Stories From Small Nonprofits:ChildFund International

12/15/2009

StarsThe holidays are a time to give back to others. In that spirit, Diva Marketing is highlighting the stories of smaller nonprofits through out December. It's my wish that together we can help raise their visibility, perhaps find a new volunteer or even encourage a donation or two. Because as Laura King Edwards, Taylor's Tale, says, "Nothing should stand in the way of a dream."  Also the nonprofits that are using social media have agreed to share their strategies so we continue to learn together.

The ChildFund International Story

Virginia childfund international Story told by Virginia Sowers, Community Manager, ChildFund International.  For more than 70 years, ChildFund International (formerly Christian Children’s Fund) has been inspired and driven by the potential that is inherent in all children; the potential not only to survive but also to thrive, to become leaders who bring positive change for those around them.

We help deprived, excluded and vulnerable children around the world and in the United States to improve their capacity to improve their lives and have the opportunity to become young adults, parents and leaders who bring lasting and positive change to their communities.

We believe that change must be child-centered. Our distinctive approach focuses on working with children throughout their journey from birth to young adulthood, as well as with families, local organizations and communities globally to create environments children need to thrive.

Our work would not be possible without the generosity of our child sponsors and donors, and we are most grateful for their support.

Social Media

We have used social media extensively as part of our rebranding effort that began last July. In changing our organization’s name to ChildFund International (to align with the ChildFund Alliance), we have found social media to be an important tool to communicate the name change, build the ChildFund brand and also engage more interactively with our supporters.

In July, we launched a Twitter campaign. For every 200 followers we attracted on Twitter, an anonymous donor would provide a gift to country in which ChildFund worked. For example, one gift was a goat to a family in The Gambia. We shot video of the goat’s arrival and shared that back through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. We gained 2,200 followers in the two-week campaign, resulting in 11 gifts to vulnerable children.

We also ran a Twitter event this fall. In conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child on Nov. 20, we invited Twitter followers to tweet on a right they believed children should have for healthy development. After a set time, we voted on the top 5 tweets and put those back out on Twitter for a bit of competitive retweeting. We’re about to announce the top 2 tweets (as based on the number of retweets). Those two individuals are receiving a coffee table book with photographs of children around the world.


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