05 Jun 2012 No Comments

The Lean Nonprofit: 3 ways to crowdsource new content


Crowdsourcing is the process of outsourcing a task or problem to an undefined public rather than a specific individual or group. Your nonprofit may have limited resources, but you can take advantage of crowd sourcing content from your supporters. 

Limited resources for content creation?

Your nonprofit may be a very small team of individuals doing their best with the resources available. You may have great ideas of what educational material you would like to share with your network, but you simply don’t have the time to invest in it. This gap in what-is and what-could-be can be frustrating. So how can you bridge these two worlds?

If your nonprofit fits this description, here are a few helpful tips.

Be efficient and of course, resourceful

Your supporters take pictures, create videos, and write for their own personal fundraising purposes – often with impressive quality. Reach out to your supporters and see if you can repurpose their work for the benefit of your entire network. You’ll be surprised with how willing they can be!

Need an example? Well we do this all the time! Yes, even a company like us can take advantage of this strategy. Is that surprising? It shouldn’t be. Many of the nonprofits using our platform have helped contribute to our own content needs. Trust us, we know first hand how tricky content production can be. The below ecards we developed is an actual FirstGiving Facebook fan response. Thanks again!

3 types of content to crowd source

1. Photos – For Facebook Cover Photos, Facebook Albums, captivating Pinterest images, Posters, etc.

Photos are easy to share. I’m sure your fundraisers and event participants take high quality photos your events. See if they are willing to share them with your organization.

We’ve personally done so with our Facebook Cover Photo contest. Check out our Facebook Fan Page and see our great photo submissions for our monthly cover photo contest. This a great way to engage with your audience through social media and also show case their great photos!

2. Videos – For interviews, testimonials, mission statements, thank yous, etc.

Videos are a powerful tool to spread awareness of your mission. Often, individual supporters create webcam videos as personal requests for their own fundraising pages. This footage is often sincere, heartfelt, and very effective. See if the video creators would be willing to share their face to help the cause.

3. Contextual content – For guest posts, stories, reviews, thank yous, testimonials, memoirs, etc.

Heartfelt stories are a critical part to online fundraising. These stories are exchanged daily. The emails, letters, tweets, texts, status updates, are all personal stories that can be leveraged. See if there’s an exceptionally captivating story one of your supporters is sharing. Reach out and see if you can help promote their story.

We’re always on the hunt for an interesting story. We love it when we see our users take advantage of our platform and use it to its maximum potential. They’re usually great for highlighting best practices! Check out how Brendon Legare has used FirstGiving to fundraise for his trips to Mount Kilimanjaro to benefit Flying Kits Inc.

Give your supporters a reason to contribute

Though many of your supporters may want to help you out of the goodness of their heart, giving them a incentive to contribute content is an effective strategy. How will you convince your supporters to donate, not only their time and funds to your cause but, their content?

Considering offering any of the following incentives:

  • Highlight their efforts by showcasing their hard work via tweet, blog post, or Facebook post
  • Give them free swag (t-shirts, mugs, sweatbands, hats, etc.)
  • Donate to their personal fundraising page when they reach an outstanding goal
  • Give them VIP treatment during the actual event

Whatever it may be, you and your supporters are aimed at one goal; support the mission and spread awareness of your cause. Help them help you and reach out to them. We know for a fact they will love the recognition.

 

Download our Free Webinar on “Integrated Crowdsourcing with Traditional In-Person Events.” 

 

Photo Courtesy 1000heads 2011 

by Dan Fonseca in Nonprofit Resources Tags: , ,