I just confirmed my dog sitter for Thanksgiving, which means I’m set to make the trip to my parents’ house and enjoy the holiday with my family. I’m a car-free city dweller and where my parents live isn’t exactly easy to get to—so this takes some planning. My nephews will also be visiting. I love them, but they wake up early and aren’t known for letting the rest of us sleep in. So despite my mother’s offers of hospitality, I also planned a hotel room into my stay.
For this one day out of the year I need a good bit of forward planning to make sure my holiday isn’t more stressful than tradition requires. For many charities, #GivingTuesday (the Tuesday following Thanksgiving in the U.S.) is no different. You’ve spent most of the year inspiring your supporters and engaging them in your shared cause. But how easily will donors be able to donate when the first tweet drops? To make the most out of #GivingTuesday you need to be prepared—here are some things to consider:
- Who is coming for dinner? Do they know they can bring a guest? If you don’t send out invitations to the party, fewer people will attend. 65% of people find out about a cause through their friends. Start reaching out to the people who share and like your Facebook and Twitter posts. Let them know you appreciate them as fans. And let them know there’s a big day coming up and you want them to be part of it!
Tip: Provide your potential champions with hashtags, content, images, and links to better identify your brand, unify your supporters, and make their participation easier.
Dive deeper into social media strategy across all your platforms with Blackbaud University’s workshop class “Best Practices: Social Media for Social Good”
- Are we ready to get cooking? Wait, they don’t eat what?! You can’t start cooking without the right equipment, and you can’t manage an online giving campaign without the right software. 82% of people agree that social media is effective at getting people involved in an issue, and 55% who engage via social media go on to take further action. But there are some moving pieces to be considered. How everything connects needs to be as smooth as possible for the donor and for the data behind the scenes.
Are you ready to take instant donations on social media? By considering the means and methods someone may choose to support you—and making those paths clear—you’ll be ready to accept and process that support.
Tip: Test your links. Test some payments. Then consider the variety of donors you’re reaching out to and the ways in which they might choose to support you, and make sure you have the right tools to make you successful.
- They ended up where? Let me give them directions. Sometimes despite the best preparation, things break, people make mistakes, and even the savviest donor needs help. Not only do we need to ensure our platforms are ready to receive our supporters, we need to be ready to guide them through any problems they may encounter during the process. People need to be able to get in touch with support resources and easily find the answers to their questions.
Tip: Provide an FAQ page or section for any concerns you anticipate. Make sure appropriate contact information is available for people to reach out to and make sure they know how follow–up will occur.
- Now let’s see who shows up at the table! When someone gets involved, you need to know about it. You want others to know about it, too. That’s how you make an online giving event effective. Remind your supporters to have fun with their involvement, to challenge their friends, and most importantly to let others know when folks get involved, so they can retweet about it!
Remember—these tactics only work if people get involved. The easier you make that involvement and lower any barriers for entry, the better your results will be.
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Thanks for posting this!
I hope you enjoyed it, Sunshine! I hope the tips help.
Great post 🙂 Yes, it does take some planning, but if you make it as easy as possible for them, it will be worth it!
Exactly right, Gillian! Thanks.
Thanks for a good article!
Thanks, Heather!
Love the parallels with Thanksgiving dinner – lots of planning involved but a great payoff when it all works out (and a learning experience if it does not).
I love the note on learning experiences! Good attitude, Amy. Thanks for reading!
Good analogies and an interesting article!
Thanks, Karen! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
The comparisons to the holiday really help put this into perspective. I really enjoy the tips you provide. Thank you!
Anything to make what could feel like a lot of work more warm and friendly! I’m glad you enjoyed it, KaLeigh!
Excellent stats in this article! Thank you!
Thanks, Sage! I hope they help.
Planning is important!
Couldn’t agree more, Angie! Thanks for reading.
Lots of great tips – thank you!
I hope they help, Elaine! Thanks for reading.
Great article! Thanks. And thumbs up to the hotel room! Much less stress.
Thanks, Patti! Way less stress. I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
good article!
Thanks, Renee!
Great article! Thanks.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Karina! Thanks!
