Preparing for Giving Tuesday and End of Year: The Biggest Opportunity for Charitable Donations

The final quarter of the year is the biggest opportunity for nonprofits to grow donors to sustain their work for 2024. In fact, 50% of nonprofits receive the majority of their donations between October and December. With Giving Tuesday on Nov. 28th and the year-end deadline of Dec. 31st looming, it's crucial to have a strategic plan in place to maximize your fundraising efforts during this period. With Givepact, you can reach crypto donors who are invested in the highest growing asset class; they gave 82x more than cash donors. Be sure to claim your organization’s donation page on the platform.

We’ve outlined a comprehensive approach to help your organization thrive during this season of giving.

When do people donate to charities?

Breaking news in the world and humanitarian crises inspire people to chip in. In fact, according to Forbes, 60% of donors give to a new cause when they see urgency and a need to respond quickly. Leverage the biggest stories relevant to the cause you serve in order to bring attention to your organization. Nevertheless, Giving Tuesday finds that 63% of donors give only on Giving Tuesday. And while Giving Tuesday generates a significant amount of donations, DonorBox reports that nonprofits receive 42% of donations in the last week of December with 20% on Dec. 31st alone.

Make personal connections ahead of Nov. 28th and Dec. 31st

Take advantage of Thanksgiving, to express gratitude to your community and showcase how your organization is making a difference for the people and causes you serve.
Invite your community to hear directly from the Executive Director and impacted people your organization serves over Zoom.
Host Twitter (X) Spaces to share successes and challenges ahead of your year-end appeals.
Take a look at more key dates to engage donors throughout the year.
We’ve also compiled events and conferences to connect with the Web 3 community here.

Build a unique campaign to reach your Giving Tuesday and year-end goals

Based on your organization’s year end performance from 2022, set an achievable monetary goal for 2023.
Increase your donation ask output from 2022. The more donors are reminded, the more likely they are to give.
Be transparent about 2023 goals to encourage donors to help you reach them.
Donors want to know what initiatives their donation will fund in 2024 and years to come.
Pull out the most compelling stories from the years to show your organization’s efficacy.
Deadlines work! The biggest moments are Giving Tuesday on Nov. 28th and midnight on Dec. 31st. Make sure your messaging reflects the urgency to give by these deadlines.
Drive the message consistently on all of your channels including web, email, social media, and SMS.

Matching funds are effective

84% of donors say that they are more likely to donate if a match is offered, according to Double the Donations.
Reach out to your corporate or high-dollar donors who are willing to make their donation part of your matching fund campaign.

Optimize your website for year-end giving and make it easy to donate

Make sure your way to give page is up to date and your Givepact donation page is added, and clearly states that your organization accepts crypto.
Use tools such as Sumo Me (free or $468/yearly for full service) to add website pop ups that drive donors directly to your year-end giving campaign.
Set up Google Tag Manager to track donation conversions.
Include donation links in news blog posts and news you produce in November and December.

Optimize your donation pages to reflect year end goals

If you have the tools, build a unique donation page for Giving Tuesday and another one for End of Year.
Message the page accordingly to match the campaign and goals.
Customize your Givepact crypto donation page to reflect your campaign.

Emails bring in one third of digital revenue

Email marketing generates 28% of all online giving revenue, according to Double the Donation.
Segment your donors and personalize messages:

Those in your community who have never given, should receive a different message than those who have given.

Conduct A/B testing on subject lines and email content to ensure the best performing email is sent to the majority of your audiences for optimal performance.
One email is not enough. Create and schedule several emails to meet your Giving Tuesday and Dec. 31st goals.
Send personal appeals from staff and people that your organizations serve.

Message thoughtfully and inclusively

Craft thoughtful messaging that makes people feel part of your team.
Post frequently in between other non donations ask posts. Remember that people are bombarded with social media and emails. Campaigns need to be hit home consistently over several days.
Use relevant hashtags like #GivingTuesday.

Include LinkedIn in your social media asks in addition to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (X), and Tiktok

LinkedIn is exploding with engagement and is a largely professional audience who may have more means to give. Stand out as an organization meeting your donors where they are.
LinkedIn is also a good place to stand out among philanthropic funds and corporations looking to make a donation to causes that are aligned with their values.

SMS is the most powerful messaging tool to reach community directly

If you haven’t already begun to build an SMS audience, we highly encourage it.
SMS open rates are over 90% higher than any other platform, and are reaching people who will be reliable advocates and supporters.
SMS is a great way to generate revenue on major days of giving.
If you’re looking for an SMS platform, we have recommendations here.

Build-in a budget for ads

Create a budget for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google ads that will help increase brand awareness, email sign ups, and donations.

Take advantage of free tools

Canva for designing graphics for social media, your website, and emails.
Chat GPT to help you write content. Make sure you do not rely entirely on this tool, your messaging should be unique to your organization, but Chat GPT can help you get started. You can also use it to copy edit your content.
Facebook Charitable Giving: Facebook remains a giant with 2.89 billion monthly active users. It offers several tools for nonprofits including charitable giving which allows direct donations and fundraiser creation. Sign up to be a verified nonprofit on Facebook — it takes 3 weeks to get approved.
Givepact allows you to accept crypto donations at no cost to your organization. Givepact takes a 5% fee from the donor's donation. Claim your organization's profile and include the page on your donation page.
Google AdGrants - Applying for Google's nonprofit ad program can grant your organization $10,000/month in ad funds, helping drive traffic to your website.
Instagram Reels: Create videos on Instagram reels that you can also repost to Twitter (X), LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Mailchimp is a free email option for organizations with 500 contacts and 1,000 sends per month, with a daily send limit of 500.
TikTok: Create videos that you can repurpose on all platforms.
More free tools here.

Thank and engage with your community at every opportunity

Thank and engage with your community at every opportunity, recognizing their generosity and support.
Conclude every campaign with a heartfelt thank-you message on various platforms, as nonprofits rely on the kindness of their communities.
If you have a small community of donors, consider writing a personal thank you note in the mail.

Track donations and make reports

Make sure you have comprehensive reporting on the number of donors, amount they donated, and which emails and social media posts were most effective.
If you have donation tracking on your website, you should be able to see which sources drove the most donations.
To improve on future campaigns, you have to have a frame, a reference from previous results and an understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

As the year draws to a close, the opportunity to raise charitable donations is at its peak. By implementing these strategies and harnessing the power of Givepact, your organization can make the most of Giving Tuesday and the end-of-year giving season, ensuring your mission continues to thrive. Don't wait; start planning and executing your strategy today to make a lasting impact on your cause. Join our community on Slack to get support from the Givepact team and other experts.