Giving Tuesday is over, and you’ve likely started taking inventory of your efforts. Did you reach your goals? Did your campaign stand out?
Fortunately, the holiday giving season remains in full swing, which means your team has plenty of opportunity to continue raising support for your end-of-year initiatives. And, when leveraged strategically, the remaining momentum from your Giving Tuesday campaign can help elevate and drive your year-end efforts until the ball drops at midnight.
Here, we’ll walk through the following best practices for maintaining your organization’s Giving Tuesday momentum:
- Thank your supporters for participating.
- Provide updates on Giving Tuesday success.
- Follow up on matching gift opportunities.
- Share expectations and goals for the new year.
- Send year-end fundraising appeals in the final few days.
By the end of this guide, you should feel prepared for the remainder of the giving season with actionable tips and tricks for making the most of existing Giving Tuesday momentum.
Let’s begin.
1. Thank your supporters for participating.
A huge component of successful nonprofit fundraising involves communicating your gratitude for the donors who make your work possible. Following Giving Tuesday (as well as all other fundraising and engagement activities), it’s essential that you take the time to follow up with your supporters and thank them for their involvement.
This may include:
- Mailing a handwritten thank-you letter
- Sending a detailed acknowledgment email highlighting donation impact
- Making a personal phone call to thank the donor for their support
- Highlighting major supporters in your newsletter, social media posts, or donor wall
- Giving small gifts such as branded merchandise or nonprofit swag
- Crafting a gratitude video
- Hosting donor appreciation events
As you consider your options, remember that personal touches can go a long way toward establishing ongoing donor relationships and increase the likelihood that supporters are willing and eager to participate time and time again.
Not to mention, a timely and targeted “thank-you” message keeps your nonprofit and its mission at the top of your donors’ minds.
2. Provide updates on Giving Tuesday success.
The donor journey doesn’t end immediately after an individual clicks “submit” on their recent donation. In fact, the period post-donation is particularly valuable in terms of donor engagement and increased giving momentum — especially following a high-profile campaign such as Giving Tuesday. After it ends, your donors will want to know the results of your efforts.
Consider these tips as you do so:
Brag on your success. Whoever said, “it’s not nice to brag,” was not talking about sharing your accomplishments after a successful fundraising campaign. In fact, doing so is essential, especially post-Giving Tuesday. After all, your supporters played a huge role in your team’s fundraising efforts, and they deserve to celebrate alongside your team as the campaign is wrapped up.
Communicate results in terms of tangible impact. Your donors might be wowed by a statement that your organization collected more than $25,000 in a single day. But in order to drive emotional connection, it’s important to highlight the mission value that newly raised funding will bring to your team (like 5,000 meals for kids in need). That’s why your supporters give in the first place, and helping intertwine fundraising results with cause-related impact can go a long way.
3. Follow up on matching gift opportunities.
Double the Donation’s matching gift statistics report that $4 to $7 billion in matching gift funding goes unclaimed each year, largely due to a lack of awareness and follow through by match-eligible donors. That’s why organizations are taking the initiative to follow up with qualifying supporters, and the end-of-the-year giving season is the perfect time to do it.
More than likely, a portion of your organization’s donations collected on Giving Tuesday qualify for corporate matching through your donors’ employers. But without additional messaging in place to provide information to eligible donors and encourage them to complete the matching gift request process, a ton of that funding is likely to be left on the table.
Luckily, when you enlist matching gift automation tools, like DonorDrive’s integration with Double the Donation, you can streamline the identification of matching gift opportunities and associated follow-ups with ease — all without lifting a finger. This comes in handy year-round, but particularly in the hustle of the already-busy year-end giving season.
4. Share expectations and goals for the new year.
The end of the year is a great time to reminisce about the highs and lows of the past 12 months, but it’s also an excellent opportunity to look forward to the new year.
Take this chance to consider what you plan to accomplish in the coming year. Then, share your ideas, ambitions, and goals with your supporters. This might include:
- Upcoming fundraising campaign ideas and engagement opportunities
- Mission-related objectives and forthcoming program initiatives
- Fundraising goals for the following year and plans for reaching success
Even if your organization didn’t reach its Giving Tuesday campaign goal, it’s not over yet. Make sure donors are aware of and looking forward to your team’s future opportunities to remain engaged with your mission, despite falling short on a goal.
5. Send year-end fundraising appeals in the final few days.
Giving Tuesday isn’t the only important fundraising day of the year or even of the giving season. According to nonprofit fundraising statistics from Double the Donation, more than 30% of annual giving happens in December, with about 10% of all annual donations funneling in within the last three days of the year.
That means your Giving Tuesday appeal should not be your organization’s last donation request. Donors are still gearing up for their final donations of the calendar year, and if you want your nonprofit to receive that last-minute funding, it’s critical you get your cause in front of your donors as they consider their gifts.
Finish the year-end giving season strong.
Giving Tuesday is a huge day for nonprofit organizations and other fundraising groups. But just because it’s over doesn’t mean your team is ready to sit back and relax.
Instead, making the most of the international giving day should involve leveraging your supporters’ giving momentum throughout the end of the year and into the next one. By incorporating these top tips into your organization’s fundraising strategy in the final weeks of the year, you’ll be all set to drive giving until the very last minute.