Giving Days and Your Fundraising Strategy

May 3, 2018

Housekeeping & Agenda

Housekeeping

● Parking and restrooms

Agenda

● Overview and Context

● Give DeKalb County Basics

● Building a Successful Strategy

● Incorporating Strategy into Your Profile

● Demo of Profile Development

● Q/A

What is a Giving Day?

● 24-hour fundraising event

● Engages donors, volunteers, and communities in philanthropy

● Raises valuable unrestricted funds for nonprofits

Who can participate?

● 501(c)3 organizations

● Located in, serving, and/or conducting organizational activities in DeKalb County

● Legally registered with the Attorney General’s office to solicit donations in Illinois

● 2018 DCNP members by March 1, 2018

● Agency funds of participating nonprofits held at the Community Foundation

Benefits

● Promote your organization and raise awareness○ “I'm glad that I can find so many organizations that I did not know about that

I could now assist with my donations.”○ “I am always amazed by the number of organizations that exist that I was

unaware of at the time of donating. The write ups on each organization are extremely beneficial.”

● Expand charitable giving○ 80% report their organization would receive less donated funds in a given year if

Give DeKalb County did not exist○ Raise unrestricted funds

● Enhance social media presence○ 44% predict increased social media engagement as a result of participating

● Community involvement and excitement○ “Thank you for having this event. It is one of my favorite days of the year. I

love to see the generosity of our community blossom!”

Results: 2014 - 2017

2014 2015 2016 2017

# of NPOs & funds 37 44 68 83

# of donations

(unique transactions)

873 1,265 2,036 2,965

# of unique donors

(online only)

482 699 1,041 1,196

# of states 22 25 30 33

# of countries 1 3 5 3

$ grand total $119,443 $189,525 $428,297 $466,878

Give Online

www.givedekalbcounty.org

● Donors give from midnight to midnight on May 3

● Donors may give to multiple nonprofits

● Leaderboard shows every nonprofit’s progress:

○ Total donations

○ Total donors

Give In Person

● Offline donations accepted

8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at

the DeKalb County

Community Foundation

● No fees for offline gifts

● Check payment only

● Checks must be delivered

“in-person, by the person”

● 2017: $148,751 offline

gifts

Check Distribution

● All donations are made

to the Community

Foundation

● Checks issued to

participating

organizations at a

wrap-up event

Bonus Pool

● Community Partners give to bonus pool

● Every donation made on May 3 leverages bonus funds

Example:

● If Org A raises 5% of the grand total, then Org A receives

5% of the bonus pool

www.givedekalbcounty.org/info/bonus-pool

Community Partners

Media Sponsors

Participation Fee

Operating Budget Participation Fee

<$100,000 $100

$100,000-$499,999 $175

$500,000-$2,999,999 $250

>$3,000,000 $325

● Fee will be deducted from total donations received (no upfront

cost to participate)

● Fees cover some costs associated with the giving day

● Balance of support provided by Community Foundation/DCNP

and volunteers

Committee

● Michelle Donahoe (Chair)

● Joyce Mathey

● Susan Petersen

● Brian Reis

● Lisa Seymour

● Lynette Spencer

● Micki Chulick

● Julie Eggleston

● Julie Craig

Next Steps & Questions

1. Like/share/engage on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiveDeKalbCounty

2. Become a 2018 DCNP member and register

3. Create your profile and giving day strategy

4. Mark your calendars for May 3

Questions?

For more information contact:

Ben Bingle – ben@dekalbccf.org, 815-748-5383

Give DeKalb County Basics

May 3, 2018

Your Give DeKalb County Donations

Give DeKalb County 2018 Fees

2% Platform Fee

+

2.2% Credit Card Fee (3.5% for AMEX) + $0.30 per

transaction

=

4.2% - 5.5% + $0.30

● Platform fee capped at $20 ● Donors ALWAYS have the

option to cover all fees● Instant access to all of your

donor data at any point throughout the year on GiveGab

● Automatic “Thank You” email sent to donors immediately after they make a gift

● All gifts made during Give DeKalb County to be distributed by the Community Foundation

Need A Hand Getting Ready?

