Tips for #GivingTuesday
During the holiday season, consumers are barraged with messages about buying and spending. But once a year, between Cyber Monday and Black Friday, the world unites to give to charity instead, under the hashtag #GivingTuesday. The campaign has been incredibly effective, with over $45 million donated on the big day last year.
Whether this is your first or your fourth rodeo, we’ve compiled some tips and tricks to help your organization benefit as much as possible from this open fire hose of charitable giving.
Join as a partner at GivingTuesday.org.
Your first to-do item should be signing up as a nonprofit partner at GivingTuesday.org. You’ll get updates in your email and access to lots of great fundraising resources and blog posts, and become part of the community of nonprofits involved in #GivingTuesday.
Create a #GivingTuesday-branded donation page.
Cultivate the face you want to show to your potential new #GivingTuesday supporters and set up a dedicated donation page for #GivingTuesday in Greater Giving Online Payments. You’ll be able to track those donations separately and brand it specifically for #GivingTuesday visitors.
Unite goals.
#GivingTuesday is a great time to try out a new, creative idea, if you have the free time—but who in fundraising can say they have that? Save time and avoid crossing your messages by integrating #GivingTuesday into your end-of-the-year campaign.
Why not make it the kickoff event to your holiday campaign? Set a smaller goal to meet on #GivingTuesday alone that’s part of your larger initiative. Fund a project, get it done, and document it to show how effective you are. Your overall campaign will get a boost!
Make it count!
You’ve only got one day to capitalize on #GivingTuesday. Analyze daily trends prior to the big day to get an idea of when you have the most social media activity—and schedule out your #GivingTuesday posts and tweets to maximize your reach.
Raise the stakes with a matching gift partner.
And while you’re at it, put a little pressure on your existing supporters to donate to your #GivingTuesday campaign. Partner up with a corporate sponsor to match all gifts made that day to stress the urgency of this leg of the campaign. You’ll double all your #GivingTuesday efforts, and it sets a great tone for the rest of your holiday giving campaign.
Use your connections.
What celebrity, corporate sponsor, or popular online supporter can you get involved? It’s time to bring out the rock stars. Get your best spokesmen to Tweet and post about their donations to you, including you and the #GivingTuesday hashtag, and spread the word.
Even better, see if you can get some big supporters to make early donations on Monday night or Tuesday morning, to “seed” the campaign and start off the giving with a bang.
Start early, fundraise more.
Make sure everybody knows #GivingTuesday is coming up, and send out a reminder email the day before. While you’re at it, add #GivingTuesday branding to your social media platforms one or two weeks beforehand and start posting about the upcoming holiday, so donors know it’s coming.
Want some more ways to get your crowd thinking about #GivingTuesday? Open the doors to your campaign the night before, and use one of your pre-pledged “seed” donations to drum up some early excitement.
Stay true to the idea of #GivingTuesday.
The best way to capitalize on #GivingTuesday is to get behind the concept: giving rather than buying. Throw some weight behind your campaign by talking about the philosophy behind #GivingTuesday—and what a donation to your nonprofit, instead of a purchase at Black Friday, could accomplish for your mission.
Equate it with real numbers: a donation of $50 instead of a purchase on Cyber Monday means three months of meals for a needy child.
Emotional appeal is a huge asset of #GivingTuesday, and the holiday season. Capitalize on it! You’re doing great things, so why not get the whole world involved?
