5 Tips for a Successful Giving Tuesday

In 2017, over $274 million was raised on Giving Tuesday, proving that the post-Thanksgiving social media campaign is here to stay. Keep reading for 5 tips that can help your organization maximize its fundraising potential this November 27^th.

• Keep it simple
  • Focus on just one ask. Does it cost $7 to provide a meal to someone in need? $16 to provide a student with a new backpack? Target your ask and make sure that your donors know where they money is going. Instead of asking for it all, ask for just $23 to fund a very specific service, or just one hour of volunteer time, or just one toy for a donated holiday gift for a child. Keeping your ask small can not only include donors who may lack the means to give at a higher level, but it can also attract new donors who want to test the waters by donating a small amount first. Focusing on a smaller, accessible ask also avoids taking attention away from any holiday or end-of-year campaigns that could ultimately net a greater amount for your organization.
  • Donors are bombarded with Giving Tuesday messages on top of existing marketing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Not only are donors being asked to give to many organizations, but their attention is divided. Keeping your Giving Tuesday messaging simple and targeted reduces the chances of fatiguing your donors and turning them off completely.

• Provide opportunities for real-world engagement
  • Social media provides the opportunity to engage your supporters by showing your mission in action. Engage your volunteers on Giving Tuesday itself, and update followers with pictures and videos of your volunteers and staff engaging with your organizational mission. Seeing the positive changes their donation dollars can make spurs would-be donors into action.
  • Build real-world awareness. By engaging your existing volunteer base, you can spread awareness about Giving Tuesday. While support for Giving Tuesday is growing, many prospective donors are simply not aware of what Giving Tuesday is, when it is, and why it’s important to give.
• Team up with partner organizations
  • Seek out partner organizations and local coalitions that can magnify the impact of Giving Tuesday in your local community. Can you team up with other organizations in your local area and rally around a localized hashtag? Try engaging with local government officials, non-profit organizations, membership organizations, schools and universities, corporations, sports teams, faith-based organizations, and local business organizations like your local chamber of commerce to either adopt an existing hashtag or to create a localized hashtag of your own. Some states like South Dakota use hashtags like #ForSouthDakota, while other states Colorado (#COGivesDay) and Minnesota (#GiveMN) have established days for giving apart from Giving Tuesday. Assess your donor base and reach out to similar organizations in your area – if another day apart from Giving Tuesday has historically been more popular among your prospective donors, it may make more sense to throw your energy behind that day instead.
  • If possible, raise the possibility of a matching grant with any foundation or corporate partners you may have. Not only does a matching grant provide the opportunity to raise more money for your cause, but it provides great publicity for your foundation or corporate sponsor and it gives your donors the chance to make their dollars go farther.
  • Work with local businesses to develop a fundraising campaign around Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday is an initiative born out of response to Black Friday, just like Giving Tuesday, which makes the two a natural fit. Talk to local businesses that you may already have relationships with and raise the possibility of a campaign where a certain percentage of the day’s sales go towards your organization or the business rounds up each sale to the next dollar and puts it towards your cause. That way, you can promote Small Business Saturday to your donor base and the business can benefit from increased traffic along with promoting giving back.
• Engage your network
  • Giving Tuesday is just one facet of a robust social media strategy. It’s essential to build your network throughout the year, not just in the days leading up to Giving Tuesday. Consistency is key.
  • Seek out supporters with a strong social media presence who can serve as ambassadors for your organization. Use videos, photos, or stories on social media platforms like Instagram to show your ambassadors engaging with your mission.
  • Go where your followers are. It’s important to be strategic in your posting, especially if you don’t have a full-time staff member devoted to social media or communications. Determining the social media platforms your donors spend the most time on, either by assessing your levels of engagement or by using demographic information, can help you target the platforms and types of content that will net the greatest return on time investment.
  • Encourage followers to create their own peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, such as through Facebook. People are more likely to give to a new cause if they see their friends and family promoting it.

• Track and share your results and thank your donors
  • Set an actionable goal and track it throughout the day. Update your followers with your progress, letting them know that you’re depending on their support to help you meet your target.
  • Follow up and thank your donors. Post photos of your beneficiaries, your programs, volunteers engaged in your mission, or even your staff, so that they can see the fruits of their efforts!

Halie Albertson

Halie is LiveImpact's Data Management and Onboarding Specialist, working closely with non-profits to ensure their migrations to LiveImpact are successful. Prior to joining LiveImpact, Halie worked as a non-profit database administrator and development analyst for organizations in Southern California and the Midwest. She studied data and information management at the University of Toronto, graduating with a Master of Information degree.