It’s hard to believe but Giving Tuesday is just a week away. On November 28th, people around the world will be opening their hearts and wallets to help support the causes they hold dear. This global day of giving is showing no signs of slowing down. In 2016 this day saw a 353% increase in giving from the previous year.

Giving Tuesday provides a platform for non-profits to share their mission to a groundswell of supporters. Is your organization ready to join the global movement? Use this Giving Tuesday checklist to find out.

Your campaign has a fundraising goal.

A fundraising goal can be a great way to communicate urgency and need to your donors. It can also act as a great motivator that can help push those final donations. Supporters love to be a part of a win.

That being said, a goal that seems far and out of reach will have the opposite effect, which is why it’s important to set a fundraising goal that is right-sized for your organization. To give you some perspective, in 2015 the median goal for non-profits participating in Giving Tuesday was $7,600. Internal giving history and campaign budget can help determine an amount that’s right for you. The presence of a match gift or sponsor can help raise the bar while acting as a motivator during the campaign.

After a goal has been set you will need to consider how this goal will be communicated to your audience. The best way is to make the goal tangible rather than financial. For example, if it costs your charity $15 dollars to provide a hamper of food to a family you serve, and your Giving Tuesday goal is set at $6000, communicate your goal as “give 400 hampers” rather than “raise $6000”. This impact statement doesn’t need to be unique to Giving Tuesday. What impact statements does your organization already have at its disposal? Don’t reinvent the wheel – use what you have and what you know works.

Your #GivingTuesday campaign stands out from your main year-end campaign.

Some organizations are hesitant to launch a Giving Tuesday campaign as they fear it might take away from overall year end giving. Giving Tuesday average gifts tend to be lower than the average year end gift, so it sounds risky to be leveraging this day for an ask so close to year-end crunch time. However, if incorporated correctly, using giving Tuesday within your online campaign can help increase your overall revenue. In fact, non-profits who revved up their year-end campaign on Giving Tuesday raised an average of 5x more overall during year-end. This means that Giving Tuesday has a strong potential of increasing year end revenue, rather than decreasing it.

Giving Tuesday campaigns work best when they stand out from your main year-end campaign. Choose a story and/or call-to-action that is Giving Tuesday specific. Drive users to a Giving Tuesday specific landing page, whether it be a microsite or a donation form. Use images and videos that aren’t being used in year-end communications.

As always, measure your results. Not only will you have solid benchmarks to work with for next year’s campaign but you will also have clear outcomes to communicate to your supporters.

You’re promoting your #GivingTuesday campaign before the big day.

Giving Tuesday 2017 is on November 28th, but that doesn’t mean it’s the day your campaign starts. Realistically, you should already be using your digital channels to build anticipation and excitement around Giving Tuesday. If you haven’t, don’t worry, there’s still time! Start now and steadily build momentum throughout the week, culminating with consistent communications throughout the day itself.

Social media channels, namely Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, are effective vehicles to communicate your message. Be sure to mix up your messaging – don’t reuse your content across all channels. Each has a distinct style, target audience and purpose.

You’re leveraging the #GivingTuesday hashtag.

We can’t stress this point enough – use #GivingTuesday in your campaign communications! Using the hashtag is an effective way for organizations large and small to be boosting their profile by joining a large-scale social movement. Last year, there were 2.5 million social media engagements that included #GivingTuesday.

Your reach can be amplified further by pairing #GivingTuesday with another hashtag. According to the Giving Tuesday 2016 insights report, tweets were more likely to be retweeted when #GivingTuesday was coupled with the following hashtags: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, donate, non-profit, community, giving, and unselfie.

Again, don’t wait until November 28th to get things started. Giving Tuesday is a celebration of global kindness – you can start inviting users to join in and support your organization by including #GivingTuesday in your communications now.

You’re communicating beyond your current list.

While eblasts to your current list are an important way to encourage your donors to give an additional gift before year-end, your focus should extend beyond this audience. By solely targeting your current list with a Giving Tuesday ask your organization is forgoing a huge opportunity to reach a new audience that may be otherwise difficult to penetrate.

Recent data indicates that new donors contribute three quarters of all donations on Giving Tuesday. That’s amazing news for acquisition! Not only that, this is a prime chance to reach younger donors, as 26% of those who gave on Giving Tuesday in 2016 were millennials.

Not only does Giving Tuesday help bring new donors in the door, these donors are likely to stay a while. Donors who first gave on Giving Tuesday are 10-15% more likely give again than donors acquired through peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns.

To sum up– talk to new audiences! This is an awesome chance to introduce your organization and mission to completely new group of people.

And finally, you have a campaign stewardship plan.

Just as your communications shouldn’t start on November 28th they certainly shouldn’t end there either. Arguably as important as the campaign leading up to and including Giving Tuesday is how you will continue to talk to these supporters once the campaign is complete. Like any other donor to your organization, those who give to you on Giving Tuesday must be properly thanked and stewarded after their initial gift.

Follow up these supporters by letting them know about your Giving Tuesday successes. This is where those results your have been ensuring during the campaign come in handy! How much did you raise? Did you meet/surpass your fundraising goal? How will these donations impact the lives of those you support? What great work have these donors helped make possible?

This is the beginning of a new journey between the supporter and your organization, so it’s important you set off on the right foot.

So – did you check off all the items on this list? If not, don’t worry. There’s still time to make your campaign a success – but start today!

About the Author

Shauna is a trained fundraising professional hailing from the Humber Fundraising Management Post-Graduate program. Working in conjunction with the Senior Account Manager and the Creative team, Shauna is responsible for developing, leading and supporting a variety of communications and marketing strategies for various clients, such as Seattle’s Children Hospital Foundation, Trillium Health Partners Foundation, Ontario SPCA and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation. She focuses on increasing client awareness, and manages all Digital Marketing related communications efforts and assist with marketing campaigns that align with organization goals.