Guest Blog by “Tipper” Jamie McDonald, Chief Giving Officer, Network for Good & Founder, GiveCorps

 

In one week it will be December 2nd, and #GivingTuesday will be here. Whether you’ve planned for months or just a week or two, there’s one more thing you can do to make it a great day for your nonprofit.

Organizations large and small can put their campaigns over the top on #GivingTuesday by creating a “day of generosity” that involves your staff, board, and volunteers. Plan a day of hard-working fun that involves your team in outreach and celebration as you hit milestones toward your goal.

The recommendations below are targeted at a mid-sized organization, so scale the plan up or down to fit your organization’s capacity.

Make it a party!

 

Set up a #Givingtuesday ‘war room’ so the team is all together in one place. There will be hard work to do and a party atmosphere will make the long day more fun.

Consider these suggestions to elevate the excitement and spur the efforts of your staff and volunteers:

• Provide special t-shirts, wristbands, hats or other swag if you have it. If you don’t, consider asking each team member to wear something in the colors of your organization’s logo to create that spirit of a team.
• Have food throughout the day.
• Have a first gift ceremony, where the team members contribute whatever they can to the campaign and put that total on the board as the “founders” gifts for the campaign.
• Take a #SelflessSelfie of each team member – and one of the whole team together – and post them all on social media.
• Have a visible tally board so everyone can see when you are getting close to key milestones.

Covering the day

 

Your #GivingTuesday staff plan should cover a time period from about 8am to 10pm. The busiest donation periods are likely to be from 9am to 3pm and 7pm to 10pm, and these are the windows when you’ll want the most coverage.

Suggested staff roles

 

Leader 
Appoint a leader so campaign staff have a single point of contact for questions throughout the day. The leader should have a list of contact information for all staff and partners (include cell phone numbers and email addresses). He/she should be ready to address technology issues should there be problems with your online giving site. Have the phone number of your software provider handy in the event there is an issue. He/she may also be assigned as designated representative to talk with the media if there is press interest in your campaign. The leader (or a designee) should be ready with talking points highlighting the key aspects of the campaign.

• Thank key partners and sponsors
• Alert the community to Day-of challenges and contests (especially if they change hourly)
• Inspire the community with Day-of rewards or incentives
• Ask the community to GIVE and SHARE on social media
• Mention the Campaign Hashtag and URL – and your organizaiton’s participation in #MDGivesMore!

Phone Outreach Team
Your phones can be the most powerful weapon on #GivingTuesday. You can organize an actual phone-a-thon of sorts, reaching out to supporters to thank them for past generosity, invite them to join your campaign, and show their state pride by helping to make Maryland the Most Generous State on #GivingTuesday 2014. At a minimum, you should reach out to board members, key friends of your organization, and active volunteers to enlist their participation as Givers or Sharers.

Donor Support
Assign one or more people to be available to answer questions from donors should they arise.

Social Outreach Staff
The social team will be the ambassadors of excitement for the campaign. They will focus on:

• Building excitement by posting content to social media channels.
• Engaging with followers, fans, tweets.
• Promoting key milestone content such as goal updates and media coverage.
• Alerting other staff to any social postings related to issues or questions.
• Forwarding any social postings from the media to the team leader.

Volunteer Event Coordinator
If your nonprofit is hosting a hands-on service event for #GivingTuesday, the volunteer service coordinator should be part of the war room team. Ask them to provide photos, quotes, and results from the volunteer activity that can be shared with potential supporters online and in email.

 

And last but not least, remember to appoint someone to REPORT IN your dollars raised throughout the day at MarylandGivesMore.com!

 

Work hard, have fun, focus on your goals, and it will be a great #GivingTuesday!

 

 

Help make Maryland the most generous state! Join the Maryland Gives More movement!

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