2 Use it to hit your goals
There are loads of ways the campaign can contribute to your wider goals. For instance you can use it to:
- engage supporters and staff
- encourage donations
- promote your cause
- celebrate your impact
- thank your donors
Jon Arnold, the Chief Executive of a small charity called Tiny Tickers came along to the launch. He told us about how they used Giving Tuesday last year as a platform to engage their supporters and reach new audiences.
A month before the day they launched an appeal called ‘Test for Tommy’ to fund a machine that detects heart defects in babies. The head of fundraising at the charity came up with the idea of using Giving Tuesday as the second leg of that appeal and to push it further.
One of the machines costs £750 so their goal on the day was to raise enough money to buy one. With a budget of £0, and using social media alongside their text donation and online donation platform, they smashed their target six-fold.
They raised £4500 in total which enabled them to buy six machines. And because of those six machines every year 9000 new born babies will now have a test that they wouldn’t have had previously.
Jon put their success down to a few key things:
- Linking their appeal to an established campaign
- Having a tangible target on the day
- Giving supporters multiple ways to donate
- Using emotive case studies
But most importantly the success came about because they lived and breathed the day. They didn’t just schedule some posts and sit back to see what happens. They’re a team of six at Tiny Tickers, and all day each of them focused on engaging with supporters via their social media channels.
Tiny Tickers is just one example of the thousands of charities, of all sizes, that have benefited from the campaign. Charities such as Marie Curie, Muslim Youth Helpline, and Carers Link, whose stories you can read on the Giving Tuesday website.