Introduction to Giving Day books

Having observed 100+ Giving Days, we have enough data to conclude that Giving Days can provide a major boost to your fundraising efforts.

‍

‍

What is a Giving Day?

A Giving Day is a powerful online fundraising campaign conducted for 24 hours with the purpose of raising money and finding new donors. On every calendar, there are special days, or holidays, dedicated for different purposes or activities. For example, most calendars automatically include holidays like Independence Day, Mother’s Day, and Halloween. A giving day could be one such special day marked on your school’s event calendar, dedicated to fundraising and known to your constituents as a special day for your school.

‍

‍

How are Giving Days different from any other day of the year?

If you’re asking yourself why a designated day should be any different from any other day of the year, read on. While your constituents can donate throughout the year, asking them to participate in a 24-hour event exclusive to a cause helps create a sense of urgency. Giving Days also help create healthy competition and a sense of community as your constituents get an opportunity to contribute towards a common goal.

‍

Why are Giving Days so important to schools or universities?

A well planned Giving Day can entirely transform your fundraising approach by helping you acquire new donors, enrich the giving experience, and instill a culture of giving in your constituents.

‍

‍

Need more information on how to plan for a Giving Day? Click on the image below to get a free copy of our Planning a Giving Day Handbook today!

‍

‍

With the overwhelming success that Giving Tuesdays have shown to have brought to schools and universities across the globe, it is time we started talking about how to make the most of your Giving Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday, widely recognized as an annual day of giving, is a great opportunity for your school or university to engage with potential donors and raise funds. 

With Giving Tuesday 2021 just around the corner, here’s our checklist to help you plan an awesome Giving Tuesday. 

‍

Plan ahead & set clear goals

1. Choose your core team, define responsibilities, and have regular meetings to plan and track execution

2. Set a defined structure, target audience, and actionable goals while creating the plan

3. Finalize the budget

4. Identify and begin to solicit prospective donors and other sponsors

5. Create a branded donation page to showcase your school spirit. Data shows that donors are much more comfortable to donate on a donation page that looks like yours than to an unbranded Venmo or Paypal page.

‍

Build a compelling campaign theme

1. A unique and compelling theme helps your donors connect better and acts as an incentive for them to donate to a cause that they believe in. One of our customers, Don Bosco Prep High School raised more than $25K, asking its alumni to donate towards the specific cause of building a Wellness Center for its students. 

2. Build all of your communication collateral about the Giving Day around it

3. Create a unique hashtag to help spread the word about your Giving Day further and faster on social media.

‍

Mobilize your ambassadors

1. Bring your ambassadors on board to promote your Giving Day and take ownership or share your team’s responsibilities

2. Solicit personal appeals from influential people of your school like teachers, famous alumni, board members, etc. further inspiring donors to donate

3. Spread the word about your Giving Day extensively amongst your faculty and staff inclusive of board members, class representatives, and chapter admins

Ensure a smooth giving experience

1. With recent trends suggesting that an increasing number of donations are being made from mobile devices, ensure that your platform is mobile compatible

2. Enable peer-to-peer solicitation for your donors to reach out to their network

3. Display challenges and leaderboards to help donors get a sense of their contribution and encourage more participation through healthy competition

‍

Leverage social media marketing

1. Create a detailed communication plan and calendar much ahead of your Giving Tuesday

2. Build a social media toolkit to help your team and ambassadors promote your Giving Tuesday campaign

3. Use Facebook or Instagram Live scheduling to actively engage with your donors and share with them live updates on the day itself to influence bigger contributions.

‍

Leverage different content formats & multiple channels

1. You don’t have to necessarily stick to one format or channel. Experiment with multiple formats such as images, videos, or long-form captions.

2. Videos can help a great deal in the promotion of your Giving Tuesday campaign and encourage donors. Just a short video created with a smartphone can create a more personalized approach aimed at your donors. Try to involve the head of school or faculty in creating these videos.

3. Utilize offline channels to promote your campaign. Publishing updates in your print newsletter and distributing flyers in local coffee shops are some of the techniques you can try to publicize your campaign offline.

‍

Thank all those who contributed

Sending a simple and short thank you email to your donors at the end of the day is a great practice to let them know how thankful you are for their contribution. Ensure that this note doesn’t ask for another donation and instead, only is a means of expressing gratitude. The thank-you gesture has shown to have increased the chances of the same donors contributing again.

Giving Tuesday has become a global movement that celebrates and supports giving and philanthropy with events throughout the year.

We wish your team make it BIG and make the best of this Giving Tuesday.

Need more pointers on planning your Giving Day?
Check out our Comprehensive Guide on Planning A Giving Day for Schools & Universities.