Matt Chesin

Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving, is rapidly becoming almost as big a shopping day as Black Friday. What not everyone realizes, however, is that this can be an extremely lucrative day for non-profit organizations as well as businesses. Furthermore, the first Tuesday in December has been given the title GivingTuesday. On this day, people are encouraged to donate to their favorite causes. This means that the time between Thanksgiving and early December provides you with a powerful window of opportunity to raise money. The following Cyber Monday marketing tips for non-profit organization fundraisers can help you make the most of this season.

Become Part of Giving Tuesday

As with any marketing campaign, the more you plan ahead, the better your chances for success. One of the first things you should do is register your fundraising campaign at the Giving Tuesday website. This will help you get more publicity for your organization. The site also contains quite a bit of valuable tools and resources to help you raise money.

Broadcast the Message

If you have an email list, send out multiple requests for donations on Giving Tuesday. Introduce your audience to the whole #GivingTuesday concept and explain why your non-profit is a worthy recipient of their donation. You should also remind people through your social media pages. Send out a variety of messages and let people know how important this campaign is to help you achieve your goals.

Use a Variety of Media and Platforms

The internet is becoming increasingly focused on images. Videos, photographs and infographics can all be effective for your holiday campaign. Posting videos to YouTube, or shorter ones to Instagram and Vine, can help you reach a wider audience. Some people are more likely to read emails, while others may use Facebook, Twitter or YouTube more frequently. By using all of these platforms, you can reach a wider audience.

Offer Clear Benefits

When selling a product, marketers must make it clear how the customer will benefit. When raising money for a cause or non-profit organization, you also have to be clear about the benefits. Whether your cause is going to help people, animals, the environment or enable a certain worthwhile project to be completed, make sure that you make it clear how peoples’ donations will help you make headway. You should also emphasize that donations of all sizes are welcome.

Invoke the Holiday Spirit

The holidays are not only the busiest season for shopping, it’s also the biggest time of year for donations. You can remind people that the true spirit of the holidays includes helping others and making the world a better place. This can help to shift the focus of your audience and remind them that they should reserve some of their holiday shopping budgets for good causes such as yours.

Set a Specific Goal

A proven technique for fundraising, used by everyone from TV telethons to startups running Kickstarter campaigns, is to set a specific monetary goal. That way you can have a counter and let people know how close you are to the goal. This creates a sense of urgency. It also helps motivate people to donate. Reaching the stated amount can become a goal for your readers and members as well as for your organization. You should give some indication of why you chose this amount, so it doesn’t seem arbitrary. Explain how raising this much money is essential for you to complete a certain task or project.

Recap

These Cyber Monday marketing tips for non-profit organization fundraising campaigns can be used year round, but they are especially effective during the holidays. People are feeling especially generous during this season and they have allocated a certain budget for spending. While a great deal of money is spend on shopping for holiday gifts, you can remind people that it’s equally important to donate to great causes, such as your organization.