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Promote your events.
Facebook is a great place to promote your organization's events. Simply create the event, add pictures, and invite your contacts to join. In addition to groups, you can post details of events in your profile so people can RSVP. You also have the option to leave the event open to people in your network or open for everyone.
Promote your blog or newsletter.
Facebook also helps you to promote your blog or newsletter. This feature allows you to share information beyond what's in your profile in two ways. You can either post a note on your page or import your external blog. It is a nice way to communicate with your constituents and update them on your organization.
You can also integrate an RSS feed into your blog with notes. When you post it, the note is displayed in your profile and every one of your “friends” is notified and other members can add
comments.
Keep in touch with your members.
Facebook has a feature called "News Feed" that allows you to see all kinds of activity within your network. It's very similar to an RSS feed, in that when you log in to Facebook you mmediately receive an update of all of the actions your contacts have taken. And if someone posted a new photo album or RSVP'd to an event, you'll be notified right away.
Maintain some privacy.
On Facebook, you are in control of what information is out there about your organization and who can it. You can retain some privacy by blocking certain people from viewing your profile or by creating a profile to hide information you might not want to share with your contacts.
These nine points are meant to be a starting point for you to get your nonprofit on Facebook and into the social networking world. There are also many examples of nonprofit groups on Facebook. For instance, UNICEF at Indiana University has a campus group to announce news and meetings; there's also a group for Advocates for Grassroots Development in Uganda (AGRADU), a University of North Carolina initiative aiming to support indigenous grassroots efforts at community-building and economic development in Uganda.
The important thing is tojust GET GOING!
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