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Image Source: Giving Tuesday
#GivingTuesday is happening on Tuesday, November 28th, 2023 and it is an excellent opportunity for nonprofits to raise funds. Here are three steps to create a successful digital fundraising campaign, so you can get your campaign up and running fast!
#1 Craft The Right Message
The messaging that you need to use for your #GivingTuesday digital campaign is very similar to what you would do during any other fundraising message, but there are a couple things you should be sure to incorporate:
What is #GivingTuesday
The biggest appeal of #GivingTuesday is the opportunity for donors to be part of a global movement rooted in generosity. Make sure you’re telling your audience about the event, what it means and why it’s important.
- When: Tuesday, November 28th, 2023
- What: A global movement of giving and generosity
What is #GivingTuesday
Operation Warm got this right with this email they sent out to remind people when Giving Tuesday is and what they need.
Back in 2020, Boys and Girls Club of Canada launched a Giving Tuesday Emergency Relief Fund to respond to the need created by COVID-19. They clearly communicated the impact that COVID-19 had on the organization.
They also published a blog with a video message from their President & CEO which supported the message of their emergency fund.
Re-create and customize this structure for your nonprofit by asking yourself these questions, and sharing the answers with your donors.
- Is your nonprofit seeing an increased demand for your services in 2023/2024?
- Are you facing a revenue shortfall while transitioning out of the pandemic because of the cancelled events and decrease in giving in the last two years?
If you answered yes to either of those questions, make sure to incorporate that into your #GivingTuesday campaign messaging.
#2 Engage With Your Community
Use multiple channels to engage with your community before, during, and after #GivingTuesday.
Social media
Get your #GivingTuesday message out to your followers and supporters using social media.
UNICEF did this really well with this Giving Tuesday social campaign that included it’s own hashtag.
Coral Acres Food Pantry does a great job of putting out content that engages and recognize their supporters, while encouraging others to give.
Checklist:
- Post regularly on your channels about your #GivingTuesday digital campaign
- Use paid ads on Facebook and Instagram to help spread the word
- Make sure your ads have a strong call to action to donate now
- In your organic posts use a mix of posts with a strong call to action and posts meant to engage
Checklist:
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Email is a key channel for your Giving Tuesday digital campaign because email has the highest return on investment out of all the digital channels.
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Here’s a great example of an email request for donations from St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Checklist:
- Send multiple emails throughout the campaign to maximize the reach, your whole list isn’t going to open every email
- Ensure your emails have a strong call to action to donate
- Say thank you! Make sure you have a meaningful thank you email for #GivingTuesday
Website
Don’t forget about your website! Make sure it’s updated with the message for your #GivingTuesday digital campaign so anyone visiting your website will see it like the Humane Society did.
You might also consider creating a custom donation page just for Giving Tuesday.
With Sumac Donations, you can set up as many donations pages as you want, so you can speak directly to your audience.
Checklist:
- Update your homepage so that your #GivingTuesday digital campaign message is the first thing someone sees on your homepage
- Make sure your Donation form content that is consistent with your campaign messaging
- Share updates and messages from your leadership about the campaign
#3 Go Beyond Individual Donors
- Giving Tuesday isn’t just an opportunity to engage with individual donors, you can bring in other members of your community.
Corporate Sponsors
Approach your major donors, celebrities, or corporate partners to help boost your #GivingTuesday campaign. That’s what the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada did, and it was a huge success.
Matching Gifts
You can also approach major donors, corporate sponsors, and funders to match gifts on Giving Tuesday to help with the success of your campaign by incentivizing your community to give.
It’s also an opportunity to build a relationship with these higher-level donors in your major and corporate portfolios.
Partners in Health used a matching gifts program for a previous Giving Tuesday campaign.
Peer-to-peer
Can you leverage your peer-to-peer fundraising platform and have your community fundraise for you? Leveraging peer-to-peer for #GivingTuesday will expand your campaign’s reach and revenue.
Charity Water is an organization that does peer-to-peer fundraising really well throughout the year and for Giving Tuesday. Check out the messaging they used here and come up with something similar for your nonprofit.
Volunteers
Turn your volunteers into your #GivingTuesday digital campaign ambassadors. Ask them to spread to the word by posting about your campaign on their social media accounts as well as sharing any of the content you post.
If just a handful of your volunteers share the campaign one time, that’s an expansion in your reach by hundreds of people.
Conclusion
#GivingTuesday gives people worldwide an opportunity to come forward to support the causes they care about and help nonprofits. If your nonprofit need a Giving Tuesday website, donation page, or donor database to help make the most of this Giving Tuesday, we have all the tools you need!
