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Best Practices: How to Grow Your Social Network on Change.org

1. Get a badge for your website and/or MySpace profile, blogs, etc.

The success of your social network on Change.org depends upon on you driving your most committed supporters and donors to your network where they can donate, advocate, and fundraise for your organization. When logged in to your Nonprofit Admin account, click on "Get a Badge for Your Website". There you can copy html code for a community badge that you can embed on your website and/or MySpace. If you find the badge to be too large, then download our Web 2.0 icons.

It's important to note that you can download the contact information of those individuals that sign up for your social network on Change.org through a community badge or Web 2.0 icon by clicking "View Supporter Data" on the Administrator Dashboard homepage.

2. Get in the habit of regularly sending out "Supporter Requests".

Just like you can send "friend Requests" on MySpace and Facebook, nonprofit organizations with branded networks on Change.org can send out "Supporter Requests". Simply visit the "People" section on Change.org and browse through our network of Changemakers and send out supporter requests (there is a "Send a Supporter Request" button just under their profile picture). You can also search by city in the People section to find Changemakers in your area (this is important if you are a regional nonprofit) or browse through our "Changes" section to search for people that are interested in making the same social change as your organization. Get in the habit of regularly logging into Change.org and sending out 10-50 supporter requests per day!

3. Ask your e-newsletter subscribers to join your network on Change.org.

After you have added the basic content, fundraising projects, and actions to your social network on Change.org, send out an e-mail to your organization's supporters asking them to join your social network on Change.org. Most of you already publish regular e-newsletters. I suggest that you send out one e-mail solely about joining your social network with the subject line "Join our new social network on Change.org!" and then make it a regular action item in subsequent e-mail newsletters. Remember: Change.org is a service your organization is providing to your donors. They would much prefer to donate and interact on Change.org than to just give through a "Donate Now" button on your website. When promoting your social network in e-newsletters, be sure to mention your Change.org alternate URL.

Also, donors are much more likely to donate to specific fundraising projects, rather than just making a general donation to your organization. When sending out a funding appeal via e-mail, try sending them directly to your organization's fundraising projects on Change.org. You'll still receive the funds as general funds from Network for Good, but donors are more likely to give to compelling fundraising projects.

4. Put Web 2.0 icons on your website, MySpace profile, blogs, etc.

At the very least, in the era of Web 2.0, nonprofit organizations should be using MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube to drive supporters to your social network on Change.org and your organization's website. Place the icons below on your website's homepage to drive traffic to your organization's most important other social networks:

Examples:
Advocacy Project
American Foundation for Children with Aids
Conscious Consuming
Genocide Intervention Network
International Rescue Committe
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
NARAL Pro-Choice America
Operation Kids
Refugees International
TransFair USA
United Cerebral Palsy
WildAid
Americans for Fairness in Lending
Facing History and Ourselves

5. Promote the URL of your Change.org network in print and online materials.

When you signed up for your branded network, you created an alternate URL to your social network on Change.org, such as www.change.org/worldneighbors. Put this URL in print materials, your e-mail signature, and when promoting your social network in e-mail newsletters. Remember: You can download the e-mail address of anyone who initially joins Change.org through your organization's homepage on Change.org. So it's to your advantage to drive your supporters to the site before they sign up another way.

6. Get your organization's board members involved in your Change.org social network.

This best practice is particularly relevant for small and medium sized nonprofit organizations. Once your social network is live on Change.org and you have updated the basic information, email your board members asking them to join your social network on Change.org. At minimum, request that they write a testimonial and suggest that they use the fundraising page tool to reach their annual fundraising goals. It's much easier for board members to reach their annual fundraising goals if they have the ability to email a unique donation link to their friends, family, and colleagues.

7. Ask your Change.org supporters to recruit their friends to your social network.

This is the fastest, easiest way to grow your network on Change.org. Each nonprofit on Change.org has an "Invite" button on the homepage of their social network. Email your supporters on Change.org asking that they invite (thus "recruit") their friends on Change.org to join your social network.

