CauseVox // How To Plan A Successful GivingTuesday Campaign- Page 1

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How To Plan A Successful GivingTuesday Campaign

Learn how you can make the most of GivingTuesday for your nonprofit

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Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... 2!

Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 3!

Getting Started: Setting A Goal ............................................................................................ 5!

Determining Rewards And Donation Tiers .......................................................................... 8!

Rallying An Audience ............................................................................................................ 12!

Crafting Communications And Storytelling ...................................................................... 14!

Using Personal Fundraising Pages ...................................................................................... 18!

Publicizing Your Crowdfunding Campaign ......................................................................... 21!

Building Your Campaign On CauseVox ............................................................................. 24!

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Introduction With the fall season just around the corner, the onslaught of holidays is coming full

speed ahead. It’s likely you’ve already seen the first of many commercials advertising

this season’s hottest deals, toys, and gadgets, and stores are already stocking their

shelves with decorations and giftwrap galore. For nonprofits, getting into the holiday

spirit means launching your own major fundraising campaign, often referred to as a

“holiday appeal” or “end-of-year campaign.”

And for the last couple of years, a new

“holiday” has put even more emphasis

and spotlight on the good work

nonprofits are doing during this time of

year, and it’s giving everyone a chance to

shift the focus from getting to giving.

Four years ago, the 92 Street Y in NYC

and the United Nations Foundation joined forces to create #GivingTuesday, a one-day

annual movement focused on charitable giving during the holiday season.

The thinking was, if there is a Black Friday and a Cyber Monday, why not a Giving

Tuesday? Since then, #GivingTuesday has expanded into a worldwide movement for

philanthropy. In it’s fourth year, #GivingTuesday saw the biggest increase in donations

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yet, growing from $45.6 million in online donations in 2014 to a whopping $116.4

million in 2015 according to the information compiled by Impact Lab.

Now, #GivingTuesday 2016 is coming up on November 29th and it promises to be the

best year yet.

“#GivingTuesday 2016 is coming up on November 29th and it promises to be the best year yet …” tweet this

Since as early as July, we’ve been sharing some resources and information on the

CauseVox blog on how to plan for your own campaign, but this eBook is meant to

provide a full overview from start to finish. From setting a goal, and crafting your

story, we’ll walk you through each step to prepare for the big day. Let’s get started!

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Getting Started: Setting A Goal Although #GivingTuesday is only a 24-hour fundraising campaign (although you can

incorporate it into your Year-End campaign or use it to end your fall campaign) it’s still

important to set a realistic, yet aspirational fundraising goal. And perhaps because of

the timeframe, it’s even imperative that you choose a goal that stands out from your

ongoing fundraising.

Here are some initial questions to think about:

• What have we raised in past fundraising or GivingTuesday campaigns?

• What did similar organizations raise for their GivingTuesday campaign?

• How much do you need to be able to make your desired impact?

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Your big picture goal for the holiday season or the calendar year may remain the same

(i.e. preventing malaria, building schools, rescuing dogs), but this is a great opportunity

to try a unique approach – a story that makes your organization and your quest to

better the world different, personal, and relatable right now.

Based on your answers to the three questions above, break down your long term

mission and your story into a short term, tangible action for your campaign. Some

examples:

Item Specific: We want to send 100 bed nets to a specific village in Malawi

Dollar Specific: Help us to provide novels for five classrooms in a middle school for the

start of the new semester in January ($1,000)

Time Specific: Fund arrangements for foster homes for 5 shelter dogs within 24 hours.

These uber-specific mini goals all feed into your larger one, yet give people a sense of

the impact they can make with their #GivingTuesday donation – the more you can

show immediate impact and results, the stronger your appeal will be.

As with other fundraising campaigns, remember to think about these new goals in

context of your current financials, and based on what is achievable. Although we

certainly are no strangers to failure, and even embrace it, we also think it’s important

to set yourself up for success as much as possible. The SMART framework is one

approach:

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Specific

Measureable

Attainable

Relevant

Timely You can read more about SMART goals and get other examples on our blog. You should

also consider that hundreds (thousands even) of other organizations will also be

participating in #GivingTuesday and coming up with their own unique fundraising goals

– so when you are creating yours, think about the story you will tell and the

opportunity to make an impact beyond November 29th.

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Interested in reading up on what other organizations have done for their

#GivingTuesday campaign? Check out the Grey2K and National Domestic Violence

Hotline case studies

Determining Rewards And Donation Tiers Givingaways For Giving Many organizations use rewards and premiums (gifts) to incentivize donations, and it’s

become a common element of crowdfunding campaigns. Rewards can range from the

most basic, like donor acknowledgment on social media, to high-end gifts or

recognition by the organization.

