Blog Home

Non-profits rely on dedicated employees and volunteers to provide services, support causes, and spread the word. A good employee or volunteer serves as an ambassador, promoting the non-profit’s mission and engaging with the community.

Turns out your non-profit can have a great ambassador who will work days, nights, and weekends. Online social calendars like Localist offer features that support the way non-profit communities function. Just like a good employee or volunteer, a social calendar can improve and grow a community. Read on for the benefits of adding an online calendar to your non-profit’s website.

An online calendar will:

1. Generate more buzz online and on social networks. Like any good ambassador, online calendars will help spread the word about your non-profit, its community, and its events. Online buzz can translate into new members, increased support, and packed events. Online calendars with comments enabled provide a forum for people to talk about your events and organization. Then social media integration takes it to the next level by allowing events to be shared with users’ vast social networks with one click.
2. Recruit volunteers and/or increase membership. Non-profits depend on people power. By showcasing your active community and awesome events, online social calendars can hook in that people factor and help you recruit new volunteers and members. Detailed descriptions and pictures on your calendar will help prospective volunteers see what it’d be like to work at one of your events. Then, through social features such as comments and social media integration, they can connect with current members and volunteers to talk about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.
3. Provide more opportunities for members to support each other. Non-profit communities can be important support networks for members. Online calendars provide information about how and where members can connect, but can also tailor to specific populations within the larger non-profit community. Using sort options, members can search for events that speak to them and their needs. For example, Localist customer JDRF tags its events with population-specific categories such as, “For Adults with Type 1,” “For Parents and Caregivers,” “For Kids with Type 1,” and “For Teens with Type 1.” A parent looking for a support group of others caring for children with Type 1 Diabetes will feel connected to JDRF, and each other, when they see events tagged with them in mind.
4. Help members or event attendees fundraise. Do you ask attendees to fundraise a certain dollar amount in order to attend some of your events? Take the Bay Area JDRF, which has an upcoming event, T1D Night with the San Francisco Giants. In lieu of paying for a ticket to the game, attendees must fundraise. Using the online calendar, JDRF baseball fans can ask their Facebook friends and others in their social media networks to contribute to the cause. Social media and human generosity are a great fundraising combination. Event attendees will reach their goals in no time, and can focus on more important things, like how they’re going to catch a foul ball.
5. Increase event attendance. An easy-to-use online calendar works seamlessly with the way people seek information and make plans on-the-go. Of course, online calendars have the potential to reach more people, at a lower cost, than old-fashioned print calendars. Drive traffic to your online calendar and you’ll see a boost in event attendance numbers at your fundraisers and other important events. Online calendars make it easy for attendees to see event information, get directions, share info with friends who might also want to attend, find out who else is going, and talk about the upcoming event.

See why an online social calendar can be a great ambassador for your non-profit? Easy-to-use customizable features and social media integration through a calendar like Localist can build your non-profit’s community and get people involved. JDRF calls their online calendar the Social Hub; a fitting name for the go-to-spot for Type 1 Diabetes community events. What will your organization’s event destination be called?