Put Your Money Where Your “Like” Is

Philanthropic heavyweight to green and social organizations, Eliezer explains why pressing “Like” doesn’t convert support into donor dollars.

It is time to say it loud and clear: I don’t like the “Lik”e. Did you hear me? I Do Not Like The Like. Don’t misunderstand me: I love when people love me, and I like it when people like what I write and get their thumb up when they read my opinions about the world. This is the fuel that runs the writing of any blogger. I really like it, but I don’t like the Like.

I don’t like it because what I’m trying to do in the last decade or so – is to build social responsibility and build civic society. I started it in my own country as the head of the New Israel Fund in Israel, and I continue it today as the chairman of give2gether – a company which helps not for profit organizations worldwide to reach out to the world and build their community and economic sustainability. They are doing it by raising funds from their supporters.

(BTW – we do great work in converting friends into donors. The numbers are with us. But this is not the issue).

Everything went well until the Like disease started. Suddenly, with the flood of requests that we get through the Facebook and other social media, we receive plenty of requests from social change organizations and other not for profits organizations to become their friends.

They want us to like them. No more than that.

Why didn’t we think about it before?! Now we can get away from serious involvement and taking responsibility by just one click: I like it, I really like it. Thank you and bye, bye. Isn’t that nice?

The thing is that it is not enough. Civic society will not exist unless we put our money where our Like is. Through Facebook we get to know the story, but in order to get the funds we have to do the basic first move in fundraising: We have to ask. If you examine the Facebook Causes statistics carefully you learn that the average donations made through it is less then a dollar, while through online giving systems the level is almost $95.

Organizations should use top transparent platforms to raise funds and to make the initial step towards sustainability. They should open themselves to new constituency and go for the Ask and not only for the Like. They should look for support with money, with in-kind donations, with voluntarism, with what we need to maintain a vibrant civic society world wide.

And if you like what I wrote – don’t be shy: give me a little like (at the top of this article). This is the fuel that runs writers, not organizations.

Eliezer Yaari, is a veteran writer and a civic society activist in Israel. He is also the Chairman www.give2gether.com

Image via denisdervisevic