In a world facing countless challenges and inequalities, even one day of generosity and compassion can transform lives and communities. We have all seen the power of Giving Tuesday and how individuals across the world embrace the chance to give unsparingly for 24 hours. But that excitement does not need to be limited to one day a year! Your nonprofit can use giving days throughout the year to rally individuals, businesses, and organizations to drive significant change in a short amount of time.
What Is A Giving Day?
A giving day is a focused and time-limited event dedicated to inspiring generosity. Giving days bring together individuals, businesses, and organizations to rally support for non-profit causes and amplify their impact. Through a combination of fundraising efforts, community engagement, and storytelling, giving days aim to create a surge of donations and raise awareness about the vital work your nonprofit organization is doing.
Giving days are so powerful because they invite people from all walks of life to participate in the collective act of giving by even contributing small donations. They empower individuals to become agents of change through crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising, irrespective of their financial capacity. The cumulative effect of these seemingly small contributions can be transformative, creating a wave of generosity that elevates nonprofit organizations and brings about tangible change where it is most needed.Giving days not only generate financial support but also help build long-lasting relationships between organizations and their supporters, fostering a sense of trust and commitment to their causes.
The Benefits Of Giving Days
Giving days offer several notable advantages for nonprofits and the communities they serve by attracting donors, raising awareness and encouraging action.
Attracting Donors
Giving days create a sense of urgency and excitement around your organization’s cause and can attract both new and existing donors who are motivated to contribute during this specific period. The concentrated effort can lead to a significant increase in fundraising outcomes, allowing organizations to meet financial targets, fund crucial projects, and expand their impact.
Raising Awareness
Giving days help raise awareness and visibility for non-profit organizations. These events provide a platform to share your organization’s mission, stories of impact, and the challenges you seek to address. Through targeted marketing and community engagement strategies, Giving days reach a broader audience and introduce new individuals and potential supporters to the organization’s work. The increased visibility not only leads to more donations but also opens doors for partnerships, volunteer engagement, and long-term support.
Encouraging Action
Giving days foster a sense of community and collective action. They bring people together around a shared cause, creating a sense of unity and purpose. Donors, fundraisers, volunteers, and organizations collaborate and engage in a collective act of giving, inspiring others to participate and make a difference. This effort builds a strong sense of camaraderie and fosters a culture of philanthropy and social responsibility.
Get started by downloading a copy of our customizable giving day checklist.
Download Our Free Customizable Giving Day Checklist
How To Host A Giving Day
There are a few steps needed to host a successful giving day. Following these tips will ensure your nonprofit has a well thought out funding strategy and will get your audience prepped and excited to support your cause. Here are six key steps to think through in order to execute on giving day:
- Pick A Date
- Set Clear Goals
- Plan The Campaign
- Spread The Word
- Leverage Technology
- Follow Up
1. Pick A Date
When choosing a day for your nonprofit’s event we recommend choosing one with relevance or significance for your cause. This could be something like Earth Day for an environmental organization or an anniversary for your nonprofit. Avoid holidays or events that may have people preoccupied and thus less likely to be engaged.
2. Set Clear Goals
It is important to define your fundraising target, donor engagement goals and impact-oriented objectives. As the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” It can be scary to set big goals, so aim for targets that are ambitious yet attainable. Push your organization outside its comfort zone but be realistic about your financial needs and the potential generosity of donors.
With this, set a goal for the number of donors you hope to engage and retain from giving day. Use measurable targets to track growth of your donor base and the level of engagement achieved. Finally, outline the desired impact of the giving day. Is it to raise enough money to fund a specific project? Drive awareness around an issue? Expand your program? Set goals that align with your organization’s mission and communicate the tangible outcomes you aim to achieve with the funds raised.
3. Plan The Giving Day Campaign
To ensure the success of your giving day campaign, carefully consider your approach to engaging donors and attracting new contributions. Begin by crafting a compelling narrative that highlights the impact of your organization’s work and emphasizes the importance of donor participation. Develop marketing materials to generate excitement around your giving day and create anticipation among potential donors. Centralize your campaign on an online donation platform that is easy to share and navigate, streamlining the giving process and facilitating progress towards your fundraising goals.
In 2023, Spur Local teamed up with CauseVox for their annual Give Local Campaign, introducing innovative elements to boost engagement. One feature was a real-time donation counter and countdown timer, offering donors instant updates on the campaign’s progress.
