2. Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising
For nonprofit organizations, regardless of size,
end-of-year fundraising can result in 40% or
more of total yearly donations. From the
Thanksgiving holidays through the end of the
year, supporters are more likely to be in the
mood to make a donation to nonprofit
organizations like yours- all you have to do
is ask. One way to get supporters in the giving
season spirit is to encourage them to
participate in #GivingTuesday.
3. Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising
#GivingTuesday = More $$!
IF (and it’s a big if), You Work With It
Salsa experts analyzed the participation of
clients in 2012 and came to some striking
conclusions, with big implications for
nonprofits looking to improve their end-of-year
fundraising. In a sample of 378 clients with
year-over-year fundraising programs in place,
analysts found that overall giving was up 33%
from 2011 to 2012. What’s really striking is
that for the 28 organizations in the sample
that participated in #GivingTuesday, their total
monthly giving in November 2012 was up
190% from the year before. And, compared
to those who did not participate, they raised
170% more during that one 24-hour period.
The bottom line? By asking their supporters
to get involved with #GivingTuesday, they
were able to reap the benefits and drive up
donations to support their mission.
With the success of the 2012 effort,
#GivingTuesday is back this year, and will be
held on December 3, 2013. It’s another chance
for people everywhere to give to their favorite
501(c)3 and spread the word so others can
do the same. For you, this means it’s another
chance to get involved with #GivingTuesday
and incorporate the day of giving into an
overall end-of-year fundraising campaign.
What is
#GivingTuesday?
It’s the official start to the holiday giving
season. Hot on the heels of Black Friday
and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday is a
chance for people to give back, by making
a donation to their favorite nonprofit
organization and then spreading the word
of their gift to family and friends.
The first #GivingTuesday launched on
November 27, 2012. In just 24 hours,
more than 100,000 people gave millions
of dollars to organizations they cared
about, in their own communities and
around the globe. Over 2,500 nonprofits
and businesses participated, making their
financial contributions and helping share
the message of giving to their supporters,
networks and beyond. Using the power
of the Twitter hashtag, #GivingTuesday
made an impact on the national
conversation about giving, even garnering
attention from the White House.
For #GivingTuesday, Success Comes With Planning Ahead
A successful #GivingTuesday effort, as part of a larger end-of-year fundraising campaign,
doesn’t happen overnight. It requires careful planning to achieve. That means starting to plan
for end-of-year fundraising during the slower summer months and into the fall, while there is
still time to put larger framework and infrastructure in place to maximize success.
One of the best places to start is with the #GivingTuesday website, www.givingtuesday.org.
When you sign up to participate, you can download the free partner toolkit that is loaded
with useful resources like sample emails and tweets, marketing messages, logos and media
materials. With that, you can begin planning.
4. Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising
As you work your way through creating your
plan, think about your supporter base. Use
the time you have before the campaign kicks
off to look at your lists and ask yourself a few
questions:
?
• How will you segment your supporters
based on the data you have?
• What additional data do you wish you
had about your supporters?
• Can you put processes in place to help
you capture that information with new
donors who come in through your
campaign?
8 Steps To Making More $$
#GivingTuesday
1. Take Pre-Campaign Action
Start building lists and testing your
stories now.
2. Set Goals to Share
Be ready to tell new and recurring
donors what their #GivingTuesday
donations will do.
3. Get Yourself a Strategy
Know how your #GivingTuesday
asks fit into your larger year-end
campaign.
4. Plan Resources
Be real about what you have to work
with and plan accordingly.
5. Hug Your Data. Hard.
Segmenting your audience and
message will get you much bigger
results.
If you’re not using scoring (a way of
identifying supporter engagement levels with
a single numerical scale based on the actions
they take), it’s a good time to explore if your
technology will allow you to implement such
a system (many CRMs can). You should also
decide how you will categorize new supporters
who come in through your #GivingTuesday
and end-of-year campaigns. Do you want to
tag them or assign them to specific groups
to target with special messaging over the
next year?
Whether these questions get your creative
juices flowing, or give a little rise to your
blood pressure, we are here to help. Christine
Schaefer, vice president of community and
marketing with Salsa, created an eight step
guide to planning for #GivingTuesday and
end-of-year fundraising. It’s laid out as a
worksheet to help you through the whole
process and give you the opportunity to
customize your plan.
6. Say It Proud! What Will You Say?
Have you been communicating
accomplishments to donors yet this
year? Start now so they feel warm
and fuzzy about their last donation
before you ask again.
7. Be Social
Build up your social following ASAP.
Find out who your most active
followers are, and then engage
them heavily to spread the word on
#GivingTuesday.
8. Don’t’ Forget the Nurture.
Don’t just one and done donations
on #GivingTuesday. Have a followup plan to turn those donors into
recurring supporters.
Read the full description
of each step at
www.salsalabs.com/giving-tuesday
5. Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising
Planning Worksheet
Step #1
!
This worksheet is designed to help you get your plan in
place for a successful #GivingTuesday and End-of-Year
Fundraising campaign. Each step provides you the link
to a blog post with the specific details about what you’ll
need to consider to develop your plan. Then, jot down
your thoughts here.
Plan Your Pre-Campaign Actions
Before you start planning your end-of-year fundraising
campaign, spend some time thinking about your
nonprofit’s big picture. This will help inform your
campaign plan. Get going on this step at
https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step1
Pre-Campaign Actions
Step back and think about how you
are going to build your supporter base,
inspire them to action and analyze
what’s working and what isn’t.
Think of ways to foster a giving
addiction!
