Beyond #charitytuesday and ‘nipnominations’, social media is finally starting to make a difference for fundraising, says Celina Ribeiro. 

Until now, charities’ efforts at social media fundraising have been hit and miss. They still are; this month’s magazine contains examples of both. However, the success stories are starting to outnumber the flops. Might it just be that social media fundraising is coming of age?

After four years, Twestival – that event which was so often cited as ‘proof’ that social media can raise money – has ended. The event really was only ever a traditional ‘real world’ social, propelled by social networks. It already feels like an initiative from a different age.

As social becomes a more unavoidable part of life, many charities are now looking to this space less with glazed-over eyes or the gushing of fawning early adopters, and more with the kind of savvy, well-researched and strategic approach that we’re used to seeing in individual giving fundraising. And that can only be good thing.

Last month we featured Merlin’s Plumpy Nut challenge. It didn’t raise millions. But it did engage a cold audience with an RoI that would be the envy of any fundraiser. This month Breakthrough Breast Cancer has launched its own social-only fundraising campaign, while Prostate Cancer UK’s thus far extremely successful Men Utd vs Prostate Cancer, WaterAid’s Big Dig and Cancer Research UK’s 2014 Dryathlon have both incorporated a vast array of social elements.

I’m not about to claim that social has finally become The Next Big Thing in Fundraising. However, perhaps – a decade after Facebook crawled out of the Ivy League – both social networks and the charities that hope to exploit them have matured to a point where we can all get over the newness of it, and understand when and why they may have value. Whether Vine is on the rise or Twitter has plateaued, social is an unavoidable part of the mix now. To refuse to engage on social networks is as own-foot-shooting as refusing to answer the phones. It’s not an option.

And far be it for Fundraising magazine to not walk the talk. You can find us on Twitter (@CSFundraising) and by liking us on Facebook. We try to give our social networks the fastest updates on news and features to do with fundraising, but more importantly we get to hear from you. What you think. What you like. (But not in a creepy way). Yet more important still, we listen. Help shape your Fundraising magazine by getting in touch. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.