A recently conducted social media survey of nonprofit organizations in North America has found that 91% of respondents raise funds online, but only 58 percent of those nonprofits cite fundraising as a goal for using it. Conducted by Sage North America, the survey results list “sharing our story,” building a community, public relations and donor engagement/retention – not raising funds – as the nonprofits’ top reasons for engaging in social media. While online donations are growing, organizations are still trying to unite their social media strategies effectively with their fundraising campaigns.

According to Krista Endsley, general manager for Nonprofit Solutions at Sage, “The most successful nonprofits are capitalizing on social media, not by simply tweeting a link to their donation form, but by using it as part of an integrated campaign. Multiple touches with constituents are what result in donations. Social media is helping nonprofits engage in more ‘touches’ with more donors and, ultimately, raise more funds.”

Other findings from Sage’s survey include:

• 88% of survey respondents are using some form of social media; more than half of them have been using social media for less than a year;
• 45% of survey respondents that haven’t adopted social media are unsure of the relevance and advantages to their organization; other respondents cited lack of time and resources and lack of understanding and expertise as reasons for not participating in social media;
• The most popular type of social media used is general social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, followed by blogging and microblogging; and YouTube is also widely used;
• 70% recognize social media as either very or somewhat important to their organization, while only 9% are very satisfied; and
• 20% of respondents spend more than five hours per week using social media.