Brace yourselves! It’s the giving season. A new window of opportunity has opened up for you to bring your nonprofit brand under the spotlight. It’s time to rise and shine and raise money for your cause. Here, we have put together some fundraising ideas for your nonprofit. Be sure to share these with your team members.

What is #GivingTuesday?

Simply put, it’s a global generosity movement celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the US. It’s kind of like Black Friday, but instead of shopping, you donate as much as possible. In fact, it encourages you to shun consumerism and embrace the power of giving! In 2021, 35 million adults in the US participated in GivingTuesday one way or the other. GivingTuesday was initiated in 2012 and it is promoted by an organization with the same name. 

GivingTuesday is not just a one-off show, it opens up an entire giving season. The months of November and December are the most active in terms of donations made and volunteer hours spent. Nonprofits around the world ought to explore the great potential this day brings. 

We’ve covered the ‘what’ part, now it’s time to explore the ‘how?’

Considering that you will have a favorable reception in the giving season, it’s vital that you develop a marketing campaign that helps your mission get the attention it needs. Following are some of the steps that you may undertake to become a flagbearer of your cause.

1. Start with a goal

Forget what we just said! You don’t have to partake in the GivingTuesday fever just for the heck of it. Start with the question, ‘What’s my goal?’ If you stumble upon a pressing issue and it is the need of the hour, use GivingTuesday to slingshot your campaign. In other words, define your goal[s] FIRST and then indulge in the GivingTuesday campaign.

Remember: goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (S.M.A.R.T). Your goals will help define the theme of this year's GivingTuesday campaign. The theme will help you define every aspect of your campaign including the kind of marketing visuals to use.

2. Make a repository of impact stories

Have you shortlisted the beneficiaries you’ll be featuring in your campaign? Donors love to witness the success stories of the people who have been impacted as a result of your intervention. Create at least five major stories that will help communicate the difference you are making. These stories should preferably be in a video format which can later be converted into written testimonials or photo stories popularized by National Geographic. If you happen to create a separate page for your campaign, remember to include a sub-page highlighting the success stories. 

Remember: short videos of less than 1 minute perform best on Facebook and many other social media platforms. However, you can lengthen your video to more than 3 minutes for sharing impact stories and episodic content.

3. Make use of free resources from GivingTuesday.com

Head over to GivingTuesday’s website to download resources such as logos and graphic templates for social media. GivingTuesday (the organization) also gives you the freedom to customize their logo as per your liking. You can also make use of GIFs to make your posters and banners stand out. Do check GivingTuesday’s Canva page for multiple design options that you can alter easily. 

4. Thank your supporters and partners

GivingTuesday should not just be about holding charity events or implementing new fundraising ideas. It should also be about thanking your most important stakeholders, namely donors and partners. This group of people represents the core of your revenue stream. Take some time out to look at your donor list. Try to profile them. See what they have in common. Thank all your donors by sending a personalized letter or email. 

Remember: make that extra effort by calling your most consistent donors and those who have contributed the most. These people can become ambassadors of your brand and they can lend their support in helping your nonprofit make more friends.

5. Small gifts matter

Which of the following would you prefer:

A) 5 donors contributing a total of $5,000 or
B) 50 donors contributing $50 each leading to a total of $2,500

If you want to make a quick buck you would choose A. However, in the long run, option B offers a better value proposition. Why? It engages more people. These 50 people have the potential to donate more. Having more supporters means that you will benefit more from word-of-mouth marketing. 

Remember: most donors will only be able to give donations in small denominations. On GivingTuesday, encourage these small donations. You can also ask your supporters to give in small chunks or help them automate their daily or monthly donations. Try out a fundraising platform that will allow you to manage such donations. Feeling Blessed offers several features to enable nonprofits to capitalize on micro-donations.

6. Utilize peer-to-peer fundraising

You don’t have enough human resources to raise funds? Try out peer-to-peer fundraising. In this scheme, you empower others to raise money on your behalf. Individuals can take up the responsibility of creating awareness about your brand and they can also help reach people who are not easily accessible through conventional marketing tactics.

Remember: it is important to use peer-to-peer fundraising software so that you can ensure transparency. Feeling Blessed offers individuals to conveniently raise funds by making Gift Registries.

7. Track your progress

Remember what we mentioned at the beginning of this article? Creating a goal for yourself is essential in creating a winning GivingTuesday strategy. However, your goals and targets would not suffice if you don’t regularly track your progress. Create a dashboard for measuring your performance. This might include the number of donors, the amount donated, and the number of recurring donations. Of course, your progress should be measured against time. An online fundraising platform can help you easily create a dashboard for your team to view regularly. Feeling Blessed offers you an easy-to-read dashboard that you can employ to track your progress. 

Conclusion

GivingTuesday can provide an excellent window of opportunity to raise awareness about your nonprofit. However, this opportunity will only come to those who are adequately prepared. Make a plan of what you would like to do, how would you achieve them, and how would you track your progress.