Indigenous Resilience Fund. There was a real resonance, Philanthropic Foundations Canada and other collaborators in the sector had relayed the news and we could see that it had had an impact. More foundations should do this type of initiative,” she says. Even if, strictly speaking, sharing on social media did not increase the prize pool already established through an endowment fund, it did bring visibility to the cause and attract future donors.
Likewise, the Foundation regularly publishes news from its partners to amplify their voices and generate enthusiasm on social networks. Indeed, who says enthusiasm and interest also says future donors, small or large. This allows you to highlight causes to a large audience and see the engagement rate. “We do quarterly reports, we look at how many people follow us on our different platforms,” underlines Mme White. The number of shares and likes is used in particular to quantify the community’s level of engagement with a cause. For her, it is therefore not an instant strategy aimed at quickly raising funds, but rather a long-term vision.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.