8. Add the Change.org App to your Facebook Page.

The Change.org App allows you to add "Donate" and "Subscribe to e-Newsletter" buttons, as well any actions you have created on Change.org, to your organization's Facebook Page [View example]. If one of your fans on Facebook donates, subscribes, or takes action, you can then download their supporter and donor data through the Change.org Admin Dashboard! Visit Change.org on Facebook to add the App.

9. Add the "My Favorite Nonprofits" MySpace App to your MySpace profile.

Our MySpace App entitled "My Favorite Nonprofits" empowers the millions of do-gooders active on MySpace to promote your organization and recruit their friends to join your community on Change.org. In addition to individuals on MySpace using the App, many nonprofits have begun adding the App to their MySpace profile and adding their own organization, such as The Humane Society. To view another example of the MySpace App, please see: www.myspace.com/nonprofitorganizations. To add the App to your MySpace profile, please visit: www.myspace.com/favoritenonprofits.

10. Send "Supporter Requests" to "Recruiters" on Change.org.

Change.org is a community of very active and dedicated activists and donors. Be sure that our most influential members are supporters of your Change.org social network by sending "Supporter Requests" (only available to subscribers of our premium service) to these individuals on Change.org. To find our most active members, go to the People tab, click on the "Most Impact" subheader, and then click on each on individual's profile and the "Send Supporter Request" button on the left side of their profile.

You can also visit the various nonprofits on Change.org and view the supporters on the left side of the nonprofit's social network to find additional recruiters. With the help of these passionate changemakers, your social network on Change.org will grow much fasteer!

Best Practices: How to Fundraise on Change.org

1. Post a minimum of three fundraising projects on your Change.org network.

Donors often it find it much more interesting to donate to specific projects, rather than to your organization's general fund. At a minimum, create three fundraising projects on your social network on Change.org. Keep the project description brief (2-3 paragraphs) and if possible, upload a video rather than just a photo. Video is increasing becoming more important in nonprofit communications strategies.

The Advocacy Project is a shining example of how to use fundraising projects on Change.org. They regularly send out funding appeals via e-newsletter to drive donors to their fundraising projects page on Change.org and have raised over $15,000 doing so!

2. Create a fundraising widget and post it on your website, MySpace profile, and blogs, etc.

Slowly but surely, donors are becoming more accustomed to donating through fundraising widgets, especially on MySpace. In the Administrator Dashboard, select "Create a Fundraising Widget" and follow the instructions listed there on how to create a fundraising widget for your organization. Remember: Donors will receive a donation receipt from Change.org for all donations made on Change.org or through fundraising widgets. That saves your organization time and resources.

3. Ask your supporters to create a fundraising page for your organization on Change.org.

When communicating with your supporters on Change.org, suggest to them that they start a fundraising page on Change.org to benefit your organization. More and more people are asking for donations in lieu of wedding, birthday, or new baby gifts. Let your supporters know that they can do this online by creating a fundraising page on Change.org. Remember: In the era Web 2.0, your supporters are your most valuable asset. Use the fundraising page tool to build an army of online fundraisers for your organization! Your organization gets the email address of each new donor and they also become a "Supporter" on your Change.org social network.

4. Post a blog entry asking your supporters to create a fundraising page for your organization.

Login to the Administrator Dashboard and then "Post a Blog Entry." The entry title should be along the lines of "Please create a fundraising page to benefit [Your Organization]!" and in the body of the blog entry write a paragraph or two asking your supporters to fundraise for your organization by creating a fundraising page on Change.org. Let them know that they can create these fundraising pages to receive gift donations in lieu of birthday, wedding or holidays gifts and that each fundraising page also comes with a fundraising widget that your supporters can post on their MySpace, blog, etc. Be sure to list this link with the "http://" in the blog entry:

http://www.change.org/giving_networks/create_network

Make sure that your organization comes up in the search. If not, email me at heather@change.org and I will configure our database to make sure that your organization's name comes up in the search! Fundraising pages are incredibly powerful viral tools. Imagine if you had a team of 100 supporters fundraising for you through the Internet!

