Tips for a Successful #GivingTuesday 2021

#GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement that promotes community engagement and giving back. What started in 2012 has exploded into the biggest giving day of the year, inspiring hundreds of millions of people worldwide to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. Last year approximately 34.8 million people worldwide participated in Giving Tuesday and $2.47 billion was raised in the US alone! And this all happened during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

This year Giving Tuesday falls on November 30th, and it is still unclear if by then the pandemic will be a thing of the past. Either way, nonprofits are preparing to get creative with their fundraising efforts and look to continue the momentum of last year’s massively successful Giving Tuesday.

If you plan to participate this year, start preparing today with these tips and resources for a successful GivingTuesday campaign via GivingTuesday.org.

Tip #1: Start planning early

The key to success is a great plan! If this is your nonprofit’s first #GivingTuesday, use this workbook provided by #GivingTuesday to help your team get started planning. Use this Complete Toolkit for Nonprofits for a sample timeline to get on track with your communications. In your planning session you’ll want to:

• Set a goal –  What does your team want to focus on for this #GivingTuesday? Is there a project you want to get funded? Is there an amount you want to raise? Set an ambitious yet achievable goal and make sure your team is in agreement.
• Make a plan and assign roles – With your goal in mind, write out a plan for how you will get there.  Write out the tasks your team will need to get done. Then set clear deadlines and assign owners for each task. Make sure to schedule periodic check-ins to make sure things stay on track.
• Create a Communication Plan – Social Media is a key part of #GivingTuesday. Start planning your communications calendar now. Create your plan for when you will start communication and through what channels. Identify your campaign ambassadors and create easily shareable content and stories worth sharing.

Pro Tip: Write out your emails and social media posts ahead of time and schedule them to be sent out (check out these free social media scheduling tools). Planning your posts ahead of time will relieve you of stress closer to the date. Use the #GivingTuesday Social Media Toolkit to get inspiration for your posts.

FLIPCAUSE EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN

Tip #2: Create a beautiful campaign

Now that you’ve created a goal and a plan, you can put your campaign together.

Be sure to customize the campaign to fit your organization’s needs. Some things we recommend for a great campaign:

• • Write a powerful and engaging story
  • Have a clear call-to-action with an inspiring ask
  • Include high-quality visuals (BONUS: include a heart-warming video)

• 

  GT STEP BY STEP WORKBOOK

Tip #3: Engage your community

Let your donors know what specific problem they are helping to solve. Don’t be afraid to let your donors in and tell them how the pandemic has affected your organization. It’s okay to be a little vulnerable and tell your organization’s story.

• Get creative this year and brainstorm ways you can engage your supporters with a fully virtual or hybrid event, contests, matching gifts, and challenges.
• As important as donations are, the incredible value of #GivingTuesday is the opportunity to build relationships with your supporters and engage your community. Think about other ways to engage your community beyond donations. Consider offering volunteer opportunities and other ways people can get involved with your cause.
• Reach out to local businesses and ask if they would consider sponsoring a matching grant for your campaign or donate in-kind donations. Remember, it’s about relationship building, so starting these conversations helps you start the relationship-building process.
• Identify and recruit campaign ambassadors. Who are the staff members, board members, donors, community leaders, creatives, athletes, and celebrities that support and believe in your mission? Resource ambassadors with engaging, easily sharable content on a regular schedule.

“Campaign ambassadors believe in you and are big, credible voices that can amplify your campaign reach.”
— GT Step by Step Workbook

Tip #4: Find a way to stand out

With the explosion of #GivingTuesday’s popularity, there is a lot of buzz coming from a lot of nonprofits. You will want to stand out in a crowded field. Here are some ways to make sure you get noticed:

• Utilize your current base. You don’t have to start from scratch. Tap into your current supporter base to help you spread the word. Utilize a peer-to-peer (P2P) style campaign that allows your most engaged supporters to fundraise on your behalf.
• Get creative with social media. Consider doing a live stream on the day of or weeks leading up to give your supporters an inside look into your organization. Also, check out our post on 5 creative social media ideas you can use.
• On the day of, make sure to post regular updates. Remember, the heart of #GivingTuesday is rooted in social media so don’t go radio silent on the day of. Post regular updates on the progress of your campaign throughout the day. Don’t be afraid to also give shoutouts to your donors, thanking them throughout the day for their support. Tag donors in your posts to get your post in front of more people.

Tip #5: Thank your donors!

This may be the most important part of your whole campaign: thank your donors!  Be sure to send out timely and personal thank you letters. The purpose of this letter is to make your donors feel good and tangibly feel the impact they made on your organization. This will make your supporters feel like they matter. For an extra personal touch, use this free tool to record a short, personalized thank-you video to send with your thank-you emails.

Tip #6: Think beyond one day— Keep the momentum going straight into end-of-year giving!

Don’t let your momentum stop when the day is over.  Whether you reached your goal or not, use this campaign as a launching pad for your year-end fundraising strategy.

If you reached your goal, use the momentum to encourage people to continue to give! Share your stats on how you did on #GivingTuesday and the impact those donations will make. Then continue to inspire people to support your cause.

If you don’t reach your goal, don’t be discouraged! You’ve got a jump start now, and you can still ask people to help you reach your goal. Reframe the ask and extend your campaign deadline till the end of the year.

“This show of unity is a reminder that we are all connected and we are all generous, even when we are uncertain and afraid. We must now take the energy and inspiration of this moment forward to establish stronger habits of generosity, to think about the good we can create in the world every day.”
– GivingTuesday CEO Asha Curran