research+problem+and+questions

Research Problems and Question As the number of people donating in Ontario decreases1, nonprofits are searching for new innovative ways to reach a sustainable group of donors. The Shepherds of good Hope have approached us with the goal of doubling their existing donor database. They would like a younger (20-35 year olds) group of donors as their average donor is currently characterized as a female over the age of seventy years old. Shepherds believe that a social media campaign would work best to meet their goals and have already done preliminary research into a campaign titled, “Friendraising Plan”. While the plan outlines different social media platforms that can be utilized, the plan does not explain why this is the best approach. The “Friendraising Plan” is also far to broad for the Shepherds of Good Hope. As a nonprofit organization, Shepherds of Good Hope do not have the funds or the manpower to experiment with a wide range of social media platforms. Therefore, the problem we find ourselves faced with is how to simplify the “Friendraising Plan” by focusing on only a few social media platforms in order to maximize the Shepherds of Good Hope’s return on their assessment into the plan. Following this logic, these questions also present themselves;
 * Do Social Networking technologies work for Non-Profit Organizations?
 * What are other nonprofit organizations doing?
 * What social media sites should Shepherds of Good Hope Focus on?
 * What are the social media habits of 20-35 year-olds?
 * In what way does online communication influence participation levels?