5. Promote your organization's "Start a Fundraising Page" link on MySpace, Facebook, etc.

Every organization on Change.org has their own unique "Start a Fundraising Page" link [Click on your General Fund or a fundraising project that you have posted and scroll half way down the page.]. On MySpace, post this link in your Blog and in Bulletins and Comments and ask your MySpace friends to fundraise for you. Your MySpace friends will appreciate the opportunity to do more to benefit your organization and each fundraising page also comes with a fundraising widget that your MySpace friends can embed on their MySpace profile [View Example Widgets].

On Facebook, utilize the "Post a link" function in "Groups" and post your organization's "Start a Fundraising Page" link on your organization's group page. You can also add it to your group's "Recent News" section, post it on Walls, message it to Members, and post it in Discussion Boards.

6. Let your Change.org supporters know that they can make a donation in someone's name.

Living a sustainable lifestyle is increasingly becoming more important to American consumers and many of your organization's supporters on Change.org would be very likely to make a gift donation to your organization in lieu of giving a traditional birthday, holiday, or wedding gift.

Post a blog or email your supporters to let them know that they can make a gift donation to benefit your organization by simply checking the "Dedicate your donation as a gift" box on your organization's donation processing page on Change.org. They can then enter the name and e-mail address of the gift recipient who then receives an email notifying them that a donation was made in their name. This is a great example of the power of suggestion!

7. If you are going to promote your fundraising pages to your supporters, get your social network branded.

Project Kindle decided to promote their "Create A Fundraising Page" link to their supporters and staff. Knowing that tens - and possibly hundreds - of potential new donors may click on supporters' fundraising pages in an email, Project Kindle signed up for Change.org's premium service so that every page within their social network would have colorful branding with images that speak to their organization's mission.

Project Kindle's first attempt to empower their supporters and staff to fundraise was very successful and resulted in over $3,000 in donations in less than two weeks! In addition, Project Kindle posted a thank you blog for their fundraisers - a very good best practice!

Best Practices: How to Communicate with Your Supporters on Change.org

1. Use your blog to inspire action and tug on the heartstrings.

The mistake is often made on blogs (Change.org, MySpace, etc.) of posting very long, text heavy, press release-like postings on blogs. If people want to read in depth information about your organization, they will do so on your website. Blogs should be kept brief and have calls to action. For example, create an e-mail campaign, then create a blog posting called "Act Now: Help Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade in Thailand". Then in the body insert one paragraph that summarizes the email campaign and insert the hyperlink to the email action.

The same concept is true for informational blog postings. Post the one or two paragraphs of the story, and then hyperlink to the full article on your website (View Example).

Blogs can also be used to tug on the heartstrings. Use a more personal voice explaining why it is important to donate to your organization. Tell a personal story. Share why you work there. Share how the organization has changed a particular person's life. Keep it brief. Link to photos on your website or a photo slideshow on your MySpace, and then insert a link in the blog posting to your Change.org donation page (View Example) and asking them to donate. Don't forget to mention that no donation is too small.

2. Email your supporters on Change.org no more than twice a month.

On the Adminstrator Dashboard under "Message Your Supporters" you can send an email to all your supporters on Change.org. If you send more than two emails per month, you run the danger of crossing the line and becoming perceived as a spammer. They are muchy less likely to open your emails as well if you email them too much. Send out brief emails asking them to take action, visit your website, or make a donation. I also suggest you only ask for donations every other month.

