Last year’s inaugural GivingTuesday was such a success, we can’t wait to see what this year brings! To help our charitable friends make the most of this year’s GivingTuesday, we have rounded up the best tips to drive donations and gain support. Check out our ideas and tweet your GivingTuesday plans to @canadahelps, using the hashtag #GivingTuesdayCa.
Make it Official!
Partner with the GivingTuesday movement. Once registered, your charity logo will appear on the official GivingTuesday webpage where thousands will visit and learn more about the national movement. Registration is completely free and once enrolled, your charity therefore pledges to support and promote the GivingTuesday global movement. What are you waiting for? Register now!
Kick Start a Campaign
Use GivingTuesday as a launching pad to kick start a holiday or end of year fundraising campaign! Although charities can choose to host a one day GivingTuesday fundraiser soliciting donations for the day, the most successful charity fundraisers hosted on last year’s inaugural GivingTuesday event were those who used the occasion as a launching pad to a bigger and lengthier campaign. Using CanadaHelps, charities have the ability to launch and manage multiple fundraising campaigns online, meaning you can easily promote your charity campaigns using the power of social media, easily track campaign progress, set a campaign end date, and upload photos and videos to showcase amazing charitable work. Check out some current charity campaigns to see how charities are using CanadaHelps to raise funds for their charitable causes.
Find a For-Profit Friend
After a weekend of skyrocketing sales to kick start the holiday season, GivingTuesday is the perfect opportunity for businesses to support their friends accomplishing great charitable work in the non-profit sector.
In the weeks leading up to GivingTuesday, search for a company interested in partnering and supporting your organization; oftentimes the best businesses and organizations interested in supporting your charitable mission are companies related to your cause. For example, if you are a charitable organization advocating on behalf of children, contact your local toy store or children’s clothing store and ask them to sponsor your organization on GivingTuesday. Their support will not only benefit the impact of your charitable work, their partnership will also help them reach new audiences and potential buyers, boost employee fulfillment, and improve their brand and overall image by supporting charitable community work.
How successful can a partnership between a for-profit company and non-profit organization be? Quite a successful one in fact! Last year’s GivingTuesday raised over $10,000 for the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia when donations were matched by Deloitte.
Once you have snagged a for-profit partner, decide how they will get involved. Some businesses choose to match employee or client donations, leverage social media, host a charitable holiday party, or send in their employees to volunteer at a non-profit. Use some inspiration from our previous GivingTuesday ideas helping businesses get charitable.
Thank Your Donors!
GivingTuesday is not only a great occasion to promote giving to your charitable organization, it is also the perfect time to recognize and give thanks to your supporters! Give thanks to your donors this GivingTuesday:
1. Gather a group of volunteers to reach out to as many past donors via phone, email, or even by tweet and use this opportunity to thank donors simply for supporting your cause. No need to solicit donations, a simple thank you will make the day of your supporters and will encourage future donations simply by displaying your sincerest appreciation.
2. Show your appreciation to your donors, supporters, volunteers, and corporate partners by creating a video or photo showcasing your appreciation and thanks. Gain some inspiration from Pathways to Education who used last year’s GivingTuesday as an opportunity to thank their donors.
3. GivingTuesday is a day meant to inspire and drive charitable giving. To show your organization’s appreciation, and inspire even more charitable giving, publicly thank all of your GivingTuesday donors. Send out tweets, a Facebook message, or even create a video to show your sincerest thanks for their thoughtful contribution.
Encourage fundraisers to get fundraising!
Just like the launch of a charity driven campaign, let your supporters know how they can fundraise for your cause by using CanadaHelps! Supporters can set up a free CanadaHelps fundraising page in minutes and send the link to their family, friends, coworkers, and easily promote their fundraiser on their social networks while tracking the progress of their fundraisers all online. Leading up to GivingTuesday, ask your supporters to create a fundraising page scheduled to end on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014. Promote their fundraising pages on your social media channels all day long and help your fundraisers get the word out about their fundraiser. The more you help them, the more their fundraiser will help you.
Use your Ready-to-Go GivingTuesday Custom Donate Now Page!
These are automatically available from the GivingTuesday website and can easily be found by choosing donate to a charity, searching for your charity and selecting it. You’ll be taken to a GivingTuesday ready-to-go landing page for your charity. Use the URL to collect donations on the day!
Ask Donors: “Why do you give?”
Collect submissions from donors explaining the story behind their donation. Invite donors to submit a photo or video explaining their choice to support your charitable cause, or why they choose to give. Share their stories on social media and inspire others to think altruistically and give to your charitable cause.
As charities surely know, giving does not always have a numeric value. Giving can range from donations, volunteering, pro bono work, in addition to countless other ways one can give back.
Join the #GivingTuesdayCA Conversation
Social media will be booming with hundreds of thousands, if not millions of messages all talking about GivingTuesday. Last year #GivingTuesdayCA was trending across Canada! Don’t miss out on the action and join the conversation using the hashtag #GivingTuesdayCA. Use GivingTuesday as a platform to promote your charitable work, talk about the non-profit sector, thank your donors, give a shout out to other not-for-profit organizations, and just promote charitable giving all using the power of social media!
Inspire Giving
Storytelling is a powerful tool to inspire. On GivingTuesday, use the power of storytelling to tell a success story from your organization. Whether in writing, photography, or video, a success story and explanation of your charitable mission and purpose will surely inspire giving to your worthy cause.
No matter what you do to celebrate GivingTuesday, have fun, encourage giving, and keep doing what you do for your amazing charitable cause.
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