Additionally, Spur Local implemented a “power hour” concept, occurring four times a day, where the nonprofit with the most unique donors during the hour won a $1,000 prize. CauseVox’s automated tracking and display of donor tallies streamlined this process, driving enthusiasm and donations towards specific organization pages.
4. Spread The Word
Once you have your narrative and marketing materials down, it is important to create a comprehensive strategy to share your organization’s story. You can leverage social media platforms by sharing engaging content, impact stories and calls to action. Encourage your supporters to share posts and tag their network to amplify reach. You can also engage with influencers or ambassadors to share your giving day and expand your reach or tap into new audiences. You cannot over-promote a giving day! Share often and share wide.
HALOS uses an impact story to remind people their Giving Day is coming with a link to the page to donate.
This is also a great chance to use the power of email marketing to craft a campaign where you can share compelling reasons to participate and include clear instructions on how to donate or get involved leading up to giving day. On the start of giving day, send an email letting your supporters know it’s go time!
5. Leverage Technology
CauseVox has many tools at your disposal to create a captivating, seamless and hassle free giving day. Crafting a donation page that makes it easy to give is essential for the success of your giving day, as most donations will be given online. You can provide various payment methods to cater to different donor preferences. Using social media integrations to easily share your donation page is a great way to spread the word and mobilize people outside your immediate network.
This is a great time to utilize peer-to-peer fundraising. CauseVox offers robust peer-to-peer fundraising functionality, which empowers supporters to create their own fundraising pages and rally their networks for donations. Encourage your donors to become fundraisers by sharing their personal stories and leveraging their social connections. This amplifies the reach and impact of your giving day campaign.
Peer-to-peer fundraising campaign for a Giving Day
Work smarter, not harder by leveraging our built-in communication tools. CauseVox provides tools such as email templates, automated thank-you messages, and progress updates. Utilize these features to regularly communicate with donors, fundraisers, and participants throughout the giving day- providing them with updates, expressing gratitude, and keeping them engaged.
The beauty of CauseVox’s donation platform is that you can access data and analytics easily. Use the comprehensive information on donor behavior, fundraising progress, and campaign performance to provide insights into your giving day’s success. This will help your organization identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your fundraising efforts in the future.
6. Follow Up
As always, it is crucial to follow up with donors to continue fostering both old and new relationships. Start by expressing gratitude, no matter how many times a person has given. After all the hard work and excitement of your giving day be sure to send personalized thank-you messages to all donors, fundraisers, and participants who contributed. Showing sincere appreciation for their support and highlighting the impact their contributions made will help them feel valued. It will also make them more likely to donate again in the future!
It is helpful to keep supporters informed about how their donations are making a difference even after the giving day. Send emails to the donors to provide updates on the progress of projects or initiatives that were funded through the giving day. Share success stories, testimonials, and images to illustrate the impact of their generosity.
Finally, continue to foster ongoing relationships with your donors. Use the momentum generated by the giving day to cultivate long-term partnerships with donors. Regularly communicate with them through newsletters, emails, and social media to keep them engaged with your organization’s work, upcoming events, and future opportunities to support your cause.
Benefits of Hosting Your Giving Day With CauseVox
CauseVox’s platform provides a seamless and feature-rich solution for hosting impactful giving days. With customizable campaign pages, peer-to-peer fundraising capabilities, and robust communication tools, you can engage donors effectively and optimize your fundraising efforts. Here’s a quick overview of what we offer:
- Tailored Giving Day Website: Craft a custom-branded site tailored to your mission, enhancing engagement and excitement among supporters.
- Branded Site: Utilize CauseVox’s intuitive drag-and-drop tool to design a fundraising site that aligns with your organization’s identity.
- Mobile Optimized: Increase completed donations by accepting multiple payment options through CauseVox’s mobile-friendly platform, ensuring a seamless and personalized giving experience.
- Personal and Team Pages: Foster collaboration with dedicated personal and team pages, allowing individuals and groups to raise funds seamlessly and contribute to the collective impact.
- Upgrade Donor Engagement: Elevate donor engagement with CauseVox’s visionary donation form and enhanced donation carts, transforming transactions into meaningful interactions.
- Impressive Site Dynamics: Generate excitement and urgency during your giving day with real-time site dynamics like progress bars and leaderboards.
- Plus, so much more!
Download Our Free Customizable Giving Day Checklist
This article was published on 7/31/23 and edited for freshness on 4/27/24.
