giving tuesday workbook

Planning for

& End-of-Year FundraisingPrepare Your Campaign Now To Maximize Success

Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising

For nonprofit organizations, regardless of size, end-of-year fundraising can result in 40% or more of total yearly donations. From the Thanksgiving holidays through the end of the year, supporters are more likely to be in the mood to make a donation to nonprofit organizations like yours- all you have to do is ask. One way to get supporters in the giving season spirit is to encourage them to participate in #GivingTuesday.

#GivingTuesday = More $$! IF (and it’s a big if), You Work With It

Salsa experts analyzed the participation of clients in 2012 and came to some striking conclusions, with big implications for nonprofits looking to improve their end-of-year fundraising. In a sample of 378 clients with year-over-year fundraising programs in place, analysts found that overall giving was up 33% from 2011 to 2012. What’s really striking is that for the 28 organizations in the sample that participated in #GivingTuesday, their total monthly giving in November 2012 was up 190% from the year before. And, compared to those who did not participate, they raised 170% more during that one 24-hour period. The bottom line? By asking their supporters to get involved with #GivingTuesday, they were able to reap the benefits and drive up donations to support their mission.

With the success of the 2012 effort, #GivingTuesday is back this year, and will be held on December 3, 2013. It’s another chance for people everywhere to give to their favorite 501(c)3 and spread the word so others can do the same. For you, this means it’s another chance to get involved with #GivingTuesday and incorporate the day of giving into an overall end-of-year fundraising campaign.

For #GivingTuesday, Success Comes With Planning Ahead

A successful #GivingTuesday effort, as part of a larger end-of-year fundraising campaign, doesn’t happen overnight. It requires careful planning to achieve. That means starting to plan for end-of-year fundraising during the slower summer months and into the fall, while there is still time to put larger framework and infrastructure in place to maximize success.

One of the best places to start is with the #GivingTuesday website, www.givingtuesday.org. When you sign up to participate, you can download the free partner toolkit that is loaded with useful resources like sample emails and tweets, marketing messages, logos and media materials. With that, you can begin planning.

What is#GivingTuesday?It’s the official start to the holiday giving season. Hot on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday is a chance for people to give back, by making a donation to their favorite nonprofit organization and then spreading the word of their gift to family and friends.

The first #GivingTuesday launched on November 27, 2012. In just 24 hours, more than 100,000 people gave millions of dollars to organizations they cared about, in their own communities and around the globe. Over 2,500 nonprofits and businesses participated, making their financial contributions and helping share the message of giving to their supporters, networks and beyond. Using the power of the Twitter hashtag, #GivingTuesday made an impact on the national conversation about giving, even garnering attention from the White House.



As you work your way through creating your plan, think about your supporter base. Use the time you have before the campaign kicks off to look at your lists and ask yourself a few questions:

• How will you segment your supporters based on the data you have?• What additional data do you wish you had about your supporters?• Can you put processes in place to help you capture that information with new donors who come in through your campaign?

If you’re not using scoring (a way of identifying supporter engagement levels with a single numerical scale based on the actions they take), it’s a good time to explore if your technology will allow you to implement such a system (many CRMs can). You should also decide how you will categorize new supporters who come in through your #GivingTuesday and end-of-year campaigns. Do you want to tag them or assign them to specific groups to target with special messaging over the next year?

Whether these questions get your creative juices flowing, or give a little rise to your blood pressure, we are here to help. Christine Schaefer, vice president of community and marketing with Salsa, created an eight step guide to planning for #GivingTuesday and end-of-year fundraising. It’s laid out as a worksheet to help you through the whole process and give you the opportunity to customize your plan.

8 Steps To Making More $$ #GivingTuesday

1. Take Pre-Campaign ActionStart building lists and testing your stories now.

2. Set Goals to ShareBe ready to tell new and recurring donors what their #GivingTuesday donations will do.

3. Get Yourself a StrategyKnow how your #GivingTuesday asks fit into your larger year-end campaign.

4. Plan ResourcesBe real about what you have to work with and plan accordingly.

5. Hug Your Data. Hard.Segmenting your audience and message will get you much bigger results.

6. Say It Proud! What Will You Say?Have you been communicating accomplishments to donors yet this year? Start now so they feel warm and fuzzy about their last donation before you ask again.

7. Be SocialBuild up your social following ASAP. Find out who your most active followers are, and then engage them heavily to spread the word on #GivingTuesday.

8. Don’t’ Forget the Nurture.Don’t just one and done donations on #GivingTuesday. Have a follow-up plan to turn those donors into recurring supporters.

Read the full description of each step at

www.salsalabs.com/giving-tuesday

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This worksheet is designed to help you get your plan in place for a successful #GivingTuesday and End-of-Year Fundraising campaign. Each step provides you the link to a blog post with the specific details about what you’ll need to consider to develop your plan. Then, jot down your thoughts here.

Plan Your Pre-Campaign Actions

Before you start planning your end-of-year fundraising campaign, spend some time thinking about your nonprofit’s big picture. This will help inform your campaign plan. Get going on this step at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step1

Steps You Are Taking To Grow Your Online Support - ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stories You Can Share (plus metrics to back them up) - ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

List Your Accomplishments And Back Them Up With Metrics - ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Planning for #GivingTuesday & End-of-Year Fundraising Planning Worksheet

Step

#1

! Pre-Campaign ActionsStep back and think about how you are going to build your supporter base, inspire them to action and analyze what’s working and what isn’t.

