.webp)
.webp)
Giving Tuesday is a giving and generosity movement celebrated in the U.S. on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving each year. The annual event began in 2012 through the efforts of the 92nd Street Y and its Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact in New York City to “inspire hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.”
Since its inception, Giving Tuesday, now a global movement, has inspired millions of acts of charitable giving and volunteerism in 300+ communities worldwide. It represents one of the biggest opportunities of the year for nonprofits to generate excitement and inspire action around fundraising.
Whether you have a long-term Giving Tuesday strategy or are looking for some last-minute tips, we’ve got you covered with our checklist of seven nonprofit must-haves.
1. Clearly-defined campaign goals
Defining clear and measurable campaign goals for Giving Tuesday is the most important first step in any successful fundraising effort. Your campaign goals should directly support your organization's mission.
For example, if your mission is to provide food for the unhoused, a goal could be to raise funds for a specific number of meals. If you have a particular program or project, set goals for its success. For instance, if you're building a new shelter, aim to raise funds to complete a specific construction phase.
By setting clear, measurable, and achievable goals, you can effectively track your Giving Tuesday campaign's progress and make data-driven decisions to maximize your impact.
Need help with campaign strategy and big-picture thinking? Consider Harness Executive.
2. Donor outreach and communications plan
Once you’ve identified your campaign goals, it's time to develop a communication strategy and determine the best platforms to reach and inspire your donors. Some components of an effective donor outreach and communications plan may include:
- An email campaign
- Website banners
- Social media announcements and updates
- Auto text messages
- Blog posts
- Direct mail
- Case studies/impact stories
3. Digital technology checklist
Ensure you’ve installed or updated all the tech tools your team needs to easily implement your Giving Tuesday campaign and track your efforts. Your checklist of tech to-dos may include the following:
- Installing your pixels and analytic snippets everywhere you are driving donors
- Publishing your updated landing page, pop-up forms, and donate buttons
- Scheduling your social media posts
- Launching paid ads
- Scheduling emails
- Creating auto “thank-you” text messages with a donor automation tool
- Choosing a user-friendly donation platform
4. A social sharing strategy
Encourage your existing donors and followers to spread your campaign messages far and wide. Create calls to action on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn to share your posts, give shout-outs, and help generate excitement for your mission and cause.
You can also encourage your supporters to use a custom hashtag for your campaign. This will help you track its reach and create a sense of community.
Finally, remember to engage with your followers by responding to comments and messages. This will help build and foster relationships with your supporters.
5. Participation in the global movement
Giving Tuesday generates a lot of online engagement, so take full advantage of this opportunity. Expand your reach beyond your local network by using trending hashtags in social media posts.
Engage with other organizations on social media: Like, comment on, and share posts from other nonprofits to build relationships and foster a sense of community.
By taking these steps, you can join the global conversation, increase the visibility of your Giving Tuesday campaign, and attract new donors and volunteers.
6. Donor recognition
As a nonprofit, you likely have a thank-you process in place with multiple touchpoints. In addition to your existing donor recognition techniques, consider new ways to make your supporters feel they are a part of something bigger.
Social media shout-outs, donor highlights in an email, or even a surprise delivery of cookies are just a few examples. Think about how your donors would like to be thanked. Illustrating how their contribution will make an impact is always a good place to start.
7. Campaign success metrics
Congratulations, you’ve rolled out your Giving Tuesday campaign. The last must-have is a plan for taking a high-level look at your metrics, considering your original campaign goals. Some key reports that will help you assess the effectiveness of your campaign include:
- Social media engagement: likes, shares, comments, and clicks on your social media posts
- Email open and click-through rates: analyze the performance of your email campaigns
- Website traffic: track website traffic to your donation page, blog, and other relevant pages
- Total donations and milestones met
- Average donation amount: Did the average donation size increase or decrease compared to previous years?
- How many new donors did you acquire?
- How many existing donors made additional gifts?
Access all of this information at any time in your Harness dashboard. These insights will help you assess this year’s Giving Tuesday impact and generate new ideas and goals for the following year.
Happy Giving Tuesday
Using these seven must-haves as your guide, you can create an even more successful Giving Tuesday campaign that maximizes your impact, inspires generosity, and expresses heartfelt gratitude to your donors.
Ready to take your fundraising strategy to the next level on Giving Tuesday and every day? Unlock the full potential of your nonprofit with our nonprofit solutions.