Every year, people worldwide head to their social media channels to support nonprofit organizations in a global day of giving, known as GivingTuesday. It comes the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (and Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and all the other shopping holidays). This year, it falls on November 30.
If you haven’t started planning yet, don’t panic! Our social media and nonprofit experts put together this how-to guide to help your nonprofit make the most out of this incredible opportunity to tell your story, engage supporters, reach new supporters, and raise funds for your organization.
Set a Goal
When you sit down to create your GivingTuesday goals, don’t be afraid to experiment with new ideas. While your goal should reflect your organization’s overall priorities, you don’t always have to focus on raising a specific dollar amount. Here are a few other goals you can set for GivingTuesday.
- New donors—GivingTuesday gives your organization a unique opportunity. On this day, there are people out there looking for an organization to support. This is a great time to pull in new donors and build future relationships.
- Monthly donors—Consider having your nonprofit set a goal to encourage a specific number of current donors to commit to a monthly donation.
- Social followers—Don’t underestimate the benefit of reaching a larger audience!
- Volunteers—Do you have a big event coming up where you need more volunteers? Use GivingTuesday as a way to engage those that can’t make a monetary donation but still want to get involved!
Now that you have an idea of what your goal is, we want you to think about how many individuals and what project? Your audience is more likely to support your goal when you make it as clear, precise, and measurable as possible. Check out this formula that makes it a little easier for your nonprofit to put together a clear goal.
We’re raising $X to support Y number of individuals to do Z.
X—Your fundraising goal
Y—Number of individuals you’re supporting
Z—Specific program or project that you’re supporting
For example:
We’re raising $5,000 to help 100 children purchase their jerseys for the upcoming youth soccer season.
Create Your Communications
Now that you have your defined goal, you’re ready to create your campaign communications. Here are some steps you can take to cover all of your bases.
Website
When someone visits your website, you want to make sure they know about your upcoming GivingTuesday campaign. There are a couple of ways you can do this: a banner, a popup, a blog that shows on your homepage. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that there’s a way for someone to get information about your campaign and get to your donate page in a few simple clicks.
Pro tip: Make a new donation page so you can track precisely how many donations you receive from your GivingTuesday communications.
Social Posts
GivingTuesday is a campaign that centers around social media, which means this is one of the most important forms of communication for that day! It’s much more beneficial to create these posts ahead of time and schedule them out instead of throwing something together at the last moment. We recommend starting at the end of October (that’s soon!) to remind your audience that GivingTuesday is coming up.
Pro tip: Social media posts with videos are a great way to engage your audience while they still hear more about your organization.
Emails
Using your email list is a great way to reach your existing supporters and donors. In these emails, make sure you clearly state your goal, who you’re aiding, and how you’re assisting them. Your supporters need to know exactly what they’re supporting. Make sure that your email is mobile-friendly, has excellent visuals, and has a link directly to your call to action (donate, sign up to volunteer, etc.).
Pro tip: Also involve your board members and staff in this process! Be sure to send them an email letting them know what GivingTuesday is and state what your goals are. You can also create an email for your board members to send directly to their friends, family, and colleagues.
Other Things to Consider
Your creativity truly is the limit when it comes to reaching your audience. You want to reach them where they’re at, so here are a few ideas on how to extend your reach:
- Press releases
- Text messages
- Phone calls from staff, board members, or volunteers
Prepare Your Social Platforms
This one is pretty simple. You want to make sure everything on your social media profiles is like it should be. Make sure the link to your homepage (or donation page) works! Double-check your business hours. You may even want to change your profile pictures to raise a little more awareness that you’re participating in GivingTuesday.
Thank Your #GivingTuesday Supporters
Everyone in the fundraising and nonprofit world knows the importance of thanking donors and supporters. That’s why the Wednesday after GivingTuesday is also known as “Thank You Wednesday.” Just like your GivingTuesday communications, get creative with your thank-you’s! Have your CEO/Executive Director/Board Chair make a thank you video and email it to donors. Send personalized thank-you letters or even make personal phone calls. This is a crucial stewardship step that helps you with future GivingTuesday campaigns.
Need Help? We’re Here!
If you don’t have the time or manpower to put together a strong #GivingTuesday campaign, then we’re here to help. We want to help the nonprofits in our community capitalize on this global day of giving. Reach out today to see how we can help you reach your #GivingTuesday goals.
