It’s Not Too Early to Strategize for Giving Tuesday 2025 with Jessica Cloud

Transcript

1. Itʼs Not Too Early to Strategize for Giving Tuesday 2025 AUCTRIA  Fundraising Events Made Easy featuring Jessica Cloud CFRE
2. Todayʼs guest Her specialty is working directly with boards, nonprofit leaders, and development professionals to build confidence and sharpen fundraising skills through dynamic, real-world training. She also partners with organizations to develop clear, actionable fundraising plans that are grounded in strategy and built for results. Whether you need help energizing your board, mapping out a campaign, or designing a donor engagement plan that actually gets implemented, Jessica brings clarity, candor, and over 20 years of experience to every project. Jessica Cloud CFRE, Fundraising Consultant
3. Auctria | Since 2011 Organizations have raised over $1.25 billion dollars “Auctriaʼs mission is to empower nonprofit organizations by providing you with an affordable, easy to use powerful tool for event fundraisingˮ
4. Agenda 1. Design a Giving Tuesday plan 2. Use match challenges 3. Engage major donors and board members 4. Build a stewardship-forward campaign 5. BONUS Create your Giving Tuesday donation page on Auctria in 3-clicks
5. Why Giving Days? This is not a trend. This model has been around since the early 2000s and Giving Tuesday since 2012. Giving Days (including Giving Tuesday) are strategic moments to build momentum. They offer an opportunity to build relationships and energize donors. Done well, they help you raise more money and raise your nonprofitʼs profile.
6. Why a day of giving? Why Giving Tuesday? Days of Giving • Urgency • Community • Momentum/Snowball Giving Tuesday • Amplified Marketing • Global Impact • Increased Visibility
7. • $20,000 challenge match set • $40,000 total raised - Highest match in our history • Excellent kickoff to our Calendar Year End Campaign • Strategic extension helped us cross the finish line 2024 Giving Tuesday Results - Starr King
8. What worked for us in 2024 • Challenge Match • Handwritten Postcards • Involving Major Donors • Phone Calls and Personal Emails • Going Live! • Extending the Match • Planning for Stewardship 7 Strategies we used for Giving Tuesday Success
9. Challenge Matches Creating incentives and Urgency “As fundraisers, we need to ask ourselves what our donors are asking themselves, “Why today?!ˮ The answer is to make the gift go further via matching funds, engage new and returning audiences, build social reach, and set organization records. Among other reasons, this is why the giving day model truly works. Donors want to know theyʼve made a difference, not just by giving but also by giving on this particular day.ˮ - Jake Strang
10. Hand Written Postcards Breaking Through the Digital Noise
11. Why it worked: The format was tactile. The message was personal. And the moment felt different. Why Analog Tactics Still Win When the inbox is full, the mailbox gets noticed. • 74% of adults say they feel overwhelmed by email • Postcards get through—no envelope, no extra step • Direct mail has a 90% open rate compared to 2030% for email • Personalized, handwritten notes stand out as thoughtful and refreshing • Donors shared how the postcard made them feel seen before Giving Tuesday even began 💡
12. Involving Major Donors Creating Excitement and Momentum • Engage high capacity donors early (both for the match and for the campaign) • Builds momentum and excitement on the day (big bumps in the updates) • Gives major donors a meaningful way to be engaged
13. Day of Outreach Phone and Personalized Email • Focused calls/emails to $500 donors • Personalized messaging • Many thanked us for the reminder • Served as a Calendar Year End reminder too • Breaks through the digital noise
14. Why it worked: Algorithms canʼt match a human voice. High-touch outreach creates results digital alone canʼt replicate. 💡 Phone Calls Still Build Connection The phone didnʼt stop working—we just stopped dialing. • Personalized calls show donors they matter • Phone is only medium where you can have two way conversation at scale! • Alumni phonathon rebuild: From $134K to $396K in a year • Younger donors? Over 17% participation from recent grads—thanks to real dialogue • Donors thanked us for the reminder call. That turned into a gift.
