If you’re reading this, chances are you are feeling the pressure of doing something, anything, for Giving Tuesday. So we’ll cut to the chase with some last-minute things you can do to make Giving Tuesday work for you. (And next year you can make it even better!)
Set a goal
Remember that donors count on us to ask for what we need. Setting a goal can inspire your community to help you do big things. Goals are also handy for campaign messaging because they give you a reason to update your community (We are halfway there! Ten more donations needed!)
Pick one goal for Giving Tuesday:
- Number of donors or number of donations
- Dollars raised
- People helped
Connect donations to a “big idea”
For Giving Tuesday it might be tempting to say, “give because it’s a giving day” but the most successful campaigns go beyond that and show donors how their support is important.
The best campaigns have a unifying theme that resonates and excites your community. A “big idea” can be a few sentences that make the case for why someone should give to you and why they should give today.
Your campaign should put impact at the center of your message. Remember, people give when they understand what their gift will achieve.
Get your message everywhere
Promote through every channel you have, from social media to email, and (gasp!) even using offline communication like the phone.
Think about where your audience might look if they hear about the giving day but miss an email from you. That might mean using pop-ups on your website, putting a call to action in your social media bios, and updating your google ads.
Repeat your message
One social media post or one email is not enough to break through and reach everyone. You’ll only reach a small percentage of your potential donors this way.
Here are some tips to keep your messaging front and center without being annoying or redundant:
- Send emails prior to Giving Tuesday, inviting people to give early
- In each message, give a different reason to give
- Use a combination of short messages and stories
- Change the sender name for your emails
- Use the short time frame to your advantage – focus on hitting your goals and crossing that finish line, don’t forget the excitement of “time is running out” messaging.
- Resend messages with a different subject line to non-openers
Make it fun
Sure, your impact and missions are serious, but to really break through and reach your audience, think of innovative fun ways to get attention:
- Maybe your Executive Director will dye their hair pink or get a pie in the face when you reach your goals.
- Maybe you could live stream performances all day in support of your campaign.
- Maybe you could encourage your supporters to play a virtual game of tag and tag their friends in posts.
- Maybe you could do a scavenger hunt in the community.
Think of the “fun” as a way to break through and call attention to your campaign.
Be specific in your asks
Asking for a specific amount can help guide your donors to different gift sizes through an “anchoring” effect. Asking for higher amounts might yield fewer donors, but more revenue, while asking for lower amounts might give your more donors, but less revenue. This article by Five Maples shows an anchoring effect on donation amounts.
It’s always great to tie your asks back to your big idea by relating suggested donation amounts to your work: $25 feeds a family of four for a day, etc.
Find partners
Giving Tuesday can be a way to involve your whole community, even your funding partners. If you start planning far enough in advance, you might be able to recruit small businesses, foundations, corporations, or other organizations as outreach partners. Talk to your current funders and major donors about offering matching funds for donors who give to the campaign.
Recruit ambassadors
The most powerful part of Giving Tuesday is that they provide an easy reason for your supporters to ask their friends to give.
Before Giving Tuesday, see if you can recruit campaign ambassadors from your community and get their commitment in advance for helping spread the word about your campaign.
Those connected with a social media community can be very helpful, as well as board members and major donors.