It’s the season of giving, and there’s no better kind than giving back. Whether you want to donate to your community, support a local cause, or help people worldwide, there are thousands of ways to raise money and help others this holiday season. And if you have a social media platform, there are even more ways to support causes close to you.
In today’s article, we’ll be sharing a few of the ways you can use your platform to give back this holiday season.
Raise Awareness 📣
One of the easiest ways of giving back is to spread awareness about charities and nonprofit organizations. This doesn’t take much additional time or funds, but it can be so impactful. All you need to do is post a video (or a few!) about an organization you support. Create a video highlighting the work they do and why it means so much to you. We also recommend telling creators how they can get involved and support the organization. If you plan to do something to give back, share that, too!
You can even make this a series if you want to go the extra mile! Highlight a different organization every week through the rest of the year. Maybe challenge yourself and see if you can only (or mostly) stick to the ones in your niche.
Fundraising Campaigns 💸
If you really want to impact causes you’re passionate about, host a fundraising campaign! There are a few different ways to raise money, depending on how involved you want it to be.
Start a Fundraiser 📈
Use a platform like GoFundMe or Facebook Fundraisers to raise funds for an organization. Create a content strategy to promote your fundraiser and encourage your followers to donate. If you’re able to, connect with the organization to see if they have any media, testimonials, or other materials they want you to use in your fundraiser. Be sure to start the donations! Even if it’s $5, your audience be more motivated to donate if there’s already some money raised.
Accept Donations 🪙
Create a donation listing in your Clapper Shop. You can promote it in your videos and your Lives. This is a lot more laidback for you and is easier to market to your followers and drive them to. You’ll just have to do the leg work of keeping track of the donations, donating them, and showing creators that you’ve donated.
Reward Donations 🏆
We’ve seen content creators offer rewards for large donations or donation milestones. Try letting the person who submits the biggest donation pick your next video, or get a special shoutout. Maybe the person who gets the money raised to $100 (or whatever milestone you choose) gets a merch bundle or a cohosting spot in your next Live. This can be a great motivator for viewers, as sometimes they need extra incentive to give.
Host an Event 🎙️
You can plan a Livestream event and sell tickets for charity! Plan an incredible event or showcase that people would love to tune into, like a concert or comedy special. Try to work with other creators to spread the word and get a larger community interested. You can donate the ticket sales and accept donations throughout the Livestream. Giving away special prizes or hosting a raffle for people who donate could be another way to drive donations!
Work with Local Causes 📌
Research charities and nonprofit organizations in your area and get involved. Volunteer at a local shelter, food bank, or cleanup event, and document your experience to inspire your followers. Just be sure to ask if it’s alright to film! Seeing you getting involved and volunteering will influence them to go out and do the same. You might even be introducing them to issues in their local community they never thought about.
One of the benefits of working with your local community is that…well, you’re keeping it local. You’ll be able to see the benefits of your work, and you might even be helping your neighbors or loved ones.
Donate Your Earnings 💰
One of the best ways to raise money and give back this holiday season is to put your money where your mouth is! If you can, donate the proceeds from your videos, your Live gifts, your Shop sales, or anything you earn from your platform. For creators who can’t donate all your earnings, designate a series of videos or a Livestream that you’ll use instead!
If you want to get your audience engaged, let them know you’ll be donating your earnings! It might even be beneficial to let them choose or suggest which nonprofit you’ll donate to. They’ll be more invested if the community you’re helping is one they feel connected to.
Bonus: Finding Nonprofits 🔍
The hard part can be finding an organization or nonprofit to work with. There are so many, and all of them feel so worthy! There are a few things you can do to narrow down the search.
1. Stay In Your Niche ✅
Look for nonprofits and charitable organizations that are involved in your specific niche. A chef could work with Meals on Wheels or a local food pantry, while an author might work with Reading is Fundamental.
2. Find One You Connect With ✅
Is there a nonprofit whose mission really resonates with you? Has a charity helped you or a loved one before? It doesn’t even have to be one in your niche! Giving back to an organization that’s helped you before is so fulfilling – and they’ll love to see it, too.
3. Look for Trusted Organizations ✅
We recommend researching charities or nonprofits on Charity Navigator or other watchdog websites! These will help you find verified and vetted organizations to connect with. Your local nonprofits may not be on these databases, but bigger organizations should be listed.
We’ve worked with nonprofit organizations in the past, and we’d definitely recommend it! Check out our interview with the North Texas Food Bank or our toy donation vlog to see our experiences!