During the last few weeks of the year many people make donations to local charities, which struggle to compete for those dollars. Non-profits are using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to extend their reach and attract donors they might not have been able to before.
Ernie Talerico, director of operations for the Utica Rescue Mission, says it uses Facebook to share updates about what it's doing that may not be picked up by traditional media like television and radio.
"When there is an increase in awareness, you see that more people get involved, there are more volunteers and also more donations will come in as there's more awareness of what we do and what we are doing," Talerico explained.
Talerico says last year the Utica Rescue Mission served about 220,000 meals to the needy through its program's food pantry and other services. That number is expected to rise as high as 270,000 this year.
Matt Michael, with the Red Cross of Central New York, says they take a similar approach to raising awareness through social media by showing people exactly how their donations are spent.
"There's an ebb and flow, and certainly at the end of year, I mean, just in general for any sort of fundraising is the best time," Michael said. "People are in that mood before the end of the tax year, and the calendar year for tax purposes and all that kind of stuff. But I think, again, what we try to do throughout the whole year and now especially is tie that in."
Keeping a steady dialogue with donors and volunteers through social media, according to Michael, helps the organization highlight the services it provides, whether its following a fire, a heavy snowstorm, or as in one case this summer, after a tornado touched down in Madison County.
"In central New York, for example, its an average of $800 for a family of four that is displaced from a home for lodging and food and things that we provide," Michael explained. "So making that connection, I think, is always important at any time of the year, and especially at the holidays when people are in a little more of a giving mood."
Michael says because the Red Cross has been consolidating nationwide, some locations are closing down. Keeping in touch via Facebook and Twitter helps the organization remain active in the community even when they aren't down the street.
Social media has also helped many non-profits through Giving Tuesday, a charity-driven day created to counteract Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The Case Foundation reported charities raised an estimated $45.6 million the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, up nearly 63 percent from 2013.
