This guide contains 10 steps your nonprofit can take to set goals and develop a fundraising strategy for #GivingTuesday. If you haven’t already, register now for #GivingTuesday on Mightycause to access fee-free fundraising for your nonprofit, along with free webinars and fundraising resources. Once you’ve registered, you can shift your focus to start #GivingTuesday planning for the big day on November 28, 2023.
We’ve developed this handy #GivingTuesday planning guide to help you get started!
#GivingTuesday Planning: 10 Steps to Success
1. Select a staff member or volunteer as a point person — someone who has strong leadership and organizational skills and can commit to the entire campaign timeline and process.
This person doesn’t have to do all of the #GivingTuesday planning themselves, but will be organizing your staff and volunteers to make sure everything gets done, so choose someone who understands what steps need to be taken to get the job done at every level. You’ll want to make sure this person is comfortable delegating work and multitasking. A Development Coordinator or volunteer with fundraising experience would be great picks for this role!
2. Determine the focus of your #GivingTuesday campaign. Do you have a specific theme, project, or milestone that you will fundraise for?
Your theme should be easy to understand and have an emotional core. You’ll need to connect with supporters’ emotions to motivate them to donate so make sure your theme gives you room to tell a good story and tug at your supporters’ heartstrings a little.
3. Decide on a goal for your #GivingTuesday fundraising campaign.
Make sure your financial goal is achievable — if you have an amazingly successful day, you can always set a stretch goal to keep donations coming in, but you want to set yourself up for success. Consider the size of your existing base of donors when setting your goal.
4. What channels will you use to fundraise? (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, email, direct email, offline events, etc.)
In addition to identifying the channels you’ll use, start working on a strategy to engage on all of these channels on #GivingTuesday, and how you’ll use these different platforms to tell a cohesive story about your nonprofit’s work. See Creating an Effective Communications Plan for Your Nonprofit for tips that will help you make sure your key messages come across on all channels!
5. Holding offline events at a local business can help drive fundraising success during #GivingTuesday. Where will you hold your offline event?
Work with partners and sponsors in the community who support your nonprofit’s mission.
6. Enlist fundraisers to help raise awareness and money for your cause. Examples include: board members, donors, volunteers, etc.
Not sure about this peer-to-peer fundraising thing? Find out more about why peer-to-peer fundraising is beneficial to your organization and how to execute it by reading Everything You Should Know About Peer-to-Peer Fundraising, and have your fears about peer-to-peer fundraisers addressed in Mightycause Mythbusters: Peer-to-Peer Fundraising.
7. Engage your board (as fundraisers or otherwise) is an essential part of fundraising success.
What are some ways you can engage your board (i.e. competitions, fundraisers)? One way to get your team actively engaged on the day is by recruiting them as fundraisers — why not start a Board of Directors #GivingTuesday team?
8. Providing matching grants from sponsors motivates other donors to give.
Who will you reach out to-to provide matching grants? Get tips and tricks to cultivate these important business relationships by reading Securing Corporate Partnerships for Your Nonprofit.
We’ve also got an entire ebook devoted to the topic! For an in-depth look at matching grants on #GivingTuesday, download the #GivingTuesday Matching Grants Guide!
9. How will you thank donors post-event?
Come up with a plan to keep them engaged in your work after #GivingTuesday, and how you will usher them into your end-of-year fundraising efforts. Check out How to Say Thank You for more info.
10. How will you start to build relationships with new donors?
One of the biggest benefits of a huge giving event like #GivingTuesday is that you’ll have the opportunity to pick up new donors and spread your message to new audiences, especially if you utilize peer-to-peer fundraisers in your #GivingTuesday strategy. Develop a strategy for ensuring that the new donors you pick up on #GivingTuesday stay engaged in your nonprofit’s work and come back to donate to your organization again!
Want more tips for #GivingTuesday planning? Be sure to register for #GivingTuesday on Mightycause to access fee-free fundraising for your nonprofit and other helpful resources.