3. Give your supporters "Compliments".

When you create an email campaign on Change.org, under the action content you can view a list of individuals that have taken action. Be sure to login to Change.org at least once week to give compliments to those that have taken action and send them a Supporter Request if they aren't already a supporter of your organization. Simply click "Compliment" and select from the six compliments listed. People especially love receiving the "You make the world a better place." compliment and a personal note is always appreciated.

4. Ask your supporters to post comments of support on your branded network.

Organizations that have branded networks on Change.org have a "Comments" section or wall. If your organization currently has no comments or just a few, login to the Administrator Dashboard and send out a quick email to your supporters asking that they post a comment of support on your Comments Wall. It is important to get your supporters involved and participating in your social network on Change.org and this is a good first request!

5. Ask your supporters to write a "Testimonial" about your organization.

When potential new donors and/or supporters visit your organization's social network on Change.org for the first time, many of them will immediately read the testimonials that have been written about your organization to get a sense of your organization's credibility. Make sure that you are communicating to your key supporters that you appreciate them writing testimonials of support on your social network. At minimum, set a goal of getting a new testimonial posted on your social network once a month. It's important that the content on your social network remain timely!

6. Post "Thank You" comments for donations and testimonials on your supporters walls.

Your supporters on Change.org very much appreciate "Thank you" comments on their walls. Whether it is a "Thank You!" for a donation, a positive testimonial that they have written about your organization, or even just for joining your social network, get in the habit of regularly posting comments on your supporter's walls. Not only does it show that you appreciate their contribution to your social network, but it is another way to effectively promote your organization on Change.org.

7. Thank your "Recruiters" for their support!

Your supporters on Change.org can recruit their friends and family to join your community on Change.org. They can also recruit them to take action and make a donation. These are some of your most important supporters on Change.org, so be sure to post a "Thank You" comment on their wall.

Best Practices: How to Inspire Your Supporters to Take Action on Change.org

1. Create an Email Campaign and populate it throughout the Internet.

This is one of the most exciting and powerful tools offered to subscribers of branded networks on Change.org. Large national and global organizations have been creating online e-mail action campaigns for years, but medium and small organizations have been unable to utilize e-mail campaigning because it has been too expensive. Until now.

You can send out these e-mail actions to your e-newsletter subscribers, you can "Invite" your supporters on Change.org to take action, or you can post them in blogs throughout the Internet, in bulletins on MySpace, or as comments in Facebook. The possibilities are endless, and individuals that take action and are not already a member of Change.org, your organization is provided their e-mail address. All for $20 a month! Amazing times for the Internet and nonprofit organizations.

Important: As long as you do not create e-mail campaigns during an election season that specifically advocate for or lobby against political candidates, you are not in violation of your 501(c)(3) status. You can create campaigns that are for or against specific legislation or actions taken by elected officials. See the Alliance For Justice website for more information.

2. Create a "Personal Commitment" action.

In the Admin Dashboard, you can create a "Personal Commitment" under "Post an Action". These are very simple to create and can result in hundreds of new supporters - and likely e-mail address for your organization's e-newsletter mailing list. Limit the description of your personal commitment to 2-3 paragraphs, link to your website within the description, and be sure to add a photo or video. Of course, your personal commitment should be related to your organization's mission and programs. Browse the list of personal commitments on Change.org to view examples of personal commitments created by both nonprofit organizations and individuals.

3. Create an "Action Center" on your website with Change.org e-mail campaigns.

Ever visited the "Take Action" or "Action Center" section of a large nonprofit organization's website? See the NRDC's Action Center as an example. Now, subscribers of branded networks on Change.org can create their own email campaigns. You can create campaigns that target state and federal legislators, the President, or third parties such as your local city council, corporate CEOs, or politicians and governments throughout the world.

In order to build your email mailing list and better engage and empower your supporters, create 3-4 email campaigns on Change.org and then create a new page on your website called an "Action Center". All actions on Change.org have an "opt-in" field so you'll find the email address of each person who joins one of your actions in the "Supporter Data" section of your Admin Dashboard. Be sure to immediately subscribe them to your organization's email newsletter. They could be future donors!

