Institutional silos are commonplace in many organizations, but in nonprofit organizations they may not be visible at first glance. With all areas working toward a common cause, the group may look like a cohesive team.

In the past, fundraising owned the largest list but with Facebook's average nonprofit community size growing at an amazing 161 percent over the past year, that may not continue for long. Nonprofits need to find a way to capture this information, to build a bridge from its commercial social network to something it owns to ensure against data loss. But what happens if the development team is functioning independently of the social media team? Or if the communications director is busy creating content with little thought to annual campaign? It's often quite easy for there to be organizational overlap in some areas and non-coverage in others.

The lifeblood of the nonprofit is its lists. Without them, you have no fundraising information, no campaign data, no volunteer information... you get the idea. These lists are frequently separate and "owned" by different teams. Maybe there's a donor list (updated by fundraising), a volunteer list (managed by the volunteer coordinator) and a fan list (engaged by the social media expert) and never the three (or more, as the case may be) shall meet.

According to the 2011 Nonprofit Social Networking Benchmark Report, nine out of 10 nonprofits have a standard Facebook page. Many nonprofits are trying to raise funds through Facebook pages and other social media sites, but how many nonprofits have their standard social media lists automatically linked or integrated with their donor management systems or databases? How many are mining these data and transferring them to a more stable/reliable site? The answer: zero.

As commonplace as Facebook has become in promoting fundraising activities or campaigns, you don't own that data. You are not a Facebook customer.

Ask yourself:

• Where does the data reside and what part of your organization owns it?
• Does your social media team track and report changes and updates to the data?
• How is this information funneled into a database outside of your standard Facebook page? With nearly half of nonprofits using Facebook to raise money (according to the 2011 NPO SN Benchmarking Report), is this data being shared with your Giving Department?
• Does it need to be?
• What kind of "likers"/fans are these and what is your call to action for this community?

Jamie Notter, vice president at Management Solutions Plus, recently blogged about how silos can be used constructively for growth. To capitalize on existing departmental silos, one must introduce systems thinking or – the more commonly used term – "The Butterfly Effect" (meaning every action causes an impact in another area of your nonprofit). Changes instituted by your programs people, who are heading up your online community, will in turn affect donations, which will affect fundraising.

If your programs group, for instance, receives updated data, they need to make sure it gets disseminated to all applicable departments. But there's more behind breaking down silos than instilling the value of sharing data. Technology can help as well.

Having a centralized database used by all areas of your nonprofit is essential. It allows your data changes to be shared with all departments, even those not directly involved. For instance, a fan of your nonprofit's Facebook page might write on your wall that they can't make your event because she is moving that weekend. This prompts an opportunity to touch base and inquire about updating records. This also eliminates redundancy.

There is nothing more frustrating than providing the same information over and over to an organization because one department did not share it with another. This information exchange means a change of address is given and all areas have the most up-to-date information/data instantaneously.

But it's more than just constituent information that can be shared between departments. Analyze your blog posts. Which are the most popula?. Which get the most click-throughs and which receive the most comments? Make a list of your top 10 in both categories. Notice any patterns? What part of this newly-gained knowledge can be shared with other departments? Maybe the department who writes blogs noticed that gamification and constituent engagement are hot topics. How can the programs department use that information? How can it change their offerings? Maybe fundraising can incorporate some sort of game thinking to their campaign this year?

Knowing what your audience is interested in, and customizing your offerings accordingly, not only draws them in, but also makes them feel valued.

With a majority of nonprofits allocating less than a full-time person to social media, there are still many who undervalue the potential behind this data source. Through constituent activity driving your nonprofit database, you can easily offer the kind of personalized attention/offerings that will drive repeat donations. When the data-mining is optimized through search and listening exercises, the amount of information can be overwhelming.

Employing a centralized database that helps you corral, harness and share your newfound knowledge is not something pulled from the pages of the latest espionage thriller. It's available to nonprofits today at relatively little cost – but it takes an investment in systems thinking. It takes a willingness to share with all areas and understand that data are important and crucial to everyone in the nonprofit, regardless of their role.

Christina G. Smith is the Social Media Marketing Strategist for YourMembership.com. In addition to writing about the benefits of a private online community, her favorite topics include generational dynamics in the workplace and gamification. You can connect with her on LinkedIn (christinagsmith) or follow her on Twitter (@yourmembership).