Last Minute Tips to Maximize Your Giving Tuesday

11 days and counting!

Most #GivingTuesday campaigns have already started – or are set to begin early next week. Here’s a quick list of things to check as you’re putting those finishing touches on your campaign to make the most of your #GivingTuesday!

Is your content and imagery right with our current environment? If you have pulled copy or imagery from previous years, it’s very possible that it may feel out of date in the COVID-19 world we’re living in. If your copy references ‘getting together at the holidays’ – that probably should be updated this year, since many of us won’t be getting together with friends and family this season. Likewise, if the images you’ve chosen feature people together – should they be wearing masks, or clearly social distancing?

Check your email subject lines. How many times have you heard that there are too many #GivingTuesday emails and we need to do more to vary our subject lines so that you don’t get lost in the crowd? Be careful! If organizations are using #GivingTuesday in their subject lines, it’s likely because IT WORKS so don’t make any sweeping changes to your program unless your (statistically valid) testing results tell you it’s for the best. Donors are conditioned to give on #GivingTuesday and if you aren’t highlighting your special #GivingTuesday campaign front and center … you might just miss out. If you want to stand out, potentially look at testing emojis, or other things that may draw attention to your emails – but again, key here is test, test, test!

Evaluate your match. Chances are, your #GivingTuesday campaign likely features a multiplying match offer (1x, 2x, 3x and so on!) If you don’t have a match, see what you can do to make that a possibility – even if just on the giving day itself – because donors absolutely want to see their gift going farther – especially this year. Need help securing match? Here are some tips in our matching gift series from last month. If you do have a match, take a final look to make sure it’s a prominent part of all of your messaging and asks across channels and digital assets.

Take a final look at who you’re asking. Could you be missing any previous year-end or #GivingTuesday responders in your audience selection? Are there lapsed donors who are prime to give at this time of year based on their past giving? Don’t be shy to scoop some of this audience back in as a recapture strategy. Even better if you can vary their messaging specifically to note how critical it is that you hear from them this year.

Make sure to say ‘thank you.’ Your regular auto-responder probably isn’t going to cut it. If you haven’t already, plan a cultivation email a day or two following #GivingTuesday to those who responded, or engaged, with your organization during this time. Competition is high and those donors likely decided to give to you instead of other organizations. Make donors feel good about that decision by saying ‘thank you’ and acknowledging their support in a way that is genuine and personalized. If you have a photo that features a beneficiary of your organization’s mission that’s even better.

If you have any last-minute tips to share, please feel free to reach out and share in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.

Happy #GivingTuesday!