#GivingTuesday is just 19 days away, arriving hot on the heels of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Last year, charitable donations increased by 4%, with a total of $390.05 billion being given to charity, and these figures are set to keep growing year over year. So in the spirit of giving, here are ten top strategies for making the most of #GivingTuesday and maximizing your donor contributions!

1. Plan your charity event rigorously. With only a few weeks remaining until #GivingTuesday, now’s the time move. Draw up a timeline of what you need to achieve and when to make your event a success to help you make the most of your limited time frame. This will prevent any important steps from being neglected. You can also help to share the workload by collaborating with external organizations, so consider how you could involve other groups and get as much support as possible.

2. Know your Donors through prospect research. This gives you insight into your prospective donors’ backgrounds, what makes them give and how much. For example, recent research has revealed that Generation X donors tend to donate more frequently than others, with 50% donating more than once a year. Understanding who your donors are and what motivates them to donate will help you maximise their support and contributions.

3. Crowdfund to expand your reach. Research by Kimbia revealed that 17% of all crowdfunding donations are made on mobile devices, so giving them an easy and accessible platform through which they can donate is a great way to spread the message and maximize incoming donations.

4. Double your intake by getting Involved with corporate matching gift programs. There are plenty of existing schemes in which employers match any charity donation made by their employees. This is too good of an opportunity to pass up, so see what matching options are available to you.

5. Retention of your donors is important, so take steps to catch them and keep them. Research by Maximillion revealed that monthly donors give on average 42% in a year than one-time donors. Introduce official memberships to your organization; make their first experience with you a positive one; customize your approach to fit their skills and appeal to them personally. Make your group a community that people will want to become a part of.

6. Cast the net wide and often. You may be surprised at the sorts of people who want to get involved, so don’t leave anybody out. Research by Classy highlighted nearly a third of all online donations are now a result of peer-to-peer fundraising, so don’t underestimate the power of individual donors in spreading your message to their personal networks.

7. Invite donors to get to know your charity or organization. The more familiar they feel with the cause they are supporting and the real-world results they are helping to make happen, the more eager people will be to get involved. Research by the Corporation for National and Community Service found that volunteers were almost twice as likely to donate to charities as non-volunteers, so getting that crucial buy-in and ongoing support is really important.

8. Express your gratitude sincerely. Let your donors know how valuable their support is, and make them feel that they made the right choice by getting involved with your charity. Remember, if they are giving something for nothing, the least they expect is to be appreciated for it.

9. Spread the word. Social media makes getting your message out there easier and cheaper than ever, so look to communicate regularly across all SM platforms, and get creative in your approaches so that you stand out from the crowd. The Pew Research Centre suggests that the fastest growing social networks are now Instagram and Pinterest, which means more visual content is needed if you plan to engage with audiences through these platforms.

10. Track your progress as you go, before and after the event and during. Gaining this insight into donors’ giving patterns and engaging in prospect research can help you identify who you should be reaching out to, as well as which strategies worked best for you and which weren’t so effective. The closer you look at the results you achieve, the better prepared you can be for future campaigns.

#GivingTuesday is all about uniting around the world to make a real difference, and for people to have fun and feel good about getting involved with charitable causes. By following these steps, you can ensure your organization makes the most of this key event in the fundraising calendar by not only engaging with your existing supporters, but reaching out to new audiences too.

Visit us online to see how Nexis® for Development Professionals can help you find the right donor prospects and maximize your contributions.

guest contributor- Jenna M