I’ve talked about it before, but will keep on talking about it because it is probably the easiest and possibly quickest method for obtaining additional votes.

Leverage the power of Twitter voting!

If you’re not on Twitter, I highly suggest signing up and posting the Twitter message offered on your causes share page. This simple task adds an extra vote right there. Easy Cheesy.

Once you’re on Twitter, here’s a strategy for getting even more votes -

Your whole goal is to reach out to people who have a common interest (your cause) and encourage them to vote. Twitter search is the perfect tool as it allows you to search peoples tweets for keywords. First thing you’ll want to do is identify what keywords you want to search for. These keywords should help you to identify tweets that are relevant to your cause.

For example: Say I really believe in the work done by the ASPCA, and have decided to rally behind their cause. I would start my Twitter vote campaign by searching Twitter for the term “aspca”.

Twitter will return a list of tweets that matched your search. Next step is to read through these tweets and based on their content, identify users who would be likely to cast a vote for your cause (highlighted tweets in image below).

Now simply craft them a message and send: @twitteruser Please RT! Help the ASPCA win a 25K social media makeover http://ow.ly/4pcs #cause0000 @communicause

** Please note the cause hashtag “#cause0000” for your cause will differ than what I’ve shown in the example. Make sure you find your cause’s share page and use the appropriate hashtag. Be sure to also include @communicause and our shortened URL http://ow.ly/4pcs (required for vote to count).

BTW, I would suggest slowly rolling this out, maybe 5-10 outreaches a day. Not everyone will ReTweet, don’t continue to ask them if they don’t. Ask once or twice and then move on.

Thanks for participating

Jeremy Hilton

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you have or for tips about promoting your cause via social media.

Email: jeremy.communicause@mindcomet.com
Twitter:  @jeremyhilton

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Originally published on SocialEdge.org.

This is shaping up to be the year of online competition and contests for NGOs and maybe for social entrepreneurs. Vodafone Foundation recently announced its three Wireless Innovation Project winners who will share $700,000 in prizes for their innovative ideas for using wireless technology for the greater good. The innovations - Active Networked Tags for Disaster Recovery applications to use wireless devices to locate catastrophe survivors;  the CelloPhone, an imaging platform on a cell phone;  and the CellScope, a way to use cellphones for mobile diagnostic microscopy - were selected from nearly 100 applicants from U.S. universities and nonprofit organizations for wireless innovation to address a critical global issue.

In another online competition, the actor Hugh Jackman challenged Twitter users to explain why he should support their favorite charity with the most convincing “tweet” and win $100,000 for their charity.  And the Case Foundation launched its latest Giving Challenge, a contest conducted through Causes GlobalGiving, giving US NGOs the chance to win up to $6,000 and be part of GlobalGiving’s programs. And coming soon, the Target Corporation will launch a contest through it’s Facebook page for visitors to vote for a list of 10charities to win part of $3 million in prizes.

The online NGO contest prizes are not all money.  CommuniCause, offers a “social media makeover” as a prize, which it values at $25,000.  The site offers social media tools to NGOs to generate enough votes to get themselves listed as a contestant.  Then, there is Ashton Kutcher’s offer of 10,000 bednets if more people followed him on Twitter than follow CNN.  He won and so did Malaria No More, which received and distributed the nets.

These contests are part of a larger movement, dubbed the “Facebook Philanthropies” (no connection to Facebook),  which uses the vast numbers of the internet to raise funds, much like Kiva and Nameste-Direct Foundations have been doing for microfinance loans.  The Vodafone competition, while not unique, raised the stakes for social entrepreneurs – stimulating innovation and possibly new social businesses.  However, although online giving to the nation’s largest charities grew 37 percent in 2006 and Network for Good and JustGive.org saw sharper increases in cash flow, online contests were a small fraction of giving and will likely stay that way. I think that they are a growing trend, however – not one on which NPOs can rely for operating or even project funds, but one that will kick off new NGOs and new social entrepreneurs. Because of this, I recommend social entrepreneurs to be on Twitter, Facebook, and set up Google alerts to clue them in to online contests that could stir up excitement in the organization and lead to some prize money that launches an innovation.  There is nothing like $700,000 to stimulate innovation, even if the odds of winning are only 3%.

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