While #GivingTuesday and end-of-year appeals might feel far away, the busiest time of the giving calendar is just around the corner. Now is the time to finalize your strategy, make your plans, and create your messaging templates.
Donors are paying attention, and many are looking at their spending for the rest of the calendar year. Dedicate the time and capacity to get your organization’s story out there. Engage potential donors and steward those relationships before they are specifically asked to give to your organization.
Read on for our expert-curated checklist (feel free to copy and paste it!) to ensure this year’s #GivingTuesday is a hit.
September
Countdown from September 1: 93 days
Establish your goals
Start building content for your online campaign
- Donation form copy, settings, and calls-to-action
- Turn on recurring giving
- Hero image
- Copy, including branded and volunteer testimonials
- Features (videos, sponsors, peer-to-peer, membership drive)
- Create graphics and gather photos
Establish a marketing plan
- Emails
- Segment donor lists to establish targeting
- Social media (organic and paid)
- Direct mail with your specific QR code or text-to-give short code
- Text messages
Create a unique hashtag to include in all your #GivingTuesday promotional materials
Send in-person event invites or share a countdown to #GivingTuesday, just like a save-the-date
As you check off these to-dos, communicate your plans with your board, stakeholders, and volunteers so they can be ambassadors for your mission.
Set expectations with your board and hold them accountable. Can they be peer-to-peer fundraisers? Will they “author” an email or record a video for social media? Would they, as a board or individuals, provide a matching gift for #GivingTuesday? Can they put an H-stand sign in their yards?
They are an integral part of your team, so include them!
October
Countdown from October 1: 63 days
Start implementing your marketing plan, particularly the storytelling pieces
- Build awareness and share teasers
- Publish a blog
Finalize your messaging calendar and schedule posts and emails
Invest time and energy in refining your storytelling. Your potential donors should know a bit about what you accomplished, what you need funding for, and how you make a difference in the community. Then, when the day comes, they’re already educated and the path from call-to-action to donation is short and easy.
November
Countdown from November 1: 32 days
Evaluate your open rates, click-through rates, and opt-out rates to improve your promotions
Increase the frequency of your marketing
- Continue sharing countdowns
Deploy any tangible campaign components
- T-shirts
- H-stand signs
- Table stands
- QR codes
- And more!
Countdown: 1 Week
Schedule, send, and post personalized appeals
Introduce an engagement challenge
Send reminder texts, posts, and emails
Ensure anyone who is part of deploying your communications has what they need
Countdown: 1 Day
Fine-tune any last-minute campaign elements
Send final reminders or countdowns
December 3, 2024
It’s #GivingTuesday!
Fundraise!
Reinforce urgency in your calls to action
Be active on your social media throughout the day
- Share live updates, milestones, and progress to goal
- Real-time celebrations
- Livestream
- Like other’s posts, share their stories, and measure engagement
- Start saying personal thank yous
- Last chance push at the end of the day
Send text messages throughout the day encouraging giving opportunities and updating on progress
After #GivingTuesday
Steward and segment your donors
Welcome new donors
Thank ALL donors within 24 hours to increase potential donor retention
Implement your long-term thank you plan
- Phone calls
- Handwritten notes
- Email beyond the tax receipt
- Impact report or fundraising outcomes
Beyond #GivingTuesday
You and your team worked hard to encourage donors to give to your #GivingTuesday campaign. How can you encourage them to become long-term supporters of your mission?
Include them in future asks both monetary and non-monetary (volunteer asks, calls for social engagement, event invites, and more)
Include them in future segmentation efforts – where would they fit in with your other donors and how else can/will they participate and support your mission?
Share updates with them including your programming, mission deliverables, and annual report
The two top reasons donors choose not to give again are first, that they were not properly thanked, and second, they didn’t have a sense of how their donation was integral to an organization’s mission. Those are things you and your team can control.
#GIvingTuesday is just one day, but it can make a difference in the lives of your beneficiaries and can be a cornerstone day of giving at your nonprofit or school. Are you looking for more resources to support your team, as you navigate #GivingTuesday? GiveSmart’s #GivingTuesday Success Toolkit is the only thing you’ll need to reach your goals.
