Giving Tuesday is an incredible way for nonprofits to encourage acts of kindness, volunteerism and activism within their organization and community. This #GivingTuesday, Facebook and PayPal have teamed up to match $7 million dollars for funds raised on Facebook. Now is the time for your organization to develop a Giving Tuesday strategy for this year (it’s never TOO late unless it’s November 28th, in which case, start planning for 2019)!
Here are the guidelines for the $2 million dollars match:
- Begins at 8am EST on Tuesday, November 27th.
- Up to $50,000 will be given per verified nonprofit organization.
- $1,000 cap per fundraiser or donate button.
In order to qualify, you must make sure you are a verified nonprofit on Facebook.
- Must be a 501(c)3, US based nonprofit.
- Agree to Facebook’s Community Standards (terms of use).
- Have your bank account information ready. (Facebook doesn’t pass along any fees to nonprofits, so 100% of what is raised will go directly to your organization. Once you have $100 raised, the funds will be transferred into your account. Payouts happen once every two weeks.)
- Have your Executive Director’s birthday so Facebook’s compliance department can cross reference your application.
- Typically a one week turnaround for approval.
Now onto the fun stuff… let’s talk about how nonprofits and their champions can help raise significant funds and awareness on Giving Tuesday! (Download a free Giving Tuesday Brainstorming Worksheet here.)
Nonprofits
Craft Your Campaign:
- What are you fundraising for? Create a theme and a story about why you’re fundraising on Giving Tuesday. Make sure your story is very specific and has a tangible outcome. Don’t just raise funds for your organization as a whole, come up with a particular program, service or item that the money will go towards. For example: Instead of money, a food pantry can talk about meals, a youth program about the number of teens served and a humane society about the dogs they rescued in the current calendar year.
- Let folks know what the funds raised will be used for (think of Giving Tuesday as a Fund the Need opportunity).
- Goal: Facebook recommends starting on the lower side and adjusting it as donations come in. (If you secure donor commitments in advance, you will have an easier time setting a realistic goal.)
- Make sure your campaign is interactive and visually appealing to help your organization stand out from the thousands of others fighting for Giving Tuesday dollars. Here’s a list of some of my favorite tools that can help you as you craft your campaign!
- Create a fun campaign slogan (Giving Tuesday is already taken – wink, wink).
- Brainstorm with your team (staff, board, dedicated volunteers and donors). When you get others involved, not only will you come up with some great ideas, but you’ll also build excitement and buy-in.
Do These Things In Advance:
- Start sharing stories that illustrate your fundraising theme at least 1-2 weeks in advance (or as much as one month in advance). As you get closer to Giving Tuesday, promote more frequently.
- Create teasers that you share on Social Media, your website and emails about Giving Tuesday. Let your supporters know how they can participate. Create a call to action for folks to email you if they’d like to be a Giving Tuesday Champion (more on that below).
- Secure a donor base in advance who are committed to donating to your fundraiser when you launch it the morning of Giving Tuesday (this will help ensure that you receive matching funds from Facebook).
- Enlist your Champions to help you promote your fundraiser and/or create their own fundraiser or Donate button post.
- Connect with businesses who would be willing to create a fundraiser that includes a matching donation. (A verified page can create a fundraiser on your behalf and set up a match for a predetermined amount.)
- Schedule an email to go out to your database the morning of Giving Tuesday.
- Customize your donations amounts to coincide with your Giving Tuesday theme by going to your page Settings and selecting Donations (the default amounts are $20, $50, $100 and $250).
On Giving Tuesday:
- Begin creating your fundraiser BEFORE 8am EST so you can start raising money as soon as Facebook’s matching funds kick in.
- Invite at least 30 people as soon as you make your fundraiser live at 8am EST.
- Create a custom URL using bit.ly so you can access some useful analytics.
- Pin your fundraiser to the top of your page.
- Send an email to those who have committed in advance to donate to your fundraiser to let them know your fundraiser is live.
- Send an email to your Champions to remind them about all the ways they can help.
- Cross promote your fundraiser on your other Social Media profiles using hashtag #GivingTuesday. You may want to schedule these posts in advance, but you’ll also want to provide real time fundraising updates throughout the day.
- Go Live on Facebook at least once during Giving Tuesday. Make sure your video is at least 5 minutes long to allow potential supporters to join in.
- Update folks throughout the day to let them know how much you’ve raised. Keep the momentum and excitement going (consider using a visual or infographic to illustrate these updates OR go Live).
- Use testimonials from clients, staff, supporters and community leaders to further drill down your impact.
- Create a popup window on the homepage of your website to encourage folks to donate to your fundraiser.
Individuals (Champions)
Identify supporters who you think (or know) will be excited about fundraising for you. Champions may include board members, community leaders, volunteers and frequent donors. If you have a solid base of Champions, others will likely follow suit and you may see individual fundraisers popping up throughout the day (and beyond) from individuals you don’t even know.
Here are a few ways your Champions can help:
- Create their own fundraiser.
- Create posts and/or Facebook Live videos with the Donate button.
- Help promote your Fundraiser.
Tips for raising money using the Donate button on a Facebook Live video:
- Have your narrative ready to articulate: why you raising money for this organization, a story that connects you personally to the mission and how your Facebook friends and followers can help.
- Offer a match: I’ll match any money raised, up to $250.
- Remind viewers about the Donate button and how easy it is to give funds to such a worthy cause.
- Interact with your audience.
- Create a challenge that is fun and engaging: If I get 25 shares on this video, I’ll buy coffee on Saturday for anyone who shows up at Starbucks on Main between 2-4pm. If I raise $500, I’ll wear a Mickey Mouse costume to work next week and share photos throughout the day.
- Be authentic.
- Go live for at least 5 minutes to give people the opportunity to hop onto the video and interact.
A few things you should know:
- When someone donates, a receipt is emailed to the email address associated with their Facebook account. They can also view their donations by going to their Settings and clicking on Payments.
- You can download donation reports by going to your page Settings and selecting Donations. Reports are available 48 after a donation is made and include the donor name, amount and email address (if they opt-in to provide their email).
- You can invest in advertising your fundraiser and/or Donate button posts. It may be a way to engage your new and existing audiences.
Giving Tuesday is a great way to take a step back from the holiday hustle and bustle (Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the entire month of December) and give people the warm and fuzzies. It’s your job to stand out from the thousands of other nonprofits asking for funds on this day. Don’t be overwhelmed – plan ahead, get creative and have fun with it!
Here’s a free Giving Tuesday Brainstorming Worksheet! Happy Planning!
