Do you wish you had a larger audience? Does your organization have a story to tell? As nonprofit leaders, you know about advocacy and policy, assessment and evaluation, and volunteer recruitment and management. Social media is the best forum to practice all of these things as well as to reach new audiences, gather feedback, share your latest projects, and build relationships. Read on for five tips on how to utilize social media at your organization.
1. Have a voice. Know your audience and address them accordingly. If your organization focuses on youth, don’t post mature articles or videos and speak in a playful, engaging manner. If your organization focuses on serving the military community, you might speak in a more structured and direct manner.
2. Post frequently. It is important to post at least a couple days every week. Readers expect to see interesting and relevant information when they follow a page, and don’t want to wait weeks in between posts.
3. Respond to people’s questions and comments. Even though you’re not speaking face-to-face, or corresponding through e-mail, you still need to use etiquette in your social media interactions. Respond to people’s questions and comments with polite and helpful answers. If you do not have an answer for their question, let them know that you will find out and get back to them or refer them to a knowledgeable person. Just as you should post frequently, you also should not wait more than a day to respond to each post.
4. Delegate the responsibility to one person or team. To make sure you are using a consistent voice that is posting on a regular schedule from a branded page, delegate the social media responsibility to one person. You may even need to create a full time position to manage all of the social media i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Blogspot.
5. Don’t be modest. Keep your followers in the know by sharing your organization’s most important projects, campaigns, and accomplishments. Sharing these will keep your followers tuned in and keep your organization on people’s minds.
Promising Practices: Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the hashtags on Twitter? Here are a few examples for nonprofits to use:
#volunteer
#philanthropy
#cause
#sm4p
#nptech
Does your organization utilize social media? Let us know how in the comments below.
Are you looking for an easy way to recognize our deployed service members and thank them for their service? 
If you have a rainy weekend in the house with your family, you can make cards for deployed soldiers, too! All you need is some construction paper, pens, pencils, markers or crayons, and a little imagination! It’s a sure bet that your cards will brighten the day of a deployed service member. Don’t forget, even if you don’t know a soldier, you can send your cards to a soldier who might not be getting mail from home through 
Individual and family volunteering makes a huge impact on the community. Employee volunteering will not only make an impact on the surrounding community, but also on the work environment. Employees who volunteer together will feel more connected to the community in which they work, and also closer to their coworkers.
volunteer program started today!
employee committee who can dedicate themselves to greater participation. Develop written policies about employee participation in service events (i.e. how many project must staff members participate in). Learn best practices of employee volunteer programs so that you may implement them into your program.
ntacting your local newspaper article. By reporting your results, the community will look more favorably at your company, and other companies may be more enthusiastic about starting a program of their own!
the comments sections below!
Happy Memorial Day! Today is the perfect time for backyard barbecue and busting out your favorite white jeans. Today is also the perfect time to do a little social good for your community.
Did their donation provide a military family in need with a warm meal? However your event benefited the community; let guests know so they have a tangible mission to hold on to.
Honor fallen heroes by volunteering at a veterans’ cemetery on Memorial Day or any time of year. Volunteers can give cemetery tours, help with maintenance, raise and lower flags and more. Use the 
volunteers is working to bring floral beauty to the graves at this Memorial Day. This Monday, May 28, more than 100 volunteers from Memorial Day Flowers will hand out more than 50,000 roses at the cemetery. Visitors are given two roses, one to place on a grave, and one to take home in remembrance. All of the flowers are donated by farmers throughout Ecuador. The idea was initiated by Ramiro Peñaherrera of 
There is a perception that people with disabilities are limited to being the recipients of service. Volunteer managers are in a position to expand efforts to engage individuals with disabilities and challenge this perception within their own community. Read on to learn to be more inclusive as your work managing volunteers.
Inclusion starts with the actions and attitudes of those within your organization; it is a value that we share. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said “everyone can be great because anyone can serve”. When you take the steps to achieve an inclusion service environment, you are giving someone the chance to serve and the chance to be great!
HIV, and Syphilis.
Memorial Day is this upcoming Monday, May 28. Time to enjoy a day off work, put on your best white attire, and fire up the back yard barbecue. Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Memorial Day?
veteran relief and safety education. The American Red Cross also expanded their services to disaster victim relief and services.
These accomplishments would not be possible without the 131 years of American Red Cross existence. May 21 is the day to celebrate the birthday of such an amazing volunteer organization. Take a minute to thank your local Red Cross chapter for the all the work they do.
