When it comes to raising money, smaller nonprofits may find it difficult to attract philanthropy. However, some may find that technology can be a great equalizer.
That was the case with Critical Exposure, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that has only four staff members. Though it is small, the nonprofit firm was able to raise $15,669 from 614 donors during GlobalGiving’s U.S. Open Challenge.
GlobalGiving is an online marketplace that showcases a variety of causes, charities and projects. People interested in philanthropy can log on to the site and search it based on a topic or region they would like to support through giving. Users can also keep track of the particular projects to which they have donated.
The challenge pitted 70 charitable organizations against one another in a contest to see who could raise the most money. Critical Exposure relied on sites like Twitter and Facebook, and the practice of "crowdsourcing," in order to beat out much of their competition competition.
Crowdsourcing is the practice of relying on a large, undefined group to try and get a job done.
"Our supporters became personally invested in the competition through regular updates through Facebook, Twitter and e-mail letting them know just how close the race was," Adam Levner, Critical Exposure co-director, said. "The other key to our success was asking people to make just a $10 donation, which made it easier for friends and supporters to reach out to their networks."
Heather Rieman, another co-director for Critical Exposure, said the contest showed that by being comfortable with using social media tools, even the smallest nonprofits can compete for cash with bigger groups.
The group gained two bonuses that came out to $5,000 – one was for having the most unique donors and the other was for raising the second-most amount of money – which brought the nonprofit’s total to $20,669.
With that money, the nonprofit will continue to try and help lower-income youths help themselves through using photography and advocacy training. Young people use the knowledge to try and help tackle issues they see affecting their communities.