One of the biggest issues associations and nonprofits struggle with is how to truly connect with their supporters on a deep, personal level. Nonprofit campaigners and fundraisers are so busy multi-tasking, organizing campaigns and raising money that it’s challenging for staff to carve out the necessary time to foster those connections, which are so critical to organizations.
One great tactic I have recently seen used to spark and strengthen connections in online communities is something Randy Paynter, Founder of Care2 calls “Shine a Light” and others call a “Love Bomb.”
Here’s how it works. You publicly highlight a member on your blog or website that might be going through a rough time and members send them their virtual support through comments. In theory, nonprofits and associations could take it further and also “shine a light” on members who have done something incredibly inspirational for the community. That would be another great way to help foster relationships with your members and even connect members to each other.
Paynter said that the “Shine a Light" idea came originally from a heartfelt Care2 post that one of Care2’s members did for another member (Bill) who had to put down his longtime companion dog, Norm. Bill posted a blog post about it too and then other members linked to it." The post generated over 150 thoughtful comments.
After seeing such a terrific response, Paynter decided to use his personal blog on Care2 to launch a Shine a Light series. The first one he did was for Ann Pietrangelo, one of Care2’s bloggers/members who has MS and was diagnosed with cancer. The Care2 community flooded Ann with supportive comments.
The second one Paynter did was for Care2 member and environmentalist Hugh MacDougall who recently passed away. Care2 members left over 1000 comments in memory of Hugh that were shared with his family.
Paynter has sparked so many responses and connections through the Shine a Light posts, that he is launching a monthly series. “It’s such a great example of how a simple act of kindness can make a difference,” said Paynter.
“This is one of my favorite new programs we've started over this past year and it's a great thing for organizations to experiment with too.”
“If an organization needs to justify internally spending the resources to do something like this, I think they can justify it from a brand-love building perspective... but sometimes you also just need to do things
like this because it's pure Goodness... and organizations that imbue authentic Goodness will eventually see other positive returns. Call it karma or what ever you want, but I believe that an organization that
does Good will be rewarded in the end,” said Paynter.
A Fundraising Tactic?
Can a nonprofit also use this to raise money for an issue related to their work?
Love Bomb organizes a campaign called Love Drop, a micro-giving network of people who unite to help one person or family every month, has had some good success. But Paynter cautions nonprofits on adapting this as a fundraising source.
“Organizations need to be careful about using it this way so it doesn't come across in any way as a fundraising effort. I think this has to be pure, authentic and with no immediate benefit to the organization or it could backfire and look manipulative or insincere. Most folks are tired of being asked for money, so I'd err on the side of keeping money out of the equation. There are times to ask them for money, but only after you have a trusted relationship - so you can look at this as part of the relationship building.”
More Resources:
- Love Bomb
- Love Drop
- TechSoup Global Summit: Inspiration Overload - Beth Kanter
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