GivingTuesday is likely the only day for nonprofits across the country to harness major financial support. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving and following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two of the largest shopping events of the year, GivingTuesday is an annual day focused on inspiring giving and kicking off the charitable season.
From international foundations, to public universities and small nonprofits, GivingTuesday produces success stories that are truly inspiring. And each year, the charitable day grows in impact. According to Nonprofit Source, GivingTuesday brought in more than $380 Million in 2018 — 38 percent more than the year prior.
Now in its 7th year, GivingTuesday is on the mind of every nonprofit — especially when it comes to year-end giving. Fueled by the power of social media and collective action, nonprofits of all sizes can take part in this global giving movement, leveraging numerous match opportunities that maximize giving.
With the annual event just around the corner, you might think there isn’t enough time to get everything together and engage in this movement of generosity. But don’t worry, there’s still time to develop a quick strategy if you haven’t already. Here are four tips to jumpstart your last minute planning and participate in this global giving movement.
1. Identify Your Campaign’s Goal
When it comes to setting your fundraising goal, stay realistic about what your organization will be able to achieve. Beyond overwhelming your staff, setting fundraising goals that are too high could dissuade donors to give to your organization. It’s likely that individuals seeking causes to donate to will be more motivated to extend their funds to an organization that is closer to achieving its fundraising goal.
2. Reach Out to Your Most Passionate Supporters
One of the best ways to kick-start your GivingTuesday fundraising is to reach out to your organization’s core supporters ahead of the big day. As we stated previously, being able to showcase your progress will motivate more donors to give to your organization. Asking your already passionate supporters to get involved in this day of giving can help spread your reach and raise more money toward your goal. Send them a short email explaining GivingTuesday and the goal it seeks to achieve — then ask them to get involved by donating, posting on social media or sharing your fundraiser with their peers.
3. Collect Campaign Collateral
Like any other social media campaign, engaging your supporters and prospective donors is driven by compelling and relevant content. Instead of diving into creating new pieces of shareable content, start by taking an inventory of your existing content and choosing which pieces can be repurposed. If you look really hard, in enough places, you’ll probably find that you have more content than you think. It will simply need to be repurposed to support your campaign. The GivingTuesday website has a ton of pre-designed graphics and resources like branded templates and social media toolkits. Here’s a short list of possible content to prepare for social media:
- Campaign-specific branded graphics
- Images and videos that highlight your work and mission
- Blog posts that share stories of your beneficiaries and supporters
4. Explore Matching Opportunities
For large organizations with corporate partners, there are numerous opportunities to match donations — including on GivingTuesday. But for small, resource-constrained nonprofits, finding match sponsors can be a difficult task, especially at the last minute. In recent years, Facebook has positioned itself as a tremendous resource for nonprofits. On GivingTuesday, the social media platform has pledged to match donations that are made on the site — up to the full match amount, capped at $100,000 per organization. To qualify for Facebook’s match, your organization must be a registered 501c3 nonprofit and donations must be made after 8 a.m. the day of GivingTuesday.
Whether your nonprofit started planning last year, two weeks ahead, or the day before GivingTuesday, participating in this day of giving is a worthy investment of your time and resources.
If your organization is motivated to start planning its last-minute GivingTuesday strategy, we’re here to help. You can schedule a quick, 30-minute call with us to discuss your next move here.
Photo credit: Everton Vila via Unsplash
