Maximize Your Fundraising Efforts on Giving Tuesday and Beyond

Giving Tuesday is upon us! On this day, we do good, we give, we fundraise, and we bring people together to support the causes that are dear to them. On this day we share the message and spirit of generosity.

Although online fundraising is not a new phenomenon, the restrictions caused by the pandemic have caused nonprofit organizations and donors to further embrace it as the new normal. Although some in-person fundraising campaigns will resume, their online alternatives are here to stay for several reasons:

• Online fundraising reach: Nonprofit fundraisers and charitable organizations are no longer limited by the proximity of potential attendees. In-person fundraising events can be held in California, and prospective donors in say Florida can join virtually.
• Online fundraising campaigns are faster to implement.
• Unlike in-person invents that come with associated costs, online fundraising is more cost-effective.

This year, we strongly recommend that your nonprofit continue to focus on social media fundraising. If your nonprofit organization sent fundraising mailers or emails in the past couple of weeks, chances are that they got crowded out in a barrage of campaign mailers and emails.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising on Giving Tuesday

The more advocates a nonprofit organization has for its cause, the better chances its chances of accomplishing its charitable goals. A fundraising campaign improves its chances of attaining its fundraising objectives with more fundraisers fundraising on its behalf. Hence the reason why peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns are a must, especially on Giving Tuesday. Peer-to-peer fundraising platforms give a nonprofit organization the opportunity to create a network of fundraisers, who intend can reach out to their peers, thereby bringing in more contributions.

First a reminder of what peer-to-peer fundraising is all about. Peer-to-peer fundraising is simply a fundraising campaign that is aimed at peers reaching out to each other on behalf of a cause. Peer-to-peer fundraising gives nonprofit organizations and fundraisers the opportunity to recruit more fundraisers, thereby reaching more prospective donors.

Peer-to-peer fundraising makes the most of limited resources through recruiting an army of current, as well as new, supporters.

Turbocharge Team Fundraising

Start with your current supporters and create a friendly competition for them to reach out to their social media friends and create their own network of fundraisers. Facebook is perfectly set up for this. Facebook has tools for its users to create their own fundraisers and set fundraising goals with a fundraising thermometer of their individual goals and progress. Create a leaderboard to highlight fundraisers with the largest fundraising teams in real-time.

Go a step further by helping your fundraising team in the following ways:

• Suggest compelling narratives
• Create hashtags so that fundraisers and supporters can easily amplify posts across multiple social media channels
• Incorporate cover images that those who have donated can incorporate on their social media cover images
• Don’t forget to acknowledge and celebrate milestones

Go Beyond Giving Tuesday

A few years ago, Black Friday deals were only on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Shoppers stood in line for hours to get the latest iPhone, etc. Over time, organizations have extended ‘Black Friday’ deals beyond Friday. In some cases, these deals remain for weeks. So why should we stop at just ‘Giving Tuesday’? In other words, Giving Tuesday should not be regarded as a one-day fundraising campaign, but rather the start of a longer campaign. Build on Giving Tuesday to turn it into a Giving Week, and why not a Giving Month?

Ride the Coronavirus Wave

As I write this, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is a cause for concern. Throughout the pandemic, nonprofit organizations have been the de facto boots on the ground, servicing those who have been borne the brunt of the pandemic. Although the worse is behind us, and our vaccination rates keep improving, wherever applicable, it is important to make the fight against the coronavirus a part of your fundraising narrative.

Comply with Fundraising Registration laws

With online fundraising, donors can contribute towards your cause from wherever they have access to the internet. Can your nonprofit legally accept donations from a state that you are not registered to solicit donations? What amount triggers the requirement to register in a particular state? What follow-up activity triggers the need to register? Etc. If you have any questions about fundraising registration and compliance, please do not hesitate to contact one of our registration specialists for a free and no-obligation consultation.