chronicle of philanthropy blog
Charitable donations has been decreasing since the beginning of the recession. Total gifts and pledges U.S. decreased by 5.7% on an inflation adjusted basis at 308 one billion U.S. dollars in 2008, according to Giving USA Foundation. More than half of charities are experiencing a decline in contributions to far this year compared with the same time in 2008, according to an informal survey of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Given these challenges, nearly three ten of the leaders of largest charities and foundations in the country have taken pay cuts over the past year, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Given global challenges, non-profit are increasingly seeking new ways to expand the impact of their organizations. In 2009, social causes have been several successes in the digital world, led by Twestival phenomenon. Allison Jones reports, "Last year people in more than 150 Twitter cities use to raise funds and awareness for charity: water, a nonprofit organization that builds wells for communities across Africa. Give the enormous amount of support and money raised (over $ 1 million!) Twestival is back this year, but with a new twist, each city is supporting an organization local charity. "With the growth of Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms,
the digital landscape is changing rapidly. There are new opportunities captivate the public to increase the visibility of social causes, deepen relationships existing donors, and inspire a new generation of philanthropists. Our Sparxoo team embarked on this study, "Digital Influence in the social cause," to evaluate how the landscape is changing. We define digital influence in the social cause based on the overall impact of efforts, public engagement, and digital stretch. Our team ran data demonstrating the breadth and depth of interaction Consumers with leaders of social causes, including the total charitable donations, web site traffic, the presence of YouTube, Twitter followers, fans Facebook, and the presence of Tumblr. We considered more than 100 different charities ranging from household names such as Red Cross and United Way for lesser known organizations charities such as the Smile Train and Farm Aid (see methodology for details).
As we compiled the results, we wonder whether the highly publicized Charity of the water had exceeded the established leaders and how much influence Kiva had accumulated since its foundation in 2005. We are surprised by the results and I think significant learning is found in these rankings.
The charity established leaders still have influence, but the need to accelerate their digital efforts in the face of significant competition from newcomers emerging and organizations engaged in environmental causes. The American Red Cross is ranked as the influential digital # 1 in the social cause. More surprising is that you have to go to the # 28 on the list before coming to United Way. The Top 20 features new 3 members to the social cause: Kiva (# 3), Lance Armstrong Foundation (# 9), and Charity: Water (# 20). In the Top 20 also includes 3 organizations focused on animals, nature and the environment: PETA (# 2), Greenpeace (# 4), and World Wildlife Fund (# 11).
In Sparxoo, we believe that it will incorporate social cause. Through our work with Habitat for Humanity, toms and clean dishes we have seen the power of a social mission. Through our blog, we followed the acceleration of digital development, which opens new opportunities for upstarts like …
To read more about the social cause, Go to Sparxoo, a digital marketing, brand and business development blog.
About the Author:
Sparxoo is a business blog that inspires breakthrough by tomorrow’s leaders. We are a strategy consulting firm with a pulse on marketing, branding, and development.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Introduction to the Digital Influence in Social Cause Report
Social Actions and the Microphilanthropy Movement
Tags: blog, news, nonprofit, philanthropy, web2.0
Leave a Comment