Charities turn to Facebook

Doug Jacquier, CEO of not-for-profit technology company CISA and organiser of the national not-for-profit conference ‘Connecting Up’, believes that the days of telemarketing, emails and newsletters for fundraisers may soon be numbered.

Mr Jacquier says that several hundred delegates at the conference, “voted with their feet” in electing to hear from an international social web guru how they can increase their chances of connecting with the Facebook generation.

United States based social web guru Beth Kanter provided not-for-profits at Connecting Up with practical ways to use Facebook, MySpace and YouTube to build communities of givers and supporters.

“I’m in no doubt that the tools of the social web are going to be a crucial part of online life for not-for-profits in Australia as they are in the USA,” Ms Kanter said.
“Whether it’s for fundraising, lobbying, membership support or straight our campaigning, the social web opens doors that were previously closed to smaller not-for-profits. It levels the playing field.”

Ms Kanter was rated in the top 10 speakers from over 100 presenting at the recent US Not-for-profit Technology Conference in New Orleans.

“We live in a world where YouTube uploads 65,000 new videos every day and three new blogs are created every two seconds,” Mr Jacquier says. “So charities and not-for-profits need to be ready to get into these personalised, opt-in, many-to-many tools that will be necessary for their successful communication now and in the future.”

Mr Jacquier adds: “You may not be a charity that needs to fundraise but you sure as heck need strong networks if you’re going to survive in the mad rough and tumble that is the not-for-profit sector. There’s no such thing as an organisation with no competitors and many will be trying to get to the same eyes, ears and bank accounts that our delegates are targeting. Active social networking can help you cut through the noise.”

David de Robillard

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