Over 390 billion dollars were given to charities in 2016. Each year this amount increases.  This amount seems even more shocking when you learn there are 1.5 million registered non-profit organizations to date. These numbers continue to rise due to individual giving and celebrity influence. In the past, estates and private foundations were the majority leaders in donations. But that is not so today.

Religious charities continue to be the sector receiving the largest amount of donations. Following behind religion is education, human services and health organizations. The recipients with the least amount of donations include overseas charities, the arts and nature related organizations.

So, out of 1.5 million charities, how does one stand out and get more recognition than another? How do you convince people that your charity is worthy of their money?

Individual Americans do not have that much money to donate. Therefore, you must find a way to compete for their donation. You must find a way to show your cause is in the most need.

Celebrity influence, and having a celebrity advocate is one of the best ways to do this, to garner attention for your cause. Celebrity influence offers many benefits in assisting non-profits in gaining monetary donations. A few are listed below.

Celebrity Influence

No one will ever forget September 11, 2001. People will also remember that George Clooney and 21 other artists performed on National Television to raise money for the United Way. In just a few short hours, over 200 million dollars was donated for the cause.

People around the world look to celebrities as role models. Whether they are famous musicians, writers, politicians or athletes, millions of people make decisions after what their role models encourage them to do.

This is also why celebrities participate in product endorsements. Celebrity influence encourages people to purchase a product, leading to millions of dollars in sales.

Celebrities can do the same for charities. Speaking on behalf of a charitable organization, celebrity influence can encourage all their fans to pledge to a worthy cause.

Celebrities Can Relate to a Cause

Celebrities are not superhumans. They are not robots, they are normal people with problems, just like everyone else. They just happen to have a huge fanbase by working in an industry that requires public recognition.

Connecting with a celebrity who shares in a common cause can give your charity the same recognition.

For instance, a celebrity with diabetes is the perfect person to help your diabetes charity get receive awareness and funding.

Celebrities suffer just like everyone else. And they are willing to use their status to prevent others from suffering.

Congress Listens to Celebrities

Want to make a significant difference like having bills passed into laws? Celebrity influence can help to speak before congress.

Celebrities have been influencing Presidents and politicians all the way back to Louis B. Mayer. Yes, that Louis B. Mayer, of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). He was a close advisor and friend to President Herbert Hoover.

Hollywood and Washington have a close relationship. By working together, things happen. A charity could benefit from gaining both monetary and legal support from Congress with the help of celebrities.

Celebrities are Social Media Superstars

Social media is the most powerful tool you can use to gain support from people around the world. Through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, celebrity influence helps to bring awareness and garner many followers who are interested in your cause.

Add a celebrity representative to your social media campaigns and you can increase your following. Because of this, you can go from hundreds of followers to millions in a very short period. All the followers and fans your celebrity has will be your followers as well.

In the world of social media charitable campaigns, the number of followers equals the number of potential donors. This is all more possible with celebrity influence and endorsement.

Celebrities are Sincere

There are many celebrities who are advocates, and they have no desire to throw around their celebrity power. They simply have a sincere need to help others. Because of this, they are the advocates who will work on the front lines with you, with no publicity shoots.

Many celebrities feel their position allows them to give back to special causes. Celebrities want to make a difference. As a result, they want to use their celebrity influence to help you reach your goals of healing those in need.

Jason Swartz

Jason Swartz is the President and Founder of Alliance Talent, a world-leader in the entertainment business. Growing up in Los Angeles with a passion for music, he took his local childhood concert business and made in an international concert booking company. Specializing in entertainment booking, social media branding and monetization, and music publishing, Jason was the first to scale social media monetization for the music industry across Facebook. Today, he runs Alliance Talent, a leading entertainment company and concert promoter; focusing on concert bookings, talent representation, brand management, and social media monetization.