#GivingTuesday Fundraising Ideas & Tips for 2023
Kick-Off Year-End Fundraising Campaigns with Giving Tuesday
We Can Help with Free Websites and Giving Tuesday Fundraising Ideas
Giving Tuesday is celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) each year. It is a global generosity movement and fundraising campaign aimed at transforming the holiday season from receiving to giving. The goal of #GivingTuesday is to get people to give some of what they typically spend during the busiest holiday shopping days following Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday to charitable causes. So, when is Giving Tuesday 2023?
Giving Tuesday 2023 will take place on the 28th of November.
Donors are looking for causes to donate to on Giving Tuesday. The challenge is to stand out from the crowd and inspire donors to give to your cause. #GivingTuesday is an opportunity to share the stories that make your school or charity’s mission come to life and reap the benefits. Here we provide Giving Tuesday fundraising ideas and resources to help your nonprofit effectively tap into this day of generosity and kindness.
See why DoJiggy is a great choice for online and virtual fundraising
Engage Supporters with these Giving Tuesday Fundraising Ideas
GivingTuesday is a day of global giving and coming together to create a better world. All types of giving and generosity are supported and encouraged on this special day. So instead of just asking your supporters to donate to your cause (do that too!), why not engage them to help your organization fundraise and grow? Here are some ideas to raise funds and grow support for your organization on GivingTuesday.
Host a Special Peer to Peer Fundraising Campaign
To inspire your supporters, peer to peer campaigns can be tailored to your organization. If you are on a swim team, why not do what you love best and swim to raise money for the team? Baseball and softball teams can host hit-a-thons, and all types of organizations can host Community Serve-a-thons. If you don’t have a custom peer to peer campaign in mind, walkathons are an all-around hit. Most everyone can participate and what a great way to get out of the house and get some exercise after all of that Thanksgiving eating?
Crowdfunding software is a must for successful peer to peer campaigns! Our peer to peer software allows administrators to easily set up an event with personal fundraising pages, leaderboards, fundraising thermometers, prizes for top fundraisers and more. Engage your supporters with a peer to peer event!
Find a Matching Gifts Donor
There is another way to raise more money from donors without asking them to give more of their own money. We’re talking about matching gifts for nonprofits, which are a type of corporate giving program that can be one of many strategies to boost all of your fundraising campaigns.
Companies large and small offer matching gift programs. General Electric started the first matching gift program in 1954, Microsoft has the biggest corporate giving program, and Soros Fund Management offers one of the most generous matching gift programs. Nonprofit crowdfunding might be the new kid on the block in fundraising, but matching gifts can still be an effective way to raise more money, even from those who donate to your crowdfunding campaigns.
Create a Board of Directors Challenge
Fundraising is part of your Board of Directors‘ job description. So why not get them engaged in Giving Tuesday fundraising campaigns? Your nonprofit board members are some of the best ambassadors for your organization. They typically are excited about your cause and have business and corporate contacts. What better way to engage them in Giving Tuesday fundraising than a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign? Make it a contest for your Board – who can raise the most via their connections and personal fundraising pages?
Who Runs #GivingTuesday Fundraising Campaigns?
Organizations of all shapes and sizes participate in #GivingTuesday to kick off year-end giving each year. Some groups that participate include:
- Local nonprofit fundraising campaigns of all kinds
- National-level nonprofit chapters
- Private & public schools
- Colleges & universities
- Foundations
- Corporations and businesses that raise funds for their beneficiaries
- PTA and PTO groups
- Neighborhood, community, or homeowners associations
Virtual Fundraising Ideas for #GivingTuesday
Many organizations have been hit hard financially by canceled fundraising events during COVID. There is a way forward. By reworking your nonprofit’s fundraising strategies, your organization can continue fundraising and engaging your supporters virtually throughout this global pandemic. This only works if you can engage your constituents and donors with effective virtual fundraising ideas.
We’ve compiled this list of the ten best virtual fundraising ideas for nonprofits and schools. So get creative and find one that works for your organization.
DoJiggy recommends the following Elementary School Fundraising Ideas:
- Virtual Walkathons and Fun Runs – Walkathons make great, healthy fundraisers that almost anyone can participate in and enjoy. Add a walkathon theme to make it more fun. Virtual walkathons are great fundraisers for schools that can raise a lot of money with few upfront costs.
- Virtual Happy Hours and Performances – Get your Livestream ready! Virtual performances work great for bands and choir fundraisers.
