Giving Tuesday has become a tremendous charitable movement fueled by social media. Just as Black Friday has become a major event for retailers, Giving Tuesday has become a major event for nonprofits. Giving Tuesday doesn't just build awareness and encourage charitable giving; it also operates as a springboard for future fundraising efforts. If your nonprofit wants to take full advantage of the event, it has to invest in its social media strategy. Your organization can start preparing now for December 3.
Getting Ready for Giving Tuesday
Start by connecting with local businesses and communities in preparation for Giving Tuesday. Let them know what your initiatives are and how they can help.
Create a Fundraising Kit
A kit contains all of the information that businesses will need to start fundraising for your organization. This can include media, flyers, brochures, and other information that they may need to offer to potential donors and volunteers.
Develop Your Goals
What are your goals for fundraising during Giving Tuesday? Do you want to increase awareness? Bring in volunteers? Raise a certain dollar amount? Set your goals early on and make sure to publicize those goals; your community will want to get involved.
Prepare Your Social Media
Start drumming up interest early by posting about your upcoming fundraisers and events. Connect with others in your community who are also participating in #GivingTuesday. Make sure your social media accounts are active and up to date. Remember to engage with your followers: one of the biggest mistakes nonprofits make is failing to answer questions and respond to comments.
Make Sure to Sign Up
Anyone can participate in Giving Tuesday, but you can get more exposure by signing up on official websites.
Making the Most Out of Social Media During #GivingTuesday
During your Giving Tuesday fundraiser, it's important to keep a constant stream of information going out related to how your initiatives are doing and what's being done.
Highlight Your Volunteers and Participants
Make volunteers feel special by posting about what they're doing. You could do this by posting about specific businesses that are working hard for the fundraiser. This also encourages them to share your posts with their families and friends.
Connect with Other Related Community Events
There are tons of great resources on the Giving Tuesday website. Among them is a great "What's Happening Near Me?" tool that can help point you to other Giving Tuesday–related events in your area.
Celebrate the Goals That Have Been Met
Rather than having a single goal, have multiple goals. That way you can get people excited and energized throughout the fundraising.
Encourage Followers to Share
Even if someone can't donate time or money, they can still get others on board. Ask your followers to like and share your posts as their way of giving back.
Reaching Out to Your Community After Giving Tuesday
Your work isn't over after your #GivingTuesday success. Afterward, it's important to wind down, thank your community, and gear up for your next fundraising event. This allows you to capitalize on the audience that you have, for good.
Tally Up Your Impact
Impact isn't just about the amount of money that you raised. Remember that community effort is important too. That could mean the amount of hours that your employees and your community donated, the amount of meals served, and the amount of boxes donated. Or maybe it’s the amount of animals helped: any type of metric that is involved in your charity.
By tallying up your impact in this way, you'll be able to inspire others, and you'll have a way to compare your performance over the coming years. People are more motivated when they can see concrete change.
Thank Your Donors
Donors want to know what the end results were of their donation efforts. They want to feel as though their donations were valued. This is the first step towards building a very real relationship with your community. Be sure to thank your donors after they've made a contribution or participated in your campaign. This is also a key strategy in turning new donors into recurring donors.
Set Up for the Next Year
At this point, you have the attention of the community, so it's the perfect time to create a call to action for the next fundraiser and the next year. Inform community members about when your next events are taking place and where they can get more information. Most importantly, encourage them to sign up for additional news by adding themselves to a mailing list or submitting their volunteer information.
Whether you're running a nonprofit organization or you're a commercial business wanting to give back, Giving Tuesday is the perfect time to increase exposure for the issues that are close to your heart. For more information about driving social engagement and connecting with your audience, consult the #GivingTuesday toolkit and get started today.
And for help in building your social media presence, check out TechSoup's Social Media for Nonprofits page.
