10 Giving Tuesday Tips For Success

Giving Tuesday is one of the most important days of the year for nonprofits. With that in mind, we have created a list of Giving Tuesday tips.

Implement any of these, and your Giving Tuesday fundraisers will be more successful as a result. Let’s get started!

10 Tips to Make The Most Of Giving Tuesday

1) Start Planning Early

To take full advantage of Giving Tuesday, it’s not enough to scrap something together the day before. Instead, try to be prepared ahead of time. This includes not only any campaign you might run, but your overall goals for the day as well. Be clear about what you’re trying to achieve (acquiring a certain number of new donors or increasing engagement on social media, for example). Also make sure your entire team knows how responsibilities will be split. Planning ahead of time is the best way to ensure Giving Tuesday success.

2) Create A Campaign Theme

If you are running a campaign for Giving Tuesday, a unique theme can help you stand out from others. This is essential, because it’s a day that just about every nonprofit will be active during. What makes your nonprofit special? What should people care about what you have to say? Try to summarize that into a compelling theme or message. This creates a strong narrative and emotional hook for your marketing. The end result? Excited donors and higher donations.

3) Leverage Storytelling

We have spoken numerous times about how important storytelling is. This is how you connect with your supporters on an emotional level. And if you are aiming for a successful Giving Tuesday, this connection is essential. There are a number of ways you can implement storytelling in your marketing:  

• Share stories about individuals who have benefited from your work
• Highlight real-life impacts of your nonprofit 
• Promote testimonials from people that have interacted with your organization

Regardless of what you do, make sure your stories focus on the human element behind your mission. This will make all your Giving Tuesday efforts more effective as a result.

4) Engage On Social Media

Social media marketing is crucial for any Giving Tuesday campaign. Leading up to the day, build anticipation. You can do this with countdown posts, teasers, and sneak peeks of the campaign you are running. On the day itself, maintain high visibility. This is achieved by sharing updates, live-streaming events, or posting stories. You should also consider using relevant hashtags like #GivingTuesday to increase reach.

5) Send Compelling Emails

Effective email marketing is one of the best ways to reach supporters.  Craft a series of emails leading up to Giving Tuesday. Each one should have a clear call to action. This will make your campaigns the day of much more compelling. When Giving Tuesday does arrive, be sure to send a few reminders and updates to keep your campaign top of mind. You should also send a thank-you email to show appreciation once your campaign concludes (see tip #9).

6) Offer Matching Gifts

If it’s financially possible, matching any donations you receive can go a long way for your Giving Tuesday success. After all, if a donor knows their gift is going to go further, they are more likely to give more. One way to make this happen is to do reachout. By communicating with major donors, corporate sponsors, or board members that might fund it, you are more likely to make matching gifts a reality. If you do secure this setup, make sure to promote it. It only helps you raise more donations if people actually know about your matching gift offer.

7) Utilize Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising can be powerful. Done right, it empowers your most loyal supporters to fundraise on your behalf. This makes it the ultimate tool for “hands off marketing.” P2P fundraising starts with reaching out to your network. Let them know that they can promote your Giving Day. Approach it with the right angle, and you get people excited to get involved. Provide your supporters with any resources, templates, or example messages that they might need. This makes it easy for them to share your campaign.

8) Showcase Impact In Real Time

People want to see the immediate impact of their donations. This gets them excited and works to push donations through your entire Giving Tuesday campaign. It also encourages other people to join. This is where showing progress towards goals in real-time can be so effective. This can be in the form of a donation tracker. You can also share live updates on your social media channels or a banner on your main site.

9) Thank Your Donors

Appreciation is one of the most important Giving Tuesday tips. If you want long term success with donors, you need to build strong relationships with them. And if you want these relationships, thanking them publicly is one of the best things you can do. This can be as quick as publicly thanking donors on your social media or website. You might also consider handwritten thank you notes for especially large donations. Personalized gratitude goes a long way, because it shows donors that they are valued.

10) Follow Up

Your work doesn’t end when Giving Tuesday is over. If you want to take full advantage of the day, you need to continue building relationships with donors. There are a number of ways you can do this:

• Share the results of the day
• Highlight exactly how much you raised
• Detail the next steps that donors can take 

This last one is essential. By letting supporters know how their funds are to be used, you get them excited with the difference they are making. This makes it more likely that they donate in the future.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com or call us at (718) 855-1919!