As the calendar ticks down towards the end of the year, the fundraising focus shifts to #GivingTuesday – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, a philanthropic response to the commercial shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Whether it is the first time your organization has thrown its hat into the ring or its preparing to top last year’s results, there’s always more your organization can learn and do.
Read below for expert tips from Mel Rancour, Principal Instructional Designer at Blackbaud University, Jackie Zimmerman, Senior Instructor at Blackbaud University, Erica Burroughs, Director of Annual Giving and Family Engagement at High Point University, and Andy Schroeder, Director of Development at Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who shared their strategies for success on the new supersized #GivingTuesday episode of The sgENGAGE Podcast. Their advice will help you focus in on #GivingTuesday and guide your organization, message, and campaign towards new heights.
Tips from Mel Rancour and Jackie Zimmerman from Blackbaud University:
Just starting now? Not to worry – follow these steps for success!
- Download Blackbaud’s free comprehensive #GivingTuesday toolkit
- Don’t try to do everything – concentrate on just a few things your organization excels at
- Engage your supporters – tell them you have something special coming for #GivingTuesday. Ask them to be ready to share and challenge their friends and give them some sample social media posts they can use.
- Make sure all your employees know your #GivingTuesday strategy
- Feature donor stories
How to plan for #GivingTuesday throughout the year:
- Solidify your brand (and not just your logo) – Make sure you are communicating your mission, values, vision and impact in an authentic way
- Poll your supporters so you can identify and segment personas, allowing you to better target your messaging on #GivingTuesday and all year long.
- Start gathering stories, statistics, videos and pictures that you can tag for reuse on #GivingTuesday
- Build up your social media strategy throughout the year so you have a ready audience on the big days like #GivingTuesday
- Make sure you have the right technology in place that allows you to easily engage supporters, such as online donation capabilities.
Tips from Erica Burroughs of High Point University:
- Use the existing brand of #GivingTuesday to carry your message further while emphasizing the importance of what #GivingTuesday is.
- It is possible for multiple giving days throughout the year to build upon each other rather than creating donor fatigue.
- Be aware of the amount of email traffic you are creating, but don’t be afraid to be on top of your constituents’ mailboxes on this one day out of the year.
- Social media is a minimally intrusive way to reach many people who can choose to tune in and share your message.
- Collaborating with internal teams can lead to fresh ideas and smooth execution for the day itself.
Tips from Andy Schroeder of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
- Diversifying marketing channels can lead towards connecting with a completely new donor base.
- Connect your donors with the story of the campaign so they can see who and/or what their gifts are directly benefiting.
- Tailor suggested donation amounts to the ask itself. If you’re asking for money for chairs that cost $400 each, allow the donors the option to donate $400.
- The biggest mistake for any organization is to treat #GivingTuesday like any other day. Approach it with intent and purpose.
- Segment the donors who give primarily on #GivingTuesday with a special thanks and keep them in mind for next year.
To hear more tips, strategies, and success stories from these outstanding interviews, listen to the entire episode here: Episode 73: Tips for a Terrific #GivingTuesday
I wish everyone well on their Giving Tuesday prep! Please reach out if you have questions about how we approach GT at the Sisters of Charity.
#GivingTuesday is a new concept to those of us based in the UK, but what a great idea. It’s certainly something I will be considering for next year as we expand our fundraising. Thanks for the tips.
The toolkit is pretty awesome. As I’ve moved between my last two jobs, the toolkit has always helped me prep my new team.
I have had trouble accessing the toolkit for weeks now, and I can’t seem to find anyone who can assist! This is our first year doing a Giving Tuesday campaign. Great tips here, though!
I was able to get to it today…
Thank you for the tips and making an awesome #givingTuesday toolkit! We don’t usually leverage the day, but hoping this year will be a little different and you guys make it so easy!
Great article. We are not participating in Giving Tuesday this year because we are short staffed but will be next year and these are great tips to follow.
We have never participated in Giving Tuesday but are looking forward to implementing one soon.
I’m not a fan of these days. They’re usually more trouble than they’re worth.
I love the toolkit, especially the email and social media schedule!
Great tips!
Excited about the toolkit!
Thanks for these tips! We’re focusing on Giving Tuesday for the first time this year, so I have passed along your article.
Go forth and raise money!!
Great tips
The toolkit has helped us prepare for #GivingTuesday and great job BVM team. Andy you are a great leader. I’m excited to see what your plans are for this years #GivingTuesday!
Good reminder that GivingTuesday planning is year-round!
Thanks for the toolkit!
Thanks for the toolkit, hopefully we can get a better response rate this year!
Great tips!
Toolkit is great!
Thanks!
Great tips!
This toolkit is extremely helpful.
Thanks for the toolkit!
We are gearing up for Giving Tuesday! Great advice!
We take part in our States Colorado Gives Day – not the national Giving Tuesday but the idea is the same.
We borrow the concept and make a giving day based on our founding day, which is a month before G.T. After three unsuccessful years of Giving Tuesday, one try at our own giving day proved highly successful. Yes to branding, but a brand with unique meaning might be even better.