Local Charities Doing Good – With Social Media

I was taking a break on Dartmoor this week when I started seeing lots of collection boxes for Devon Air Ambulance Trust (DAAT). It got me thinking about how local charities are using Social Media.

The challenge for local charities is that they often have passionate people but limited resources. Social Media offers them something unprecedented: the ability to reach and mobilise communities without a significant budget.

What I’ve seen work for local charities:

1. Tell individual stories. Not statistics. The story of one person whose life was changed is worth more than any campaign number.
2. Make giving easy and visible. People give when giving is frictionless and when they can see others giving.
3. Give people something to share. Not a donation link – something they’re proud to pass on. A story, a photo, a moment.
4. Build community, not just donors. The most resilient charities have communities of people who care, not just lists of people who gave once.
5. Be consistent. Show up regularly. Update people. Let them see what’s happening with the cause they care about.

The charities that are doing this well aren’t necessarily the biggest. They’re the ones with someone who genuinely cares and knows how to talk about it.