April 10, 2020
GivingTuesdayNow (#GTN) is coming up on May 5th. This is an effort to help charities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic raise much needed funds. This is your opportunity to host a donation page on your website, Landing Page, and/or Facebook and gather donors around your cause. Here are a few quick tips to help you maximize your efforts as May 5 approaches.
Start Now
Setup your donation page today (see my example donation page). ClickBid has free donation pages as part of your annual software license. Just a few minutes of setup and you will have a donation page loaded and ready to go. Your donation page will act as the home base for your appeal, and with ClickBid’s easy to use tools, you can continue to add and revise content at any time before or after you publicize your page.
Tell A Story
Your donors will appreciate and are more likely to respond to a story to help connect with your appeal. This is where honesty and transparency are key. If these funds mean the difference between staying open or closing, tell them. Clearly define your charity mission and its impact on those you serve. What does your charity do today that is so important? What will it do tomorrow with the help of donations? Remember that your donors do not know what you know about your charity. Be clear about your needs. Here’s an example from BuildOn.
Be Specific
While these donations help keep the doors open, you should find one or two areas that are the most important to tell your donors. What will the dollars go to specifically? For instance, you may be giving grants to help individuals with disabilities. Give a specific example. What needs do your recipients have that your grants support? Examples with names or pictures will help solidify the ask.
Updates
Every few days add or change a photo to keep things fresh. Get feedback from donors you know and trust. For example, they may recommend a few changes to your content or they may give you a photo that you can use. Visitors to your donation page will return from time to time and the new content will show that you are very active in this effort. Adding ClickBid’s appeal display to your donation page is a great way to provide dynamic content, showing real time totals of donations that have come in.
As you get closer to your goal, let people know how much this means. Give thanks with updates via email and on the donation page. Each update should be shared on your social media outlets as well. This will give you much more exposure during the campaign.
Be Consistent
This one can be tough. However, it is critical to set a plan and stick to it. Determine how many times you want to send email updates to your donors. Then, put those times into your calendar with reminders. Even if the message is brief, it is a chance to remind donors about your campaign page. It also shows those who have donated that you are committed to consistent communication.
Today is the day to get your campaign rolling for what promises to be a huge boost for nonprofits on May 5th. Starting now will help you connect with your donors multiple times and give them ample opportunity to participate in your campaign. If you’re a ClickBid customer, be sure to set up your free donation page using the tips provided. If you’re not a ClickBid customer and want to use our donation pages, please reach out and we can help you get setup quickly for a great GivingTuesdayNow campaign.
