Non-Profits and #GivingTuesday

GivingTuesday people

Making the Most of #GivingTuesday

by Heather Lindsay Sell, ShoutOUT®, November 26, 2017

November 28th, marks the 5th year of #GivingTuesday, an annual day of giving that has burgeoned into a national giving movement. This giving-day is amplified and fueled by social media sharing and collaboration and celebrates giving back in our local communities.

Here are a few helpful tips for both non-profits and individuals wishing to support their favorite charities to make the most of #GivingTuesday.

Resources

  • GivingTuesday.org There are hundreds of resources available by searching online, but I’d recommend going directly to the source first and save yourself a bundle of time. Not only can you learn about the movement, but their website has downloadable toolkits, logos, resources, ideas, tips, and pre-crafted social media posts available.

Here’s an example of one of the logos I downloaded, then using PowerPoint, tweaked by adding specific hashtags and the non-profit’s logo.

GivingTuesday logo for Blessings in a Backpack

  • Classy.org Classy.org is a fundraising platform you can utilize if you’d like, but I like it because it offers mounds of additional tools, tips, templates, campaign strategies, planners and more. Click here for a direct link to resources.

Create a Fundraiser on Facebook

After you’ve downloaded the logos and tweaked them as needed, created a strategy and identified your goals, it’s time to get the party started.

Both non-profits and individuals can create fundraisers on Facebook for their favorite non-profits in order to participate in #GivingTuesday. Learn more HERE.

Note: If you’re a local chapter of a National non-profit, check with your national office to see how best to create your fundraiser. They might already have logos created specifically for that day so you can just download them from the main site. No need to recreate the wheel, am I right?

An added perk, during #GivingTuesday on November 28th, Facebook is waiving their normal fees associated with their fundraising donate button. YAY!

Create a Calendar Event

Save the Date Calendar entryNow that your fundraiser has been created, be sure to add a “Save the Date” event entry to your calendar on your group’s Facebook page, adding the link to the event info to the fundraiser you created in previous step. This reminds people of the upcoming event, will show up in the Events feed for upcoming things to do, and the event can also be tagged in your Facebook posts.

Your supporters can also add an event to their own personal pages and link back to the fundraiser to help spread the word. Here’s HOW

Share. Share. Share.

Congratulations on creating your fundraiser and event! Now it’s time to share.

Make sure you share your fundraiser with your supporters, family, friends, and acquaintances leading up to and through November 28th. Be sure to use the hashtag #GivingTuesday so anyone searching for nonprofits participating can easily find you. Add your fundraiser info to your website, share on your social media channels (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.) and send the info to your email list.

And this is just as important. Ask others to share to help spread the word. Sharing is a charitable gesture of giving too!

Looking for some sample social media posts to kick it off? GiveGab has some easy-to-use Facebook and Twitter post examples, but don’t shy away from creating your own.

Matching Donations

Often forgotten, but an invaluable fundraising tool are matching donations. Not only is this a great time to participate in a national collaboration to raise awareness for local communities, non-profits and raise funds, but there’s another added perk. Donors can potentially TRIPLE their donations during the #GivingTuesday event. WHAT?!? Yep, you read that correctly. TRIPLE!!!

How?

First, many companies have matching gifts programs. Remind contributors to check with their companies to see if they offer matching contributions. They can also use DoubletheDonation.com’s search engine to see if their organization has a matching gifts program. It’s always best to verify with their company to check the criteria for giving and to ensure the info is accurate.

Second, Facebook and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are again teaming up and matching contributions using Facebook’s donate button during November 28, 2017 for #GivingTuesday.  MORE INFO

So there’s a wonderful opportunity to make a $25 contribution triple to $75, between the original donation, matching contributions from Facebook/The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the contributor’s company! Wow! Talk about making the most #GivingTuesday donations!

Also, check out #MyGivingStory on GivingTuesday’s site to learn how individuals can win up to $10,000 for their favorite non-profit.

A few notes in closing

#GivingTuesday provides a wonderful opportunity to connect with your community, raise awareness for your cause, and end the year on a charitable note. Be sure to thank each and every one of your contributors. Without them, the nonprofit would not be.

These ideas I’ve shared are just a starter and are by no means an exhaustive list. Performing a Google Search yields hundreds of ideas and resources for #GivingTuesday.

With a little effort and creativity, your non-profit can make the most of #GivingTuesday! Good luck and may the donations be with you!

~Heather
ShoutOUT® Tampa Bay

To learn more about #GivingTuesday, visit:
Website: www.givingtuesday.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday
Twitter: twitter.com/GivingTues

About ShoutOUT

In 2009, I started sharing my experiences, food, travels, and events, along with all of the incredible people and businesses I was meeting and discovering. What began as a fun hobby had such an overwhelming response, in 2010 ShoutOUT was born! I continue to stretch the boundaries locally, regionally, and nationally, discovering, sharing and connecting as I go.
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