Giving Tuesday 2022: It's More Important This Year Than Ever and What You Should Do

Giving Tuesday is on November 29, 2022, in its 10th anniversary. This worldwide holiday is widely acknowledged as a kick-off to the End of Year Giving Season. In the US, more than 30% of all donations will be made from late November through December 31.

 

Despite a gloomy economic outlook, high inflation, crypto meltdowns and a lagging stock market, Giving Tuesday is still an important day for nonprofits and the philanthropy sector as a whole and well worth your time to make some outreach.

 

WHY SHOULD YOU BOTHER WITH GIVING TUESDAY (WHEN THERE IS ALREADY SO MUCH NOISE)?

We get this question a lot. And the truth is, you don't have to. Say you just had your gala earlier in November, you are planning for a big push in February around a new initiative or capital campaign and your team and nervous system are fried. First - take a deep breath and congratulate yourself and your team on all you've done. No one would blame you for passing on a full-blown fundraising campaign the week after Thanksgiving.

 

But here's the thing: even in this scenario, a simple and easy ask can be made of folks in the recesses of your data and on social media, and it does not require much effort. 

 

You should try to do something on Giving Tuesday simply because it is there, and you will likely be missing out on some easy dollars if you don't. You will also miss an opportunity to fly your brand flag and bring awareness to your mission on a day when the world is discussing philanthropy. Social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn provide an enormous boost to charitable giving on Giving Tuesday, not to mention all other nonprofits and NGOs, and you (and your board) likely want to be a part of the action. 

 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO NOW?

Whether you've already got a plan in place and want a boost or your team is like the above example and tapped out with little time to do anything, we have a few suggestions.

 

1. Look at your data: We know. It gets old how often we say this, but it applies here. Pull a list from your donor management of all of your lapsed donors or donors who have not yet given money this year and make a plan to reach out to them. A few names will likely give you an idea of how to reach them. 

2. Personal outreach: Pretty self-explanatory, but thousands of social posts and emails will fly between now and Giving Tuesday (potentially millions). That's a shuffle that is easy to get lost in. Instead, differentiate your organization and your mission by personalizing your outreach - you may reach fewer people, but there will likely be a higher return.

• Make a phone call: Use Outreach Tools to organize phone calls from board or committee members to encourage a gift from your donors. Write a quick script, include language for a voicemail or text and put your team to calling. Divided among a group, this effort often takes no longer than 30 minutes per person. Your script should point potential donors to your Donate Now button or a page with an easy-to-remember URL: Please make your gift at austinrecovery.org/give.
• Send a video message: Record your ED, Board Chair, or yourself on an iPhone for a 15-second personalized video message. Text that to a contact and follow the text with your donation URL.
• Social DMs: Send copy/paste messages (with your donation page URL attached or in a second message) to donors and personalize them with the donor's name. This is a surprisingly effective outreach method as most people read their texts.

3. Give a "Get": Have an auction item that didn't get any bids last year? Best friends with a local bakery owner? Have a board member who owns a yoga studio? Any one of these items can be used to encourage donations by offering to put all donors to your Giving Tuesday campaign into a drawing to win [fill in the blank]. Whatever you come up with - perhaps it's a cookie basket (holidays!), a condo in Cancun (winter!) or an annual membership (January resolutions!), giving TO donors with will set you apart on Giving Tuesday when most organizations are simply asking for donations. Of course, that's OK too, but why not offer supporters a thank you opportunity or gift for their donation?

4. Text: MOST emails get deleted without being read. This is the unfortunate truth. Instead, use your texting platform to send a text message to a strategic list of potential donors with a TinyURL or bit.ly pointing to your donation page. 

5. Fly your flag: Get your name out there. You can send a quick and easy email to your entire email list, make a social post and some stories (go outside in natural light and say something heartfelt), create a quick campaign page asking for a specific need or tell a vital client story - whatever you do will remind supporters of your mission and why they are connected to your work.

 

The BetterUnite team is here to help! If you would like a Giving Tuesday Fundraising Consultation with us, current user or not, we are here throughout the holidays (thanks to our global team, we can honor family time for team members and be here to support you during critical times). 

 

You've got this.