Do you want to raise more money and connect with more supporters this #GivingTuesday? You’re in luck!
Today on Facebook Live I talked with special guest all about what goes into planning and executing a successful Giving Tuesday campaign at your nonprofit.
Josh Hirsch is the Director of Mission and Communication for Susan G. Komen South Florida, and he is also a certified Social Media Strategist through the National Institute for Social Media. (He also happens to be a master of live tweeting events!)
If you have no idea what Giving Tuesday is or why nonprofits should care, be sure to visit their website at givingtuesday.org to get the full history.
Here are just a few statistics from Giving Tuesday 2017:
**$300 million raised online
**2.5 million gifts
**Participants in over 150 countries around the world
**Over 1 million social mentions and 21.7 billion media impressions
Women give 63% of the donations on this day, most likely because they tend to use social media more often and more likely to volunteer and participate in collaborative giving.
So, how can you prepare your nonprofit for a successful Giving Tuesday campaign?
I have 3 main tips for success:
1) Select a SMART goal.
Some examples of Giving Tuesday goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based):
- To raise a total amount of $5,000
- To increase social media engagement by 30%
- To gain 100 new donors
- To increase average online donation by 10%
- To get 500 social media mentions
- To increase participation in an advocacy campaign by 25%
2) Create a compelling reason to participate.
Just saying “Hey everyone, it’s Giving Tuesday!” is NOT a compelling reason to make me take out my wallet or click the donate button.
3) Make it absurdly easy to participate from anywhere on any device.
From mobile, from desktop, over the phone – be where your donors are and accept donations how they like to give them.
You can watch the full discussion below:
Let’s dive right in to some examples of successful Giving Tuesday campaigns.
#1) One of our Nonprofit Social Media community members, Kristi Geiger, the Development Director at Crossroad Child & Family Services in Fort Wayne, Indiana, said to me that her Giving Tuesday 2017 was, in all caps, “FANTASTIC.”
She said: “I utilized our social media ambassadors by making a job description and emailing at least 3 times prior to Tuesday and relied on them to really push out to their friends and followers and we utilized Facebook to post our info.”
Here is an example of one of their posts: https://www.facebook.com/crossroad.cares/posts/10156033372148896
Crossroad chose Giving Fuel to host their Giving Tuesday campaign.
They have a PayPal account, but since Giving Tuesday is predominately social media and mobile driven, that was not the best option from a mobile user experience standpoint.
In addition, Crossroad sent out a photo collage along with handwritten Thank You cards to their Social Media Ambassadors and Giving Tuesday donors.
#2) The Children’s Trust in Boston, MA, decided to focus on Facebook as a fundraising tool, and created an original infographic using Infogram.
Their infographic is a helpful, step-by-step guide to show their community members exactly how to set up their very own Facebook Fundraiser to support the campaign #Give4Kids on Giving Tuesday.
All in all, they received 80 gifts and raised just over $3,000. They had 16 people create a Facebook Fundraiser and , over 375 people used our Facebook profile frames, and they reached about 50,000 people on Facebook alone.
They also created a Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1035290899945806/
#3) It doesn’t all have to be about fundraising however, one of my fave campaigns is Dress for Success, #GivingShoesDay.
On #GivingShoesDay, women are encouraged to take a picture with a pair of shoes and tell a story about the shoes, and post on social media.
The reasons why this works:
- Specific call-to-action for maximum participation
- A pair of shoes – allows for supporters to visualize how the donation is making a difference
- Symbolic: New opportunity, confidence, “step closer to a new life”
Katie Murphy, Director of Media Relations, Dress for Success Worldwide explained the idea in this way:
“A woman donates her shoes and has such a great experience that she wants to become a donor or a volunteer, or even ask her company to get involved. #GivingShoesDay is a first touch point with new supporters.”
5 Key Decisions Your Nonprofit Needs to Make Before #GivingTuesday [WORKSHEET]
#GivingTuesday is right around the corner, and it's never too early to start planning!
It’s tempting to see the astounding fundraising numbers from last year - over $380,000,000 raised online - and think that this day of giving will automatically work for your nonprofit.Before putting time and resources into #GivingTuesday, there are 5 key decisions to consider. Fill out this worksheet before planning your #GivingTuesday campaign!