Strategic Online Communications for Nonprofits

Donors love to ask the question, “What is your cost per beneficiary?“  It’s a great way for them to compare potential grantees working within the same field, and can be a good proxy of an organization’s efficiency.

Now nonprofit organizations can reach more people and decrease their cost per beneficiary thanks to online communities.  Here’s how:

1. Create an online support group. This can be a tremendously powerful tool for organizations that work with populations who are stigmatized, in danger, or dealing with addictions.  It offers built-in confidentiality (participants can select any screen names), safety (no need to leave home), and support from peers who are facing similar issues.

The organization can moderate discussions and screen for abuses, but by and large this strategy requires little time investment from the sponsoring agency as the value is found in interaction with people with shared experiences.  Online support groups have been effective for reaching:

• Victims of domestic violence
• People diagnosed with potentially terminal illness like cancer or HIV
• Smokers seeking to quit
• People with certain types of mental illness

An online support group would usually be custom-built, and hosted within the organization’s website.  It should be built to include an administrative function (someone who can delete or block inappropriate comments, offer advice, and monitor traffic and trending topics), and if necessary, password-protected areas for users.  A great way to launch an online support group is to simply move existing support groups online, and offer some initial incentives for beneficiaries to participate.  From then on it will likely take wings and grow on its own.

2. Move peer education networks online. Peer education is a powerful strategy for behavior change.  As more youth interact with their peers online, traditional interpersonal communication strategies must follow suit. As they do, the cost per beneficiary can drop tremendously.  Peer educators can use their Facebook or MySpace accounts to share their thoughts about key topics with peers, email and SMS text messaging to have confidential conversations, and YouTube to share creative and motivational messages.  The cost of these tools is next to nothing– and they can reach many more youth than traditional door-to-door or face-to-face models. The impact on behavior may even be similar to traditional models, because youth are now so comfortable interacting in these ways.

3. Build interactive online forums for discussion. If your organization’s work relates to civil rights, political issues or advocacy, interactive online forums are a great way to get people involved with your cause and motivated toward action. You could develop a dedicated discussion forum, or simply create dynamic content (allow the public to contribute to your blog or citizen news sections) and encourage people to comment on what they read. By getting people involved with your issues through genuine two-way (or multi-directional) communication, they are more likely to become loyal activists or followers– measures valued by your donors.

In short there are many tools nonprofits can use to build community online, and by doing so decrease the ratio of staff to beneficiaries and cost per beneficiary.  Most beneficiaries are seeking community anyway, not just advice from professionals.

Community is what keeps people coming back– it builds loyalty, creates a sense of belonging, reinforces positive social norms, and ultimately helps create lasting impact on the lives of beneficiaries.

Posted by Elizabeth Beachy, Upleaf Co-Founder

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