● Sign up for 1:1 Office Hour Workshops on February 28

● Attend your Give DeKalb County Webinars and Trainings

● Check out the on-demand training videos on givedekalbcounty.org

● Find helpful how-to articles and best practices at support.givegab.com

● Chat with the GiveGab Customer Success Team

○ Email info@givedekalbcounty.org

○ Use the little blue chat bubble on the site

Building a Successful Strategy

May 3, 2018

Building A Successful Strategy

● Give DeKalb County is an opportunity to leverage a widely recognized

community event to highlight your existing opportunities

● Your organization can utilize the Giving Day to achieve goals specific to the

event OR to promote other current or upcoming campaigns, events, and

programs your organization is focusing on during that time

● Determining your goals at the beginning of the planning process, can help to

develop a more successful strategy both internally and externally

Key Questions To Ask Yourself….

● What were we able to achieve in previous years?

● Do we have a campaign, event, or program around this time of year?

● What are our most crucial needs at this time?

● What will help to improve long term sustainability?

● Do we have a budget for Give DeKalb County? If so, how much?

● What would be our ideal Give DeKalb County scenario?

● What mediums do our supporters engage with most?

● How can we leverage Give DeKalb County to help us achieve our goals?

Popular Giving Day Goals

● Monetary Amount

● Donor Amount

● New Donors

● Repeat Donors

● Larger Portion of Bonus

Pool

● Board Engagement

● P2P Engagement

● Volunteer Engagement

● Social Media Engagement

Develop Your Strategy

● Narrow in on 1-3 specific goals that your organization would like to achieve

during Give DeKalb County to focus on

○ Determine which goals are internal vs. external

● Once you’ve set your goals, start working on your strategy!

○ How can you develop a story around these goals?

○ How can you convey these goals on your profile?

○ What will best motivate your supporters to give?

● Keeping your goals in mind throughout every step of the process is key to a

successful strategy that’s easy to understand

Communicating Your Goals

● Developing goal-minded messaging makes it easier for your supporters to

understand exactly what they need to do to make an impact

○ This is crucial for online fundraising!

● Establishing your goals earlier on will help you build a more successful

communications plan from beginning to end

○ Consistency is key!

● Including clear calls to action in your communications easily empowers

donors to take action and helps you reach your goals faster

○ Add your profile link and clear language to all communications!

Strategy Examples

Monetary Goal Strategies:

● Make it clear what the dollars raised help you fund

● Collect stories from those directly impacted by your work

● Set higher donation levels on your Give DeKalb County Profile

● Leverage the bonus pool to motivate donors to make a greater impact with their gift

● Recruit Peer-to-Peer fundraisers to help you expand your reach

Donor Goal Strategies:

● Encourage social sharing amongst your supporters

● Find significance in the donor goal number you choose and share it out (graphics make a difference!)

● Set smaller donation levels on your Give DeKalb County Profile

● Recruit Peer-to-Peer fundraisers to help you expand your reach

Building Your Perfect Profile

What makes a “Perfect Profile” for Give DeKalb County?

● Includes eye-catching images that highlight your mission in action○ If you don’t have photos of your own, stock photos are a great solution!

● Is easily scannable for potential donors visiting your profile○ Online donors typically make the decision to give quickly and emotionally

○ Using different formatting elements can make the key details stand out

● Utilizes donation levels relevant to your campaign goals ○ These help your donors visualize their tangible impact on your cause

● Highlight opportunities for supporters to go above and beyond○ Links to your organization’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Website, etc.

○ Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Pages or Volunteer Opportunities

Key Takeaways

● Set clear goals prior to Give DeKalb County in order to help you develop a

more focused strategy for success for you and your donors

● Keep your goals in mind when customizing your Give DeKalb County Profile,

developing your communications, and promoting the event

● Stay consistent with your goals (and messaging!) from the beginning of your

campaign to end so your donors can truly comprehend their impact

● Have fun with your campaign and your donors will too!

