Lessons From Motivate Monday | How are you keeping your #GivingTuesday donors?

December 3, 2018

The 92nd Street Y and United Nations Foundation launched #GivingTuesday, a day of international charitable giving, on November 27, 2012.

The idea was in response to the rampant consumerism and commercialism of the holiday season. Since its inception, #GivingTuesday has expanded into a movement-driven effort, a rallying cry against the worst kind of capitalism. #GivingTuesday has encouraged people to donate money to charitable causes, collectively uniting to fight against consumerism. As you probably know, thousands of nonprofits participate in #GivingTuesday.

The thing is, with so many nonprofits vying for donors’ attention, it’s hard to stand out in the crowd.

During another MotivateMonday session, I talked about how your nonprofit can take advantage of #GivingTuesday and work it right. Consider it a chance for you to reach out to the donors who decided to give to your organization. To show them that their choice to give to you was the right one. To show them your gratitude.

If you want to keep your donors, you have to thank them. I’m betting that most donors who gave on #GivingTuesday weren’t even thanked, or thanked badly. As with most things fundraising, it helps to have a plan. Begin with the end in mind.

Here’s a general idea of what your plan for maximizing #GivingTuesday should look like.

1. A branded thank you redirect page is the first step in a positive online giving experience, especially on an occasion like #GivingTuesday. Check out this post about how you can optimize your thank you redirect page. You want it to be personalized.
2. Follow up the donor’s gift with a thank you email, again, personalized. None of that Dear Friend nonsense, please. Here’s a template to help.
3. Follow up the thank you email with a phone call or a personalized thank you video. Here’s a thank you call script.
4. Follow up the thank you email or video with a personalized thank you letter. Here’s a Thank You Letter template.
Sit back and take some time for this Motivate Monday power half hour, where I go into all of these steps in more depth.

Motivate Monday is a free 30-minute weekly training sponsored by Bloomerang. Sign up for what many call “the only newsletter I actually READ” to get notifications.

Related Posts:

Tagged as: #GivingTuesday, giving tuesday

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: