Giving Tuesday: Is it for Everyone?
Giving Tuesday. When and why did that start again?
Its beginnings are noble: pushing against the commercialism of Thanksgiving as a shopping day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. So we certainly applaud the fact that this grassroots giving mechanism truly started from one non-profit as a movement, and has grown ever since.
But is it for everyone? We’re not completely convinced. In fact, we advised one client against it last year because their audience is simply too tight-knit to respond to a mass appeal like that, and it may actually tarnish their brand.
A few things to ask yourself before embarking include:
Does your donor base already have the feeling of a movement or community? Or is it more a one-on-one relationship with your organization? If it’s a movement-based group, then GivingTuesday can capitalize on that feeling because harnessing the power of many is the basic premise of the entire day.
Do you have a lot of lapsed donors? Then GivingTuesday can be a great way to re-engage them.
Are the majority of your donors primed, because of your work all year, for an increased ask? GivingTuesday may set you back by giving them an “out” with a smaller gift.
Do you have a primary goal for a campaign? You need to choose one, whether it’s an awareness campaign to grow your audience with new followers or a donation campaign to capture online followers who don’t yet donate. Especially if your budget is limited, choose one and go after it.
When you choose to go forward, think of it like a mini-campaign that includes short content, multiple touches, a small financial ask and a simple one-touch giving mechanism. Choose your financial goal or your “lives changed” goal, and then pick a small dollar amount that you think you can achieve. Being able to report progress throughout your campaign can really help with momentum, so you’ll need to find that small dollar amount per donor that can realistically add up to your goal. Then break that story down into bite-sized pieces that you can share through a series of emails, texts, automated phone calls or in person, if you have the volunteer resources. No mailer is needed unless you know you have a good list and want to send a postcard.
Another goal to consider is less about your impact, and more to harness the collective power of your audience. Since campaigns like GivingTuesday are built on that tight, movement-based feeling, you can orient a goal around a desire for a certain number of donors to take action. You can’t always do this, so take advantage of it if it’s a reality for you, or simply something you want to try. Just make sure that whatever you do coordinates with your calendar of asks for the rest of your year-end giving, because it’s pretty rare that GivingTuesday would be your only year-end campaign. You want to make sure that your larger donors know that the GivingTuesday campaign is not their primary focus.
It may be the first half of the year, but start thinking about it now. How can it be a mid-way boost to your fiscal year or that year-end momentum build?