October 8, 2020 |

3 Ways to Make Giving Tuesday Worth it For Your Nonprofit

It’s been a long year for nonprofit organizations. If you’re wondering, “Should my nonprofit participate in Giving Tuesday?” you’re not alone. Weary nonprofit leaders are taking a long look at whether this might be the year they skip Giving Tuesday. Hang in there if this is you! There are ways to overcome the pitfalls of running a Giving Tuesday campaign that will make participating worth it for your nonprofit.

Challenge #1: Giving Tuesday interferes with end-of-year fundraising

If Giving Tuesday interferes with your end-of-year fundraising campaign, you could be focusing on the wrong message. According to GivingTuesday.org, 63% of Giving Tuesday donors give only on Giving Tuesday. These folks are likely not in the same segment as your regular donors. The key to success is to differentiate your Giving Tuesday campaign from your end of year appeals.

Your year-end fundraising appeals should be part of your broader fundraising strategy to garner support for your nonprofit and build awareness for your mission. Giving Tuesday’s campaign should focus on specific needs and impact-focused program goals as the kick-off to the larger story. It is essentially a one day fundraiser. Treat it like so. Set an achievable fundraising goal that can be accomplished within 24 hours and go for it.

Examples of impact-focused goals for Giving Tuesday:

• Fund 25 cleft palate surgical procedures for children
• Training and care for 30 service dogs in 2021
• Provide housing for ten homeless families

The Takeaway

To make Giving Tuesday worth it, use it as a launching pad for your year-end fundraising campaign. Set specific Giving Tuesday goals but tell supporters how they tie into your larger end of year fundraising goals.

 

 

Challenge #2: It takes too much time to get ready for Giving Tuesday

Joining in on Giving Tuesday doesn’t have to be a hassle. Like any fundraising campaign, it does require preparation to hit your goals, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take shortcuts.

Short On Time? Focus on Email and Social Media for Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is driven by social media as a way for supporters to focus on charitable giving during the holidays. It’s also an excellent opportunity to communicate with your email list to share your nonprofit’s story as part of this specific appeal. If you’re short on time and resources, focus on these two areas to make the most of Giving Tuesday.

Shortcut #1: Seven Giving Tuesday Emails With Send Dates

Below are the seven emails you should send to supporters for your Giving Tuesday campaign and the exact dates when to send them. These emails will help you get the word out and keep your supporters updated on your Giving Tuesday goal progress throughout the day. Click the links next to each email to save time and access to our pre-written email templates where you can fill in your details and download them.

 

Before Giving Tuesday

November 10th: Campaign Reveal Email (Available here)

November 17th: Social Media Ambassador Emails (Available here)

November 30th: GivingTuesday Reminder Email (Available here)

 

On Giving Tuesday

December 1st, 8:00 AM: It’s Here Email (Available here)

December 1st, 4:00 PM: Giving Tuesday Goal Update (Available here)

December 1st, 8:00 PM: Last Call Update (Available here)

 

After Giving Tuesday

December 2nd: Thank You Email (Available here)

 

Shortcut #2: Use Social Media Templates

Provide updates to your donors on your Giving Tuesday campaign progress with these five social media post templates you can copy and use.

The Takeaway

To make Giving Tuesday worth it, you can quickly and efficiently create a compelling Giving Tuesday campaign using email and social media templates. You’ll save time and resources using proven fundraising templates that will bring you better results.

 

Challenge #3: Giving Tuesday is a lot of work for one-time donors

Remember the statistic we cited earlier about Giving Tuesday donors? According to GivingTuesday.org, 63% of Giving Tuesday donors give only on Giving Tuesday. That’s a lot of work to do for one time donors. What if you could convert those donors to become engaged supporters? That process starts on Welcome Wednesday, the day after Giving Tuesday. You can bring new Giving Tuesday supporters into your donor community.

Thank Your Giving Tuesday Supporters

One of the best ways to retain your donors and get them to give even more is to thank them quickly, preferably within 48 hours of receiving their gift. Not only does this increase your chances of retaining them, but it could also boost the donation amount of their next gift. Our data shows that donors who are thanked donate 43% more on average for their next gift. DonorPerfect users can use the Thank a Donor feature to instantly thank donors right from the gift screen using personalized email templates. Also be sure to check out this FREE Giving Tuesday Thank You Email template.

 

 

Welcome New Donors To Your Community

A donor’s first gift presents the perfect opportunity to welcome them into your community. It’s more than asking them to give again. Show them all the ways they can engage with your cause and the people who support it. Create a welcome email series to take advantage of the momentum from Giving Tuesday. A welcome series is a set of emails that your donor can receive automatically after their first donation. The series’s emails are typically spread out over several weeks to months, depending on how many emails are in your series. By continuing the momentum that is already there, you build a relationship with your donor. You also set the groundwork for what they can expect from your organization. This is a critical component of donor retention.

Save time and introduce new donors to your community with The New Donor Welcome Series Email Template Kit. This free guide includes templates for targeted donor thank-you emails, volunteer and event newsletters, donation impact updates, new donor surveys, and more.

Run a Monthly Giving Campaign

One of the best ways to turn the momentum of Giving Tuesday into sustainable revenue is to convince donors to make a monthly commitment. Some nonprofits focus solely on that as their big Giving Tuesday campaign. With Monthly Giving, there is no better way to retain your existing donors, gain sustainable revenue, and upgrade annual giving amounts. At a minimum, allow donors to select between one time and recurring donations, especially if you have a matching gift campaign running during Giving Tuesday. Structure your matching gifts to give higher percentage matches for recurring gifts to incentivize donors to become monthly givers.

For ideas on promoting your monthly giving program, visit How to Find Monthly Donors and Grow your Monthly Giving Program.

The Takeaway

To make Giving Tuesday worth it, find ways to convert your one time donors into engaged supporters. Start by thanking them for their gift and then welcome them into your community. Alternatively, you could focus on converting existing supporters into monthly donors with a focused recurring giving campaign.

 

How Do You Plan to Make Giving Tuesday Worth It?

What is your nonprofit doing to make Giving Tuesday successful? Do you plan on participating? Share your plans for Giving Tuesday in the comments for this blog. We’d love to hear from you.