giving days done right

GIVING DAY CAMPAIGNS Creating a Culture of Philanthropy With Chris Taft and Yvonne Carlson

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YOUR PRESENTERS

CHRIS TAFT Account Director Chris.Taft@pursuant.com

Yvonne Carlson Director of Client Relationships Yvonne.Carlson@pursuant.com

Giving Days…

ü Help you acquire new donors ü Provide a springboard for

future fundraising activities ü Create excitement about

your organization

Promote A Culture of Philanthropy

•  It is a rallying cry for your community •  Instills behaviors that are important to establishing a

philanthropic culture •  It sets philanthropy as a priority for your organization •  Establishes a peer network that is important to creating a

culture of philanthropy •  Instills a culture and identity…that part of being a donor,

alumni, volunteer is being a part of a group that is responsible for the organization and its long term success

Giving Day campaigns engage the University community bringing an increase in awareness and understanding of the role of a donor in supporting University priorities, goals, and funding needs.

A Culture of Philanthropy in Higher Eds

Make Your Donors The Heroes

FACTS ABOUT GIVING DAYS:

60% of people who donate on Giving Days are new donors. Since #GivingTuesday launched in 2012, there has been a 470% increase in online donations on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Example: North Texas Giving Day 2014

WWW.NORTHTEXASGIVINGDAY.ORG

ü  26% of donations were first-time givers to the nonprofit ü Donations from all 50 US States, 6 territories, and 28

countries ü Donors made gifts at a rate of 18 gifts per second

throughout the day

Giving Days Achieve Big Results!

Campaign Duration Donors Dollars

#ElonDay 2015 27 hrs 2,703 $702,000 Notre Dame Day 2014 24 hrs 4,049 $918,518 Umass Amherst’s UmassGives 2013 36 hrs 1,588 $84,000 Washington and Lee’s Give Day 2014 24 hrs 4,300 $1,400,000 UT Austin 40 for Forty 2015 40 hrs 2,000 $367,690 Boston University Giving Day 2014 24 hrs 2,872 $1,110,000 Arizona State University 2014 36 hrs 908 $3,059,000 Colgate’s WCRU Radio Campaign 2013 24 hrs 5,683 $5,100,000 Columbia University’s Giving Day 2013 24 hrs 9,700 $7,800,000

Giving Days Build Year to Year

Campaign Year 1 Results Year 2 Results

#ElonDay $100,000 $702,000

Notre Dame Day $918,518 $1.6 Million

Umass Amherst’s UmassGives $84,000 $112,000

UT Austin 40 for Forty $125,000 $367,690

Columbia University’s Giving Day $7.8 Million $11 Million

Keys to Success

HOW TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES AND PLAN A SUCCESSFUL GIVING DAY

A FEW CHALLENGES OF GIVING DAYS

ü  Staff ü  Time ü  Technology ü Communication ü Metrics and Tracking

#1 ANALYZE YOUR DATA TO DEFINE YOUR GOALS

Analyze your current donor database to discover new opportunities and develop the best approach.

ü  Establish your overall fundraising goal based on insights from your data. ü  Determine the number of new donors and total participants you want to reach. ü  Set segmented participation goals (young alumni, local donors, etc.). ü  Determine in advance how you are going to measure your goals.

What Is Achievable? 50 Social Ambassadors X 10 donors each = 500 donors

16 Alumni Chapter Leaders X 10 donors each = 160 donors 20 Student Volunteers X 10 donors each = 200 donors

10 Faculty & Staff X 10 donors each = 100 donors 8 Email Sends to 15,000 Recipients @ .05% Response = 60 donors

Total Donors = 1,020 Total Revenue = $117,300*

* $115 average gift assumed, does not include matching gifts

Plus additional giving from: Faculty Giving, Matching Gifts, Phone Calling Program

Goal Setting Example: Higher Ed

#2 PICK A DATE

If you are not partnering with a regional giving day, pick a day that is significant to your organization that will not compete with another significant event. Or look for opportunities to drive revenue in lower performing months.

#3 PICK A THEME

Your giving day should be centered around the core mission and values of your organization. Let your vision drive the campaign.

#4 BUILD INTERNAL CONSENSUS AND IDENTIFY YOUR INFLUENCERS

•  Building internal consensus is extremely important especially if your organization is large and complex.

•  The more buy-in you can get from all levels the more

successful your campaign will be.

#4 BUILD INTERNAL CONSENSUS AND IDENTIFY YOUR INFLUENCERS

•  Which individuals have the most influence at your organization? If you’re not sure, see who has a robust social media following.

•  Do you have media relationships you can leverage?

#5 DEVELOP A COMPELLING EXPERIENCE FOR DONORS: CASE FOR SUPPORT •  Start looking for stories that would drive your case for

support. •  Use compelling mediums like images and video to tell

stories that make an impact.

•  Consider tying your campaign to a matching gift or specific program.

#5 DEVELOP A COMPELLING EXPERIENCE FOR DONORS: CASE FOR SUPPORT

•  Create an omni-channel experience.

•  Be sure to coordinate your communication efforts across every channel, including mobile.

#5 DEVELOP A COMPELLING EXPERIENCE FOR DONORS: CASE FOR SUPPORT

•  Be intentional with your email strategy. •  Start early. •  Don’t be afraid to send multiple emails the day of the

campaign.

#5 DEVELOP A COMPELLING EXPERIENCE FOR DONORS: CASE FOR SUPPORT

Start Early

•  Segment donors and tailor messages to reach them.

•  Target donors with relevant content and contextualized asks.

#5 DEVELOP A COMPELLING EXPERIENCE FOR DONORS: CASE FOR SUPPORT

•  Personalize your communications. People give to people.

•  Create a personal experience that resonates with each individual donor.

#5 DEVELOP A COMPELLING EXPERIENCE FOR DONORS: CASE FOR SUPPORT

Let your donors share their experience. Encourage them to share the campaign by asking engaging questions that tie to your mission.

#6 LEVERAGE THE POWER OF “VIRAL FUNDRAISING”

Equip social ambassadors with social content and images for your campaign.

#6 LEVERAGE THE POWER OF “VIRAL FUNDRAISING”

Create templated emails for your key influencers and board members to share.

#6 LEVERAGE THE POWER OF “VIRAL FUNDRAISING”

Reward participants for recruiting donors.

#6 LEVERAGE THE POWER OF “VIRAL FUNDRAISING”

#7 LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER

Questions to ask - How will you…: •  Deliver and personalize your communications? •  Track engagement with campaign assets? •  Cultivate relationships prior to the giving day? •  Accept, process, and track payments in real time during

the giving day?

#8 BE INTENTIONAL WITH YOUR FOLLOW-UP

Have a plan for how you will steward gifts at every level the day of and following the giving day. •  Staff •  Personalized thank-you’s •  Receipts •  Thank-you video

How We Can Help

•  Strategic planning •  Goal setting •  Building consensus •  Case and story development •  Online / offline communications •  Social media strategy and execution •  Landing pages •  Technology infrastructure •  Video production •  Follow up stewardship communications •  And much more

Pursuant Resources

Download The Ultimate #GivingTuesday Field Guide at pursuant.com/intelligent-fundraiser

www.ShareRewards.com

QUESTIONS?

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