Day of Giving to Day of Gratitude
Image provided by Unsplash
As the dust settles from another Giving Tuesday. I hope you remember that Giving Tuesday can be any day.
I think back to my university days when we didn’t do Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday was actually a Gratitude Day. The student coordinator for Annual Giving would create messaging for students to say thank you. We would create postcards for them to sign and then mail out thousands of thank you cards to donors that gave that fiscal year just to say thanks. It was heartwarming to not be in the bustle of other campaigns within the community; especially, as a large university. Now there was an “end of year” campaign that was mailed in December so it was all in good timing. Another format that I appreciated was having a Giving Day the following a day after or a week later with a gratitude campaign. It would connect the visuals and media for the Giving Day with the Gratitude Day. Instead of getting a day filled with solicitations and reminders to give, your day was filled with messages of gratitude and reminders of why giving is so important. It was honestly one of my favorite days because simply showing gratitude can lead the way for transformative giving.
So what if you did a gratitude day? What would that look like? Here’s a sample communication schedule:
8:00 – 10:00 a.m. – The grand thank you! Focus on the impact of their giving throughout the year or from a campaign (your gift on X Day, will provide…).
12:00 – 2:00 p.m. – It’s storytelling time!
4:00 – 6:00 p.m. – Do you have video? If not, you can get ThankView and start recording today! Here’s a sample I got from my sweet Carolina!
8:00 – 10:00 p.m. – Final reminder of why a relationship with your community is so vital and meaningful to the work you do daily.
This is just a sample!
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story can make all the difference. Remix this timeline for your day of gratitude however you like; even throw in direct mail or a text message!
Through days of gratitude versus days of giving we are able to add to the year-round donor experience. Being transformative means that you are inspiring and leading others to believe in your mission. If you want to find ways to engage your donors year-round, check out the Intro to Individualized Strategic Engagement Planning on the downloads page. You will learn the basics of inquiry that lead to knowing how and when to add transformative donor experiences like these.
It’s more than what’s achievable today, it’s about what’s sustainable for tomorrow!
Amplify your fundraising strategy from transactional to transformative by personalizing by segment or individual with this introductory way to research and create a strategic engagement plan. Using the kipling method we are able to not only address strategies to communicate, but to develop personalized ways to connect whether digital or in person. follow this step-by-step how-to guide, download your planning template, then formalize the document onto a donor profile.