Few Grantees Pay Heed to Foundations on Social Media

Few nonprofits pay much attention to the videos, Facebook pages, and tweets of their foundation backers, according to a new study by the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

The study surveyed more than 6,000 grantees that receive money from a set of 34 large foundations. Social-media use among those grant makers was widespread: About 68 percent post videos, 59 percent use Facebook, 56 percent are registered on Twitter, and 29 percent write blogs.

But only 16 percent of nonprofits surveyed said they use social media created by their foundation supporters. Nearly a third said they were unaware whether the foundations that finance them use social-media tools.

Grantees find social media to be “less helpful for learning about the foundation” than individual contact with foundation staff members, group meetings, and foundations’ published guidelines and Web sites, the report found.

The report, “Grantees’ Limited Engagement With Foundations’ Social Media,” is available online. The Center for Effective Philanthropy will host a Webinar on August 9 to discuss the findings.