1. Nonprofits
and
Social Media:
Applying SROI to
New Technologies
Georgette Dumont, Ph.D.

2. NPOs and SROI
• SROI’s main goal is to measure value creation,
which is processed simultaneously in three ways
along a continuum, ranging from purely economic,
to socio-economic, to social
• Attempts to combine economic and social
measures
• Way to quantify NPO effectiveness
o Funding
o Legitimacy
o Policy player

3. Research Questions
• Question 1: Do nonprofit leaders see a relationship
between social media and SROI?
• Question 2: What is the role of social media in
obtaining outcome measures?

4. Data Collection
• Snowball Sampling of Twitter and Facebook
• Sample
o 464 accounts, 348 nonprofits
o E-Survey – sent to 258 nonprofits
• 22 no email
• 48 no phone
• 20 bounced
• Responses: 111 (43%)
o Interviews (N=10) --- sample for this study

5. The Sample…

6. Time on Time on TW/FB
Use Strategy Comm Flow Effect
FB TW linked
Cost effective
2-way
A&C 1 >2yrs 1-2yrs inform Attract business no marketing;
asymmetrical
immediate
Attract business;
Cost effective
reach youth
2-way marketing; ;
A&C 2 1-2yrs 6mo-1yr engage demographic; no
symmetrical immediate;
build
customer service
community
Cost effective
Attract business;
2-way marketing; ;
HS 1 1-2yrs 6mo-1yr inform reach youth no
asymmetrical immediate;
demographic
donations
Cost effective
Attract business;
marketing; ;
monitor
2-way immediate;
HS 2 >2yrs >2yrs engage environment; no
symmetrical advocacy;
build
broadened
community
governance
Attract business; Cost effective
2-way
SB 1 1-2yrs 6mo-1yr inform reach youth yes marketing;
symmetrical
demographic immediate

7. Time on Time on TW/FB
Use Strategy Comm Flow Effect
FB TW linked
Cost effective
Attract business;
2-way marketing;
SB 2 1-2yrs 1-2yrs engage reach youth yes
symmetrical branding; ;
demographic
immediate
Cost effective
Attract business/ 1-way
E/A 1 >2yrs 1-2yrs inform yes marketing;;
donations symmetrical
immediate
Attract business; Cost effective
2-way
E/A 2 >2yrs 1-2yrs inform reach youth no marketing;
asymmetrical
demographic immediate
Attract business; Cost effective
Non 501 2-way
>2yrs >2yrs inform draw people to no marketing;
(c)(3)1 symmetrical
area immediate
Cost effective
Attract business;
marketing;
Non reach youth
2-way immediate;
501(c) >2yrs 1-2yrs inform demographic; no
symmetrical intimate;
(3)2 build
Advocacy;
community
branding

8. Do nonprofit leaders see a
relationship between social
media and SROI?

10. What is the role of social
media in obtaining
outcome measures?
Tell story; still nothing

11. What is the purpose of
social media for your
organization?
How do you use the
feedback?

13. Social Media
Conceptualization
Dynamism
Facebook
Twitter
Depth
Message Feedback

14. Conclusion
• SROI terminology not widely understood
• Social media still viewed mainly as push medium
• Social media is rarely thought of as a metric tool for
outcomes
• Nonprofits closer to “joined up” usage have a fuller
conceptualize of the “cross-fertilization of Internet
technologies
• SROI is a theory far ahead of practice