An interesting article came out in the Washington Post that said that Facebook Causes wasn't really helping nonprofits at all and that online giving still represented a small amount of donations for nonprofits.

The debate about Facebook Causes is an interesting one. I never saw Facebook as a way to viably raise money but rather as a way to promote your brand and prospect for more donors. Facebook is about creating a connection rather than raising dollars.

The question then becomes, how do you translate this connection into dollars?

Is it by collecting everyone's email addresses and sending out an email blast? By inviting people to an event?

My question to the writers of this article is that of the many nonprofits on Facebook Causes, how many are using it to their advantage? And how many put together a strategy before hand that determined whether this is something that their donors would be interested in or not?

Like any communication tool, you need to assess whether it is right for you or not. Survey your donors, ask questions and determine if it's worth your time and energy to make it happen. If it is, then go for it. But don't do it just because everyone else is.

So my question to you is this: Do you have a Facebook Causes page? Is it working for you? And did you survey your donors ahead of time?