GivingTuesday: What a Difference a Day Makes

Amy Sewell,
EVP of Creative Services

Wow! Every year, it surprises me when GivingTuesday comes around. The way donors always step up and respond—it’s inspiring to get a front-row seat to watch.

This year’s GivingTuesday was no exception. Yesterday, our teams watched as progress bars climbed throughout the day—seeing, in real time, as donors jumped in and helped.

The successful campaigns had a few common elements:

1. They met donors where they are. The best GivingTuesday campaigns include many different channels working together. Your organization can’t use a single channel like email and expect that you will reach everyone within the tight time span. But when you are using complementary organic social, email, digital advertising, and texting to work together, you can get in front of your donor file with a critical message in a short amount of time.
2. They had a measurable goal. Donors love to solve a specific problem or meet a specific opportunity. Being able to say, “Today, we’re going to fund 200 meals” or, “We’re looking for sponsors for 50 children,” provides something to rally behind and measure against during the course of the day.
   
   If your organization isn’t able to do something as specific as these examples, you can still set a measurable goal. We’ve seen organizations have success with goals like “We need 100 donations today—will you be one of the 100?” It’s better when it’s directly mission-related, but donors still like to see a goal met and progress made, so they rally behind these goals as well.
3. They included digital advertising. Because this is a high-competition day with lots of things vying for donor attention, a digital advertising campaign allows you to increase your reach and get in front of people who wouldn’t otherwise see you. In addition, networks like search allow people to discover you. You can target keywords around GivingTuesday and give them the opportunity to be part of the exciting work your organization is doing.

As you plan your campaign next year—either for GivingTuesday or any other one-day fundraising event—we recommend you also consider including:

I hope you had a wonderful GivingTuesday. And remember, yesterday was just a start. Keep communicating with your donors and sharing the inspiring ways they’re changing lives.

Continue to give them opportunities to be a part of something amazing between now and the end of the year. The generosity of donors is inspiring, and they will show up for you on GivingTuesday and all the way through year-end.

Finally: Welcome to December! It’s off to a wonderful start and sure to be a month of inspiring giving and helping organizations like yours be a bigger part of what is right with the world.

It’s never too early to think about your plans for next year’s GivingTuesday strategy. Contact us at your earliest convenience to discuss how best to integrate the suggestions above—all to maximize your fundraising potential and change more lives!