Why Jumo? Social Networking for Nonprofits

Jumo is worth testing if you are a non-profit. For starters, it’s not just another social network that will further stretch your resources. Beyond the initial setup, Jumo requires almost no maintenance. Your activity on other social networks such as Twitter and Facebook feed your supporter’s Jumo homepage and email updates.

Jumo’s true appeal to supporters is yet to be revealed (the site only launched last month) but contrary to criticism, Jumo doesn’t just reoffer functionality other non-profit focused sites already have. The Facebook app Causes, is who I’ve most often seen stated as a “competitor,” but while Causes is focused on driving donations and offers very little in terms of keeping donors connected, Jumo focuses on sustaining and deepening relationships with supporters by keeping them informed. There are a lot of great sites out there, but even those that offer up news do so based on social issues rather than the organizations supporters say they care about.

The pull of connecting with charities is rarely as compelling as keeping in touch with family and friends, especially when so few non-profits have a compelling social media strategy that makes that connection worthwhile. Therein lies the catch of Jumo – the information supporters see aggregated on their page can only be as engaging as an organization’s social media properties. I’ve already unfollowed a few non-profits I actually support (and, I should note, will continue to support) due to lackluster content. I’m not less committed to them because I chose not to follow them, but they have lost an opportunity to stay connected through weekly emails and any logins that may happen.

It’s the potential of Jumo that interests me more than anything. It has some heavy backing, and I’m looking forward to seeing where its developers will take it – for that reason alone it might be worth it to go along for the ride. For the moment it’s easy to set up, takes virtually no energy to maintain and, more importantly, gives you a new way to keep in touch with supporters.

Check out Jumo and leave a comment. I’d love to hear what you think!