Lessons Learned from The Big Share that You Can Use on Giving Tuesday

CSW has hosted The Big Share™ online giving day annually since 2015. Below is a list of Top Ten Lessons Learned--in no particular order.

1. Set up a plan and follow it.

2. Create a theme for the day and utilize it in all of your communications.

3. Ask your existing donors to give you matching grants ahead of the day.

Matching grants/gifts set during specific times create a sense of urgency and make your messaging easier.
They are also a great opportunity for you to reach out to donors to increase their gifts.
Solicit a group of donors to create a “pooled” matching gift fund.

4. Set up a pre-campaign to recruit supporters to set up personal fundraising pages.

5. Supplement your online campaign with additional communications and opportunities to give.

Hold an event. Something as simple as an Open House serving pizza or free coffee at a coffee shop.
Send out a postcard/solicitation to your donors ahead letting them know they can support you on your giving day and/or give through the mail.

6. Organize your campaign around particular hours of the day to correspond with your giving day’s prize schedule to help you raise more money.

7. Don’t discriminate against small gifts.

Raising thousands of dollars in one day from 100 donors is a pretty significant accomplishment. And those donors can be stewarded and developed into larger donors in the future.

8. Be smart about using social media.

Utilize the analytics provided to evaluate your posts and learn for next year.
Pay to boost posts.
Set up a “sharing” plan where staff/volunteers/supporters agree to share posts to increase your reach.

9. Make your social media posts visually interesting with videos and photos.

If you don’t have an in-house designer, set up an account on Canva.com, a site with pre-set graphic templates to fit specific social media platforms.

10. Have fun and celebrate successes!