How the Top 50 Nonprofits Do Social Media

As you know (or maybe you don’t?), we LOVE some social media for nonprofits at NetWits Think Tank.

So when Craigslist founder Craig Newmark (also a philanthropist) published a nifty infographic last week we were all over it.

Hat tip to Allyson Kapin and the folks at www.radcampaign.com for their work on it!

A few interesting facts …

• 92% of the top 50 nonprofits have at least 1 social media presence on their homepage.
• The most followers that an organization has on Twitter is 840,653 (PBS)…but on the other hand, the organization following the most people is following 200,522 (The American Cancer Society)!
• The American Red Cross was the first organization on the list to create a Twitter account.
• Food for the Poor is the most talkative organization on Facebook, and has posted 220 posts over the course of 2 months.
• The organization with the highest net income, the YMCA, only posted 19 times to Facebook in 2 months, but has over 24,000 Fans.

My one question for you …

Does social media improve fundraising online or offline in any way?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, insights, examples, case studies, etc. What I’ve seen to date shows that social media platforms like Facebook are great, but not well suited for fundraising. Yet we can see from the infographic below that nonprofits in the top tier of earning are all over social media.

We also know from our research that social media use isn’t limited to the top tier organizations. Over 90% of nonprofits use at least one social media channel.

Or maybe that’s the wrong question to be asking?  Let me know in the comments below.

So, How are the Top 50 Nonprofits Doing Social Media  … ?

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Additional articles on social media for nonprofits you’ll find interesting …

• The Power of Social Fundraising and Friends Asking Friends [INFOGRAPHIC]
• Facebook is Great, but Does it Really Work for Fundraising?
• 2011 Non-profit Social Networking Survey
• 3 Social Media Metrics Every Non-profit Should Track

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Frank Barry

Frank Barry, formerly worked at Blackbaud helping nonprofits use the Internet for digital communication, social media, and fundraising. He’s worked with a diverse group of organizations including LIVESTRONG, United Methodist Church, American Heart Association, Big Brothers Big Sisters, ChildFund Int’l, InTouch Ministries, Heifer Int’l, University of Notre Dame and University of Richmond. Along with writing for industry publications like Mashable and Social Media Today, Frank facilitates discussions, presents solo sessions and organizes panels for industry conferences such as NTC, SXSW, BBCon and numerous others. When he’s out and about he enjoys talking to interesting people about how they are changing the world – check out his interviews. Say Hi on Twitter – @franswaa or Google+