How to Thank Nonprofit Supporters on Social Media

Your nonprofit’s supporters play a crucial role in helping your organization grow and flourish, so make sure to thank them often.

While the end of the year is an apt time to express gratitude to your nonprofit’s supporters, the strategies mentioned in this post can be implemented all year long. If your nonprofit had a holiday fundraising campaign, which was publicized on its Twitter account, look through the @ mentions and replies to see if people mentioned that they’ve donated to your organization during the campaign. Thank each individual personally by including their name, if available, when you tweet at them. Because images appear prominently in Twitter feeds, consider creating a thank you card and attaching it to the thank you tweet.  Alternatively, you can attach a photo, infographic or chart showing the impact of the supporter’s contribution and share those images on social media.

If someone makes an exceptionally large donation or in-kind contribution to your nonprofit and mentions it on Twitter, thank them via your nonprofit’s Twitter account and follow up with a personal email. When thanking supporters, don’t forget to show your appreciation to people who support your nonprofit’s cause by taking action. In the example below, Rainforest Alliance thanked coffee farmers who received the climate-smart verification on their coffee farms on their Facebook page.

Rainforest Alliance

Vine and Instagram video have made it easy to create short, engaging videos. Use these platforms to make fun thank you videos to share on Twitter, Facebook and other social media networks.

Another out-of-the-box way to show appreciation for supporters is to open up your nonprofit to supporters by hosting a Twitter chat or Google Hangout, so they can ask questions to staff at your organization. This is especially helpful for policy-oriented nonprofits that don’t engage in-person with their communities on a day-to-day basis. While many nonprofits have a public-service component to their work, chats like this are a way to giving back to people who have staunchly supported your organization’s mission.

Other social media resources for nonprofits:

10 tips for an effective nonprofit content strategy

Create shareable links for your nonprofit

Key metric for nonprofit Facebook community building

How to find social media content for nonprofits

9 tips for nonprofit social media content marketing

Questions about how to thank nonprofit supporters on social media? Leave a comment below or send us a tweet @mediacause.