How Can My Church Plan for Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is one of the most beneficial days nonprofits can focus on, and if your church isn’t already strategizing for this year’s Giving Tuesday, it’s about time you got around to it. A team at the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at the 92nd Street Y-a cultural center in New York City started Giving Tuesday rather recently, but since its founding in 2012, it has become a global day dedicated to philanthropy.

Every year, Giving Tuesday is celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. That means it follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which are two of the biggest shopping events of the year. This timing isn’t accidental, either. Giving Tuesday kicks off end-of-year giving and puts charity in the front of people’s minds at a time when they’re already shopping with their wallets in hand.

As a church, you should consider Giving Tuesday to be of major focus. When it comes to hitting your donation goals and spearheading end-of-year giving, Giving Tuesday is the perfect opportunity to harness social media, encourage people’s charitable nature, and get people to donate — both money and time — to helping your church fulfill its goals.

Take Part in #GivingTuesday

Your church’s members are sure to participate in Giving Tuesday this year, so why not get some events, content, and activities in order that will direct their generosity toward your church’s causes? To follow are tips for encouraging participation.

#1 Bring It To The Forefront

You shouldn’t be rushing to plan something for #GivingTuesday last minute. If you want the biggest impact, you need to bring Giving Tuesday to the forefront and talk about it for the week leading up to and following it. You’ll want to invest time and resources into planning for it, and set goals for the same.

Ask yourself:

• What causes does your church have right now?
• What other charities and missions do you want to bring attention to?
• Who will be responsible for communicating with congregants?
• Who will create the content plan?
• What do you hope to achieve with your content and communications?

When done right, your church will find that Giving Tuesday provides a major boost to funding and, combined with the right follow-up, can even generate a number of new first-time and recurring donors. Plus, you should remember that Giving Tuesday isn’t just about encouraging financial support. It’s also a great time to remind your church members about volunteer opportunities and other ways they can get involved.

#2 Strive for a Major Goal

While it’s typically advised to set realistic and actionable goals throughout the year, Giving Tuesday is a time to go all out. This is your church’s biggest opportunity of the year to get funding, so be ambitious about it. Making your goal public can drive even more donations, so set a clear target and quantify it in any way possible.

When presenting your goal, surround it with context about your objective. People shouldn’t see it as a dollar figure, but as an actual impact they can make. Get people emotionally invested in the outcome, too. Encourage them to sign up for your newsletter so they can stay in-the-loop about updates.

You might even turn it into a friendly competition by creating two “teams” for two different missions or goals. As long as it’s done tastefully, this competition can help people share and donate more while your church ultimately works toward a common goal.

#3 Bring Attention to the Community

Giving Tuesday appeals to absolutely everyone as it isn’t limited to any specific region, cause, or type of donation. That’s why it’s the perfect time of year to think about how your church can best serve the local community. By setting up a cause that directly benefits your local church members and neighbors, you can encourage even more participation.

In doing this, you’ll also:

• Cement your church’s position in the community and reinforce your dedication to serving the community you care about.
• Relate to people on a new level by recognizing and working to solve issues that hit close to home for church members and their friends.
• Attract new attendees, volunteers, and donors who finally resonate with a cause that your church is looking to support.

When it comes to engaging your local community, plan in advance so that you can try to get as much PR as possible. Consider reaching out to local businesses, news outlets and other public channels to help spread the word.

#4 Shift Your Focus to Digital Giving

Especially in light of recent events, putting the focus on digital giving on Giving Tuesday is a fantastic way to get more people giving digitally and encourage church members to move away from cash and checks. During your Giving Tuesday campaign, make sure you include quick how-tos and tips for giving digitally to help guide those who may be new to the process.

If you don’t already have a church app or text-to-give platform, it’s a great time to install one as you prepare for Giving Tuesday. Go ahead and introduce your congregation to it and show them how to use it in advance of Giving Tuesday, and then you can use the day to reinforce it and encourage people to try it out.

Setting up and advertising a church app during this time is also beneficial for countless other reasons. For instance, it gives church members another touchpoint for interacting with and connecting with your church (and their fellow congregants). It also makes it easy for them to track donations, make donations, and setup recurring donations with ease.

Help Your Community Give More This Year

Almost everyone desires to be more charitable, but many people struggle with when and how to do it. Giving Tuesday is extremely powerful. It sets up a time and place where everyone is in the spirit to give. Companies and organizations around the world talk about charity in the days leading up to Giving Tuesday. Better yet? Your church members will be more poised to give than ever.

Here at DonorWerx, we believe that investing some time and resources into planning for Giving Tuesday is one of the smartest moves you can make. If you need the right software, tools, and coaching to help you pull it off, explore our solutions.