Mark your calendars for #GivingTuesdayNow on May 5th!
Wait - back up - wasn't Giving Tuesday before Christmas?
Yep, and here's the sequel. #GivingTuesdayNow is organized by the same organization behind Giving Tuesday, the biggest annual day of charitable giving after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, “designed to drive an influx of generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world.”
#GivingTuesdayNow is the same idea but with a focus on emergency response to COVID-19. If your organization's programming includes COVID response OR serves clients who are being impacted by the economic/social/political fallout of COVID-19, #GivingTuesdayNow may be a great way to kick start your fundraising campaign.
And speaking of urgency, we're less than two weeks out. Time to get started yesterday. But not to fear - we've got a fundraising plan and timeline to help you blow away your fundraising goal on May 5th.
Here's your #GivingTuesdayNow Gameplan:
Today: Register your nonprofit on GivingTuesday.org to get on GTN's list of participating organizations
Tomorrow: Blast out your #GivingTuesdayNow announcement email. Let your supporters know that you are participating, set up your online giving portal, and update your website. (Don't freak out if this seems like a lot, you can push it back a couple of days, but the sooner the better!)
Over the Next Week:
Pitch your local press - here is a sample press release to get you started
Consider a match or challenge grant to build extra excitement on #GivingTuesdayNow
Email a May 5th calendar invite to everyone on your donor list - even if you don't have an actual day-of-event (we're social distancing, people!), remind your donors with a calendar event
Begin your social media blitz - tweet, post, share, and invite your followers to join you on May 5th (be sure to use the hashtag #GivingTuesdayNow - GTN will be sharing/retweeting content with this hashtag)
May 4th: "One Day to Go" email blast and social media messaging so everyone knows you are in the final countdown
May 5th: The big day!
Morning Email: Today is the big day - donate now!
Afternoon/Lunch Time Email: Don't forget - donate today!
Evening Email: Only a few hours left - help us make our #GivingTuesdayNow fundraising goal!
All-day on social: Go bananas - you will be competing with hundreds of other organizations so you've got to be LOUD if you want to be heard
May 6th: It's not quite over yet
Time to say thanks - to your staff, donors, volunteers, and community!
Goal Update: If you met your GTN fundraising goal, let your supporters know! It's time to celebrate! And if you didn't quite make it, that's ok - extend your GTN campaign through the end of the week to pull in those last few dollars.
A Couple Notes on Messaging:
Encourage early participation. Remind your donors that even though we're building up to GTN, they don't have to wait to donate. In fact, the sooner the better!
Make your donors the heroes. Your content should have more you-s than I/me/we-s. Focus on talking about and to your donors.
Use the free #GvingTuesdayNow nonprofit toolkit and brand assets to make your campaign cohesive and streamlined.
Have questions about your fundraising appeals, messaging, or social media strategies? We're here to help. Shoot us an email: annie@high-road-services.com
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