Many giving challenges are successful because they use prizes and incentives as a key

part of their strategy. America’s Giving Challenge and GiveMN are just a couple of the

bigger giving challenges in the last few years that have awarded extra funds to

organizations that “beat” their peers for raising the most amount of money in a certain

timeframe, by having the most donors, etc.

Think of opportunities to reward your donors throughout the 24 hours of

#GivingTuesday. You could offer an exclusive meetup with people from your

organization or an entry for a trip to see your work on the ground. Or maybe you have

handcrafted goods or gifts that directly relate to your impact. And perhaps it’s as

simple as sending the first 10 people to donate a handwritten thank you letter or

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featuring them in your next newsletter. If you’ve been debating using prizes and

incentives, #GivingTuesday could be the perfect opportunity to test this tactic.

Keep in mind:

• Everyone loves surprises. Go beyond the standard automated email thank you

and mail a handwritten note, or send a gift after the donation has been

completed, instead of using it to push donations.

• Align with your mission. If you choose to give back to your donors, pick

something that fits your purpose. Examples: a dog bandana or collar if you’re an

animal shelter, a personalized or branded notebook if you’re an educational

organization, or a recipe guide made by your team if you work on food and

hunger issues.

• People, not premiums. Think about what you would want from a nonprofit you

support, and choose something that creates a deeper connection with your

donors. For instance, an exclusive conference call with the Executive Director,

or a special note from someone who was impacted by the campaign. Use it as a

way to cultivate relationships with new donors beyond #GivingTuesday.

Establishing Gift Tiers Another popular feature of crowdfunding is using donation tiers to provide several

options of giving for a campaign. It takes the guesswork out for the donors, but also

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gives you a chance to tie your goals more specifically to your mission, giving the donor

a better handle on what they are supporting.

#GivingTuesday is the perfect opportunity to use gift tiers to show that extra level of

impact. To determine the donation tiers for your campaign, take a look at your total

fundraising goal, what the funds will be used for, and what it will take to get there. Each

campaign will be different, so your tiers may vary from one project to the next.

“#GivingTuesday is the perfect opportunity to use gift tiers to show that extra level of impact…” tweet this

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Here’s an example from World Bicycle Relief’s donation tiers:

It’s not always easy to match donation levels with specific impact goals, but when you

can, it really increases your chances of success, especially on a day when donors’

attention is being called to thousands of options. If you can clearly show the path from

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investment to impact, you’ve got an advantage. You can create donation tiers quickly

and easily through your CauseVox admin dashboard, and edit them at any time.

Rallying An Audience An essential element in planning your #GivingTuesday campaign is determining your

audience. Will you be using it as an opportunity to attract new donors and grow your

community? Or are you focusing on enhancing existing donor relationships?

Whichever strategy you choose, it will affect the campaign concept and fundraising

goals.

Through social media, nonprofits have been

growing their communities at exponential rates,

finding thousands of new supporters through

Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms.

And if you combine those folks with the people

on your email list, your direct mail list, your

partners, and all the other channels you use to

get out your message, the potential for success is endless. Additionally, you’ll receive

exposure as a #GivingTuesday nonprofit partner.

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Activating Your Network So, you’ve got all these people, and you’ve got a countdown to #GivingTuesday. Now

what? It’s time to get your supporters working on your behalf – after all, they can be

just as much of an ambassador for the cause as your staff. As we’ve seen in the last few

years, and as the campaign’s organizers recommend, it’s never too early to start

communicating about your participation in #GivingTuesday. So, here are a few ways to

rally your community and get them ready for November 29th:

• Give a sneak peek. Pull reports on your most active donors and supporters, and

send them a special email a few days before #GivingTuesday. Give them the

rundown, and ask them to spread the word in their networks.

• Call your partners. If you’re working with a specific partner for #GivingTuesday,

you should have a joint marketing plan ready to deploy. And if you’re not, create

a “family and friends” list of select past partners, sponsors, peer organizations,

and champions to call or email in advance of the campaign launch, asking them to

share with their networks. Prepare a simple marketing toolkit with sample social

media updates, relevant imagery, and links.

• Head to the water cooler. If you’re doing a lot of listening on social media and

online, you know the people who are always mentioning you on Twitter, tagging

you on Facebook, or posting about you in blogs and discussion forums. Go to

these people, and tell them about #GivingTuesday and a hint at what you’ll be

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doing. Think about a way you can acknowledge or thank them for being an

ambassador for your cause.

And here are some other steps you can take to build a community for your campaign.

Crafting Communications And Storytelling Your campaign concept is mapped out, your audience is primed, and now you need to

craft your story. This is your chance to really bring a hyper-focused look at the work

you’re doing and make a connection with your donors in a 24-hour time period.

Just like with other types of fundraising campaigns, there are a few questions to think

about when creating a communications plan for an event like #GivingTuesday:

• What is the goal of this campaign?

