STATE COLLEGE, CENTRE COUNTY - Fundraising via social media is nothing new, but now it's moving to a whole new level.
According to Tech Impact, 56 percent of people donated to an organization because they read a story on social media and 59 percent of people donate after becoming a follower of a nonprofit's social media pages.
You could call Irene Miller "social media savvy."
"If your supporters are online, you need to be online," Miller, development coordinator for Centre Foundation, said. "I won't say it's the best fit for everyone, but if you find that people you talk to every day that are coming into your office, if they're on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest, what have you, then you probably should be there as well."
Miller is in charge of the Centre Foundation's social media pages. She said they joined around 2011 and have a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn page, but mostly stick to Facebook.
"This is one way where we can let the community know about an opportunity. They may not be an existing donor or be a part of our database otherwise, so this is a really great way to get the word out that's fairly inexpensive and anyone who has a Facebook account will know about it," Miller said.
According to the Pew Research Center, between February 2005 and August 2006, the use of social media among young adult internet users between 18 and 29 years of age skyrocketed, jumping from nine percent to 49 percent.
As of September 2013, 71 percent of online adults use Facebook and 22 percent use LinkedIn.
In May 2013, 74 percent of women were users of social networking sites, compared to 62 percent of men.
As of January 2014, the Pew Research Center said 74 percent of online adults use social media networking sites. 78 percent of those people have some college background, 73 percent have more.
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Social Media Fundraising: Does it Work?