Advice for what you can do to help yourself and gain access to more volunteers, funding, and potential for your non-profit!
(Excerpts from this article: https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/giving-tuesday-ideas/)
Is Community Giving Day for me?
It may be right for your nonprofit if you’re ready to commit for at least three to four months (September – November/December) and if you have the resources to run the accompanying campaign(s) in Mecosta County with our help!
Even if we are virtual in 2021, here are some of the potential benefits:
- Increase in donations and new donors
- Greater brand awareness
- An opportunity to promote a recurring/monthly giving program
- Increased social media engagement
- Increased networking opportunities
We are doing a lot of the work for you, here’s what we need from you:
1. Have an Online Fundraising Method
You will need a way to process your payment, and a link to give us that does not expire that we can share with social media, and on the website. This will help you get more money directly to you.
Pro tip: Donate $5 to your nonprofit organization both on desktop and mobile so as to go through the entire donor experience yourself. If you have trouble reading the text or clicking a link, your donors will too. Make notes of any potential improvements and then make the necessary adjustments to your donation page and/or form.
https://doublethedonation.com/tips/payment-processing-tools-for-nonprofits/
| PAYMENT PROCESSING TOOLS FOR NONPROFITS | RATING |
|---|---|
| CharityEngine | 4.9 out of 5.0 |
| iATS Payments | 5.0 out of 5.0 |
| Regpack | 5.0 out of 5.0 |
| DonateKindly | 4.9 out of 5.0 |
| Snowball | 4.9 out of 5.0 |
| Fundly | 4.8 out of 5.0 |
| Faithlife | 4.8 out of 5.0 |
| Stripe | 4.3 out of 5.0 |
| PayPal | 4.1 out of 5.0 |
| Braintree | 3.9 out of 5.0 |
2. Storytelling and Video
This is another way we are going to help you, by taking the video you make and sharing it with the community. As humans, we’re hardwired to remember stories and find them compelling. Stories allow for emotional connection. To tap into the power of storytelling:
Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in a text format.
Pick 2-3 key positive messages about your organization.
You may want to include more for a full communications plan, but for Community Giving Day, 2-3 will help suffice. Think about your “why”, not your “what”.
People relate to people. Having relatable characters is essential because they bring the issues your work addresses down to a personal level.
3. Go Big or Go Home on Social Media
It takes community, sharing and participating together to make an impact and get the donations everyone needs. We are helping with that. We will be creating social media posts, and hashtags, and using national marketing methods to get attention. We need YOU to also share posts, tag us, as we will tag you, and be attentive as your potential donors may have questions or want to interact with your organization. The better we work as a team to do this, the more everyone may see in donations. Also, try not to be competitive. Join in the spirit of the day. Share EVERYTHING related to Mecosta Community Giving Day as sharing is caring, and we all help each other that way.
You can also email your list of contacts often during the fundraising period. Send them to the Community Giving Day Website, to your donation links, and your websites to help keep the momentum going. ALWAYS have a link to your donation station or our website in your emails.