Steps You Are Taking To Grow Your Online Support ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Stories You Can Share (plus metrics to back them up) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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List Your Accomplishments And Back Them Up With Metrics ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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6. Step #3
Step #2
Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising
Planning Worksheet
Set Your Year-End Fundraising
Campaign Goals
What are you trying to accomplish with your year-end
campaign? Do you want to reach new donors? Get repeat
donors? What about increasing your average donations
or total $ amount? Have these goals in mind before you
start creating your plan. Get more information at
https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step2
Don’t Forget
Share your goals – make sure
everyone is bought into them before
you proceed.
Define Your Goals Below ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Develop Your Strategy
To help you map out your strategy, think about each of the areas described above in the context
of your organization, your goals and your audience. Follow the steps below to help tie it all
together and get details at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step3
Organize Your Data - Take an inventory of your supporter data to see what you have to work
with. Take a look at donation history, repeat donors, new donors, etc. Where are the donations
coming from – are they a result of email efforts, social media and so on? This will help inform
how you message to these audiences and where to focus your priorities.
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Determine Channels - What channels, online and off, will you use to reach your audience,
promote #GivingTuesday and your year-end message? Are there any partner resources you
can take advantage of, for example the #GivingTuesday partner toolkit?
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7. Step #3
Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising
Planning Worksheet
Develop Your Message Framework - How will your message be constructed? What work do
you need to do to get the necessary story elements to develop your message later?
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What Is Your Post-Donation Engagement Plan - What’s the plan for a standard thank you
or auto-responder email?” Are you going to ask them for a second donation right before the
end of the tax year?
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Step #4
Plan Your Resources
Think about what resources (human, partner or technology) you’ll need to make your plan work.
This includes everything from web development or data management platforms (CRM, email,
marketing automation, etc.) to partners or major donors who can be advocates for you and help
you achieve your goals. Don’t forget to use #GivingTuesday resources! For everything you’ll
want to consider, read the step 4 blog at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step4
Assess Your Resources - Do you have any gaps? Who is in charge of creating, managing and
tracking campaigns? How can you fill those to help you achieve your goals?
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8. Step #6
Step #5
Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising
Planning Worksheet
Hug Your Data, Hard!
This Is Critical. You want to make sure you are sending
the right message to the right person. This will not only
increase your email open rates and click-throughs, but
reduce your opt-outs. So segment your data, plan on
checking your response rates and donations regularly
to adjust your tactics and message accordingly.
Learn more about scoring and tagging at
https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step5.
Start Tagging Now
If you haven’t tagged in the past,
now’s the time to start. This will
help improve your ability to segment
your supporters and deliver the right
message and increase the chances of
recurring donations.
Assess Your Data - Do you have tagging in place?
What about scoring? What steps do you need to ensure
these are working for you in the best ways possible?
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Develop Your Message
Notice how far along in the process we are before suggesting that you should even start
thinking about your message? Yet another reason to start planning early. Think about your
campaign theme or narrative; plan your messaging calendar – everything from emails, landing
pages and calls to action (don’t forget to make them time-bound).Every stage of your campaign
should have messaging that fits your audiences needs best. There’s lots to think about with
messaging, so be sure to read the Step 6 blog at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step6.
Identify Your Theme Or Narrative Arc - Think about what issues resonate with your
#GivingTuesday audience, with those who are unfamiliar with your cause or with those who
are familiar with your nonprofit but are engaging for the first time. Think of ways to connect
with their emotions (go back to the stories you identified in Step 1).
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9. Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising
Planning Worksheet
Step #7
Step #6
Plan Your Messaging Calendar - Think about the following elements:
• What is your theme or story?
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• What’s your proposed launch date?
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• Who’s your advocate? (Someone who can speak to your message and/or coordinate your
campaign messaging):
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• What’s your call to act/give? (Don’t forget to make it time-bound)
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• What website updates need to be made and by when? (Landing page, banners, etc.)
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• How are you going to integrate #GivingTuesday and year-end with your other online,
offline and social media activities?
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Be Social
Start being social now. #GivingTuesday is a social event, but you’ll need to do more than just
start a Twitter account. Get engaged early and get people used to seeing the #GivingTuesday
hashtag in your Twitter feed. You should also plan your creative content now (the memes,
images, infographics and messages that you’ll post on Facebook and Pinterest).
Outline your social media plan below. Identify the content you’ll need to develop that
will drive engagement, a calendar for posting your content. Get help in the blog at
https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step7.
Social Content - Revisit your campaign goals, themes, stories and messaging to inform the
content you’ll need to drive engagement and have the maximum impact.
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Posting Schedule - Plan your social calendar in advance and align it with your wider
campaign messaging calendar. Remember regular posts drive engagement.
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10. Step #8
Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising
Planning Worksheet
Prepare To Nurture
Don’t just send one-time “thanks for your donation” emails. Plan a follow-up nurture campaign
to turn new donors into engaged supporters using welcome and automated emails. Suggest
another donation at the end of December for tax benefits. Follow through with donors and let
them know how their $$ have made a difference. Based on their activity levels (“scoring”), find
ways to further engage them through volunteering, activism or spreading the word for your
cause in targeted, systematic messages.
What’s your nurturing plan? Successfully implementing supporter nurturing campaigns
requires laying a stable groundwork of responsibilities, understanding, and processes.
The checklist below will help ensure you start off on the right foot. For all the specifics, visit
https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step8.
Create clear goals and objectives
Hug your data, hard!
Determine your message quantity and frequency
4
Segment your donors
Develop your messaging
Automate your emails
Define your metrics
Determine responsibilities
Test, test, test
Don’t have an online organizing
system for scoring, tagging,
automated emails and social
publishing? Let us fill your gap.
Contact us for a FREE trail of Salsa!