The internet offers a stunning, sometimes daunting, range of opportunities and pitfalls for foundations, grantees and other organizations seeking to engage local communities. A recent philanthropy conference session featured a conversation on these themes -- and yielding key insights and lessons.

Philanthropy Southwest convenes foundations and other philanthropists based throughout the southwest U.S. At their 2014 Midyear Meeting in Denver, I had the honor of facilitating a panel/open group discussion, Finding the Balance in High Tech Times, which explored how nonprofits and foundations are using technology to expand their reach and further their impact.

The panelists were:

• Taryn Fort, Communications Director, Colorado Health Foundation
• Gretchen Minekime, Communications Director, The Community Foundation of Boulder County
• Sarah Timmes, Executive Director, Love Animals -- a crowdfunding platform focused on animal charities and projects.

Watch the video of the entire session.

This wasn't just a panel, but an open discussion with participants from many community and place-based foundations. We covered a wide range of internet-powered tools -- from e-mail and websites to social media, crowdfunding, and sparking/managing conversations that span a variety of digital channels. The goal of all this effort is deeper engagement -- not just to further the goals of a foundation or its grantees, but to allow foundations and grantees to deepen their insight into, and resonance with, their community.

Among the many themes that emerged from this conversation, here are five tips that might apply to any community-focused organization trying to use the internet effectively to achieve its goals and serve its community:

1. Blending digital and real-world engagement

The Community Foundation of Boulder County's Culture of Giving campaign seeks to "make Boulder County one of the most generous places in the nation," by encouraging all sorts of local giving. In addition to having its own website, there's also a Colorado Gives Facebook page.

Gretchen Minekime noted, "Last December, students from the University of Colorado-Boulder went out on the streets on a frigid day -- specifically to talk to people and drive them to that website and Facebook page on Colorado Gives Day(Dec. 10, 2013). We offered a social media scavenger hunt, which was very in engaging people. And a whole lot of fun. Traditional face-to-face activities drive digital engagement and action -- and it's really easy for people to give online, there are great tools for that now. In the next few years this will all blow up in a good way."

2. Accountability to donors

When explaining what makes crowdfunding work, Sarah Timmes observed: "Gone are the day where nonprofits could get away with saying 'Write us a check for $50 and we'll do the rest.' Millennials really want to know where their money is going. Also, they listen to what their friends say on social media -- not just about which organizations or causes to support, but what they're doing, or not doing."

Good crowdfunding platforms make it very easy for causes, projects, and organizations to not just drive donations and engagement, but to report back about progress and impact. This is especially important since many nonprofits lack the skills, experience, or resources to create effective direct digital engagement and donor accountability on their own.

3. Leadership and staff buy-in, action on social media

The panelists and attendees agreed that community foundations tend to have the most success with social media in particular when it becomes an accepted -- even welcome -- part of the organization's culture. This can be a challenge in organizations with a more conservative, cautious culture, or that have areas of focus that can be controversial.

Taryn Fort noted that a key part of the Colorado Health Foundation's social media success stems from how their CEO, Anne Warhover, has very publicly and personally embraced social media engagement -- especially Twitter. "Our CEO loves Twitter and she's really good at it. She shares her personality there. She responds to people, engages people. She's very influential, and she extends that through social media."

Not all foundation leaders start with such a positive mindset toward social media, of course. When asked how to encourage leadership in this direction, Fort suggested: "It's important to educate your staff and executives as much as possible about what these platforms can do for you and your grantees -- and your community. Data really helps. Monitor and track your social media engagement, show how that links to actions such as giving, event attendance, or connecting people with your grantees. Show that social media is increasing traffic to your website, and show how social media as well as e-mail complement your efforts. Push evidence-based decisions forward."

The Community Foundation of Boulder County has enjoyed significant success, over time, in encouraging staff and leadership develop initiative and skill in social media.

Minekime recalled, "I once heard someone explain how their organization kept a daily accountability sheet for social media. I laughed, knowing that would never work in my office! What works for us is that constant tap on the shoulder, reminders to make social media a habit, whenever a good nugget arises: 'Hey, that thought would make a great blog or Facebook post. Could you expand upon it and put that out there?'

"Our president, Josie Heath, is constantly coming up with great ideas every day. I ghostwrite a good amount of her ideas for posting to social media, our website, and our e-mail newsletters -- but she generates a lot of the ideas and welcomes that they get digital distribution. "I also incentivize a lot with chocolate. I reward people, try to make it fun."

4. Jumpstarting social media around events

Building an organization's ongoing social media presence is a gradual task, but increasing social media around events can spark momentum and yield long-term engagement. The Colorado Health Foundation's annual Health Symposiumhas proven especially effective in this regard. It's an intimate gathering, limited to 400 people on site to preserve the quality of interactions, but with considerable impact.

At the 2013 Health Symposium, CHF launched its Instagram presence with a photo booth outside the main plenary hall. "This wasn't just people hamming for the camera," said Fort. "We asked people to write on a chalkboard and share what they learned that day, or what they were planning to take home from the event, to get a sense of what was resonating with people. It was hugely successful."

Rural giving days (such as KY Gives Day, from the Kentucky Center for Rural Development), national campaigns such as the recent Give Local America Day to promote local giving, and resources such as the Knight Foundation's Giving Day Playbook, can all serve as a focus for launching or growing a foundation's social media efforts. These are also great opportunities to amplify the social media efforts and visibility of grantees, partners and community members.

5. Providing storytelling support, guidance

The panelists and attendees agreed that most grantees and small nonprofits lack the skills and confidence to engage effectively via social media. Timmes noted that the LoveAnimals platform has been designed to make it easy for animal charities to tell their story and spread the word, including guidance on how to use social media to support their crowdfunding campaigns.

"We give nonprofits everything they need to empower their donors to spread the mission. This powerful technology means nonprofits only have to do a few key things, and the technology takes care of the rest to encourage donors to become mini-marketers and fundraisers in their own right. That's incredibly powerful."

She emphasized that niche crowdfunding platforms (such as DonorsChoose, which focuses on crowdfunding for education projects) are uniquely positioned to provide content and social media guidance and support for specific issue areas. CrowdsUnite is a leading resource for information and reviews about crowdfunding platforms, including the fast-growing array of niche crowdfunding options.