Poor puppy can’t go to gramma’s? That’s too bad! Thanks for the post!
I know, and he’s such a good boy. He’s staying home for the same reason I’m staying in a hotel. The other dogs in the family are as fun as the humans.
Thanks for reading!
Fun analogy!
Thanks, Jillian!
We are somewhat concerned that there will be more “Giving Tuesday” fatigue than last year.
For your organization specifically, or in general?
Online giving is on the rise and if this year speaks to last year’s trends #GivingTuesday looks to be a good day for many orgs.
I hope my tip help you prepare. Donor fatigue is real though, strategy and prioritization are important.
Great thoughts and good way to explain them. Thank you.
I hope they help! Thanks, Debra.
Great analogy. Would love to hear thoughts on how to win your donors attention, with increasing giving Tuesday participation, people are often torn among their nonprofits.
On social media getting donors attention means getting them to know you’re there and worth following. This means having a presence year round not just leading to #GivingTuesday and using social media for having a conversation and being social. When they share a post, like and comment, share their share.
People will give to the organization they feel closest too and feel can meet a need best. Social media is just one more platform for cultivation and stewardship.
Great article with valuable statistics.
Thanks Lauri! I hope they’re helpful.
Cute analogies!
Thanks Alicia!
Thanksgiving will be here before we know it .. thanks for these great #GivingTuesday tips, Matt!
It’s time to get ready for a lot of important dates. I hope the tips help, Wendy!
Great article! I love the line, “Who is coming to dinner and do they know they can bring a guest?”
Thanks, Julie! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Courtney! Thanks for reading.
Great advice. Comparing the preparation for #GivingTuesday to getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner makes it very easy for us to understand how we should plan. Thank you.
I’m glad you liked it, John. Thanks!
Nicely done!
Thanks, Leslie!
Great article!
Thanks, Brooke! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I agree that results improve significantly when there are less barriers for access.
I love a good Thanksgiving feast, but driving through a treacherous mountain with windy roads to get to it is enough of a deterrent to stop me from attending.
If the location is much easier to get to, you can expect me to be there 100%!
Well said, Joe! Thanks for reading.
Great insight, especially regarding testing messaging, format and links! User experience can make or break the success of a GivingTuesday campaign.
Thanks, Tammi! I should’ve said more on accessible design on that note. Thanks for reading!
Cute analogies and lots of nuggets of good information.
Thanks, Jessica! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Great info at the right time. Thanks
Thanks, Sandra! I hope the tips help!
Really interesting info, thank you!
Thanks, Sarah! I’m glad you found it interesting.
In our household, planning is really important. Many of our family members have allergies or will not eat particular foods. In our case, our daughter has celiac disease. We have to be conscious of what has wheat, flour, preservatives, artificial items and so on. This can be a bit of a challenge for my parents who make the traditional turkey and stuffing (major overload for the celiac). We provide recipes and even bring some of our own food items to help, but we always feel like a burden. This article really helps with the process of planning, just like office planning. Thank you!
I’m glad it helps, Karen! Thanks for reading.
Interesting, good article.
Thanks, Stephanie!
Fun read! And great advice. Thanks!
Thanks, Jennifer! I hope the tips help.
Thanks Matt!
Thanks for reading, Debbie!
Liking this list, and I might add one more: Give them time to nap.
haha! For Thanksgiving, sure. Stewardship never sleeps!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and the analogy!
Thanks for reading, Alice!
Love the analogies!
Thanks, Ann!
Great analogy 🙂
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Many thanks for sharing this great article.
Thanks for reading!
Matt, what a fun article – loved the relation back to Thanksgiving! Also, thanks for making me hungry. Ha!
Thanks Stacie! I’m happy with whatever impact my writing has 🙂
Nice article, but I’m not totally sold on GT. This may not be the most appetizing meal for our hungry donors.
Thanks for reading, Shelly! The important thing is that you give the donors whatever meaningful opportunities to support you and get involved as you can. That way you’ll see what they like and respond to. Once you start figuring out what works you can change up the “menu.”
Interesting read!
Thanks, Brett!