5 Tips To Take Advantage of #GivingTuesdayNow
You may or may not have heard of #GivingTuesdayNow. It was announced only a few days ago, as a day of generosity to help nonprofits deal with the economic impact stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is likely both exciting for you and a little bit stressful. Exciting because a lot of nonprofits are going through hard times, and need the entire country to rally together to help us all make it through this together. But it might be a little overwhelming because you probably already have a million things going on. We think this is a great opportunity for you and have five quick tips to help you make the most of #GivingTuesdayNow without burning yourself out.
Tip 1.
Tip number one is to keep it simple. This doesn't need to be as big or elaborate as your typical calendar year-end fundraiser or your fiscal year-end fundraiser. Keep it simple, everybody knows it on a short timeline. This is a brand new thing. You don't have to go crazy over it. During this time of social distancing people are more understanding – they know you’re working from home, possibly with kids running around, and want to know you’re human like them. So keep it simple and keep it clear.
Tip 2.
Tip number two: make sure it's really relevant to the times and not just relevant to your organization. This is a day of global generosity, specifically in reaction to the COVID-19 impact. Make sure the focus of your messaging is around your needs to serve people now.
Share some specific changes or challenges that are happening right now as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Share the actions you’re taking to overcome these challenges, and explain clearly how donations now will help make those actions possible.
Tip 3.
Tip number three is to prioritize. #GivingTuesdayNow is a brand new giving “holiday.” Many people in the nonprofit community are just hearing about it for the first time, and it’s likely the general public hasn’t heard about it at all. So, if you have some campaign in progress that your donors already know about and are already responding to, it might be a good idea to stay the course rather than go all in on this new day of giving.
Related to this, you will also want to set reasonable expectations. Because this is so brand new, it isn’t likely to get the same response that a typical #GivingTuesday campaign would get. Think of this as a benchmark year rather than setting lofty goals.
Tip 4.
Communicate quickly and often. This barely a month away, so speed is a key element in getting the word about this campaign. To help nonprofits communicate quickly about COVID-19 updates, we are giving free access to Journity that could be used to boost #GivingTuesdayNow donations. We’d also recommend mentioning this new campaign with a section in the emails you are currently sending – as well as at least one dedicated email sent by mid-month. This level of communication is going to be critical because it may not be a normal time when your donors are expecting a donation ask, and giving them advanced notice will help get them in the mindset to give.
Tip 5.
Our fifth tip is to work it in with your current communication. Right now things are moving at 100 miles a minute. You should already be communicating changes and updates around the COVID-19 virus and how it is impacting your services. As you send these communications, just add in some information about #GivingTuesdayNow. This will save you time because you won’t be creating a whole new campaign. It will also help with the other tips of keeping it simple, keeping it focused on the current need, prioritizing your messaging, and communicating often.
We hope you are able to participate in #GivingTuesdayNow and that it is a big success for your nonprofit. We’re all in this together, so if you have any tips of your own to share we’d love to continue the conversation in our Facebook group.