In a New York City apartment in 2012, Henry Timms, the Executive Director of the 92nd Street Y, dreamed of a global day dedicated to giving back. Tis’ the Season, right? With a day fully dedicated to giving thanks, followed by two of the biggest shopping days of the year, why not set aside a day dedicated to generosity? #GivingTuesday is a compassionate response to the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Last year more than 10,000 organizations worldwide participated in GivingTuesday and according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy raised over $46 million dollars. Knowing the trend of this generosity the question becomes, how can nonprofits get involved and make the most of #GivingTuesday in 2015.
Step one – Start Planning Now!
Get a head start promoting on social media, marketing collateral, and direct contact with donors. Take advantage of the hype of this global movement to let those who care about your organization know that you are playing too. If you haven’t put a plan together yet, it’s not too late. Set up a meeting time with your most creative thinkers and establish a plan now.
Step Two – Communicate
Make sure your call to action is simple, clear, and compelling. Some ideas would be to integrate #GivingTuesday into your year-end campaign, organize a volunteer project, hold an open house showcasing your nonprofit, or consider matching grants. Whatever you choose, ensure that people know exactly what you want them to do and when.
Step Three – Share Your Story
Throughout the day, be sure you are sharing your results. Post updates on social media every hour. Take pictures and post them. Interview volunteers and capture their story for a follow up blog post or video to share. Additionally, document the process. Write down what works and what doesn’t so you can learn for next year.
Step Four – It’s Not What You Know but Who You Know
Consider recruiting and then empowering people who will promote your organization and influence others to love it too. Consider looking at your social media and identifying your biggest fans and cheerleaders. Those are the ones who consistently like, comment, retweet, and share your posts; or find a local or global celebrity who supports your cause. Even if their only contribution is to share your #GivingTuesday posts on their social media sights, it’s a win. Just think of all of the people who can be reached through networking with your most popular followers.
Step Five – Wide End of the Funnel
Take advantage of #GivingTuesday as an opportunity to be accessible to everyone. This is a great all play day and should be considered a large generator of new first-time donors. Focusing on a campaign that attracts new donors, is accessible to everyone, and has the potential to move the newly generated donors deeper into the funnel to become long term advocates for the cause.
Step Six – Don’t Forget to Say Thank You
Generosity begets generosity, so don’t forget to be generous in acknowledging and appreciating those who have supported your organization on #GivingTuesday. Anyone who has experienced success in fundraising–and the profound responsibility of stewarding generous donors–knows that gratitude is everything.
Assign someone from your team to be responsible for responding to every contributor, immediately with a thank you email. Take it a step further by making a personal phone call or sending a hand written thank you note. These are the types of actions that set you a part and delight those who have supported you.