According to the World Bank report (2021), 9.2% of the global population lives in poverty. The issue of poverty is not something new to the world as almost all the countries in the world struggle with this problem.
In 2015, 193 countries of the United Nations signed Agenda 2030 which aims to eliminate extreme poverty and reduce inequality from the country.
Different countries with their governmental and non governmental organisations have come up with several schemes in order to achieve the goal of poverty eradication. Apart from that, many individuals from the public have come forward to show their support in achieving the agenda 2030.
How to help the needy?
As an individual, there are various ways through which one can help the needy. Some of them are-
- Doing monetary donations to charities and relief funds
- In kind donations (like donating clothes, toys, and so on) to charities
- Doing volunteering work at charities
- Spreading awareness through various platforms and so on
Over the years, the number of donors and charity organisations have increased in India. One of the reasons for such an increase can be the ease with which donors and charities can connect to each other due to digital platforms.
Hence, when we look into the growth of donors that use online donations, India is one of the countries that showcases a rapid rise in usage of this mode.
How are online donations done?
At present, there are millions of fundraising websites and NGO websites in India that accept online donations. Even several governmental schemes and funds have their own websites where people can donate online.
Apart from that, these charitable organisations also use social media platforms like facebook from where online donations can be done and promoted.
Use of Social media platforms for social work
The main aim of social media is to connect with people. Hence, many non profits and other charitable organisations use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and so on to reach millions of people and share their purpose with them. In other words, these social networking sites are a great way for promoting, marketing, maintaining public relations and raising funds for their organisations.
How can an individual help the needy through social media?
As a donor, you can use these platforms to look into the charitable trust or organisations that you would like to donate for. Since, these platforms help in communicating from both the ends (donor’s as well as the organisation’s side), it can be very easy for a donor to contact their preferred charitable organisation.
Apart from that, an individual who is interested in volunteering can also look into these social media platforms to check if any organisation accepts volunteers for their work.
Other than that, donors can even look for fundraising sites at these platforms or promote awareness programs and campaigns by using their social media.
Impact of social media platforms on charity
The social media platforms have definitely elevated the impact of charities among the public. It has become very easy for these organisations to share their stories, narratives, and ask for contributions from the public for their noble cause using these sites and platforms.
Studies show that, globally, 18% of donors have donated through fundraising tools on Facebook and 88% of them are likely to donate again through these tools. Similarly, 30% of nonprofits raise money and awareness through instagram.
These figures clearly indicate the powerful influence of social media over the donors. Hence, it would be correct to say that by using social media platforms, one can definitely do a lot to help the needy!
