We’ve all been there – you go to read about a topic, and the next thing you know, your whole day has flown by. You fell into the rabbit hole, and your current search is far from the original one. You started looking for fundraising trends; now you are watching cat videos. It happens to the best of us.
Here’s a search term you might be considering tossing into the old Google bar today: #GivingTuesday. Wouldn’t it be great if someone would just share with you what they’ve recently read on the topic?
Good idea!
As brick-and mortar-and online retailers gear up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, those of us the world nonprofits and associations are gearing up for #GivingTuesday. Here are The Last Five things I’ve read about the topic.
- What are giving days?
Nonprofit Quarterly published a look at this model at the beginning of the year. This article talks about collaborative giving days, which are based on, “encouraging the idea of philanthropy first and specific charities second.” It is filled with links to other helpful articles on social giving, gamification, and donation processing. It is a good read for those of us who want to learn more about the overall concept of giving days.
- Know Before You Go
Hashtags get us all excited. We see them take off and we want to ‘tag’ along for the ride (#sorrynotsorry for the bad joke). But, it is important to know before you go, so my next stop each year is the #GivingTuesday website. Here you will find the history of the day, #GivingTuesday by the numbers, tools to help you plan your #GivingTuesday, case studies, logos and graphics, and curriculum for educators.
- How did 2014 look?
Here’s a great article on Mashable that shares some stats and shows some #unselfies for inspiration. Online giving was record-setting in 2014, and the article cites a 63 percent growth in total giving.
- One click leads to another
That Mashable article led me to click on a link to a great infographic from The Case Foundation with historical stats dating back to the inaugural #GivingTuesday in 2012. Here, you will see year-over-year growth in participating states and countries, social media engagement, partner organizations, nonprofit participation and money raised. This is great information to have on hand when convincing a data-driven board of directors or executive director of the success your organization could see by participating in #GivingTuesday.
- A Contrary opinion
This opinion piece published in The Chronicle of Philanthropy suggests #GivingTuesday has become “begging Tuesday,” and the author challenged nonprofits in 2014 to give vs. solicit donations. This concept jumped out to me because I just shared my tips for donor thank you letters (which includes not asking for another gift within the context of a thank you letter), and I have recently poured over the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s public trust poll issue (October 2015), which noted that nonprofits can sometimes be seen as begging vs. fundraising.
Of the last five things I’ve read, the contrary opinion jumped out to me the most. I recommend utilizing #GivingTuesday as yet another day to thank your donors for what they have already given. I suggest a split plan that allows your organization to accept donations and focus on communicating with current donors and volunteers. For example, did you communicate what happened with the funds raised during your 2014 #GivingTuesday efforts? If not, perhaps this would be a good time to highlight your good work.
Let’s Collaborate: The success of #GivingTuesday hinges largely on smart communications. What are your plans to get your message out early and intentionally?
