# Social media helps DEC raise £3 million in one week

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/10/18/social-media-helps-dec-raise-3-million-one-week/
- Published: 2009-10-18T22:56:31+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

![](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/images/news/dec_2009.gif)

The Disasters Emergency Committee has acknowledged that social media has contributed
significantly to the income it has raised for its current appeal.

In the first week of the DEC’s appeal for Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam,
over £3 million was donated, over £1 million which was given in the first 24 hours.

BBC websites have been the most significant online referrer to the DEC donations
page, but Twitter, which the [DEC](http://twitter.com/decappeal) only started using
on 2 October, was the second most important. [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Disasters-Emergency-Committee-DEC/33268280976),
which the charity had previously used very little, was the third largest source 
of traffic.

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The appeal for emergency aid for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by
the earthquakes, typhoons, floods, and landslides in East Asia was championed early
on by Twitter users Sarah Brown and Stephen Fry who, between them, have more than
1.5 million followers.

[@Stephenfry](http://www.twitter.com/stephenfry) wrote at 13:35 on 4 October: “Do
see if you can find it in your heart support the DEC Disasters Appeal for Indonesia,
Philippines & Vietnam – donate now at www.dec.org.uk “

[@Sarahbrown10](http://www.twitter.com/sarahbrown10) wrote at 20:33 on 6 October:“
RT @decappeal – Big international call to support #DEC disasters appeal: www.dec.
org.uk Help them make a difference!”

DEC were able to take advantage of the almost instant impact of social media by 
opening its phone lines and website for donations on Sunday 4 October ahead of the
main appeals broadcast on Tuesday 6 October.

DEC Chief Executive Brendan Gormley said: “Like many charities we had taken a cautious
approach to Twitter but when three disasters hit within a week we had to use whatever
tools were to hand.

“We didn’t hire expensive consultants, rewrite our marketing and communication strategies
or develop exhaustive new social media guidelines. We relied on advice from staff
and partners already making good use of twitter, trusted their professionalism and
common sense, and then dived right in.

“The biggest risk we faced was not that we might make a mistake, it was that we 
would miss a chance to help save more lives.

“Despite the very strong response to the appeal the gap between the need and the
money available from all sources remains huge.”

DEC also uses [Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/disastersemergencycommittee)
and [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/user/DECcharity).

www.dec.org.uk

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