MRF Fundraising Manager Ian Beningfield and I headed to Bristol's Southville Centre on 18 June for a conference on Internet Fundraising and Social Media hosted by the Institute of Fundraising South West.
During a hectic day of lectures, we cemented our knowledge on how charity websites should operate, discussed the
Five Pillars of Online Fundraising, heard from the
Dogs Trust about Social Networks, Virgin on Donations in the 21st Century, best practice for email communication, and how social media helped made
Comic Relief 09 such a huge success. Phew.
We liked:
Howard Lake of UK Fundraising's real-time tweeting of speakers' main points and Q&A sessions.
Sue Fidler's extremely accessible and no nonsense approach in her lecture on the why, how, and best practice of email Communications.
Chris Ward of
Comic Relief's illustration of how new media strategy can evolve right up to the eleventh hour - the realisation that 100,000 people were logged on to the Comic Relief Facebook group whilst the show was on-air, and incorporating the idea to get celebrities to quiz these 'laptop on knees in front of the telly' viewers to engage them more fully.
The emphasis on using social media to engage with your audience but not moderating too heavily and allowing conversation to flow.
We'd like:
To know what our members and supporters think about social media. If you're on
Facebook, search for Meningitis Research Foundation, or follow us on and
Twitter. We want to hear about what you're up to, whether you're all about Web 2.0, or you prefer a chat over the phone.
To thank all the speakers for their expertise, and the Institute of Fundraising South-West for a well organised event and for fitting me in as a delegate at the last minute.
Resources:
www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk - ICT information and advice for community and not-for-profit organisations
Neil Hardman - MRF Communications Officer
Posted in MRF News by Neil Hardman on 19 June 2009
Bookmark