Pop quiz time! Think back to our Giving Day Leaders Forum in July here in Ithaca. Do you remember what our CEO, Charlie said were the four key aspects to Giving Day success?

Hint:  You can review Charlie’s presentation here (Access is limited to those who have participated in our Forum). 

The four things we’ve noticed that contribute to overall Giving Day success are:

1. Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers
2. Sponsor Matches/Challenges
3. Prize Pool Availability 
4. Visible Goals

We’re seeing these same things are still key factors for successful Giving Days.

To prove it, here are some statistics that we’ve seen throughout the past fall giving season:

• Since September 2018, we supported 22 Giving Days, including 9 on #GivingTuesday alone!
• From our 22 Giving Days, 13 of them were brand new to the GiveGab platform and 9 were returning
• Upwards of 4,500 nonprofits raised over $65,871,862.48 for their communities

1. Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers

P2P. Fundraising Champions. Free Agent Fundraisers. Call it what you will, but there’s no doubt that leveraging individuals to raise funds on behalf of nonprofits is extremely beneficial when it comes to fundraising.

Nonprofits are able to use their existing supporters to help market and advertise their participation in your Giving Day and reach new audiences that they might not have had the opportunity to do so without that unique personal touch.

In fact, with our recent fall Giving Days alone, we noticed that organizations who used P2P Fundraisers raised 3.43 times more on average than nonprofits who did not!

Here are some more fun numbers:

• On average, 21.7 % of participating organizations used P2P during their Giving Day
• A total of 3,736 P2P Fundraisers raised funds for their nonprofits, an average of 249.1 Fundraisers per Giving Day
• These 3,736 P2P Fundraisers raised a combined total of $1,016,086.64 during our fall Giving Days
• The average amount of funds raised for nonprofits using P2P was $12,174.26, whereas those who didn’t use P2P raised $5,312.02

2. Sponsor Matches/Challenges

Sponsor matches and challenges may be a relatively newer feature the GiveGab platform released, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen the major impact they’ve already had on Giving Day success!

Not only do match and challenge opportunities help a donor’s gift have an even further reach for a nonprofit, but these opportunities also engage local businesses and sponsors to get more visibility and involved with charitable giving.

Throughout our fall Giving Days, the nonprofits who had matches and/or challenges, on average, raised 8.13 times more than organizations who did not.

Here are some more interesting stats: 

• On average, 9.1% of participating nonprofits featured a match or challenge on their profile during the Giving Day
• A total of $4,124,215 was available in matching funds for all nonprofits, with an average of over $294,586.79 in additional funds available per Giving Day
• The average amount of funds raised for nonprofits with matches was $26,337.82, whereas those who did not use P2P raised $6,245.39

3. Prize Pool Availability

While sometimes the task of awarding prizes may seem daunting to you as the Partner, organizations really find them motivating and help to get people even more excited about participating in the Giving Day.

And based on other conversations from the Giving Day Leaders Forum in July, we know that prizes aren’t always the most straightforward to deal with for either you or the nonprofits.

But this means you can still have easy-to-award, effective prizes without involving complicated qualifications or stipulations around your prize structures.

Throughout the fall Giving Day season, you collectively awarded over 287 prizes with a collective value of over $711,600, averaging roughly $45k and 18 prizes per Giving Day! Way to go, Partners!

We know it’s hard work securing sponsors and engaging businesses to help build up your prize pool, but it’s all paying off.  Nonprofits are staying active during the Giving Day — especially surrounding those Power Hour-type prizes that you’re scheduling at key times — strategizing around those extra dollars that can be so influential in funding their projects and initiatives.

So keep up the hard work, and see all of your efforts come to fruition as you see those donations continue to roll in!

4. Visible Goals

We always encourage our nonprofits to set goals for themselves right through their Giving Day dashboard. That way, the organizations know what to work towards and can centralize their efforts into meeting that dollar amount that’s displayed on their pages. Donors also can see the organization’s progress, which can encourage either a larger or repeated donation!

In fact, goals can go beyond the nonprofit-level: P2P have goals, too (and can be customized based on the individual nonprofit level or by the P2P’s preferences)! This is a great start to really steer your P2P in the right direction as they begin their own fundraising efforts.

Your Project Manager will ask you about your goals during the Kickoff discussion as you start planning your Giving Day together.

We celebrate with you as you meet your milestones and goals throughout your Giving Day, and we continue to celebrate beyond because we have amazing Partners (you!) who not only meet their monetary goals but exceed them! In fact, our partners who participated in Giving Days this fall exceeded their monetary goals by nearly 14% on average!

Summary

We know there’s a lot that goes into planning and executing a successful Giving Day, and success can be measured in many different ways. Each Giving Day is unique and special, with its own resources, strategies, and processes. But there are some common trends that seem to bridge the gap to success across the board – such as Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers, Match and Challenge Opportunities, Prize Funds, and Goals! 

If you have questions about this, your Project Manager and Customer Success team are here for you. We are happy to talk to you through different options and strategies to make your Giving Day the best it can possibly be!  

*Note: These statistics were pulled from various Giving Days held on the GiveGab platform for Fall 2018.