15. Go Live! Real Time Updates with your Community • First live session since 2020 • Shared real-time updates and shout outs thanking donors • Modest audience but big impact • Energy was great! • Hardest part is picking your platform - where are your people? • This is a two way platform but digital - best of phone and video media
16. Extend the Match You make the rules! • Came up $800 short on Giving Tuesday itself • We extended the deadline for one more day • A board member and a few other donors closed the gap • Transparent Communication was key • Kept the momentum going
17. Plan for Stewardship Saying thank you isnʼt an afterthought • Giving Tuesday Infographic • Showed results visually • Easy to share and understand • Celebrated the collective win • Whether itʼs a note in the mail, an email, social media, a phone call, make the plan for stewardship in advance alongside your solicitation schedule
19. Southern Miss Gold Rush • Planned for a year • Raised $200,000 in 36 hours • Peer-sharing of campaign info • Mapped donors by state • Fun stuff like videos and photos with our mascot • Strong Internal coordination, mobilized academic department and alumni networks • Incorporated major donors - MGOs used this deadline to close pending proposals!
20. Campus Beautification Day of Giving • Tornado Relief Fund • Trees arenʼt insured! And replacement live oaks cost $25,000  $35,000 each • Tornado hit February 10, 2013 • This event was in early May • Raised $130,000 for campus beautification post-disaster • Clear need, focused ask • Used emotional storytelling and video
21. Columbia Universityʼs Day of Giving • $14M+ in a single day • 3 keys to success: ◦ 1. Partnerships ◦ 2. Challenge Matches ◦ 3. Innovation • Columbia gamified social sharing • Ambassadors lent their social media accounts • Prizes for top performers • Built energy and peer influence
22. Tactical Tips to Start On Now Start with pledges (and identify a match! Get major donors and leadership involved early Communicate clearly with gift processing, finance, and data teams Define the Rules - What counts?  When does it count?  Who gets credit?  Agree and document
23. Build your multi-channel plan Multi-Channel Is Better Assign codes to track sources Direct mail, Email, Social Media, Video, Text Messaging, Phone Calls, maybe even in-person events or visits
24. Public Progress Tracking is Essential This is how momentum and excitement builds! Show your numbers Use maps, graphics, videos Real-time updates energize your base Have a plan but leave room to improvise too!
25. Key Takeaways Ask: Why today? Focus on relationships, not just results Innovate with intention Giving Days grow more than revenue
26. Final Question What would make Giving Tuesday 2025 meaningful for your donors? START THERE
27. 7 Strategies that worked for Giving Tuesday 2024 1. Challenge Match 2. Handwritten Postcards 3. Involving Major Donors 4. Day of Outreach - especially phone 5. Going Live to engage in real time 6. Extending the Match 7. Planning for Stewardship
28. GivingTuesday Page Setup
29. Easy to set up, Easy to use Easy to set up, easy to use ❏ Past supporters & bidders are most likely future Giving Tuesday donors ❏ Website presence ❏ Ability to collect donations ❏ Provide a receipt for supporters Because you will be accepting donations online, the #GT campaign page requires credit card integration to be set-up
31. Create Organization→ Special GT→ Create Event 1 2 3
32. Out of the box and ready to go
33. Edit Cash Donation Element: use your core number
34. Edit Thermometer Goal
35. Out of the box
37. Note on Licenses • Unlimited number of events on all plans • Yes, even on the FREE Explorer plan you can run a GT event • Income limits do still apply Explorer, $10K, Emerald $50K, Diamond no limit)
38. Stay in touch with Jessica @jcloudrealdeal jcloud@realdealfundraising.com www.realdealfundraising.com linkedin.com/in/jcloudcfre @realdealfundraising
39. Explore AUCTRIA at your own pace @auctria Email: hello@auctria.com FB Group: Auction Team Talk