{"id":8293,"date":"2017-10-30T17:41:42","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T21:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/?p=8293"},"modified":"2021-05-26T16:22:51","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T20:22:51","slug":"giving-tuesday-tips-nonprofits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/giving-tuesday-tips-nonprofits\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving Tuesday Tips for Nonprofits"},"content":{"rendered":"
FREE BONUS: Download Qgiv’s Donor Cultivation eBook.<\/a><\/strong> This free resource will provide you with essential tips to help your nonprofit retain and cultivate donors (you won’t get these tips anywhere else!). <\/div><\/div>\n

These Giving Tuesday<\/a> tips will help you make the most of one of the biggest fundraising days of the year.<\/em><\/p>\n

Everyone knows about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you\u2019re in the nonprofit world, you also know about Giving Tuesday. It’s a big deal — it’s the unofficial kickoff of the year-end fundraising season — and lots of nonprofits choose to get involved (have you thought about doing it? Here’s some good food for thought<\/a> if you haven’t!). If you\u2019re looking for Giving Tuesday tips that will help make this year\u2019s fundraising a success, you\u2019re in the right place! We\u2019ve rounded up 7 simple ways you can have a big impact this year.<\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/a><\/div>\n

1. Build a Donation Form Specifically for Giving Tuesday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Creating a unique donation form for your Giving Tuesday fundraising is a simple step that will make your fundraising easier to manage.<\/em><\/h4>\n

Creating a donation form specifically for Giving Tuesday campaigning will make your life way easier than using your standard year-round donation form.<\/p>\n

For one thing, creating a different donation form lets you update your page\u2019s branding to reflect your Giving Tuesday campaign. Including imagery from your Giving Tuesday campaign<\/a> materials, mimicking the language and calls to action that you\u2019re using in solicitation emails and social posts, and reiterating that donations are going to a Giving Tuesday fundraiser will help excite donors who land on your page.<\/p>\n

Using a separate donation form for Giving Tuesday will also help you gauge how effective your fundraising efforts are during the course of the campaign. When you run reports on your fundraising activity during the campaign, you\u2019ll be able to separate Giving Tuesday donations from the donations you\u2019d normally process on your year-round form. That makes evaluating your success so much easier!<\/p>\n

Qgiv Tip: <\/strong>In your organization dashboard, go to \u201cMy Qgiv\u201d to set up your Giving Tuesday form. It\u2019s easy; just clone a form you like and update the form\u2019s images and language using the Form Builder tool. You do need to be an account administrator to clone a form. Later, when Giving Tuesday is over, go to \u201cReports\u201d and run a report for your Giving Tuesday form. Everything you\u2019ll need will be in there!<\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/a><\/div>\n

2. Include Social Sharing Buttons on Donation Forms<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A big social media presence is one of the most important facets of a Giving Tuesday campaign. Including social sharing buttons on your donation forms will help drive traffic to your site.<\/em><\/h4>\n

Social media will be a major driver for your fundraising campaign on Giving Tuesday. A great way to build momentum online is to encourage your donors to share their support of your fundraising efforts. Encouraging donors to share their excitement with friends and family after they donate boosts your visibility and the likelihood that one of their loved ones will donate, too.<\/p>\n

For-profits understand how important this sharing can be. This concept of \u201csocial proof\u201d is a powerful way to sell goods and services \u2013 it\u2019s a powerful way to find new donors, too!<\/p>\n

Qgiv Tip: <\/strong>The social sharing settings for your donation form are really easy to set up. Using Form Builder, add the \u201cSocial Sharing\u201d widget to your donation form.<\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/a><\/div>\n

3. Set a Goal and Track Your Progress<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Donors want to feel like they’re part of a movement that’s bigger than they are. Adding a visual element to show donors how they’re helping is a powerful engagement tool.<\/em><\/h4>\n

Nonprofits all over the country will do a tremendous amount of outreach and marketing to potential donors on Giving Tuesday. One way you can stand out from the crowd is by making your donation form interactive and engaging.<\/p>\n

The best way to do that is to set a goal for your Giving Tuesday campaign and to share your progress with donors. The only thing donors love more than supporting a cause they love is knowing that their support makes a big impact.<\/p>\n

There are lots of ways you can keep your donors updated on your fundraising progress. You can tweet or post your progress, celebrate milestones with Facebook Live videos, or thank individual donors that help you get closer to your goal.<\/p>\n

But the most engaging way to track your campaign is using a campaign thermometer to show your progress toward a fundraising goal. This is a classic method for building a campaign\u2019s momentum and exciting donors, especially as you move closer to your goal.<\/p>\n

Consider setting a goal for your Giving Tuesday campaign, then including a thermometer on your donation page that can be shared on other channels.<\/p>\n

Qgiv Tip: <\/strong>You can easily add a campaign thermometer to your Giving Tuesday donation form! Just go the control panel for the form you\u2019re managing and click over to the \u201cGoals\u201d section. Click \u201cAdd New Goal,\u201d create one for your campaign, and set start and end dates. Once you\u2019ve created your goal, you can easily add a thermometer to your form using the Form Builder tool. You can also embed your thermometer on other pages on your website!<\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/a><\/div>\n