Think of ways to foster a giving addiction!

Set Your Year-End Fundraising Campaign Goals

What are you trying to accomplish with your year-end campaign? Do you want to reach new donors? Get repeat donors? What about increasing your average donations or total $ amount? Have these goals in mind before you start creating your plan. Get more information at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step2

Define Your Goals Below - ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Develop Your Strategy

To help you map out your strategy, think about each of the areas described above in the context of your organization, your goals and your audience. Follow the steps below to help tie it all together and get details at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step3

Organize Your Data - Take an inventory of your supporter data to see what you have to work with. Take a look at donation history, repeat donors, new donors, etc. Where are the donations coming from – are they a result of email efforts, social media and so on? This will help inform how you message to these audiences and where to focus your priorities. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Determine Channels - What channels, online and off, will you use to reach your audience, promote #GivingTuesday and your year-end message? Are there any partner resources you can take advantage of, for example the #GivingTuesday partner toolkit? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Step

#2

Step

#3Don’t ForgetShare your goals – make sure everyone is bought into them before you proceed.

Develop Your Message Framework - How will your message be constructed? What work do you need to do to get the necessary story elements to develop your message later? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What Is Your Post-Donation Engagement Plan - What’s the plan for a standard thank you or auto-responder email?” Are you going to ask them for a second donation right before the end of the tax year? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Plan Your Resources

Think about what resources (human, partner or technology) you’ll need to make your plan work. This includes everything from web development or data management platforms (CRM, email, marketing automation, etc.) to partners or major donors who can be advocates for you and help you achieve your goals. Don’t forget to use #GivingTuesday resources! For everything you’ll want to consider, read the step 4 blog at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step4

Assess Your Resources - Do you have any gaps? Who is in charge of creating, managing and tracking campaigns? How can you fill those to help you achieve your goals?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Step

#3

Step

#4

Hug Your Data, Hard!

This Is Critical. You want to make sure you are sending the right message to the right person. This will not only increase your email open rates and click-throughs, but reduce your opt-outs. So segment your data, plan on checking your response rates and donations regularly to adjust your tactics and message accordingly. Learn more about scoring and tagging at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step5.

Assess Your Data - Do you have tagging in place? What about scoring? What steps do you need to ensure these are working for you in the best ways possible?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Develop Your Message

Notice how far along in the process we are before suggesting that you should even start thinking about your message? Yet another reason to start planning early. Think about your campaign theme or narrative; plan your messaging calendar – everything from emails, landing pages and calls to action (don’t forget to make them time-bound).Every stage of your campaign should have messaging that fits your audiences needs best. There’s lots to think about with messaging, so be sure to read the Step 6 blog at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step6.

Identify Your Theme Or Narrative Arc - Think about what issues resonate with your #GivingTuesday audience, with those who are unfamiliar with your cause or with those who are familiar with your nonprofit but are engaging for the first time. Think of ways to connect with their emotions (go back to the stories you identified in Step 1).

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Step

#5

Step

#6

Start Tagging NowIf you haven’t tagged in the past, now’s the time to start. This will help improve your ability to segment your supporters and deliver the right message and increase the chances of recurring donations.

Plan Your Messaging Calendar - Think about the following elements: • What is your theme or story? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • What’s your proposed launch date? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Who’s your advocate? (Someone who can speak to your message and/or coordinate your campaign messaging): ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • What’s your call to act/give? (Don’t forget to make it time-bound) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • What website updates need to be made and by when? (Landing page, banners, etc.) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • How are you going to integrate #GivingTuesday and year-end with your other online, offline and social media activities? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Be Social

Start being social now. #GivingTuesday is a social event, but you’ll need to do more than just start a Twitter account. Get engaged early and get people used to seeing the #GivingTuesday hashtag in your Twitter feed. You should also plan your creative content now (the memes, images, infographics and messages that you’ll post on Facebook and Pinterest).

Outline your social media plan below. Identify the content you’ll need to develop that will drive engagement, a calendar for posting your content. Get help in the blog at https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step7.

Social Content - Revisit your campaign goals, themes, stories and messaging to inform the content you’ll need to drive engagement and have the maximum impact.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Posting Schedule - Plan your social calendar in advance and align it with your wider campaign messaging calendar. Remember regular posts drive engagement.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Step

#6

Step

#7

Prepare To Nurture

Don’t just send one-time “thanks for your donation” emails. Plan a follow-up nurture campaign to turn new donors into engaged supporters using welcome and automated emails. Suggest another donation at the end of December for tax benefits. Follow through with donors and let them know how their $$ have made a difference. Based on their activity levels (“scoring”), find ways to further engage them through volunteering, activism or spreading the word for your cause in targeted, systematic messages.

What’s your nurturing plan? Successfully implementing supporter nurturing campaigns requires laying a stable groundwork of responsibilities, understanding, and processes. The checklist below will help ensure you start off on the right foot. For all the specifics, visit https://www.salsalabs.com/eoyf-step8.

Create clear goals and objectives

Hug your data, hard!

Determine your message quantity and frequency

Segment your donors

Develop your messaging

Automate your emails

Define your metrics

Determine responsibilities

Test, test, test


Step

#8

4

Don’t have an online organizing system for scoring, tagging, automated emails and social publishing? Let us fill your gap. Contact us for a FREE trail of Salsa!

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