Best Practices: How to Create a Compelling Network on Change.org

1. Add or Edit Logo

Through MySpace, Facebook, blogs and YouTube, your organization's logo is increasingly becoming known as an avatar in the era of Web 2.0. More than ever you can brand and populate your logo throughout the Internet. The very first thing you should do after signing up for your branded network on Change.org, is upload your organization's logo through the Administrator Dashboard. Any time you post content outside of your branded network on Change.org, your organization's logo/avatar is attached to that content and thus visible to thousands of individuals.

2. Edit "About" Information

Like all web communications, the most important thing to remember when editing your "About" information on Change.org is to keep it brief. For Mission, Programs and History insert no more than 2-3 paragraphs in each category. Be sure to hyperlink to your organization's homepage the first time you mention the name of your organization in each category, and also add a video if you have one. To see an example, see the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

3. Upload Photos

At the very least, upload 4 of your strongest, most colorful photos. Be sure to title them and once a month upload 2-4 more photos. This will keep your profile visually fresh and appealing, and also show up on your supporter's nonprofit activity feed.

4. Add a Video

In general, as a best practice, I suggest that you create a channel on YouTube for your organization and upload all current and future videos to your YouTube channel so you can have all your organization's videos in one place on the Internet. You can also track the number of video views on your YouTube channel, no matter where the videos are viewed on the Internet. Once the videos are uploaded, then you can copy and paste the html embed code and upload the videos to Change.org, MySpace, Facebook, etc.

Usage of traditional media is on the decline i.e, newspapers, magazines, television, and radio while usage of the Internet consistently grows each year. YouTube and online video is one the driving forces behind this dramatic change in communications. At the very least, if your organization has video content, upload three videos to Change.org and be sure to enter "tags" so when people search Change.org, your videos (thus your social network) are much more likely to come up in the search results. Remember: Use our Web 2.0 icons to promote your social networking efforts, including the YouTube icon to drive individuals to your organization's YouTube channel. Also, when selecting a username on YouTube, be sure it matches your other social networking URLs, if possible:

www.change.org/accioninternational
www.myspace.com/accioninternational
www.youtube.com/accioninternational

5. Post links to your website throughout your Change.org social network.

Like other social networking websites, you can use Change.org to drive traffic to your website. There are two ways to do this: First, you can insert a link to your website with "http://" in front of the website URL. Second, you can use the internal link functions on Change.org, which are generally readily available through blog and actions posts.

6. Use "Tags" when uploading content on Change.org.

Tags are key words that can be added when uploading photos and videos, posting fundraising projects, posting news stories and discussions, and creating actions on Change.org. Tags ensure that your organization's content and profile are prioritized when individuals do searches on Change.org, so be sure to enter 3-4 tags separated by commas when uploading content to your organization's profile. An example of tags for an environmental organization would be "global warming, sustainability, wildlife, green living".

Best Practices: How to Manage Your Social Network on Change.org

1. Pick one day a month to download donor and supporter contact data.

Mark your calendars to login to the Administrator Dashboard at least once a month to download the contact information of new donors and supporters. If you create an email campaign on Change.org, your organization gets the email address of each person that participates and they also become a supporter in your social network on Change.org. The more you populate the email campaign throughout the Internet, the more email addresses you can download each month. These new contacts should be added to your organization's e-newsletter!

The same is true for any new donors you may have each month - whether they donate through a fundraising widget on MySpace, the Change.org Facebook APP, or through a fundraising page created by a supporter - download their contact information and subscribe them to your e-newsletter. Remember: All donors on Change.org are emailed receipts for their donations and they can login in to Change.org to print out a donations report at the end of the year for tax purposes. Your organization does not need to waste valuable resources or time writing, printing, and/or mailing out thank you letters and receipts. Web 2.0 donors prefer e-mail communications!

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