This year it certainly felt like charity had gone viral. On the second day of our festive countdown Civil Society News looks back at some of the best ways charities have harnessed the power of social media to make a difference this year.

1.Rethink Mental Illness and Jonny Benjamin 'find Mike'

Right at the start of the year Jonny Benjamin set out to find the stranger who prevented his suicide with a social media campaign and support from Rethink Mental Illness. The campaign caputred the imagination of the public and in the first day the charity's website received more than 10,000 visitors and the story got over 2,500 social media shares.

‘Mike’ turned out to be called Neil Laybourn, whose fiancé saw the campaign on Facebook and recognised the story. He then contacted Rethink.

Benjamin documented the process of finding Mike, which was released in the spring and Rethink has been using the the film to raise awareness of mental illness and collect donations via text.

Why we love it: this campaign was tightly focussed on a story that people could relate to, cared about, and that inspired people to engage with the charity.

2. #nomakeupselfie

No-one was quite sure where the #nomakeupselfie phenomena started, but in the spring cancer charities received an unexpected bonus as people rushed to take snapshot of themselves without make up, donate to charity and nominate three of their friends to do the same.

Cancer Research UK was the biggest winner, raising a staggering £8m in the first week, but cancer charities across the board benefited as the craze swept the nation.

The #nomakeupselfie proved so popular that copycat campaigns sprang up all over the place; from blue lips to colostomy bags on display. In 2014 if you hadn’t taken a photo of yourself you weren’t a true charity supporter.

Why we love it: cancer charities might not have started the trend, but they were certainly quick to get on board. The nominate three friends aspect gave the campaign a powerfully multiplying effect. It was also easy to take part in.

3. Stephen's Story  

You couldn't help but be moved by Stephen Sutton whose JustGiving page reached £5m raised for the Teenage Cancer Trust in the months following his death in May this year from bowel cancer.

His fundraising campaign and blog attracted the attention and support of the national media, celebrities and politicians.

Why we loved it: showing remarkable maturity, Stephen remained positive as he inspired those around him to raise money.

He made the video below in partnership with the Make a Wish Foundation to help spread his message of positivity.

4. Charities hijack the #Tubestrike hashtag

When London Underground workers went on strike in the spring  Save the Children, Macmillan Cancer Supportand Leonard Cheshire Disability hijacked the Twitter hashtag to put commuters’ frustrations into perspective.

Frustrated communters looking at the #tubestrike feed on Twitter also saw mocked up line status boards from the three charities reminding them that there are worse things than having to catch a crowded London bus.

Save the Children’s image listed basic essentials such as food and medicine with statuses like ‘suspended’ or ‘under siege’. In one day it was retweeted almost 1,000 times.

Macmillan Cancer Support juxtaposed the closed London Underground lines with the message that its support line is open, using the caption: “CLOSED lines: Some tube lines in London. OPEN line: The Macmillan Support Line. #tubestrike.”

Leonard Cheshire Disability reminded commuters that very few stations have wheelchair access with a status board highlighting how many stations were accessible on each line.

Why we love it: by joining in the conversation these charities have been able to put their cause and message in front of people who would not normally see it – and that is the real power of social media; not just talking to people who already support you but reaching those that don’t.

5. Ice bucket challenge

Over the summer challenging friends to take a selfie to raise awareness was replaced with asking them to have someone else pour a bucket of ice over their head.

The challenge saw people pour a bucket of iced water over their head and make a £5 donation to charity. Anyone who completed the challenge can nominate three more people to take part.

The origin may have been in New Zealand, raising money for cancer charities, but it took off in the US where various celebrities took part for ALS Association, which supports those with motor neurone disease.

In the UK the Motor Neurone Disease Association raised £7.1m.  Macmillan Cancer Support raised almost £5m, but the charity was forced against criticism that it had hijacked MNDA’s campaign.

Why we love it: #icebucketchallenge took the principles of #nomakeupselfie and went further by using video instead of photos.

6. The Big Tweet

To mark International Missing Children’s Day in May Missing People held the Big Tweet to help find missing children.

Every 30 minutes the charity tweeted an appeal for a missing child and urged others to share with their followers.

One patron said: "It is a very simple concept and there is simply no excuse not to get involved... By retweeting these appeals, we can all help extend the platform that might bring those children home. Circulating the details of these children through the social media site is such a simple, yet incredibly effective way to give the appeals as much coverage as possible."

Why we love it: it’s the fourth time the charity has run this campaign, and while the results of this year’s tweets aren’t available yet, in 2013 two missing children found after Missing People’s tweets were retweeted 58,000 times. When something works stick with it.