How to Get the Most from Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is a global day of charitable giving. This annual donation event has gained notable popularity since its inception in 2012 and is now a global movement. It serves as a reminder of the importance of generosity and giving, especially during the holiday season.

Always on the Tuesday after US Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday in Canada often falls on the first Tuesday in December. Giving Tuesday was created in response to the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which are known for shopping deals and deep discounts. The goal of Giving Tuesday is to encourage people to shift their focus from shopping to giving back to their communities and supporting nonprofit organizations and causes.

On Giving Tuesday, individuals, businesses, and organizations are encouraged to make donations to charitable causes, volunteer their time and expertise, or just generally engage in acts of kindness and generosity. Canadian non-profits and charities usually run special campaigns and promotions to encourage donations and support for their missions on Giving Tuesday. It is one of the few days of the year where donors seek charities to support rather than vice versa. 

Is It Worth the Extra Effort?

Recent analysis from CanadaHelps.org shows that participating charities benefit from Giving Tuesday enormously, raising 256 times more than charities that don’t participate. The data also suggests that participating charities continued to perform well throughout the entire month of December, raising 5.6X more after Giving Tuesday than charities that didn’t participate. More importantly, Giving Tuesday can build lasting and loyal relationships with donors and supporters in the future.

Building Blocks of a Strong Giving Tuesday Campaign

A successful Giving Tuesday campaign requires thoughtful planning, clear messaging, engaging storytelling, strategic outreach and seamless execution. Here are some key building blocks that make for a good Giving Tuesday campaign:

• Set Specific and Achievable Goals: Setting clear and realistic goals for Giving Tuesday is key. Be sure to tie specific goals to each of the elements of your campaign. This means determining what you want to achieve: fundraising targets, increasing volunteer sign-ups or raising awareness. Be sure your goals are specific, measurable, and achievable. Not only will this help future campaign planning when you can look back and know what worked and what didn’t, but sharing the overall goal with your supporters can create a sense of urgency and motivation.
• Understand Your Audience: Segment your audience to identify different groups within your donor base (e.g., first-time donors, recurring donors, lapsed donors). Customize communication to resonate with each segment's interests and motivations.

• Clear and Compelling Storytelling: Tell a compelling and engaging story about your organization's mission and the impact donations have. Use storytelling to connect with your audience on a personal level. Use this story consistently across all your communication channels.

• Create Engaging Content: From videos to graphics to well-designed social media posts, you should create powerful content highlighting your cause and campaign. Share stories that highlight the impact of your work on individuals or communities. Use photos and videos to bring your story to life and make it more shareable. Visual and interactive content tends to perform well on social media - which should be a core part of your campaign and message distribution strategy.

• Use Multi-Channel Promotion: It's critical to use a variety of communication/distribution channels, including email, social media, and your website, and partnerships with influencers or supporting organizations to promote your campaign and reach a bigger audience. And if budget permits, you may want to consider direct mail. Digital channels have become increasingly cluttered, while mailboxes still have room!

• Develop a Campaign Landing Page: While a multi-channel campaign is essential, you still need a place for people to land. It’s always best practice to build a campaign landing page where you showcase information about your nonprofit’s mission, create dates and even countdowns for Giving Tuesday, and embed your online donation form. It’s always a good idea to feature program success stories and special offers.

• Collaborate with as Many Partners as You Can Work With. Partner with local businesses to receive matching donations or in-kind support. Engage local celebrities or social media influencers to amplify your message. Work with schools, clubs, and other community organizations to broaden your reach.
• Build a Mobile-Friendly Donation Process: Often overlooked, your donation process must be mobile-friendly because many people will donate from their smartphones. Be sure to make it as simple and user-friendly as possible.

• Offer Several Ways to Give. Make it easy for people to donate money online or offline. Include in-kind contributions so you can accept goods or services that support your mission. Offer volunteering opportunities so that supporters can give their time.
• Start Early: Don’t wait until the eleventh hour to kick your campaign off. There’s a lot of competition out there for donor dollars, and the earlier you start communicating your campaign, the more likely it is that you’ll get your fair share of the pot.

• Provide Regular Updates: Keep your supporters informed about the progress of your campaign throughout the period it is running. Share social media and email updates to keep excitement and engagement high.

• Follow-Up With Performance Reporting: After Giving Tuesday, you always want to report how the funds were used and the impact achieved. Transparency and accountability can build trust with your donors and keep them returning.

• Promote Long-Term Engagement: You should use Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to engage new donors and supporters, but it's vital to have a plan for how you will continue to connect with them throughout the year.

• Ensure Compliance and Transparency: As is the case with everything, the devil is often in the details. Make sure your campaign complies with all relevant fundraising regulations and is transparent about how the donations will be used.

• Thank and Acknowledge Donors: Always show appreciation to your donors as quickly as you can, both publicly and privately. Personalized thank-you messages go a long way in building donor relationships.

• Show Gratitude and Celebrate: Last but certainly not least, you should celebrate the success of your campaign with your supporters by sharing stories of impact and acknowledging the collective effort that made it all possible.

Common Pitfalls in Giving Tuesday Campaigns and How to Avoid Them

Failing to Understand the Canadian Donor Landscape

Assuming effective fundraising strategies in other countries will automatically work in Canada.

