Last minute tips for #GivingTuesday
We’ve written about the origins of #GivingTuesday, how to plan for #GivingTuesday, and other incredible #GivingTuesday fundraising opportunities. Now, let’s tackle what to do if you’ve waited until three weeks before the big day.
If you’re a nonprofit marketer you may have carried out a #GivingTuesday campaign before. If you don’t know what it’s all about or want to try out this awesome opportunity, keep reading. It’s not too late to set up a campaign and raise funds for your organization.
The global day of giving is celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday – so November 27th, 2018. It essentially kicks off the charitable season, when many people focus on holiday and end-of-year giving.
Join the movement.
An easy win this #GivingTuesday is to get listed on the database of participating organizations. As long as you’re an official 501(c)3 your organization can sign up at givingtuesday.org/organizations.
Download the provided toolkits.
The #GivingTuesday movement makes it easy to get involved. Participating organizations are supplied with plug-and-play materials to ensure their social media and marketing techniques are consistent, attractive, effective. Visit the #GivingTuesday website to check these out.
Facebook and PayPal will match your donations!
In the past years, Facebook and PayPal have partnered up to match donations to US nonprofits, up to $7 million. Use Facebook Payments to process your Facebook donations and you won’t have to pay any fees.
Find out how your nonprofit can get involved and create a fundraiser here. Note: You do have to have a verified Facebook page in order to qualify.
Gather testimonials.
Ask people, particularly current donors, to write a short testimonial. In addition to telling your organization’s story, you can also highlight donors and share why they give. Simply put, testimonials are persuasive and help other people identify and see themselves as donors.
Update your donate page.
You don’t realistically have time to make a whole lot of changes but if you see something that can be improved, go for it. Maybe the text needs a little refresh or you have more recent photos to add. Since you’ll be sending people here it’s best to make sure it looks how you want it. (Plus, you need to track traffic and other metrics and this will help gather data as to whether those changes are working!)
Get people talking!
It’s November 1st so start regular scheduling now. Begin sending messages out on your social platforms twice a week (one of which can be on Tuesdays to get people geared up). Craft an email letting people know there’s only one month to go.
As the month progresses, don’t hold back. Tweet, post, share, and go Live on Stories. Send email reminders to your staff and your community to get people engaged and excited. Invite your donors, volunteers, and active social followers to be a part of your campaign.
On November 27, keep the momentum going! Update your social community constantly to let them know how far you are from your goal. And the day after be sure to send out thank you emails and posts to let your donors know the initial results.
Track it.
In order to adapt and learn from what might be your first #GivingTuesday campaign, set up tagged links for tracking. It’s important to look at conversations and conversions to see what worked and what could be improved upon in next year’s campaign.
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You should think about #GivingTuesday as you would any other fundraising campaign. It’s an opportunity for storytelling, donor cultivation, and building awareness around your organization and its mission.
Let us know how you plan to raise money this #GivingTuesday in the comments below!
