Using Twitter For Your Charity Fundraising

Here’s an idea that I hadn’t thought of, Using Twitter To Raise Money For Your Charity.

I had a tweet come through this morning from @problogger who sent through a link to an article on using twitter to raise money for your favorite charity or fundraiser.

This really opened my thinking as I have never thought of using twitter as a means of fundraising before.

It was interesting to read that a non-profit organization, devoted to bringing clean drinking water to developing nations raised over $250,000 for charity.

The article mentions that one of the reasons twitter can be effectively used is because of Twitter’s viral, real-time nature allows for a fast (and relatively low-cost) way to raise funds.

Some other ways people are using twitter to raise money is by setting up challenges and competitions, one example of this is where Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation recently found a donor who was willing to give $25,000 if the Foundation’s CEO, Doug Ulman, could reach 25,000 followers in three days (he started with roughly 10,000 followers at the beginning of the challenge). Ulman was able to surpass 25,000 and reach the goal.

Another example is where Hugh Jackman recently issued a challenge on Twitter to give $100,000 to the any charity that is best described within the 140 character limit.

The article also provides some details on two other services that are effectively using twitter to raise funds for charity and non profits, such as Twollars and Tweet4Good. So it seems it’s pretty clear that there are many compelling ways to use Twitter’s viral nature as a valuable fundraising tool for charities

In closing the article (Tweetraising: The Potential For Charities On Twitter) points out that there are some that may argue that the thousands raised through social media sites doesn’t match the millions raised through traditional tactics, including direct mail and events. But when you look at the cost comparisons you begin to see a new perspective come into the mix.

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