Giving Tuesday

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are now followed by Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to charitable giving. Made popular by social media, this philanthropic effort is gaining wide popularity and participation by businesses and non-profit organizations alike. But how do non-profits and businesses get involved?

WHAT IS GIVING TUESDAY?

In 2012, New York’s 92nd Street Y, a Jewish cultural and community organization, partnered with the United Nations Foundation to begin Giving Tuesday as a global day of giving. Three years later the day is growing in popularity and becoming more recognizable.  As the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving approaches there are ways to get involved.

HOW CAN A BUSINESS GET INVOLVED IN #GIVINGTUESDAY?

CREATE A #GIVINGTUESDAY MATCH PROGRAM

In an article written by Ryan Scott for Forbes he points out that “Everything you do has to be authentic, meaningful and relevant, or your impact will be next to zero.” One way to achieve this is to conduct a matching program. For each dollar employees donate on #GivingTuesday, their company will donate matching funds to an organization that means something special to the business.

USE #GIVINGTUESDAY FOR VOLUNTEERING

Dropping a couple dollars into a jar or clicking online may not yield the reward many of your employees are seeking. Volunteering may be the “hands on” reward experience a team needs to build working relationships and discover an even great reward. Be sure to select your activities and benefiting organization carefully. Make sure they are set up to handle a “mass volunteering” situation. Finally, make sure there is a “thank you” reward for the volunteers from your business. Whether a t-shirt, a meal, or even a group photo—be sure there is a memento of the effort.

SUCCESSFUL GIVING + #GIVINGTUESDAY = GREAT MORALE

Make the effort real for your team. Business executives and non-profit leaders should plan a time of celebration. Create a party or gathering time that will bring the business employees and volunteers together to celebrate the fundraising achievements. This helps to strengthen the bond between the two institutions; ultimately connecting names and faces of those involved.

HOW TO PROMOTE INVOLVEMENT AND ACTION FOR #GIVINGTUESDAY

TIPS FOR ALL #GIVINGTUESDAY PROMOTIONS

Promoting your businesses involvement in #GivingTuesday needs to be handled right. Here are some tips when putting together your program and promotional materials:

• Choose the benefiting organization carefully and coordinate efforts with them
• Coordinate goals and giving methods with the benefiting organization
• Show your involvement and activity with images or video
• Create promotional materials to encourage more involvement and awareness
• ALWAYS have a call to action

INVOLVE YOUR CLOSEST SUPPORTERS THROUGH EMAIL MARKETING

Creating an email marketing campaign that will connect your customers to the organization that you support is a great way to get involved with #GivingTuesday. Getting your employees involved and showcasing how everyone is helping will inspire even more action from your email base. Linking your organization of choice within the email will allow interested persons the ability to share in a season of giving.

SHOW—DON’T SHOUT—YOUR INVOLVEMENT OVER SOCIAL MEDIA

What made the Ice Bucket Challenge so successful? It showed people participating. Spreading the word and sharing your involvement is what social media is all about. Use the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #UNselfie (the unselfish selfie) to show what you’re doing with photos, video, or written entries from team members. Showing your involvement will bring far better results than simply promoting via social media. Don’t forget to include a call to action for the targeted charity or cause.

USE ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNAGE IN COMMUNAL SPACES OR POINT OF PURCHASE

Where are your team members or customers spending time? Often times point of purchase displays help to create impulse spending or impulse giving. Utilize free space, or create areas around cash registers to help increase awareness of #GivingTuesday. Create a flier, poster, or standing graphic that can be placed near purchasing areas to help generate donations. Employee break rooms, next to the coffee pot/water cooler can keep other team members informed. Don’t forget to have your call to action be actionable by those who may not be online.

DRIVE PARTICIPATION WITH THOUGHTFUL DIRECT MAIL

Despite a lot of misconceptions, direct mail donation campaigns are becoming more effective. A coordinated effort with a direct mail specialist can focus the “ask” to reach the target demographic. Create a postcard or mailer now that can be sent out at the opportune time requesting donations and building awareness to make #GivingTuesday even more impactful. Act now to get programs in place!

#GIVINGTUESDAY NUMBERS ARE ON THE RISE

In a recent report from Blackbaud, a founding partner of #GivingTuesday, online tracking and trends determined some interesting findings. Since their creation in 2012 #GivingTuesday has had double digit growth each year. Initially, larger scale non-profit companies saw larger donations, but in the past year a significant trend toward smaller non-profit organizations have been noted. The most notable trend that they noted was a 17% growth in donations received from a mobile or smartphone device.

Article Taken from SignalFire Marketing Agency Read more HERE

 

Be on the lookout for how you can participate in our Giving Tuesday Campaign HERE each November!