• How do we achieve it?

• What does success look like?

• What is the impact?

• Who or what is involved and what’s the story?

• Will we (or can we) carry the story through the holiday season and beyond?

Your campaign timeline may already be set, but now perhaps you can dive deeper into

the communications tools you will use, and the story you will tell on November 29th.

Learn more about some of these elements here.

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Calls-to-Action and Storytelling Mediums The story you tell and how you tell it is impacted by the answers to these questions as

well. Some campaigns may be better served by frequent email updates or blog posts,

with a text-heavy component. But others may need a more visually appealing or

interactive approach, with plenty of photos, videos, or graphics.

For a #GivingTuesday campaign, these options tend to be limited because you’re

working on a very short timeline, which means you may want to cut down on some of

your typical tactics and focus on a couple that will bring you the most bang for your

buck (and time).

Despite the fact that most of your funds will be donated in the 24 hour-period of

#GivingTuesday, it’s still important to start the story in advance of November 29th, to

give your community time to connect with your cause. And for those who choose to

fundraise within their networks on your behalf, they need the opportunity to create a

personalized version of your appeal and do some storytelling of their own.

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Don’t start too far in advance– stories with no immediate call-to-action won’t be

absorbed as well, and you want to avoid fatiguing your donors before you get to the

big day. Consider teasing out your campaign theme and sharing a short story a few

weeks before #GivingTuesday, when people really start thinking about their holiday

giving and gifting plans.

Then over the next couple of weeks, amp things up with save the date messages on

social media and your website, and send at least one email to your list a week in

advance, with a strong story and a reminder of the #GivingTuesday date. Your most

relevant and resonant stories should be saved for #GivingTuesday itself.

Whether you choose to use one story and share different pieces throughout the day,

or share multiple stories that all point back to your fundraising ask, the content should

be focused, emotionally strong, and timely. Bonus points for a new perspective or

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angle you’ve never told before, for using humor or hope in new ways, or creating an

innovative visual presentation. Don’t use the same story you told two weeks before.

Ultimately, your #GivingTuesday day story should make someone want to give to your

organization. Does it do that? There are so many directions you can take with

storytelling and communicating for crowdfunding campaigns.

“Your #GivingTuesday day story should make someone want to give to your organization …” tweet this

No matter what you choose, it’s important to keep in mind relevancy, personalization

and connection, timing, and your audience’s behaviors and interests to make sure you

get the right mix for the best results. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

• Create a matching campaign with a partner or major donor. Matching campaigns

work extremely well for short timelines – they can be completed even in minutes

or a few hours!

• Do something fun and different on social media, using a platform you’ve been

wanting to play with, or a hashtag that will go great with #GivingTuesday.

• Tell stories in 24 hours, or a complete story in 24 installments, and consider

locking it with fundraising achievements throughout the day. People love “To be

continued…” storylines.

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• Keep them coming back for more! Integrate a physical or virtual event for extra

engagement on November 29th. Think of ways the online giving could correlate

to an activity on the ground.

• Focus on your donors, and use the day to show why people give during the

holiday season. In other words, make use of the #GivingTuesday concept and

show your community some love!

Using Personal Fundraising Pages f you’re looking to take your #GivingTuesday campaign one step farther, personal or

peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising is a great way to do it. Research shows that people are

more likely to donate to a cause after being asked by someone they know. Think of

how many times you supported a project because your nephew, neighbor, or

grandmother asked you?

More Resources, More Reach, More Results Let’s face it: you’re probably already feeling pressure to reach yearly fundraising goals

for your organization, and an intense 24-hour crowdfunding campaign may only seem

to pile it on. Crowdfunding is hard work, we know, but incorporating personal

fundraising is worth it for many reasons, such as:

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You Get Lots Of Extra Help

Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns on CauseVox raise two times more than regular

crowdfunding campaigns. Your community is your best asset. While your team is busy

managing multiple tasks behind the scenes at your organization, your donors are out

there making connections, building awareness, finding new supporters, and raising

money for you – for free.

Your Name Goes Far and Wide

One of the greatest benefits of P2P fundraising is that your cause and brand are

introduced to potentially hundreds and thousands of new people – all potential donors

and activists. Sally in Montana may have never heard of you or asked her entire book

club to donate if it wasn’t for her granddaughter Lizzie sending her a personal note and

a link to her fundraising page.

You Are Making It Personal

A lot of donors support a cause because of a personal connection. When you take it a

step further and let them recruit family and friends through a personal fundraising

page, they can make the story their own. The deeper the connection, the deeper the

impact.

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Set Them Up For Success You have to give your community the right tools to help them tell their story well, and

to help make your campaign a success. After all, they’re supporting you because they

want to, and because it makes them feel good. So it’s in your best interest to make

their experience fun, easy, educational, and fulfilling.

