Establishing a GivingTuesday Presence in Tandem with Spring Giving
“I want to have a presence during GivingTuesday, but my Giving Day is scheduled for a different date. Can I still take part in this movement?”
Yes! You can still participate in GivingTuesday, even if your Giving Day is in the Spring! There is no need to reschedule your Giving Day to the fall; instead, you can take a fresh approach to what GivingTuesday means for your organization and community!
With GivingTuesday’s brand recognition and growing awareness, engaging your supporters that day is opportune.
Having a strong fundraising presence on GivingTuesday is beneficial because:
- GivingTuesday is known worldwide as the biggest day of giving. On November 30th, donors will be actively looking for giving opportunities that day; make it easy by providing them with a place to give!
- It allows your organization to kick off this season of generosity right and give yourself momentum for an end-of-the-year capital campaign.
- If you’re a Community Foundation or United Way, hosting a Giving Day provides a platform for your community of organizations to fundraise on GivingTuesday efficiently. Many organizations may not have the resources to create an online fundraiser on their own. By providing a Giving Day site, you are making GivingTuesday accessible for your community.
- If you’re an educational institution, taking part in GivingTuesday can engage your students, faculty, staff, and alumni by creating an environment of generosity during the holiday season!
Taking a fresh approach to GivingTuesday means reflecting on your specific need and how best to complement your Spring Giving Day.
Perhaps your primary campaign’s focus is around dollars. Your GivingTuesday goal could be increased engagement in other areas, such as volunteering, peer-to-peer fundraising, or the number of new donors – the sky’s the limit!
Your GivingTuesday call-to-action should be distinctly different from your primary Giving Day campaign. By varying your focus, you are not only growing in a new direction but, you are also poised to send supporters fresh messaging.
A supplemental campaign on GivingTuesday could strengthen the relationship with your donors rather than strain it!
Occasionally, we hear concerns around donor fatigue from too many ‘asks’ throughout the year. However, the top reason that donors stop giving is that they aren’t seeing enough results and are not properly engaged with the organization throughout the year.
Running a GivingTuesday campaign is an opportunity for you to practice and strengthen your donor stewardship strategies. It is imperative to the success of your organization to maintain repeat donors and strengthen their support.
Donor stewardship is not just asking for donations a few times a year. Instead, it is a relationship that you’re forming with your supporters to bring them along on your organization’s journey.
Donor retention is all about showing results and storytelling. Consider asking yourself:
- Are you sharing updates with your donors throughout the year and not just when you’re campaigning?
- Do your donors understand the tangible benefits that resulted from their gifts?
- Have you included them in your organization’s story so they feel integral to its success?
What a #GivingTuesday Fresh Take Looks Like In Action!
One GiveGab partner, The University of Baltimore, ran their Bow on Poe 2020 Giving Day in March. Their GivingTuesday focus was to rally volunteers by creating opportunities to offer time or dollars.
The resulting success solidified their plans to continue GivingTuesday initiatives to supplement their main Giving Day in the Spring. This case study is a wonderful example of using a second large campaign that adds to the main fundraising event rather than detracts from it.
You can join in the excitement of GivingTuesday by:
- brainstorming ways that your organization or community can grow its philanthropic efforts
- strategizing how GivingTuesday can help you achieve that growth.
- reaching out to Engagement Experts to discuss your ideal GivingTuesday solution!
After that, your dedicated project manager will walk you through all the Giving Day steps!
We’d love to help you find success with your GivingTuesday efforts. Chat with an engagement specialist today to talk through your specific goals to find a solution that is tailor-made for you!