Soon after putting the finishing touches on my new book I began to think about the next one. It did not take long for me to get a germ of an idea. It came as I was on Twitter reading comments by those that I follow. A pastor of a large church at a conference was quoted as saying that if you are not on twitter you had better get another job! His assumption was that everyone was on Twitter and we have to be in the people business. In the past few months I have had a running debate with my fellow Twitterites about whether this new phenomenon is indeed going to dramatically change every thing including how we raise funds.

So, I set out to research and discover the current impact of Social Media upon raising funds. At the outset I have to admit a couple of things. One, I love Twitter and Facebook and am at heart a techie wanna be. No, I don’t have an iPhone as I am a Blackberry fanatic and a loyal Verizon customer. I do have an iTouch and when Apple decides to let Verizon in the iPhone family I will quickly switch over. So, I do think, even though I am past fifty, that I can run with the young turks on this technology stuff.

More importantly however I have to admit that I have a bias that Social Media though having some impact, will not fundamentally change the way funds are raised. My opinion is that particularly in the church the key to sustaining funding is raising up disciples not simply band wagon followers. In that regards Social Media will play only a small part in the over all picture.

With all that in mind here are some preliminary findings…

Social Media is too new to fully analyze. I want to be fair to Social Media and give it the benefit of the doubt. It is simply too new a tool at this point to know what its impact overall will be. When we discard one platform for the next new platform one year to the next it is hard to evaluate where this will all land. At this point there have been too few studies to support that this movement is the future of raising funds not only in the non-profit world but in the church. Repeatedly as you research and read about this movement you see the word potential used. It is simply too new and not fully developed to warrant final conclusions. However, nearly every study while showing growth in terms of numbers is showing that the amount raised overall is a small percentage total of a non-profits overall funding.

Social Media in terms of fund raising is more hype than reality. Apart from the Obama campaign Social Media disciples can point to very few success stories in using this tool to raise funds. When you closely examine even that example you find that its success was over blown. The Campaign Finance Institute found that “only 26% of his money came from donors whose total contributions aggregated to $200 or less. Obama’s 26% compares to 25% for George W. Bush in 2004, 20% for John Kerry in 2004, 21% for John McCain in 2008, 13% for Hillary Clinton in 2008, and 38% for Howard Dean in 2004.” They further stated, “Obama received about 80% more money from large donors (cumulative contributions of at least $1,000) than from small donors.” So Obama raised most of his money the old fashioned way, through larger donations that typically did not come through the Internet.

I have looked at example after example of what some would say is a successful use of Social Media and have found that they lag far far behind traditional methods. One book that I researched gave an example of a non-profit using Social Media to raise over $31K from its 1.5 million member online supporters. Do the math, that is 21 cents per member! Not impressive at all. My contention is that when you do the math the return on investment is so low that you have to wonder if its worth it at all? At this point Social Media as a new impact player in raising funds is a myth that is unsupportable by the facts.

Social Media’s strongest adherents, young adults, give typically far less than other age groups. While old guys like me are embracing these new tools, typically it is the world of the young that inhabit the space. As such the amount given is fractionally small. While some are touting that this generation is just as generous as the WWII generation facts as of yet do not support that claim. You can find a lot of examples of five dollar donations being text in on cell phones at some concert. However when you evaluate that on the whole it is a fraction of what could be raised and a mere smidgen of what this generation spends on other personal preferences items.

While using Social Media should not be discarded it must however be used correctly. Much will be made of the growth of this new tool. There are indications of its growth among non profits. I am not advocating that we not use this tool. I am simply saying that it is limited. The most effective use of the tool is as an entry point to further engagement. So, please understand that I do think you should have an online giving strategy. What I am saying is that you need to see it in context and use it appropriately.

Given the small return that even the best Social Media campaigns are seeing it is wise to keep that in mind in your overall stewardship plan. As effective as the Obama campaign was in using the Internet they would have failed if all their eggs were placed in that basket. You too must see Social Media as one aspect of your total approach. It may grow in the future but for now it is very limited. However some money is better than no money.

The future will look like the past. Some things will never change. It has always been true that a few give the majority of any churches funds. That will never change. It has always been the fear of one generation that the next would not step up. Each time the next generation does indeed step up. As in the past so in the future God will raise up stewards to fund His work. The process that has been the most effective down through the ages has been discipleship. True disciples are what funds your ministry. Major on what works and minor on what has potential and you will have better success.

My old boss John Maxwell teaches that you need to spend your time wisely in the areas of your strength not your weaknesses. He states that if you are a 4 in a certain area you might work hard to improve to a 6 but you would still not approach excellence. In the same way if you are a 7 in an area you might improve to a 9. Since you only have so much time focus your time on that which will bring the greatest return, your strengths.

My position is that the same should be true for your stewardship plan. Focus the majority of your time on that which promises the best results. While it might be cool and hip to use Social Media at this point putting all your eggs in this basket will cause you to miss thousands of dollars and you could face hard times. In the same vein totally dismissing this new tool could mean the loss of five or ten percent increase in your receipts. That might just help you make budget this coming year.

The bottom line whether you agree with this post or not is that you need a comprehensive stewardship plan to successfully navigate through these challenging times.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group