Are You Ready for #GivingTuesday?

Did you know that as the holiday spirit increases, so does charitable giving? It’s true! More charitable donations are made at the end of the year than any other time. A great way to kick off this season of giving is to participate in #GivingTuesday, an annual day of giving event that takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. (This year it’s November 28, 2017.) In 2016 alone, 1,640,000 gifts totaling $177 million were donated to nonprofits in over 98 countries!

What we know about #GivingTuesday:

• It’s a uniquely mobile experience. Nearly 80% of #GivingTuesday activity happens on smartphones.
• It’s all about new donors. #GivingTuesday is a great way to attract new donors who otherwise might not have heard of your cause.
• It inspires millennials. Young people (around ages 20-36) prefer to give to causes they hear about from their friends on social media.

So, what can your organization do to take advantage of and amplify the results of #GivingTuesday? It’s time to start getting ready!

1. Plan Ahead: Think about #GivingTuesday as you would any other fundraising campaign. Use it as an opportunity for storytelling and a way to build awareness around your organization and mission. Set a goal based on your organization’s needs, size-up your resources, and create a thorough plan that addresses the campaign audience and the message that will best resonate with them, your expenses, and your goals.
2. Schedule Reminders: Schedule out reminders over all of your online platforms, including email, social media, and your website. Strategically plan what times of the day messages will be sent out across what platforms. HootSuite is a helpful tool for this.
3. Recruit Social Ambassadors: Make ambassadors out of some of your active social media followers who agree to promote your campaign with their network. Provide them with content and training (and don’t forget to thank them after the event)!
4. Make It Easy to Donate: The donate button should be at the top of your website and all forms should be optimized for mobile use.
5. Use #UNselfies on Social Media: Encourage your supporters to replace their social media profile pictures with a photo showing your logo and a call-to-action.
6. Share Your Donation Link on Social Media: Make it easy to share your campaign and be sure to thank every single person who gives!
7. Find Matching Donors: See if any corporate sponsors will match donations from individual donors.

Receive a free #GivingTuesday toolkit with templates, logos, banners, sample tweets, and press releases HERE.

Need more help? Check out our fundraising workshops!