Small Charity Week

Posted: 

25
Apr
Event Date :
18 June 2018 to 23 June 2018
Cost :
£0
Venue :
your place
Description :

Small Charity Week is a campaign which was first established by the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) in 2010 to celebrate and raise the profile of the small charity sector.

The week is organised as a series of activities and initiatives to support and raise awareness of the hundreds and thousands of small charities that, every day, make a huge difference to vulnerable communities right across the UK and the rest of the world.

The objectives of Small Charity Week are to:

  • Celebrate the contribution that small charities make to communities throughout the UK and across the world
  • Improve the knowledge, representation and sustainability of small charities
  • Highlight the work of the small charity sector to the broadest possible audience
  • Encourage public giving
  • Work with the small charity sector to develop political engagement at a national and local level

In 2014 they received the Big Society Award from the Prime Minister David Cameron, which is a resounding endorsement of the work of small charities throughout the UK and beyond.

We will be retweeting on Twitter and sharing on Facebook everything you are up to, its time to shout out and be proud of all you do. Share your events with them here 

Get your press pack here 

Small Charity Week 2018

Social media guidelines support Pack

 

To make the most of social media, organisations need to understand how and why their supporters and beneficiaries use these different channels. There are several reasons – to stay up to date, to engage, to interact and to be entertained. For this reason organisations need to avoid simply sending out PR messages and find ways to have a conversation with their followers.

Social media relies on relationships – the more relationships you have, the more people will become aware of your brand and spread your message/use your services. It’s therefore vital to ensure your own staff are acting as ambassadors and to follow as many similar organisations and influential people as possible to get on their radar.

It’s also important to know where your audience hangs out – you can’t expect people to come and find you – it’s all about posting messages to existing groups, re-tweeting other groups’ messages, getting yourself where your audience is – so follow people, post messages in other groups and link up with as many relevant people and organisations as possible.

Practicalities 

When to post - It’s important to avoid overkill with social media and to only post useful or entertaining information – otherwise people soon get bored and stop listening. For this reason charities should aim to post something on Twitter no more than 5 times daily, and other social media networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn once or twice a week to remain current, with additional posts around key events.

How to post – HootSuite (www.hootsuite.com) or Tweetdeck (www.tweetdeck.com) can help organisations and individuals manage all social media activity, to synch the different accounts and to schedule posts. Individuals may also wish to download the relevant Apps onto their smart phones so they can tweet on the go and from events.

What to post – Charities should post different messages depending on audience and event/topic. Posts can include practical information (e.g. booking forms), entertaining posts (pictures, comment), queries (questions for followers) and comment (thoughts on topical news/developments). Different messages should be used as much as possible to avoid repetition. The aim is for people to follow an organisation across all media, which they won’t do if the same messages are used on all of them, all of the time.

Who to follow/RT – The more charities follow key individuals, the more they retweet (RT) the posts of others, the more interest they will gain in their own activities. 

Hashtags – The use of hashtags is important, not only on Twitter but also Facebook. These will help an organisation's activities trend, enable people to find what they are looking for, and will enable organisations to monitor the level of activity for each day. 

Why use social media

Social media offers a quick and easy way to garner interest in your charity and Small Charity Week (SCW). It can be used...

  1. To raise the profile of an organisation / individual
  2. To promote the work of your charity to a broader audience          
  3. To create a community and a buzz around your organisation / events 

Action points  In the run up to SCW...

 1.       Facebook

  • Charities should update their Facebook pages with information of their SCW activities, such as weekly discussions, blogs, and stories about who is involved and what they are doing. The SCW logo can be used as a cover photo. Use the hashtag #SmallCharityWeek or #ILoveSmallCharities in posts to promote the event and discover what activities others are planning
  • Charities should encourage their supporters to 'like' their Facebook page which will serve to promote it across supporters own networks
  • Charities should 'like' the FSI and SCW pages, which will promote their organisation to all those following the FSI and SCW.

2.       Twitter

  • The Twitter handle for Small Charity Week is @SCWeek18 and the hashtag for the week is #ILoveSmallCharities or #SmallCharityWeek
  • Charities should tweet about the SCW activities using the above hashtag
  • Charities should follow the FSI, SCW and all other relevant partners and supporters, and interesting things they say should be retweeted
  • Comments and questions posed by other people should be replied to – especially if they are negative in nature – as a means of engaging supporters and building profile/strengthening reputation

Example Tweets

Updates as to progress re planning SCW – for e.g.

