The influencers with a charitable streak

Instagram’s fundraising stars

Social media influencers run in a close-knit community. Using Instagram’s direct messaging system, they can corral each other for a call to action. Charities also benefit from the platform’s donation stickers.

Fleur de Force is a British lifestyle and beauty blogger. Her content is across both YouTube and Instagram, and she is tapped into other influencers in the same genre. Wanting to do something during the pandemic, she enrolled in the NHS’ volunteer programme, but wasn’t called to action.

Taking things into her own hands, she messaged her contacts to organise a charity auction for the NHS. Other influencers came on board, including Em Sheldon, Victoria McGrath, and others.

The group raised £18,500 and Fleur says: “I topped this up to £20,000 then my wonderful friend Lily Pebbles matched the funds her donation raised, increasing the grand total to £20,490.”

Influencers in the charitable sector

While many influencers specialise in fashion, lifestyle, and pop culture, others are the go-to people for thought leadership. Within their respective fields, thought leaders express their opinions and share ideas – often, they push ahead with forward thinking. 

Within the charity sector, digital is a hot topic. Charity Digital’s own trustee, Zoe Amar, is one of many brilliant charity thought leaders. She is a trustee, runs her own agency, and publishes guest blogs. Her commentary is showcased on a number of sites, including Reach Volunteering, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), UK Government, and Charity Digital. As an influencer, her reach is considerable, with over 13,000 followers on Twitter.

Another giant working in the UK charitable sector is Rhodri Davies. Rhodri is a Fellow at the Pears Foundation. Previously he was CAF’s Head of Policy and led the organisation’s think tank. As an influencer, his specialist areas are philanthropy trends, artificial intelligence / virtual reality, and the roles that charities have in society. On Twitter, he has just over 5,000 followers. In terms of expertise, Rhodri is one to know as his connections in the industry and academia are significant.

Julie Dodd is the guru on digital transformation. Similar to Zoe and Rhodri, her activities online and within the sector are noteworthy. She’s published a number of authoritative articles on digital transformation, and is sharing her journey of change at Parkinson’s UK with others in the sector. She is also a Trustee at Young Minds.

Overall, what’s important about influencers is their ability to stimulate conversations about real-world, sector specific problems. Ultimately, for charities looking get familiar with influencers, take stock of both mainstream and sector-based digital personalities.