By Emily Rose Patz, Senior Copywriter at DonorPerfect and lead author of #GivingTuesday Ideas for 2018, a new guide designed to equip and empower nonprofit professionals to achieve their #GivingTuesday goals.
#GivingTuesday invites donors, along with their family, friends, and colleagues to share about the causes they care about most as they switch their sights from holiday shopping to give back in a social and celebratory way.
Pair the power of social media with a donor’s passion for your cause
More than a passing fad, crowdfunding is a lucrative fundraising tool that connects your community and builds toward a common goal. Crowdfunding can be especially successful among a social-savvy demographic because a share or a like doesn’t cost supporters a cent.
While your most enthusiastic supporters aren’t always the ones who are able to give big, they can still impact your Giving Tuesday goal in a significant way by joining in your crowdfunding campaign.
These stats show what just one donor can do:
- On average, a donor can raise $568 through an individual crowdfunding page.
- An average donation to a crowdfunding campaign is $66.
- Over 50% of people who receive an email about a crowdfunding campaign donate.
#1. Triple your #GivingTuesday goal with a little help from your friends
Last year on Giving Tuesday, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless used DonorPerfect Crowdfunding for a fun and easy way to energize their supporters to give and share about their $10,000 fundraising goal.
To the delight of Associate Director of Development and Marketing Claire Sloss and their entire staff, their supporters raised $29,619 – nearly tripling their goal!
Because the Coalition’s campaign was such a hit, we asked Claire to share how she makes the most of crowdfunding. Here’s what she recommends:
#2. Build your crowdfunding campaign around donor engagement
Crowdfunding is a great way to rally your supporters around your cause by encouraging them to get their friends on board, too! According to Claire, the important ingredients for a successful donor engagement initiative are:
- Emotion: Appeal to people’s generosity and desire to serve the community around them to make it a better place.
- Simplicity: DonorPerfect Crowdfunding makes it super easy for people to create individual fundraiser pages and donate online.
- Community: Leverage the “friend effect.” Opportunities to support causes through friends carry a lot of weight.
#3. Choose a solution that leads to donor relationships, not one-off gifts
Many crowdfunding tools don’t give nonprofits donor data beyond first and last name, so you’re left unable to resolicit donors. When you’re looking for a crowdfunding solution, make sure you are able to obtain and record donor data and gift information into your donor management system.
#4. Use a giving thermometer to display your campaign’s progress
A giving thermometer allows organizations, individual fundraisers, and donors alike to give to and share your crowdfunding campaign with a goal in mind. On average, crowdfunding campaigns paired with a meter raise 35% more.
#5. Encourage donors to create their own crowdfunding campaigns
In addition to annual events, one of Claire’s board members had a great idea: use DonorPerfect Crowdfunding to set up a form for her birthday. Now, supporters of Chicago Coalition for the Homeless can quickly and easily create a DonorPerfect Crowdfunding form to set up a personal fundraising page for any reason.
Get more #GivingTuesday ideas to maximize donor engagement
Many people celebrate Giving Tuesday, so how will your nonprofit stand out? The key to successfully drawing donors is to create the perfect blend of excitement with easy ways to give. From rallying your supporters through a buzzy crowdfunding campaign to keeping in touch with your #GivingTuesday goal progress on social media, discover many ways to shine online in this brand new free guide, #GivingTuesday Ideas for 2018. Read it now!
