Is New Media the Key to Communicating in the New Non-Profit World?

Direct mail? Telethons? Emails?!?! Who deals with that stuff anymore? The answer is, well, some people. Social media is often lauded as the silver bullet for supporter engagement and cultivation for non-profits today. More-so than a new phenomenon, social media marketing has become the new standard. While the rise of digital has drastically changed the way nonprofits connect with their constituents, old-fashioned techniques still hold sway in this brave new world we are all entering.

Nonprofits such as charity: waterare blazing the trail towards a new online-only donation structure. In its five years of operation, charity: water hasn’t sent out a single piece of direct mail, instead directing donors towards flashy landing pages and custom videos, afterwards following up with an emailed tax receipt. While this digital version of donor cultivation/stewardship is most certainly a vision of the future, a handcrafted postcard, a memorable photograph, or a hand-signed signature from an executive director provide tangible alternatives that are becoming all the more precious in our technology-fueled world. They are also great ways to help donors remember to support your cause in the future.

While there are arguments on both sides of the digital divide, the reality is that a multichannel approach to communicating with your supporters will be the way forward. Integrating digital approaches, such as crowdfunding or mobile optimization, help to make your mission as visible and accessible as possible – while more traditional approaches help to make your cause memorable. When it comes down to it, the old way of doing things is really the new way – provide relevant, heartfelt content that makes your constituents want to support you: with their dollars, their hands or their voices.

Guest Post by nonprofit professional, Chelsea Liddy. Chelsea spends her days staying afloat of the best in social media, technology, and communications for nonprofits, and runs a philanthropy blog here.

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