In the words of the late Yogi Berra, “You can learn a lot by watching.” Obviously, you can pay close attention to the blunders of others to make sure you avoid those same mistakes, but it’s also helpful to take into account what others do right. If you’re still wondering what to do for your #GivingTuesday campaign, why not take a look at some of the most successful nonprofit campaigns from 2014 according to #GivingTuesday.com. Here are some of the things they did.
Use #UNselfie
The Michael J. Fox Foundation had one of the most successful campaigns raising a total of $348,201. The cornerstone of their success was their use of #UNselfies which gave donors the opportunity to explain why they gave to an organization. Donors to the foundation shared a total of 107 #UNselfies and the nonprofit organization received over 5,000 word of mouth endorsements for the Foundation on social media.
Make it Your Day
Try creating a hashtag around your cause. Dress for Success and Fergie Footwear turned #GivingTuesday into #GivingShoesDay and asked people to donate professional shoes to help women in need be prepared for job interviews. The day before the event they engaged their social media audience by asking them to post how many shoes they planned to donate.
Have Your CEO (or Sheriff) Participate
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Washington locked the Thurston County Sheriffs in a cell at the local mall. They promoted the Big Bailout on social media through videos, graphics, and photographs and raised $5,500 in seven hours.
Offer Incentives
Offer your donors goodies for their donations for added incentive. The Road To Hope Fund partnered with Steve Nicks and gave Fleetwood Mac tickets and a Meet & Greet to donors that donated on #GivingTuesday. They began hinting at it on Facebook posting, “Oh boy… do we have something BIG in the works to benefit the Road to Hope Fund. More to come – soon!” two weeks before the event. They consistently promoted the event over the next two weeks, and on the day of the sweepstakes, they raised $5,190 in 24 hours and $13,844 total.
Good Old Landing Pages
Never underestimate the power of a well-composed landing page. The YMCA of the USA World Services created a landing page on their nonprofit website with materials, graphics, and other resources for communities around the world to spread the word about the organization and to encourage donations. They promoted the page through their social media channels by adding a link to the landing page on their Facebook and Twitter posts.
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Combine Online Fundraising with Other Activities
Don’t do all your fundraising at the computer. The Helen Woodward Animal Center raised funds online to provide for 10 orphaned Labrador-Husky puppies while students from the local elementary school helped the center pack food for pets of homebound seniors in the San Diego area. They put an announcement on Facebook one week before the event and were sure to thank their donors once the funds had been collected. They were consistent with how much content they put out and are active all year round so when they posted their initial announcement their followers were expecting content. They generated 1579 likes and 246 shares on Facebook over the entire campaign.
Give People a Challenge
Some people love a dare. The PDS Serve Foundation, which provides free dental care for communities in need, asked its donors to donate $5 to the organization instead of making their daily coffee run. Their Give Up Your Coffee Challenge helped them raise $9,398 dollars in 24 hours.
More Tips:
- Have a Clear Goal
- Emphasize urgency. You only have one day to do this!
- Have a clear Call-to-Action
- Remember SEO
- Keep track of how much you raise
- Thank your donors
To see more strategies taken by nonprofits visit http://www.givingtuesday.org/. It’s full of resources including toolkits, case studies, examples, and samples.
