Want to know the single most important step you can take today in terms of Social Media on behalf of your nonprofit organization? It has nothing to do with Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. Those are all fine, but to have a real impact with people who matter, do this:
Develop your profile on Guidestar. The goal is an important one: to make sure that donors seeking information about your non profit organization find the best information possible when they search for you online. A key – and usually overlooked – component of Social Media is your profile on Guidestar. As you know, Guidestar is a website with the primary purpose of posting the tax forms of nonprofits. Although you may not pay much attention to it, donors and funders do. Guidestar is the leading source of information about U.S. nonprofits, with 8.2 million people a year visiting the site to research nonprofits before making a donation. Unlike other forms of Social Media, people visiting Guidestar do so for one purpose: to research information about nonprofits, and to help them make donation decisions. So this is a crucial audience indeed! Guidestar is an untapped opportunity for the direct comparison of organizations. Your profile is free, and any nonprofit can develop it, but most don't, which makes it all the more important to make yours stand out. A good Guidestar profile will catch the attention of prospective donors.
I’ll bet if you look at your nonprofits profile on Guidestar right now, it’s a blank slate with no information, representing a real opportunity. Guidestar lets your nonprofit provide other information beyond just your IRS forms, including things like your logo, photo(s), mission statement, general description, programs, personnel, specific funding needs, volunteer needs, and photos or videos of your organization. You can also link your Guidestar profile to your website, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. Developing your profile is an easy DIY project. It takes no technical skills person to beef up your Guidestar profile in an hour or two. The process of creating your Guidestar profile is easily found on the homepage at http://www.guidestar.org/.
Develop your profile on Guidestar. The goal is an important one: to make sure that donors seeking information about your non profit organization find the best information possible when they search for you online. A key – and usually overlooked – component of Social Media is your profile on Guidestar. As you know, Guidestar is a website with the primary purpose of posting the tax forms of nonprofits. Although you may not pay much attention to it, donors and funders do. Guidestar is the leading source of information about U.S. nonprofits, with 8.2 million people a year visiting the site to research nonprofits before making a donation. Unlike other forms of Social Media, people visiting Guidestar do so for one purpose: to research information about nonprofits, and to help them make donation decisions. So this is a crucial audience indeed! Guidestar is an untapped opportunity for the direct comparison of organizations. Your profile is free, and any nonprofit can develop it, but most don't, which makes it all the more important to make yours stand out. A good Guidestar profile will catch the attention of prospective donors.
I’ll bet if you look at your nonprofits profile on Guidestar right now, it’s a blank slate with no information, representing a real opportunity. Guidestar lets your nonprofit provide other information beyond just your IRS forms, including things like your logo, photo(s), mission statement, general description, programs, personnel, specific funding needs, volunteer needs, and photos or videos of your organization. You can also link your Guidestar profile to your website, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. Developing your profile is an easy DIY project. It takes no technical skills person to beef up your Guidestar profile in an hour or two. The process of creating your Guidestar profile is easily found on the homepage at http://www.guidestar.org/.
Have a great day!
Steve Cebalt, Author
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