“Excited to be participating in #SmallCharityWeek between 18 and 23 June. We have lots of exciting activities coming up @SCWeek18 http:linktowheretheycanfindoutmore” 

Promote key milestones –

“One month to go before our #eBay auction for #SmallCharityWeek. To find out how you can bid for our celebrity goods visit http:linktofindoutmore” 

Comment on why SCW is so important –

“Did you know we do x, y and z every day? Help us do more by joining in with #SmallCharityWeek http:linktofindoutmore” 

Facts about last year’s SCW -

 “Last year we raised £xxxx in #SmallCharityWeek – will you help us beat that this year? http:linktofindoutmore” 

3.       LinkedIn

  • Charities should use their own LinkedIn pages to link with key people who may be interested in supporting their SCW activities 
  • Short blogs and discussions should be posted on charities individual pages providing details of their SCW activities and the impact of these on their services

4.       Instagram

  • Think about the types of photo you can use to raise your profile and showcase your work in advance of Small Charity Week.
  • Make sure you have good high quality photos ready to be used.
  • Don’t forget to use the Small Charity Week hashtags alongside your photos. 

Facebook and/or LinkedIn

-       A short blog about the benefits of SCW for your organisation

-       A short blog on the importance of your organisation's work and how SCW helps it

-       A short news story about SCW – timed for activity dates 

Monday 18 June – I Small Charities 

Charities should ask supporters to do the following: 

Twitter – write a tweet including the following hashtag: #ILoveSmallCharities and to change their photo or the background of their profile page to the SCW logo 

Facebook – change their status to ‘I Love Small Charities because…’ and to also use the SCW logo as their profile pic/ cover photo. The hashtag #ILoveSmallCharities can also be used on Facebook. 

Instagram – Post their ‘I Love Small Charities’ photos alongside the Small Charity Week hashtag 

LinkedIn – change their profile pic to the SCW logo and to post on the charity's LinkedIn Group ‘I Love Small Charities Because…’ (also linking to the FSI page)

Tuesday 19 June – Big Advice Day

The following hashtag should be used across Twitter and Facebook: #SmallCharityWeek 

-       Charities could tweet/post about how excited they are and what they hope to learn

-       Charities could tweet/post about their experiences on the day

-       Charities could tweet/post about how they have used the information from the day to improve their work

-       Charities could/tweet post about their Big Advice Day experience from previous years 

Wednesday 20 June – Policy Day 

Charities participating in Policy Day should use social media and the hashtag #SmallCharityWeek to do the following:

-       Share links to stories about policy changes that effect their work

-       Comment about the impact of policy changes on small charities

-       Posts/tweets relating to their participation and what they have seen/done/think 

Thursday 21 June – Fundraising Day 

The hashtag #SmallCharityWeek should be included within all posts/tweets. Posts should be made across all social media that provide info about what the day involves and where people can find out more. For e.g: 

-          “You can help us raise money on #FundraisingDay by doing x, y and z. Register now here: http:linkhere #SmallCharityWeek”

-          “Our vital services urgently need more money. Can you help by contributing to #SmallCharityWeek. Find out more http:linktofindoutmore”

-          “Thanks to @debbie for signing up to help with #SmallCharityWeek. She will be sitting in a bath of beans to raise money! Support her here: http:linktomore

-          “We need ideas for fundraising activities for school children – anyone got any suggestions? #SmallCharityWeek”

-          “We’re holding a pub quiz for #SmallCharityWeek in Ripley at the Red Lion on 21 June. Tickets can be purchased at http:linktoticketshere

-          “Last year we raised £xxx on #FundraisingDay. This year we want to double it. Will you help us? Http:linkto #SmallCharityWeek”

-          “Thanks to Tom in Alfreton who has raised a fabulous £656 through his #eBay auction for us for @SCWeek18”

-          “Amazing work by #localschool in Cumbria who raised £2,000 for us – & still counting! Read the story here: http:linktomore #SmallCharityWeek”

Charities should write a case study about their experiences on the day, which can be posted on their website and the SCW website and accessed by the press for use in coverage. 

Friday 22 June – Small Charity Big Impact Day 

The following hashtag should be used across social media:  #SmallCharityWeek 

-       In the run up to Small Charities Big Impact Day charities could ask their beneficiaries to tweet about the impact the charity has made for them

-       They could tweet messages detailing the impact they make

-       They could share stories of the impact their volunteers have. For e.g. “If it wasn't for volunteers like @Gemma 1,000 people in Ripley will go hungry #SmallCharityWeek”

-       They could tweet/post/blog details of their impact

-       They could post photos detailing the impact they have 

Saturday 23 June – Celebration Day 

The hashtag #SmallCharityWeek should be used. 

Social media should be used to promote the day and encourage people to attend any activities you are running. For example: “We are hosting a party to celebrate #SmallCharityWeek in [name of venue] on 24 June. Come and join us and share in our success! Http:linktomore” 

People attending should be encouraged to advertise this to their own networks. For e.g. they could tweet/change their FB status to say: “Looking forward to attending #CelebrationDay event with @FlyingSeagulls at [name of venue] on Sat 23 June #SmallCharityWeek” 

All participants should be encouraged to post tweets, blogs and status updates on the following theme: “What I loved most about @SCWeek18 was…”

Feel free to use the following logos on your Small Charity Week materials and emails, alternatively if you need the logos in another format just let them know on info@smallcharityweek.com