• Why it's a Pitfall: Canadian donors may have different motivations, cultural values, and giving patterns compared to donors elsewhere.
• Solution: Conduct research specific to Canadian philanthropy. Understand local giving trends, donor preferences, and cultural nuances to tailor your campaign accordingly.

Ignoring the Power of Local Stories

Using generic stories that don't resonate with Canadian audiences.

• Why it's a Pitfall: Donors connect more deeply with stories that reflect their communities and experiences.
• Solution: Share impactful stories from local beneficiaries or highlight issues pertinent to Canadian society to create a stronger emotional connection.

Complicated Donation Process

Implementing a donation system that's difficult to navigate or understand.

• Why it's a Pitfall: A cumbersome process can frustrate potential donors, leading them to abandon their donation.
• Solution: Simplify the donation process with clear calls-to-action and minimal required steps. Offer multiple payment options, including credit cards and e-transfers.

Overlooking Follow-Up and Donor Retention

Focusing solely on acquiring donations without planning post-campaign engagement.

• Why it's a Pitfall: Neglecting donor relationships can result in one-time donations rather than ongoing support.
• Solution: Develop a follow-up strategy that includes thanking donors, providing updates on the impact of their contributions, and inviting them to stay involved.

Failing to Leverage Storytelling with Visual Content

Relying heavily on text without engaging visuals.

• Why it's a Pitfall: Visual content is more likely to capture attention and be shared on social media.
• Solution: Use high-quality images and videos to tell your story and illustrate the impact of donations.

Overextending Resources

Attempting to execute an overly ambitious campaign without sufficient resources.

• Why it's a Pitfall: Stretching your team too thin can lead to burnout and a decline in campaign quality.
• Solution: Align your campaign scope with your organization's capacity. Prioritize high-impact activities and consider outsourcing tasks if necessary.

Misaligning the Campaign with Organizational Mission

Running a campaign that doesn't clearly connect to your organization's core mission and values.

• Why it's a Pitfall: Donors may be confused about how their contributions will make a meaningful impact.
• Solution: Ensure all campaign messaging and activities reinforce your organization's mission. Clearly articulate how donations will advance your goals.

Creative Ideas for Giving Tuesday Campaigns

A good campaign has a few core ingredients: reach, heart-tugging content, consistency, and repetition. In a nutshell, your campaign needs to anchor around a compelling story, always stay on message (over and over again), and get in front of as many eyeballs as possible. Below are some creative aspects of a good Giving Tuesday campaign.

1. Matching Gifts: One thing you may want to consider is a matching donations program. Check in with your corporate sponsors to see if they are open to matching all gifts up to a certain amount. You get the dollars, and they get the goodwill. A win-win all around.

2. Build a “Challenge” Campaign: It’s always a good idea to develop fundraising challenges to incentivize and inspire donors. Of course, one of the most famous is the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS. Be sure to build in a viral component and watch awareness for your cause spread like wildfire.

3. Build a Peer-to-Peer Program: Passionate people often make the most significant difference. Try to get your supporters to become fundraisers themselves. Peer-to-peer fundraising gets your donors to engage their own networks about something they are personally passionate about, which ultimately expands your overall reach.

4. Partner with Influencers/Celebrities: A celebrity partner in a Giving Tuesday campaign is appealing because it can provide your non-profit with more reach by connecting to a new, larger audience. Naturally, connecting with influencers who are aligned with and/or passionate about your cause is best for a campaign. These arrangements are a win-win as your non-profit reaches more people, and influencers get associated with the goodness going on in the community.

5. Setup a Facebook Fundraising Campaign: Chances are your nonprofit is already engaging with your supporters on platforms like Facebook and Instagram (Meta). Since fundraising became available on these platforms, over 100 million fundraisers have raised over $7 billion for various causes worldwide as of November 2022. Developing a comprehensive Facebook fundraising plan for your nonprofit is always a good idea. Learn more about building your campaign here: https://www.facebook.com/gpa/best-practices/nonprofits

6. Consider Digital Advertising: Specifically retargeting ads. Retargeting ads are the ads that feel like they follow you around on your internet journey. Have you ever visited a retailer’s website and looked at their products, only to have them pop up on other sites you visit after the fact? That’s retargeting. It’s always a great idea to run a retargeting campaign in the months leading up to Giving Tuesday for anyone who has previously visited your website.

7. Raise More than Money: There’s no reason why your Giving Tuesday campaign can’t ask for more than money. At a time when nonprofits are facing significant volunteer shortages, why not ask for volunteer hours? And if it aligns with your core mission, you can ask for food, clothes, toys, etc. Not everyone has money to give, but they can support in other ways. All you have to do is ask.

8. Sell Something People Want: People love “stuff”. It's easier for some people to give, from t-shirts to aprons to candles to calendars, when they get something in return.  A Giving Tuesday fundraiser anchored around product sales not only generates important funds but can turn your supporters into walking billboards.

9. Enable “Passion” Sharing: While some people prefer to be anonymous donors, others want to share who and what they are passionate about proudly. Make it easy for your donors to share their support of your causes with pre-built social media images, stickers, or other visual endorsement materials that they receive after donating.

Get Ready for the Best Giving Tuesday Yet!

There are thousands of ways to bring in donations from campaign planning to creative tactics. All of us at Enkel wish you the very best Giving Tuesday imaginable!