Giving Tuesday tips that can work all year

Giving Tuesday tips that can work all year

Everyone knows about Black Friday, the day on which retailers across the country offer massive sales to make up for slower times during the year and get back “into the black.”.

Then came Cyber Monday, when retailers offered sales online to grab consumers who hadn’t spent everything they planned to spend or bought everything they wanted by Black Friday weekend.

Nonprofits and charity organization didn’t have a seat at the table during the most spendhappy week of the year. Enter “Giving Tuesday,” the day on which nonprofits from coast to coast make a concerted effort to appeal to shoppers’ sense of peace on earth and goodwill toward men to help them meet their obligations and fulfill their missions.

But to succeed on Giving Tuesday, you need to do more than just ask a few more people.

You need to have a multi-layered marketing plan involving targeted charity PR as well as connection efforts and narratives that grab attention and compel action.

Successful facets of such a plan include initiatives in both traditional and online methods.

The web methods can involve new interacting web content, email campaigns, digital ads, social media interaction and advertising.

These efforts should be planned months out, and implementation efforts should begin at least 4 to 6 weeks prior to Giving Tuesday. Efforts should include increasing the names and quality of contacts on your lists.

Initial connections should be made without an offer or an “ask.” Show people what you are doing, along with a standard donation offer button, but don’t mention Giving Tuesday just yet. The idea here is to define yourself to your audience. Give them an emotional connection and a reason to connect and stay connected.

As you get closer to the Big Day, start adding a visual “badge” about Giving Tuesday to all communications, including your website, social media page and all emails or newsletters.

This sets the table for the eventual ask and encourages people to be more curious about opportunities. Remember, this needs to come after you have seeded the market with multiple reasons to give.

Along with these online efforts, try some more traditional methods. Ideas could include a “thank you” party to celebrate #givingtuesday donations. Sell tickets, but offer good value.

Make it a real Event. Long before the Big Day, talk to a corporate sponsors about matching donations or suggest that they could be a title sponsor of your “thank you” event. The beauty of doing an event at this time is that it comes before all the traditional end of year holiday functions, so you don’t get lost in all the noise and crowded calendars.

The key is to make giving easy, to give them a good reason to give, and to offer good value for their donations. This #givingtuesday may be past, but it’s not too early to begin thinking about what you can do to get more out of next year.

Phil Shawe is a CEO based in New York.