Gearing up for GivingTuesday
GivingTuesday is December 3, just a few weeks away, writes my colleague Rasheeda Childress. For many nonprofits, it’s one of the biggest giving-day campaigns for the year and often kicks off their year-end fundraising season.
While some fundraisers start planning for GivingTuesday as early as April, now is not too late if you haven’t started, according to fundraisers and consultants who have done well raising money on that day. The Chronicle talked to these experts, who shared key tips on how your organization can maximize its chances of success on this big fundraising day.
Band together.
GivingTuesday may feel like a solitary undertaking, but talking to other nonprofits about what they’re doing can help, says Lisa Schillace, national director of #iGiveCatholic, a coalition of Catholic nonprofits that band together to encourage donations on GivingTuesday. Schillace runs meetings that facilitate idea sharing among the participating groups.
“I see our role as providing space for shared learning, shared inspiration — what we call #HolyPlagiarism,” she says. “If somebody is doing something great in Beloit, Kan., and I want to do it in Richmond, Va., I can. This is a unique opportunity to be able to collect the wisdom of our community and share information.”
Share Omaha gathers more than 600 nonprofits to participate in a GivingTuesday campaign. The initiative puts together logos and branding and serves as a clearinghouse for donors who want to give to Omaha-area charities on GivingTuesday. Donors can give to their favorite charity, but they’re also encouraged to donate to other charities in a cause, with options to give to as many as 10 nonprofits via the campaign site.
Organizations can also join forces on a smaller scale. In 2022, the Chronicle reported that the Coral Springs Museum of Art, in Florida, partnered with the nearby Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital for a joint Bob Ross-inspired painting event on GivingTuesday.
Start early, when possible.
Give your organization time to get together all the GivingTuesday marketing material. That includes social-media branding and logos, advertisements, and language for emails and direct-mail appeals.
Schillace brought together the Catholic charities that want to participate in this year’s event way back in April to share ideas. She thinks that was a bit too early — they’re going to push it to May next year. But considering options early is helpful, she says.
For more tips on how to prepare for GivingTuesday, read Rasheeda’s full story.