On May 5th, #GivingTuesdayNow was a special day of philanthropy for many charitable organizations and overburdened nonprofits that are experiencing an unprecedented need caused by the ongoing pandemic. Even though the global day of giving has ended, the opportunity to turn new donors into loyal supporters is just beginning!
To keep the momentum going, below are some ideas that will help you leverage your #GivingTuesdayNow success and encourage donor support year-round.
Show Appreciation to Increase Digital Fundraising Engagement
#GivingTuesdayNow inspired communities and individuals to come together to drive a spike of generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation and support for communities and nonprofits around the world. After rallying your community and donors to donate to your fundraising campaign, a sincere ‘thank you’ can go a long way. In fact, according to research, 65% of first-time donors don’t make a second gift – and 80% of those donors say a simple “thank you” would convince them to make a second donation.
Your organization has a chance to stand out by sending a follow-up thank you email to all of your donors. Nonprofits should also consider expressing appreciation to donors as an opportunity to tell the organization’s story, report community impact, let donors know it’s not too late to give, and inspire them to make a monthly contribution.
When crafting your thank you letters, be sure to personalize your message with name, donation details and sign it personally to make your donors feel special. Emphasizing the positive impact that their contribution will make and outlining the projects that their donation is going to support will make donors feel connected and involved with your organization. Don’t forget to ask donors to follow your social media accounts and encourage them to sign up for more information.
Launch a Monthly Giving Program to Grow Digital Donations
Nonprofits can continue raising money and keep up their #GivingTuesdayNow fundraising momentum by building a monthly giving program. A monthly giving program will increase the number and size of donations you receive each year by allowing donors to give a specified amount to your organization each month automatically. These programs are often a reliable source of financial support and only take minimal administrative work to keep them running.
Through these programs, donors are more likely to feel invested in your nonprofit’s work and stay engaged longer. To begin, dive into your donor database and identify which donors would be most interested in a monthly giving program. Generally, those who give smaller amounts are more suited to a monthly giving program.
It doesn’t matter how great your program is if people don’t know about it, so be sure to promote your program through all of your channels and include monthly giving as an option on your nonprofit’s default donation form. Through beautiful, branded forms like those created through Panorama by FrontStream, nonprofits can maintain the look and feel of the organization’s website for their monthly giving program. When building mobile-friendly digital donation forms, organizations can personalize the giving experience with custom fields and questions to elevate the fundraising experience. Your supporters are already using smartphones and tablets to visit your website, so ensure your end-of-year donors can give securely by using mobile-optimized digital donation forms.
Keep Donors Engaged through Virtual Fundraising Events
Don’t miss out on the chance to examine your #GivingTuesdayNow donor data and turn it into actionable insights that can give your year-round fundraising a boost. For instance, consider keeping new and longstanding donors engaged with targeted email campaigns. Through a platform like Panorama by FrontStream, nonprofits can create unique email campaigns for donors that include opportunities to become more involved with the organization, such as participating in virtual fundraising events like online peer-to-peer events or online auctions.
During this challenging time, nonprofits should implement the latest digital fundraising technology to support donor participation and accelerate digital donations throughout the year. By leveraging technology and the tips above, nonprofits can encourage their communities to continue giving what they can to the unprecedented need cause by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as create more lifelong donors.
Download our free guide and eBook now to learn how to launch a monthly giving program and motivate donors to give more.