Incorporating Strategy into Your Profile

May 3, 2018

Your Give DeKalb County Dashboard

Adding the Basics

● Logo○ As one of the first things a donor sees

on your profile, make sure your logo is

current and represents your brand

● Tagline○ A quick one-sentence overview of your

organization or giving day campaign

● Website○ Add your website so donors will be able

to learn more about your organization

● Causes○ Select up to 3 causes to help donors

find causes they’re interested in.

Start building your profile

● Choose your cover photo○ 500 x 1500 mp

○ Steer clear of any photos with the focus in the left-hand corner where the logo is

● Monetary Goal○ Have a donor goal instead of a monetary goal this year? Uncheck the box and highlight that

in the text of your story!

Telling Your Unique Story

● Create a story that supporters will capture supporters○ Turn your strategy into a digestible and engaging story

○ Here you can add your copy, additional images, and even customize the formatting to highlight

those really important statements that should catch a reader’s eye.

Make the Ask

● First, start with your story. Then...

● Belief Statement: “We believe that…”

● You Statement: “You can help us…”

● Opportunity Statement: “Are you with us?” “Will you join

us?”

Add It All Up

Turn your high level story (raising funds to build a food pantry for

students) into an iconic story (the story of one student who was

hungry)

● Belief Statement: “We believe that…no student should have to choose

between food and learning”

● You Statement: “You can help us…stock the pantry so that no student has

to make that choice/go hungry”

● Opportunity Statement: “Are you with us?” “Will you join us?”

● Bite Sized Donations: $10 - One Meal for One Child, $50 - One Week of

Meals, $100 - Two Children Have Food Every Day, $250 - One Healthy

Eating Program

Making your story more visual

● Custom Formatting

○ Change your text & header size

● Text Highlighting

○ Bold, italicize, or underline text

● Content Alignment

○ Justify text and images to the left,

right, or center of your profile

● Add Lists

○ Bulleted or numbered lists

● Full Screen Mode

○ Edit in a larger window

● Upload Images

○ Upload, crop, or rotate photos

● Add Links

○ Link to other pages on text or photos

● Feature Tables

○ Organize information in a table

● Insert Horizontal Lines

○ Add a line to break up content

● Edit in HTML

○ Familiar with HTML? Use the code

editor to customize your profile

CASA’s Story

Visualizing Impact with Donation Levels

● Custom Amounts○ Think outside the “$25”,

“$50”, “$100” box!

○ Align your levels with your

goals

● Unique Descriptions○ How much does something

cost? What does this gift

amount accomplish?

● Photos

● Unlimited Giving Levels!

Creating Donation Levels

● What’s your annual goal? - $100,000

● How many people do you serve yearly? - 5,000

● How many programs do you run yearly? - 100

$20 = 1 person served | $1,000 = 1 program created

Bring your impact to life with a story of a person who has

been positively impacted by your organization and how

donors can be a part of creating more stories

Give DeKalb County Examples

Captivating Images

Engage Your Donors with Gratitude

● Write your own custom thank you

message○ This is an opportunity to show how their

gift ties into your mission

○ Stewardship starts with gratitude!

● Add your own photo

or video○ Simple, effective and

○ Create a quick, genuine Thank You

video, or style an image in Canva.

● Sent immediately to your donor’s

email when they make a gift

View your Give DeKalb County profile!

Reviewing your Perfect Profile checklist

⃢ Branded Logo

⃢ Custom Cover Photo

⃢ Specific Giving Levels

⃢ Unique Story

⃢ Specific Goals

⃢ Clear Calls To Action

Key Takeaways

1. Determine and display a monetary goal on your profile to support your story and help donors understand exactly what they need to do to make an impact

2. Turn your high level story into an iconic story with a belief, you, and opportunity statement. Include your “Bite Sized” donations as Donation Levels

3. Use photos to further illustrate your story and visually show your donors what they can “purchase” for, or in honor of, your organization.

a. Cover Photo

b. Donation Levels

c. In Your Story

d. Thank Your Image

4. Start the donor stewardship process early with customizing your thank you email and receipt with a photo or video and thank you copy related to your story

Thank You!

Demo of Profile Building

May 3, 2018

Thank You!

Questions?

May 3, 2018