Do you follow nonprofit organizations on social media? If so, do you share and like their posts?
“Not very often,” you may be thinking. “Does it really matter?”
YES! Those simple actions make a big difference.
Organizations—whether for-profit businesses or nonprofits like Literacy DuPage—need two things above all: money and human involvement. And for nonprofits in particular, the path to both of those resources is awareness. When people know what we do, and only when people know what we do, do we generate money and human involvement.
Social media helps raise awareness.
Take a quick scroll through your favorite feed, and you’ll see the many ways social media helps individuals and organizations get noticed. You yourself might be using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to let others know what you do, how and why you do it, and how they can connect with you. If you’re in business, social media may be introducing you to new customers or collaborators. In the nonprofit world, we count on social media to attract donors and volunteers.
Social media brought me to Literacy DuPage.
Two years ago I signed into my LinkedIn account and noticed that Literacy DuPage was looking for a social media volunteer. I was looking for a place to donate my time, and I was struck by this opportunity’s close fit with my skills. At the time, I was a full-time employee with Rotary International, where I opened Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts to help that organization communicate.
Literacy DuPage welcomed me, and I’m now the primary manager of the group’s Facebook page. In two years, our page has grown from less than 400 likes to more than 700 likes. (Liking our page is a way to show your support and raises the chances that you and your friends will see news from us.)
I’m proud of that growth.
But likes are just the beginning.
The real value happens when an interested audience—someone like you—gets engaged. Here’s what engagement might look like, for supporters of Literacy DuPage:
- Donating
- Joining the email list
- Attending a volunteer tutor orientation
- Visiting literacydupage.org to learn more
- Volunteering
- Mentioning Literacy DuPage to a friend
Every one of these actions helps us recruit and train the volunteer tutors who are helping hundreds of DuPage County adults learn English. Right now, our volunteer army is helping 500 adult learners in more than 30 communities throughout DuPage County to create better lives for themselves and their families.
Here’s why we need your help.
As much as our tutors accomplish, we are only scratching the surface. Right now, our waiting list includes more than 200 people who hope to be matched with a tutor, so they can improve their language skills and their lives.
We’re on a five-year mission to at least double the number of adult learners we tutor. How do we do that? With money and volunteers. That means we need awareness. And you can create it.
Get involved with Literacy DuPage on social media.
Glance again at that list above. Take any of those actions, and you’ll be raising awareness for Literacy DuPage. But here’s something even quicker and easier: follow Literacy DuPage on your favorite social platform (or all of them!):
And don’t stop there. When you see our photos, announcements, and events, like and share our posts! That momentary action helps ensure that more and more people notice and engage in our cause.
Together, we can help end illiteracy and change lives in DuPage County.