5 of TDi’s Top Tips for Making the Most out of Giving Days

It seems like just about everything can be done online these days, and that includes donating to nonprofit organizations. In fact, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s online data dashboard, there were 18.2% more online donations from individual donors this week compared to the same week in 2017.

Online giving is a growing trend, as are online giving days. The most popular giving day being Giving Tuesday, which is the Tuesday that follows Thanksgiving. However, more and more national and local days of giving are popping up (shout out to our local giving day, Give Big Gallatin Valley!).

Here are 5 tips on how your organization can make the most out of an online giving day and bring in more money to continue changing the world!

1. Start Planning in Advance

Although donating online makes the donation process more efficient and streamlined, that doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing up until the big day. I’m sure many of you remember the days of college, cramming for a big test the night before, and being slightly disappointed when you didn’t ace it.

Okay okay, that might have worked for some of you, but I think we can agree that procrastinating is not the best strategy when it comes to fundraising. You want to start planning for an online giving day at least 6 months in advance. You’ll want to figure out who is going to be in charge of what, compiling all of your stories and statistics, how you are going to market yourself, start reaching out to previous and potential donors, and set realistic goals for how much you want to raise.

2. Establish Your Network of Ambassadors

These are your champions, your faithful supporters who just can’t stop talking about all the wonderful things your organization does! You’ll want to establish who your ambassadors are and give them a clear and consistent message that they can share with their network of potential supporters. Having people who truly believe in your mission champion for your success will turn others into believers too. It’s a simple, yet effective way to spread awareness about your organization and the actual day of giving. The more support you have, the more money you can potentially bring in!

3. Have a Plan of Attack for the Big Day!

When the day of giving rolls around, you don’t want to be asking your team, “Who is in charge of x, y, and z?”. When you start your planning, create a game plan for the actual giving event that has clear roles and expectations for your staff, board members, and volunteers. Plan out who is going to be in charge of social media posts, live updates, calling potential donors, sending thank you messages to donors who have given money, etc. When everyone has a job and knows what is expected of them, you’ll be more efficient and productive in bringing in those donations.

4. Hold an Event or Create a Partnership with Local Vendors

Host an event a few days before or on the day of that gives donors the opportunity to socialize with your staff, board members, volunteers, and local supporters. This gives existing donors and potential donors a tangible sense of your organization’s culture and mission and makes them more likely to donate money. Or maybe you’d like to reach out and collaborate with a local company! For example, if a donor shares their receipt of donation at a local cafe’ you’ve teamed up with they get a “Giving Day” discount. This gives your organization the opportunity to appeal to more donors and create partnerships that could last long after the giving day is over.

5. Share Your “Why”

This is probably the most important tip of all! Tell your story. While outcomes and statistics are great tools to use to show what your organization has accomplished, you want to share WHY you are on this particular mission. WHY do you believe in your cause and WHY is it going to create an impactful change? When others can relate to your beliefs and your passion, that’s when you gain loyal supporters who want to help you on your mission to change the world.

Cheers,

Hannah