Creative Ideas for Giving Tuesday

Donor Relationship Management

Creative Ideas for Giving Tuesday

September 4, 2019 in Acquisition, Donor Relationship Management, Fundraising, Giving Tuesday, Marketing & Communications

Giving Tuesday falls on December 3 this year. GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated in the US on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving and the shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, GivingTuesday starts the charitable season, when many focus on end-of-year giving.

According to the GivingTuesday website:
In 2018, 75% of those making financial contributions on #GivingTuesday were repeat donors, with a mean gift size of $105. Data shows that the holiday creates a net bump in overall yearly giving, and has proven not only to engage new donors, but to motivate existing donors to give more. Your organization will have the opportunity to join thousands of organizations around the world to encourage more generosity.

That is great news in terms of number of donors and gift amounts but it also presents a challenge as we are competing with thousands of other charitable organizations around the world. So we’ll want some creative ideas for our campaign that grab donors attention, are simple, and make it easy for them to give. Continue reading »

Don’t Wait: Start Planning Your Next Capital Campaign Now! (Part 2)

August 1, 2019 in Donor Relationship Management, Fundraising, Uncategorized

Part 1 of this series focused on the need to identify and recruit potential capital campaign chairs several years in advance of a campaign. If they are not already serving as leadership volunteers in your philanthropy program, you can take the following steps:

  1. Invite these prospective campaign chairs and leaders to become involved in your program.
  2. Teach best practices in donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
  3. Emphasize the vital importance of listening to donors to better understand their interests and motivations.
  4. Roleplay solicitations to demonstrate calling for an appointment, presenting your case, working as a team, making the ask, and dealing with objections.
  5. Have them accompany you on solicitation visits so they can observe you in action, participate in the conversation, and become comfortable with the process.
  6. When they are ready, allow them to take the lead during the visit, and then critique their performance afterward.
  7. Evaluate their potential as leadership volunteers and donors.
  8. Strategically groom them for a leadership role.

Continue reading »

Unexpected Estate Gifts and the Importance of Stewardship

July 11, 2019 in Donor Relationship Management

They spoke no English and hadn’t been shaving for too many years when they arrived in the United States soon after World War 2. The three brothers came here to build a better life for themselves and, once settled, they eventually combined their skills to open a small business carving cemetery monuments. They led quiet lives that didn’t include wives and children, and they were never known in their community much beyond the granite headstones that circled their business. Certainly, no one would have guessed that they possessed the means to leave almost $2 million to local charities. Continue reading »

How the New Tax Cuts and Job Act Might Impact Your Organization

March 13, 2018 in Donor Relationship Management, Fundraising

In December of 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Job Act. The law does not change a taxpayer’s ability to deduct charitable contributions as long as they are itemized deductions. But because of the increased standard deduction, it is likely that the number of taxpayers who itemize their deductions will be smaller and it could possibly impact future donor contributions. Continue reading »

Gifts of Gratitude Programs — What Works and Why

June 22, 2017 in Acquisition, Donor Relationship Management, Fundraising

A TGC Informal Roundtable Discussion
In November, TGC hosted an informal roundtable with three nonprofit hospital clients to discuss their Gifts of Gratitude Programs. All three were in the early stages with only one running its program for close to two years. It was an interesting conversation and one worth sharing with our partners. Two important take-aways became clear: 1) it’s a long play; and 2) relationships are key.
Continue reading »