Message Content and Diversity as an Effective Nonprofit Fundraising Strategy on Social Media

This article explores the relationship between solicitation messages posted by nonprofit organizations on their Facebook profile and attracting donations during online fundraising events. Recent studies suggest that certain types of messages are more effective at spurring donors to give, but the evidence base is founded mainly on experimental designs. We use observational data for 752 nonprofits that participated in one or both of the Omaha Gives fundraising events in 2015 and 2020. Using the total amount of money donated to each organization as our outcome, we find nonprofits that post more diverse solicitation messages raise more money during online fundraising events. Consistent with previous studies, social media network size and activity (likes, posts, and shares) are once again important factors in explaining fundraising success. Our results provide deeper insights into the nuances of social media strategies for attracting donors and raising funds.