Charities have always been confronted with the conundrum of having
to increase public awareness of their causes and raise funds with
limited financial resources and manpower.
With the explosive growth in Internet adoption and the resulting
social networking phenomenon, non-profit organisations now have an
inexpensive but powerful tool at their disposal. As a result, more
charities are now using the Web to publicise their causes and reach
out to donors both locally and abroad. Besides Internet essentials
like home pages and e-mail addresses, these organisations are also
making use of social networking sites such as Facebook and
Myspace.
In Singapore, the government is already lending a hand to
charities on the cyberspace front. Singaporeans can donate directly
to charities online at the government’s online donation
portal (http://www.donation.org.sg). Administered by
the National Council of Social Services, it allows individual
donors to make a contribution to charities of their choice using
credit cards. Singaporeans can even donate their GST credits or ERS
(Economic Restructuring Shares) to a good cause through this
Website.
While the benefits are clear, charities should also strike a
balance between their online marketing efforts and their offline
promotion. Facebook users for example, are already bombarded with a
multitude of requests to support different causes, making it hard
to tell which organisations are in urgent need.
To make matters worse, some crooks are also turning to the Web
to solicit contributions under the guise of charity. Overexposure
to online charity solicitations and scams could instead desensitise
and disconnect potential donors and volunteers.
Charities have always been confronted with the conundrum of having to increase public awareness of their causes and raise funds with limited financial resources and manpower.
With the explosive growth in Internet adoption and the resulting social networking phenomenon, non-profit organisations now have an inexpensive but powerful tool at their disposal. As a result, more charities are now using the Web to publicise their causes and reach out to donors both locally and abroad. Besides Internet essentials like home pages and e-mail addresses, these organisations are also making use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace.
