In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many individuals, corporations and nonprofit organizations came to the aid of those affected. Anick Jesdanun of the Associated Press wrote that whereas he had contributed to other initiatives in the past, he decided to start his own fundraising effort in part because of social media and other web-based tools. With websites such as Facebook and Twitter, it's easy to send appeals to family members and friends, encouraging them to contribute and relay messages about current progress.

The same can be said for larger organizations and foundations that are embarking on fundraising efforts. Nearly three-quarters of groups surveyed earlier this year said they planned to integrate social media into their campaign strategies, according to Charity Dynamics.

Participating on social networking sites can help nonprofits spread the word about important causes and encourage individuals to make contributions as the season for giving closes in, explains Internet Revolution.

As foundations tap into emerging digital channels to raise funds online, they can benefit from nonprofit fundraising software that tracks incoming donations and quantitatively measures the success of their efforts.