Giving Tuesday is less than a month away! If you haven’t begun preparing your communication, today is the day to start.
For organizations that are short on time and resources, it may be easiest to develop one general Giving Tuesday email and send it to everyone in your database. We do not recommend doing this. Segmenting your communication and message can help you get new donors and retain existing donors.
Below we outline six email segments to think about when you’re working on your communication plan.
Recurring donors
Donors who give annually, quarterly, or monthly need a different communication focus than the rest of your email list. If you send an email soliciting a donation without acknowledging that the recipient is already giving on a regular basis, you risk losing that donor.
You can still send the core of your message but begin the email with an acknowledgment of their ongoing contribution and an explanation on why they’re receiving this email. Another option for this specific segment is to use a different call-to-action (CTA) within the Giving Tuesday communication. You could ask them to share why they support your organization or direct them to a way to give feedback on your organization’s work.
Major donors
The reasons to consider adjusting communication to major donors are similar to recurring donors. Individuals in the nonprofit industry are used to receiving Giving Tuesday emails. However, many individuals are not accustomed to these messages or may not even know what Giving Tuesday is. If these donors receive a traditional Giving Tuesday solicitation, it may be frustrating or upsetting to them.
You may want them to receive this email if you’re sending content that captures highlights from the prior year. If so, use this communication to thank them for their contribution and remind them that their donation was what helped your organization accomplish so much over the last year.
Individuals who gave during last year’s Giving Tuesday
It can be helpful to remind individuals that they gave during a previous Giving Tuesday campaign. If you choose to do this, we recommend emphasizing the importance of their prior gift. 2017 has seen an increase in giving due to natural disasters and shifts in giving due to political policies. Don’t assume because someone gave to you last year; they will give this year. You should invest time in a message that explains how you put last year’s donation to work and why it’s critical they continue to support you.
Teenagers
Social Change Consulting worked with an organization that used to include teens in their general year-end fundraising campaign. It didn’t yield any donations and saw a higher than average opt-out rate. This email communication isn’t typically catered to a young audience, and most young people cannot donate themselves.
If your organization works with young people and your CTA is focused on donations, we suggest removing teens from your list or adapting content to fit this audience. A CTA catering toward young people can be focused on giving them the opportunity to share their story. If fundraising is critical, you can encourage them to host a fundraiser or participate in a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. You’ll need to have tools prepared to help them do this.
Individuals in different professions
If you work with a variety of industries, you can work to customize content based on the profession of the recipient. If you are sharing organizational highlights from the prior year or critical objectives for the year ahead, segmenting email by profession gives you the ability to write content that is more industry-specific. This communication is more impactful for the recipient because it directly related to their work.
Regular volunteers
Some organizations have volunteers who can regularly donate their time but may not have the resources to make a financial contribution. If your nonprofit has a regular group of volunteers and your CTA is focused on fundraising, we encourage you to adjust your email content to acknowledge their role. Thank them for their time and organizational contributions and adapt the CTA to something that is a more passive way to solicit funds. You can encourage them to share why they volunteer on social media so that people can donate to support them.
These email segments are a starting point. Most organizations should be able to refine their message further based on their primary audience groups. If you have questions or need help with your campaign, let us know. Email us at info@socialchangeconsulting.com or fill out the form on our Contact Us page.
We wish you a successful Giving Tuesday campaign!
Justin (he, him) is a Principal and Co-Founder of Social Change Consulting. He has over fifteen years of nonprofit experience, with expertise in online fundraising, digital communications, and data management. Justin helps organizations connect their communication strategy to their income development needs. When he’s not on the clock, Justin is exploring Berlin, running, listening to too many podcasts, and drinking too much coffee.