A live question and answer session on The Guardian’s website around the Institute for Philanthropy’s paper Philanthropy and Social Media offered philanthropists advice on using everything from Twitter to wikis.

Social media is defined in the paper as “online or digital technologies that serve to connect people, information and organisations through networks”. It can include Facebook, Twitter, blogs, wikis, discussion boards, video platforms such as YouTube and even commercial sites such as Ebay. The paper gives examples of ‘hyperlocal’ sites such as East Dulwich Forum or Harringay Online, which bring local communities together.

It also gives an example of online platforms that offer potential donors the opportunity to support specific beneficiaries and receive feedback on their giving. One example is the US site, Kiva.org, which allows visitors to choose to fund micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries, who want small loans. The donor can look at the profile page of the beneficiary and lend from $25 upwards. The loan is repaid over a period of time. Kiva also offers lenders the chance to join a lending team, a group of people with a similar interest. The site has encouraged 700,000 people to lend $230m over six years.

Another example in the paper is donorschoose.org, which was founded in 2000 by a teacher in New York. The website allows teachers to post specific classroom needs such as books, field trips or equipment. Donors can pledge from $1 upwards towards fundraising goals. Once the target has been met, donors are emailed updates and photos.

Accountability is also a key use of social media. The paper cites mycharity:water, which aims to bring clean water to developing countries, as an example. The site shows donors how money is spent, using photos, video and GPS.

The paper also looks at how investors use social media to talk to other investors about challenges, which projects they invest in and success stories. It advises philanthropists to search for blogs, hashtags on Twitter and channels on YouTube where people are talking about issues of interest. It also suggests thinking strategically about use of social media, for example, to make better informed decisions, to build up networks or to influence an agenda.

Here are highlights from the live debate:

Indigo Trust founder and director, Fran Perrin

“You shouldn't rely on social media as the only means of researching grants or organisations but Indigo Trust has found some amazing organisations via contacts on Twitter or tips passed on to us. We use that as the starting point for a conversation about funding, but that's in addition to our offline search for promising projects.”

Sociability founder and director, Andy Gibson

“Social media is much more about finding the conversations most relevant to you, either as a funder or a fundraiser, and being able to find the people who most clearly share your mission. There are so many philanthropists and so many projects, the role of these tools is to help like-minded people find each other.”

“Even if philanthropists don't use social media tools themselves, it's critical that they understand the web and how it is changing society so that they can tell good digital projects from bad and spend their money supporting the kinds of systemic changes that are possible with such global tools.”

Institute for Philanthropy researcher, Daisy Wakefield

“If you are a philanthropist wishing to get started with social media a good thing to do is set up an account on Twitter or Facebook and start following organisations working in a similar space to you. Have a look at what sorts of information they put out, what you find interesting, and how they communicate with others.”

“Some of the most interesting uses of social media by foundations and philanthropists are where the organisation or individual uses the channels to seek opinion or information from stakeholders.”

Localgiving.com marketing manager, Lea Garrett

Philanthropists have an opportunity to help charities by maximising exposure of their work. Small charities especially benefit hugely from that level of exposure.

Association of Charitable Foundations chief executive, David Emerson

“Twitter and Facebook allow fundraising philanthropists to tell their stories and inspire giving to connect with their often powerful networks and bring their social capital to bear.”

In Philanthropy UK's Digital for Donors we explore the latest thinking and practices in digital media for  philanthropy.