- Online Product Sales with P2P Pages – Virtual merchandise sales are a no-brainer for no/low contact fundraising. Our simple stores make it so easy you can get set up and selling in no time. This is another great school or team fundraiser.
- Fundraising Raffles – Online raffles are the perfect way to raise money for many groups. We offer the ability to incorporate peer-to-peer fundraising in raffles, where fundraisers sell raffle tickets via a personal fundraising page. Our raffle software can even randomly select and notify winners. Just find a prize and go!
- Charity Auctions – All you need are great auction items and our software. Simply create your fundraising auction website and add unlimited auction categories and items. Set the time for online bidding to start and begin advertising your auction via online and social media channels. Bids are made online and via text to bid. Auction winners are automatically charged and winning bid notices can even be automated.
- Livestreamed Talks or Conferences – If you can find an expert or experts in your field, hosting a paid online conference or talk is a great way to raise money and position your organization as an expert in the field.
- Virtual or UnGalas – Since large-scale galas aren’t really possible, some organizations are turning to virtual galas. Pour a glass of wine, and don’t worry about finding a designated driver.
- Bikeathons – Much like virtual walkathons, bikeathon fundraisers can be run virtually with just a few tweaks. Bikers create a personal fundraising page and commit to biking for your cause.
- Grocery or Food Delivery Campaigns – Since many people are staying in to promote social distancing, why not sell groceries or other items online and deliver them right to your donors? Create and sell online food packages with a theme – for example, Italian Night or Mexican Night. Get supporters to volunteer and deliver the packages.
- Custom Crowdfunding Campaigns – Mission-driven crowdfunding campaigns are almost always successful. These can be Bird Walks for conservation groups, hit-a-thons for baseball teams, or swimathons for swim teams. Just do what your organization and supporters do best in a virtual format.
How to Start an Official #GivingTuesday Campaign
Join the #GivingTuesday Movement
Once you’ve settled on a Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign, it’s time to get registered. List your organization with GivingTuesday to get started. You must be a 501(c)3 nonprofit or a community group committed to benefiting a 501(c)3 to join the movement.
Jump Start Giving Tuesday Now
What we suggest is getting an early start. Start your campaign at least two months in advance. Set up a donation website where donors can easily go online and make their donations. During the busy holiday season, some donors will appreciate being able to make their #GivingTuesday contribution early.
Find Your Inspiration
Sometimes the best way to gather inspiration is to see how others have successfully gone before you. To gather GivingTuesday inspiration, head to the Case Studies section of the #Giving Tuesday blog. Here you will find nonprofit, charity, corporate, and more #GivingTuesday success stories. You may see someone that inspires your next great action to success.
Ask Board Members to Lead
The members of your Board of Directors are an amazing group of leaders. They could team up and enlist their business and employees to create a matching gift fund for monies raised on #GivingTuesday. By announcing that your Board is matching gifts on that day, you could increase the amount raised, spread the word faster and create incredible momentum leading up to #GivingTuesday.
Corporate Friends Count
#GivingTuesday is a great opportunity to deepen a collaborative partnership with your corporate supporters. Reach out to companies that love your work and suggest a donation for dress down day, a volunteering day of action where their team members can be put to work in the community or ask their marketing team to share the social media love. By helping your nonprofit to spread the word about #GivingTuesday, they are showing the compassionate side of their business.
Use Social Media
By using the #GivingTuesday hashtag on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or anywhere else you have a presence on social media, you are bringing awareness to your mission. Your constituents should know that you are part of this movement. And with the global presence of #GivingTuesday, your social media efforts may garner the attention of new followers to your work. Measure and track your social media impressions, clicks, shares, donations, and comments. By knowing how you performed this year, improving your performance for next year will be easy.
Stories Are Key
We all know that sharing the stories of how your nonprofit’s mission has touched the lives of others is a key way to create support. By gathering as many stories from clients, families, grant partners, or anyone your work has touched, you can use them to highlight your work. Let their words speak for themselves. Once you have the stories, create pull-out quotes to share on the various social media channels, which link back to your donation website. People give to people, and by highlighting real-life stories, your work becomes real, and people are more apt to support it.
Thank Yous and Tracking
The only way to get better for next year, and to know that you are, is to measure your success and impact. Start with your financial goals and keep records of your campaign and how much was raised. Always be sure to thank donors and let them know about your success. Discover ways to improve next year. Start planning early to make the greatest impact.
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