Find MCH on Facebook!

Now that Facebook has become the cyber-equivalent of the local town square, the Coalition has rushed to join the scene. February marked the launch of a groundbreaking fundraising campaign on the social-networking site — a venture the Coalition hopes will reach new supporters and help stabilize the group’s finances.
In making the move, the Coalition has jumped into the first wave of nonprofits to try Facebook fundraising — the potential of which was revealed by President Barack Obama’s monumental success last year in soliciting campaign contributions via the Internet.  Much of his support was drawn from the web’s array of networking sites, whose design can spark a “contagion phenomenon” as one individual’s donation prompts a flurry of direct contacts to donate as well.

With some 60 million American members, Facebook is the largest and most active such site on the web.  Its allure for cash-strapped nonprofits has increased over the last year, as the site’s membership has broadened beyond the under-30 crowd. Indeed, much of Facebook’s substantial growth over the last year is explained by the massive throng of baby boomers who’ve signed on to the site.

The changing demographics and Facebook’s network architecture both make the site a promising platform for fund-raising, said Liz Kuoppala, the Coalition’s interim executive director. “It’s hard to know what this new effort will bring,” Kuoppala said, “but it would be foolish not to give it a try. As foundations’ giving power shrinks with the economy, many nonprofits are moving toward seeking smaller contributions from a greater number of givers.”

Facebook could be a great tool for fulfilling that goal, said Kate Stanley, the Coalition’s communications & development specialist. But its fund-raising promise, she explained, isn’t Facebook’s only attraction. “Finding new donors is only part of what we’re after,” Stanley said. “The Coalition is always looking for new ways to tell the stories of our homeless neighbors. It’ll be interested to see how people react once they visit the Facebook page we’ve created as part of this campaign. It’s really a one-stop shop for learning about Minnesota homelessness. It could prove immensely valuable as a public-education tool.”

That, said Kuoppala, could be the biggest payoff of the Coalition’s Facebook adventure. “Minnesotans want to help,” she said. “Our task is to give them opportunities to get involved, and Facebook will do just that.”