4. Use Text Fundraising<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Part of great Giving Tuesday campaigns is making sure donors can donate to you anywhere they happen to be, whether it\u2019s at home or on the go.<\/em><\/h4>\n

If you use text fundraising for Giving Tuesday<\/a>, you\u2019re giving potential donors a tool that helps them donate easily even if they\u2019re not in front of a computer.<\/p>\n

This technique is especially useful if you\u2019re doing television or radio spots advertising your campaign, or if you\u2019re using live video on your Facebook page or other social channels where you can\u2019t easily link to a donation form.<\/p>\n

If you choose to use text fundraising as part of your Giving Tuesday campaign, make sure you choose a unique keyword that is short and easy to spell \u2013 that will help prevent donors from making typos and getting frustrated when their donation doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

Additionally, make a point of associating your text fundraising keyword with your Giving Tuesday donation form. This helps you keep track of your donations and attribute it to the proper campaign. It will also make sure that any text donations are reflected on your campaign thermometer!<\/p>\n

Qgiv Tip: <\/strong>Setting up a text fundraising keyword for your Giving Tuesday campaign is easy \u2013 just send an email to support@qgiv.com<\/a>! We\u2019ll get your keyword, enter it in the system, and make sure it\u2019s associated with your Giving Tuesday form.<\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/a><\/div>\n

5. Create Giving Tuesday Thank-You Pages and Receipts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Make a powerful impression on your donors that sets the stage for additional communication with them in the future; customize your confirmation pages and receipts!<\/em><\/h4>\n

Part of the hype around Giving Tuesday is due to its excellent branding. To donors, it\u2019s not just a run-of-the-mill fundraising push. It\u2019s something big! It\u2019s different! It\u2019s exciting! It\u2019s a change to be part of a global day of philanthropy!<\/p>\n

Keep the hype going by changing the confirmation page and automated receipt for your Giving Tuesday donation form.<\/p>\n

This is especially useful if you\u2019re actively encouraging donors to share your donation form on their social channels. Many donors don\u2019t want to share until they themselves have donated, and including elements from your Giving Tuesday campaign in your follow-up materials keeps them excited about and engaged in your efforts.<\/p>\n

Qgiv Tip: <\/strong>These elements are easy for you to customize! To tweak your confirmation\/ thank-you page, go to your Giving Tuesday form\u2019s control panel. Open Form Builder, then choose to edit the Donation Confirmation from the drop-down menu.<\/p>\n

Customizing your receipt is easy, too. In the form\u2019s control panel, navigate to the \u201cReceipts\u201d section and update the receipts associated with that form. You can use conditional content<\/a> to make your receipts even more relevant to your donors\u2019 gift.<\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/a><\/div>\n

6. Schedule Your Social Posts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Take a little pressure off your staff and volunteers by scheduling some social posts in advance. Just make sure they look nice before they post!<\/em><\/h4>\n

You\u2019re going to want to have staff monitoring your social media activity during Giving Tuesday<\/a> \u2013 they\u2019ll help engage donors, build visibility for your campaign, thank donors, and engage with people who are curious about your nonprofit. But it\u2019s not a bad idea to supplement those social activities with scheduled posts.<\/p>\n

Scheduling periodic posts will help reinforce your staff\u2019s social activities. It also covers any lulls in activity if staff gets wrapped up in engaging donors, helping fundraising staff, or even just resting.<\/p>\n

Qgiv Tip: <\/strong>There are all kinds of ways to schedule social posts, but, no matter how you choose to do so, it\u2019s important that the links to your donation form look professional. You can set how you want links to your donation form to look on Facebook and other sites by navigating to your Giving Tuesday\u2019s form control panel and clicking \u201cShare My Form.\u201d There are options there that let you set the thumbnail, title, and description your audience will see when you share your form.<\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/a><\/div>\n

7. Write a Follow-Up Email for Giving Tuesday Donors<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It’s tempting to leave out a post-event email, especially when you’re in the throes of year-end fundraising. But it’s an important donor retention tool <\/a>— your efforts will pay off!<\/em><\/h4>\n

The people who donate to you on Giving Tuesday will want to hear how their gift made a difference. This is especially true if you set a fundraising goal and kept donors up-to-date on your progress! Sending an email to donors the day after Giving Tuesday accomplishes a few important goals: it keeps them engaged in your nonprofit (great for donor retention!), shows them how they helped make a difference, and shows that your organization cares about the people who support you.<\/p>\n

Sending a follow-up email to Giving Tuesday donors<\/a> is especially easy if you\u2019ve used a donation form specific to your Giving Tuesday campaign. You\u2019ll also want to make sure that the donor\u2019s email address is collected on the form so you can communicate with them!<\/p>\n

To make the most of your post-Giving Tuesday email, make sure you include elements like:<\/p>\n