giving days done right

GIVING DAY CAMPAIGNS Creating a Culture of Philanthropy With Chris Taft and Yvonne Carlson

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YOUR PRESENTERS

CHRIS TAFT Account Director [email protected]

Yvonne Carlson Director of Client Relationships [email protected]

Giving Days…

ü Help you acquire new donors ü Provide a springboard for

future fundraising activities ü Create excitement about

your organization

Promote A Culture of Philanthropy

•  It is a rallying cry for your community •  Instills behaviors that are important to establishing a

philanthropic culture •  It sets philanthropy as a priority for your organization •  Establishes a peer network that is important to creating a

culture of philanthropy •  Instills a culture and identity…that part of being a donor,

alumni, volunteer is being a part of a group that is responsible for the organization and its long term success

Giving Day campaigns engage the University community bringing an increase in awareness and understanding of the role of a donor in supporting University priorities, goals, and funding needs.

A Culture of Philanthropy in Higher Eds

Make Your Donors The Heroes

FACTS ABOUT GIVING DAYS:

60% of people who donate on Giving Days are new donors. Since #GivingTuesday launched in 2012, there has been a 470% increase in online donations on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Example: North Texas Giving Day 2014

WWW.NORTHTEXASGIVINGDAY.ORG

ü  26% of donations were first-time givers to the nonprofit ü Donations from all 50 US States, 6 territories, and 28

countries ü Donors made gifts at a rate of 18 gifts per second

throughout the day

Giving Days Achieve Big Results!

Campaign Duration Donors Dollars

#ElonDay 2015 27 hrs 2,703 $702,000 Notre Dame Day 2014 24 hrs 4,049 $918,518 Umass Amherst’s UmassGives 2013 36 hrs 1,588 $84,000 Washington and Lee’s Give Day 2014 24 hrs 4,300 $1,400,000 UT Austin 40 for Forty 2015 40 hrs 2,000 $367,690 Boston University Giving Day 2014 24 hrs 2,872 $1,110,000 Arizona State University 2014 36 hrs 908 $3,059,000 Colgate’s WCRU Radio Campaign 2013 24 hrs 5,683 $5,100,000 Columbia University’s Giving Day 2013 24 hrs 9,700 $7,800,000

Giving Days Build Year to Year

Campaign Year 1 Results Year 2 Results

#ElonDay $100,000 $702,000

Notre Dame Day $918,518 $1.6 Million

Umass Amherst’s UmassGives $84,000 $112,000

UT Austin 40 for Forty $125,000 $367,690

Columbia University’s Giving Day $7.8 Million $11 Million

Keys to Success

HOW TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES AND PLAN A SUCCESSFUL GIVING DAY

A FEW CHALLENGES OF GIVING DAYS

ü  Staff ü  Time ü  Technology ü Communication ü Metrics and Tracking

#1 ANALYZE YOUR DATA TO DEFINE YOUR GOALS

Analyze your current donor database to discover new opportunities and develop the best approach.

ü  Establish your overall fundraising goal based on insights from your data. ü  Determine the number of new donors and total participants you want to reach. ü  Set segmented participation goals (young alumni, local donors, etc.). ü  Determine in advance how you are going to measure your goals.

What Is Achievable? 50 Social Ambassadors X 10 donors each = 500 donors

16 Alumni Chapter Leaders X 10 donors each = 160 donors 20 Student Volunteers X 10 donors each = 200 donors

10 Faculty & Staff X 10 donors each = 100 donors 8 Email Sends to 15,000 Recipients @ .05% Response = 60 donors

Total Donors = 1,020 Total Revenue = $117,300*

* $115 average gift assumed, does not include matching gifts

Plus additional giving from: Faculty Giving, Matching Gifts, Phone Calling Program

Goal Setting Example: Higher Ed

#2 PICK A DATE

If you are not partnering with a regional giving day, pick a day that is significant to your organization that will not compete with another significant event. Or look for opportunities to drive revenue in lower performing months.

#3 PICK A THEME

Your giving day should be centered around the core mission and values of your organization. Let your vision drive the campaign.

#4 BUILD INTERNAL CONSENSUS AND IDENTIFY YOUR INFLUENCERS

•  Building internal consensus is extremely important especially if your organization is large and complex.

•  The more buy-in you can get from all levels the more

successful your campaign will be.

#4 BUILD INTERNAL CONSENSUS AND IDENTIFY YOUR INFLUENCERS

•  Which individuals have the most influence at your organization? If you’re not sure, see who has a robust social media following.

•  Do you have media relationships you can leverage?

#5 DEVELOP A COMPELLING EXPERIENCE FOR DONORS: CASE FOR SUPPORT •  Start looking for stories that would drive your case for

support. •  Use compelling mediums like images and video to tell

stories that make an impact.

•  Consider tying your campaign to a matching gift or specific program.

#5 DEVELOP A COMPELLING EXPERIENCE FOR DONORS: CASE FOR SUPPORT

•  Create an omni-channel experience.

•  Be sure to coordinate your communication efforts across every channel, including mobile.


•  Be intentional with your email strategy. •  Start early. •  Don’t be afraid to send multiple emails the day of the

campaign.


Start Early

•  Segment donors and tailor messages to reach them.

•  Target donors with relevant content and contextualized asks.


•  Personalize your communications. People give to people.

•  Create a personal experience that resonates with each individual donor.


Let your donors share their experience. Encourage them to share the campaign by asking engaging questions that tie to your mission.

#6 LEVERAGE THE POWER OF “VIRAL FUNDRAISING”

Equip social ambassadors with social content and images for your campaign.


Create templated emails for your key influencers and board members to share.


Reward participants for recruiting donors.


#7 LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER

Questions to ask - How will you…: •  Deliver and personalize your communications? •  Track engagement with campaign assets? •  Cultivate relationships prior to the giving day? •  Accept, process, and track payments in real time during

the giving day?

#8 BE INTENTIONAL WITH YOUR FOLLOW-UP

Have a plan for how you will steward gifts at every level the day of and following the giving day. •  Staff •  Personalized thank-you’s •  Receipts •  Thank-you video

How We Can Help

•  Strategic planning •  Goal setting •  Building consensus •  Case and story development •  Online / offline communications •  Social media strategy and execution •  Landing pages •  Technology infrastructure •  Video production •  Follow up stewardship communications •  And much more

Pursuant Resources

Download The Ultimate #GivingTuesday Field Guide at pursuant.com/intelligent-fundraiser

www.ShareRewards.com

QUESTIONS?

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giving days done right

Government & Nonprofit