Five Steps to a Successful #GivingTuesday Campaign
#GivingTuesday is two weeks away. Are you ready?
When it comes to holiday fundraising, it is recommended to start planning 6 months prior to a campaign launch date, and in a perfect world, the sooner you plan all the details for your #GivingTuesday campaign, the easier and earlier it is to execute your messaging. There’s a lot of work that is involved with the planning and execution of a fundraising campaign (obviously!), and it’s common knowledge that nonprofit professionals wear MANY hats and put out fires (sometimes multiple fires) on a daily basis, so it is completely understandable when an organization isn’t able to start their planning that far out.
Regardless if you started planning your campaign 6 months ago or 1 month ago, Your #GivingTuesday campaign needs to inspire, motivate, and facilitate action. Here is a helpful reminder of the steps to a successful #GivingTuesday campaign.
1) Planning Calendar – DECIDE WHAT KIND OF CAMPAIGN AND SET GOALS
Determine if this is a single campaign, or if you are using #GivingTuesday as a way to jump-start your year-end giving.
Give your campaign a purpose. This is the time to determine what your goals are. Be specific as to what you are raising money for. People like to know what they are actually giving to. Will the money raised go to a specific fund? Will the money buy an item? Send 10 kids to summer camp? Is this campaign built around a match gift? Whatever you decide, let your donors know the impact of what their gift will be.
2) Communications Strategy – WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY
Who do you want to reach? What is your message? When and where are you going to communicate with them? And lastly, why should they care? With this initial information, it will help immensely as you map out your calendar with days to send out emails, post on social media, call donors personally, and update content on the website.
3) The Message that Say it All – DONATE TO US!
Your message is not limited to the written word. This is the time to have fun and get creative – your donors will appreciate it. Take pictures, do storytelling by creating a video, paint something, sing a song, or do whatever else your heart desires. Just make sure your message is clear. YOU SHOULD DONATE TO US BECAUSE…
4) Create specific fundraising pages – TRACK YOUR SUCCESS
By creating a campaign specific fundraising page, you are able to truly see if your strategy,messaging, and branding has worked. With the help of using an analytics tool like GoogleAnalytics or automation software like Marketo, you can also determine which marketing channels (email, Facebook, Twitter, direct website traffic) your donors are using to reach your fundraising page. The analytics gathered will help you with future strategy planning and campaign projections.
5) Recap – YOUR DONORS WANT TO KNOW
When #GivingTuesday is over, your campaign is not. Your donors want to know the results. How much money was raised? How many people participated in your #GivingTuesday campaign? Your supporters want to feel part of something – a sense of community. And most importantly, donors will continue to give when they know their gift has made a difference.
A 2017 study showed that loyal long-term supporters are not waiting until year-end to donate. They are making their charitable contributions on #GivingTuesday, and are giving higher gift amounts on this day versus any other time of year.
Take this information and run with it. Your supporters want to give, and they want to give on #GivingTuesday. What are you doing to make it happen?