Causes Nonprofit Coordinators, Sarah Koch and Susan Gordon, just returned form the 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference in Atlanta, GA.  It was 3 days of jam-packed informational sessions, presentations, discussions, and meetings.  Overall, it was thrilling and we learned a lot from nonprofits that are using the Causes application on Facebook.  We would like to take a moment here to answer the three most common questions we heard at the Nonprofit Tech Conference.

Q:  Someone started a cause for my nonprofit but I don’t know who they are.  How do I take control of that cause?

A:  First, take a moment to read Managing your Community on Causes. If someone creates a cause and chooses your nonprofit as its beneficiary, that’s great news!  We recommend signing into your Nonprofit Partner Center at http://nonprofits.causes.com and affiliating with that supporter’s cause.  If that person accepts, you can now act as an administrator on the cause and send those cause members messages.  But nonprofits who are successfully using Causes know that it is not just about control.  Investing and building a relationship with the creator of that cause can have great benefits to your organization.  You will be more successful at mobilizing those members to action by working with the cause creator (after all, it started from their social network!).  Also, the cause may be a community that cares about an issue, but not everyone in the cause may even know about your nonprofit.  This presents an incredible opportunity to educate those members about what you do and cultivate new supporters.  Read Managing Your Community on Causes for more information, tips, and advice.

Q:  How do I link my Facebook Fan Page to my cause?

A:  Visit our Nonprofit Resource Page and follow the step-by-step instructions to feature your cause on your Fan Page.  But, because your Fan Page itself isn’t viewed as often as your updates, we recommend sending the link to your cause in an update to your Fans.  Updates such as these often work well: “Exciting campaign going on on our cause.  We need your help!: ” or “We’re trying to reach 5,000 members of our cause.  The Top Recruiter will win (insert a prize here)!  “.

Q:  How do I use my cause to raise more money for my nonprofit?

A:  Our two top suggestions are: 1) promote the Birthday Wish feature to your supporters and 2) create a Custom Fundraising Project and run a fundraising campaign around it.  Read about Birthday Wishes here.  You can get a custom link for your cause in the Admin Center and send a bulletin out at the first of the month saying “Happy April!  If your birthday is in April, consider creating a Birthday Wish for (your nonprofit name) here: .”  You can also use that link on your website, in newsletters, and more.  The average active Birthday Wish raises about $100 so it is worth your investment!  Creating a Custom Fundraising Project is easy – you just log-in to your Nonprofit Partner Center and click “Create a Custom Project” under the Fundraising tab.  Creating a compelling and effective campaign can be more difficult, which is why we’re here to help.  Click here to view our slides of how to Create a Fundraising Campaign that works.   Questions?  Email us at partner@causes.com.