Last Minute Dos and Don'ts For Giving Tuesday

The largest global giving day of the year is just around the corner! Did you know that 20 million people gave on Giving Tuesday 2022, raising more than $3.1 billion for nonprofits worldwide? If you don't have a plan in place for the "Global Giving Movement," you're missing out on an opportunity to raise more money this year by attracting new donors and engaging the ones you already have. But if you are capitalizing on this opportunity and are working tirelessly to finalize all those details and communications, let's talk about some last-minute tips and tricks to help you survive and thrive on the big day!

If you’ve followed DRG for a while, you may remember Lynne's Giving Tuesday secret shopper experiment. Each year, she donates to a number of nonprofits and documents her experiences. From those experiences, we've developed a list of dos and don'ts to guide your strategy for Giving Tuesday 2023.

Do:

• Create an experience for your online donors - it should be clean, simple, and make them feel good.

• Develop a strategy for these donors - these aren’t your average donors, and you shouldn’t treat them as such. Some nonprofits do a separate campaign just for Giving Tuesday. Decide how you’ll communicate with these donors and how you’ll engage them when all the glitter and excitement from Giving Tuesday wears off.

• Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. This is a given, but just in case your giving site is still living in 2010, now is the time to make sure it’s responsive and easy to use on any mobile device.

• Pay attention to details - Click through your giving page. Better yet, make a gift to your organization online or ask someone who isn’t familiar with your website to do it for you and share their experience. What was it like? Was it easy to navigate? Was the form simple to understand and complete - even on a mobile device? Check for typos, broken links, and error messages.

• Create a giving button that inspires! Something like "Keep the Fight Going" is so much better than “Make a gift” or “Submit.”

• Provide donors with a way to share their support on social media and make sure the share button is properly configured.

• Engage with your donors on social media - Make it personal, and please make sure to spell the donor's name correctly in your response. Details matter!

• Design a confirmation page that leaves your donors smiling and feeling great. Use an uplifting image, thank them, and let them know how much you appreciate their gift.

• Create a fabulous thank you email. No, a gift receipt doesn’t count. Make it personal and make the donor the hero - because they are! Bonus points if you include a video! (I always recommend Thankview for personalized thank you videos).

• Use beautiful images. Draw the donor in with a compelling image that resonates with them and speaks to the mission of your organization.

• Provide giving amounts that make sense, or better yet, use mission-based ask amounts. Are there specific dollar amounts that can really make an impact at your organization? Show your donors what their gifts can do upfront.

• Give donors an option to sign up as monthly supporters. A pop-up window is a great way to remind them that they can make an even bigger impact.

Don’t:

• Provide a minimum gift amount. I once tried to make a gift to an organization that wouldn’t accept anything less than $20. PASS.

• Ask for another gift the same day - seriously? I can’t even believe I have to say this but it has happened more than once.

• Send a receipt as a thank you email. Please be more creative than this.

• THASK - Do not ever combine a thank you and an ask. Nothing feels more insincere than, “Thank you for your $50 donation, but can we have some more?” This shouldn’t happen on Giving Tuesday or any other day. Stop it. #nothasking

• Mail the thank you or tax receipt - unless it’s a handwritten thank you card, then you can mail that! Online gifts = digital communications. Your donors are telling you how they want to be engaged by the way they are engaging with you. Listen and respond appropriately.

• Make your suggested gift amounts outrageously high. You can choose what’s best for your organization, but always be sure include a reasonable amount ($10, $25, etc.) and an “other” option. Don’t be this organization.

• Ask your donors to pay your bank fees - this is the cost of doing business!

• Forget the most important thing to do is to THANK YOUR DONORS. Once, twice, preferably seven times before you ask them for another gift.

Hopefully, you can avoid some of these pitfalls this year and truly make your Giving Tuesday stand out and shine! November and December are the single biggest giving months of the year – just because you have an influx of donors and workloads become heavier, don’t let your donors, especially Giving Tuesday donors, fall into the black hole and lose their importance and stature. Make sure to develop specialized ways to steward and communicate with these donors past January 1st – your dedication to THEM will translate to their loyalty to YOU.

Share your Giving Tuesday successes with us below!