Rethink Giving Tuesday: Focus on End of Year Giving

Naturally, many Nonprofits are starting to think about Giving Tuesday — which is Tuesday, November 30. It’s become a beast of a fundraising day — some organizations even find themselves depending on it for their budget. Hours and hours of staff’s time goes into planning and running Giving Tuesday Campaigns.

This year, we’re challenging YOU to RETHINK Giving Tuesday.

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It sounds weird rethinking a day that’s so successful, especially considering over the past few years Giving Tuesday has gained momentum. We’re not telling you to push Giving Tuesday aside, but rather suggesting you bench Giving Tuesday and put End of Year Giving in as your starter. Rethink the energy your staff is putting into which day. 

Why? 

December 31 generated nearly 2.4 times as much revenue as Giving Tuesday [kindful]

That’s huge! And it sort of makes sense. It's holiday time, people are feeling good, they're grateful and when they're feeling these two things, they're generous. Not to mention, a lot of people opt out of gifts and ask for donations to their favorite organizations instead. 

Stewardship: Now’s the time. Write, call, email your donors and tell them how their donation impacted your organization. By doing this you create an opening for your ask to be better received, although it should absolutely not be in the communication we are suggesting now. If there’s simply not enough time to get this done in the right way, that's okay. Write a quick email to say hi to all donors of your organization with some sort of update — if you have photos use them! It's best to personalize the email too (you can just use an insert first name in your CRM as long as your system is up to date). 

Here’s a sample: 

Hi Fred, 

I hope all is well with you and your family! 

I just wanted to shoot you a quick message because recently you’ve been on my mind. Because of you, we were able to upgrade our playground for our K-3 After School program. 

[INSERT PICTURE]

From all of us at Happy Playground Organization, THANK YOU! 

[INSERT E SIGNATURE]

This is something that is so effortless to do but gives your donor a great feeling. It's totally worth it!

Campaign: Start your engines! Strategize your ask, set a goal, find a story (or more!). Expert tip: when creating your campaign, create 3 separate campaigns. You should have a campaign for smaller, mid, and larger scaled donors. The ask should always be different. For example, donors at a smaller or larger scale should be asked to sign up for monthly giving, if they aren’t already, whereas larger-scale donors really should only be asked once or twice a year.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) System: Update! Update! Update! Be sure that your lists are correct and your contacts are current. A campaign is only effective if you’re getting the message out. Be sure you’re using a system that has the capability to automatically update your lists (you most likely will have to set it up in your campaign beforehand). If a donor has given, they should be taken off of your list and added to “thank later” almost immediately. And please, for the love of fundraising, thank your donors in a timely manner! Expert tip: the right time is about 3 months after their giving. 

We recommend High Level as a CRM. The automation and precision for what you need is on point. We use High Level as our CRM and run campaigns like these for clients all the time!

Donation page: Although many users still like to give their End of Year gifts via checks or stock donations, having your donation page at its best is in your best interest. Test your page, have team members in your office test your page, and even some board members if you're able to pull them in. Ensuring your page is user-friendly and working will increase your giving. Make a recurring donation option clear, and see what your donation page may be missing, but should include here. An organization based in Philadelphia, called Philabundance, has a great donation page that our team loves to admire! The stories, impact, and how to give are right there — as we suggest everyone's should be. 

Even though the End of Year seems far away, the time to do all of this is now.

Your “pre-campaign” teaser for should be sent out no later than October 31st — with at least 3 touchpoints to follow after. 

Your team has likely started to think of great Giving Tuesday Campaigns, but after this article, we hope you've reconsidered and start to shift those ideas towards End of Year Giving. For Giving Tuesday know that the act of giving doesn’t always have to be about money. Ask for people to give their time — in volunteering, advocating, attending. Ask for resources — in physical donations, professional skills, homes for events. After all, those who are involved with your organization are the ones who are more likely to donate…