8 Reasons Why We’re Still Talking About 2019’s GivingTuesday

Do you know what happened less than 90 days ago? GivingTuesday – one of the most powerful donation engines for nonprofits.

Are you thinking, “Okay, but 2019’s GivingTuesday has come and gone, and we are now in a new year, why aren’t we moving on?”

What if I told you, you shouldn’t move on quite yet?  

A common struggle for many nonprofits is wrapping up their GivingTuesday campaign efforts a little too soon and not taking full advantage of this enormous opportunity. Maybe your GivingTuesday campaign strategy included sending a prompt thank you email and a couple of follow-ups, but take a minute and think about how many other organizations were also emailing your donors at the same time – especially during that time of year. Besides that, were your emails that distinguishable? Do you know whether your donors opened and read your message? Are you keeping track of that data?

To help put things in perspective regarding reaching your donors, in 2017, recipients opened just over 18% of GivingTuesday emails, which is less than the 24% average nonprofits’ emails usually enjoy. I can only imagine this has only gotten worse over the last few years! So, your thank you messages just may have gone unread or deleted, and now that donor may be lost for good. Buh bye.

Wait, not so fast – there is still time.

Research shows that the best time for a nonprofit organization to secure a second gift from a new donor is within 90 days of their initial donation. In other words, organizations have a 90-day window to maximize the ongoing generosity and commitment of their first-time supporters. If the supporter follows through with a second gift within that 90-day time period, the likelihood of that supporter continuing to donate on an ongoing basis is exponentially higher. But if that window is missed, there’s a significant possibility they will never give to the organization again.

You are still within the 90-days window! It’s important to make sure you’re doing all that you can to create a meaningful personal connection with your supporters and maintaining your relationships.

Don’t you want to scale your mission?

Here are a few strategies to think about to help retain your GivingTuesday donors.

1. If you haven’t already, follow up each donation with a prompt and personalized thank you note.
2. Build networking opportunities through special events or appreciation luncheons.
3. Facilitate additional volunteer opportunities. Make it easy for your donors to continue their involvement through non-monetary outlets.
4. Learn more about who your donors are, including their interests, family histories, and professional goals. Ask them for their feedback and give them the opportunity to provide it. Then, record all of this information in your CRM.
5. Keep your donors regularly updated with your organization’s progress and impact – it’s important that they know their gifts are being used as they intended.
6. Make connections through social media, and even think about creating donor-specific content, such as newsletters, impact stories, blog posts, photo opportunities, or greeting cards.
7. Find ways of giving your donors “VIP” status – think exclusive stewardship events, special luncheons with speakers who can discuss impact, individual tours, artistic or musical performances, or honoring them at appropriate occasions.
8. Give each donor the sense that they are irreplaceable. Find new ways of reinforcing the message that you can’t succeed without their support.

While you think about your next steps in reaching out to your GivingTuesday donors, keep this in mind: you need the right resources and tools in place to effectively foster a lasting personal relationship with each of your supporters, and it all starts with data.

Omatic is the only data integration solution designed solely for nonprofits. Our products help create data that’s current, clean, and complete, allowing you to focus on what’s important – building valuable supporter relationships that lead to more resources for your mission. Contact us to learn more.

In all likelihood, you’ve already invested a significant amount of time, money, and effort into securing that initial gift in the first place, whether it was on GivingTuesday or at another time. You owe it to yourself to take a fair crack at building on that donor’s goodwill for the future.

Don’t let the 90-day window pass you by. Put data integration to work and find out the difference it can make in your organization’s fundraising capabilities.

#ICYMI, check out our guides and discover how you can grab the attention of supporters, create a meaningful experience, and foster long-term donors.