Since its founding in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y, Giving Tuesday has grown into a global movement. It’s a day fueled by activism, collaboration, and generosity that has emerged as a marquee fundraising opportunity for nonprofits around the world. On Giving Tuesday 2021 alone, nonprofits raised an estimated $2.7 billion!
Take advantage of this day of giving
The movement’s growing publicity presents an excellent opportunity for your nonprofit. However, planning and executing an effective Giving Tuesday campaign can be a daunting task—this is where Taproot’s skilled volunteers come in! Keep in mind that giving does not always imply donating money. Taproot volunteers donate their skills daily.
How can skilled volunteers support my Giving Tuesday campaign?
Giving Tuesday and other holiday giving campaigns can provide a significant boost to nonprofits that are already stretched thin. The good news is that skilled volunteers can assist you:
- Find the right expertise. Even your fantastic team members can’t be experts at everything, so finding a business professional with the skills you might not have in-house could complement existing talent. For example, a graphic designer could spruce up your website graphics or a social media expert could create Instagram stories for the month.
- Make new advocates. Create lasting supporters for your organization by working with skilled volunteers excited about your cause.
- Do more with less. By freeing up staff to focus on other tasks, you can accomplish more while staying on budget. A Taproot volunteer could manage your Giving Tuesday event, so you don’t have to hire a contractor event planner.
Giving Tuesday falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, so you have a firm deadline to meet—November 29, 2022. Make a list of tasks specific to Giving Tuesday, such as developing social media content, designing fresh graphics, optimizing your SEO, crafting emails, and so on. Defined project requests like these are ideal for working with skilled volunteers.
Sample Giving Tuesday projects
Not sure what you need to complete a strong fundraising campaign? We broke down some project examples in our Common Pro Bono Projects Catalog: Fundraising Edition. Here are just a handful:
Stakeholder research
Do you know who your fundraiser’s target audience will be? Better yet, do you know the best way to reach them? Your organization can use a research project to gather and analyze information about target demographics, ideal forms of outreach, and/or what worked well or not during previous fundraisers. This synthesized data can then be used to make more informed decisions about how to advance fundraiser goals.
Key message development
Messaging is how you communicate who you are and why your organization exists. Well-crafted fundraising key messages should target specific audiences, highlight your organization’s unique and critical impact, include a specific call to action that encourages supporters to participate in your fundraiser, and always tie back into your organization’s mission and brand.
Social media strategy
A social media plan provides a roadmap for engaging supporters on different social media channels and incorporates elements identified through your communications plan and messaging work. Volunteers are available here for strategy work, training on using specific social channels, and creating social content.
Graphic design
Capture the attention of potential supporters through marketing materials that highlight your mission and impact. Design projects for fundraising campaigns may include: packaging social media graphics, updating program logos, producing new brochures, creating eye-catching email templates, updating one-pagers, or retooling website graphics.
Okay, you’ve convinced me. How do I start?
Create an account on Taproot Plus, our online volunteer matching platform, and post a project or one-hour brainstorming session for your Giving Tuesday tasks. After Taproot staff has reviewed your project, we’ll help find you awesome skilled volunteer applicants, and connect you and the candidate for an interview. Once you’ve found the right professional for your project, we supply you with resources to manage the project and have staff on-hand to support you and your volunteer along the way.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to our help desk if you hit a bump along the way! Taproot staff members are always available to offer platform support, brainstorm project ideas with you, and offer consultations at help@taprootplus.org.
