Holiday Online Fundraising: 30 Tips for Campaign Success

Holiday Online Fundraising:

30 tips for campaign success

*Simren Deogun

@SimrenDeogun+

#HolidayFundraising

Director, Digital Innovation

Stephen Thomas Ltd

Objective: Filling

your Online Fundraising

Toolbox!

2014?

Always start with

what you know.

What did you do in

2014? Was it

successful? And

how did you

measure success?

#1

@SimrenDeogun @CanadaHelps #HolidayFundraising

Giving Season

‘Season of Giving’ extends to charities; talk to your donors about what it means to give during the “holidays.”

#2


Timing

The last 3 months of the year account for more than a third of the year’s overall giving.

[Blackbaud Charitable Giving Report, Feb 2014]

#3


December

A huge chunk of

donations are

received in the month

of December.

January remains the

lowest month of the

year for online giving.

[Blackbaud Charitable Giving Report, Feb 2014]

#4


December +

10% of annual

donations are made

in the last three days

of December and 5%

on December 31st.

[CanadaHelps]

#5


Build a

Campaign.

A pre-planned,

structured

approach to year-

end fundraising.

One objective.

One message.

#6


Team Consensus

Marketing and

Fundraising – one

team, one goal!

#7


SMART Goals

Specific.

Measurable.

Achievable.

Results-oriented.

Time-limited.

#8


Brand

Don’t forget about the

importance of brand

message and

consistency –

especially at the year-

end, when

competition is at its

peak.

#9


Hook

End of year is a

special time – not just

another chance to

give. Creating a hook

means offering your

audience a special

reason to give.

#10


Case for Support

Giving for the sake

of giving motivates

only the few. Create

a compelling case

to give now that’s

specific to this

campaign.

#11


Audience

Define your top 3

audiences. These

will be your

primary target.

#12


Call to Action

Be specific.

Donate? Give

monthly? Sign the

petition? Send a

note? Post a

selfie? Two-step?

#13


Partnerships

Leverage existing

corporate and

individual

relationships to

bolster your ask.

#14


Custom Donation Page

A campaign doesn’t only exist on the frontend through promotions. Create a seamless experience with a donation page that aligns with your campaign and its message.

#15


Multi-channel

No campaign should be executed in only one channel anymore. Keep this simple by leveraging the channels you’re already fundraising in.

#16


Email

Email is your

workhorse – please

don’t believe

anyone that tells

you otherwise.

Frequency should

be tested!

#17


Social

Don’t try to own

the entire

calendar.

#18


Online Ads

These can be

your best friend –

don’t be afraid to

repeat the ask to

those who have

shown an interest.

#19


Video

Video consumption in Canada has increased 36% since Jan 2014 –it’s a great way to increase engagement with your social media posts.

[ComScore Digital Future in Focus Canada, 2015]

#20


Offline

Pick one offline

channel that you

can integrate into

your online

campaign.

#21


How much?

It’s not easy to build

dynamic gift arrays

online for many of

us – be sure to

carefully consider

your minimum and

maximum amounts.

#22


Responsive

Invest in a

mobile-friendly

experience.

#23


Giving Tuesday

Actively promote GT and you’ll likely see a lift in donations – an average increase of 93% in number of donations for those charities that did in 2014.

[CanadaHelps]

#24


Holidays

If you intend on

acknowledging

the holidays, be

sure to fully

integrate it into

your

communication.

#25


Post-Holiday

The opportunity to give (or ask) does not end on December 25th –the very end of year can play a crucial role in your case for support.

#26


Tax Receipt

Tax credit at year-

end is a major

motivator for

donations.

#27


2016!

January is a low

month for online

giving – this is

your opportunity

to thank

supporters and

talk about impact.

#28


Analysis

Collect as much

data as you can

and get the

experts to parse it

out to find the

golden nuggets.

#29


Have fun!

Encourage new

ideas. Different

execution.

Testing. Get

energized!

#30


Question time!

Simren DeogunDirector, Digital Innovation

[email protected] x246

Education

Holiday Online Fundraising: 30 Tips for Campaign Success