This is even more important for #GivingTuesday, because they, and you, only have so

much time to make a strong enough appeal for donations – so preparing your

community is an absolute must in this instance. Consider setting up mini training

sessions with fundraisers via web conference at least a month before November 29th,

providing online toolkits and tips, and creating a special email series with behind-

thescenes updates, exclusive content, and notes of encouragement.

You may even think about asking people to “sign up” in advance, so you know exactly

who will be doing P2P fundraising for #GivingTuesday, and as much as possible, you can

work directly with them to achieve their goals (and your organization’s). Just as

important is helping your fundraisers craft their own personalized versions of your

#GivingTuesday story to use in their campaigns.

This is why it’s essential to communicate with your fundraisers several weeks in

advance, so you can share your message and provide them all the tools necessary for

customization. Research shows that personal stories provide a much better return on

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donations than “generic” ones, so think about providing a list of options for how to

make your goals personal for someone fundraising on your behalf.

Check out our ultimate guide to peer-to-peer fundraising for more best practices that

you can apply to #GivingTuesday, including the basics on fundraising and crowdfunding

technology, and ways to empower your supporters to achieve their goals.

Publicizing Your Crowdfunding Campaign So you’ve got a great story, an enthusiastic community of supporters, and an awesome

goal for your #GivingTuesday campaign. A little love and attention from writers and

journalists would be helpful, too, right? Publicity can be a great way to get your brand

and campaign to the masses, and appeal to folks that might not usually come across it

otherwise, even through friends and family. It also can lend some credibility to your

campaign– a positive article or blog post could go very far in pushing prospective

donors to check you out and join the campaign.

The good news is that #GivingTuesday has already made a name for itself in the couple

of years since it began, and has been covered by all manner of news outlets. Most of

the philanthropic community knows about this movement, and so now the key is

making your campaign stand out from the thousands of others participating.

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Reaching Out to Reporters You may not have the time or resources to pitch journalists and bloggers about your

#GivingTuesday efforts, but if it makes sense to add a publicity component, here are a

few approaches to consider in your strategy:

1) Reach out to the #GivingTuesday team about your plan: they may be able to

provide some media opportunities for you – they’re all about promoting their

partners!

2) Make the most of free search tools in the places journalists are listening: Twitter,

Help A Reporter Out (HARO), Seek or Shout, and others. Check to see which

ones are writing about your issue area, or about unique stories in philanthropy or

tech.

3) Craft your pitch so that it can be easily used for multiple journalists, but then

take the time to tailor them and pull out Specific attributes of your campaign

that would be appealing to the individual reporter or blogger. Don’t send a mail

merge – it’s worth the effort to personalize your pitches.

4) Think beyond traditional media and consider reaching out to radio, podcast

services, niche bloggers, or even your local TV station. If you’re in a college town,

call the student newspaper. Ask partners organizations to mention you in an e-

newsletter or on social media, especially if they are a wellrecognized name with a

larger audience.

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5) Prepare campaign materials to include in your pitch. Create a toolkit with media,

with links, logos and approved photos, and quotes from spokespeople or

champions. GivingTuesday.org has an assortment of toolkits for various

audiences.

6) Take the opportunity to begin cultivating relationships with a select few

journalists or bloggers for future campaigns. Or if you already have a great

relationship with a reporter, give them an exclusive. Reaching Out to Reporters

You may not have the time or resources to pitch journalists and bloggers about

your #GivingTuesday efforts, but if it makes sense to add a publicity component,

here are a few approaches to consider in your strategy:

For more best practices and recommendations on planning a pitch strategy, see our

guide on publicizing your campaign.

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Building Your Campaign On CauseVox We know you’re itching to get started on your GivingTuesday campaign, and we’re

ready to help you make it happen! If you haven’t already, we hope you will sign up for

CauseVox today to support your crowdfunding needs.

As a CauseVox user, here’s just a few of the features you’ll have access to:

• Easily customizable crowdfunding site to integrate with your branding and design

fully.

• Powerful crowdfunding tools to help you raise more funds (donation metrics,

impact metrics, donation receipts, mobile-optimization, etc)

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• !Easy and clean user interface and admin dashboard to manage donors, create

content, adjust your campaign, and get real-time updates

• Personal fundraising pages to help you get new donors and reach new networks.

• Dedicated customer service to help you be as successful as possible, in addition

to free guides, toolkits, case studies and resources.

There’s a lot more where that came from, and the CauseVox team is your number one

resource. Don’t hesitate to reach out for more information on any of the topics

covered in this guide, and feel free to browse our website for related content if you

want to dig a little deeper.

Ready to get started? Sign up on CauseVox today.

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