Here’s How Your Church Can Really Make A Difference This #GivingTuesday

Giving Tuesday started way back in 2012 as a movement to celebrate generosity. In an attempt to counter the commercialism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the goal of Giving Tuesday was to motivate generosity. 

More than 2,500 nonprofits participated in the first year, raising around $10 million. By 2018, approximately $400 million was raised—$125 million of which moved through Facebook. 

Getting involved in #GivingTuesday

A large number of your church members will be involved this Giving Tuesday, so why not use this opportunity to direct their generosity toward causes that align with your mission?

Here are four tips for making a difference this #GivingTuesday.

1. Don’t make Giving Tuesday an afterthought

Sometimes you can get a pretty good return with a minimal amount of effort, but that’s just not going to be the case with Giving Tuesday. The more time and effort that goes into planning and communicating your goals, the more involvement you’re going to get.

So start planning early and decide:

• What charities and opportunities do you want to focus on?
• What do you need to communicate, and when do you need to deliver on that communication?  
• Who will be running point on creating all of the assets you need and communicating with the congregation?

The better prepared you are, the easier it will be to cast your vision. 

2. Set an ambitious goal

You’ll want to set an aggressive goal. Without a clear target, people won’t give as much. But when you set an objective that causes them to rise to the occasion, they’ll be more invested in the outcome. 

If you have a couple of good giving options, you can even turn it into a friendly competition. Create two teams who will battle it out to raise the most for their specific charity. As long as you tackle this tastefully, it can be fun for everyone—and raise more for these important causes. 

3. Get your community involved

One of the best things about something like Giving Tuesday is that it appeals to everyone. If you find local issues and causes that your community cares about, it’s easy to get them on board with this event. And you will experience many benefits beyond simple fundraising:

• It helps the community see that you’re here for them, and communicates that you care about many of the same issues they do. 
• It propels people in your community toward your social media platforms. Typically, people rarely unlike Facebook pages. So once someone follows your page to support your #GivingTuesday drive, they’re going to be in for the long haul.  
• Create a simple landing page for this event with a place to capture emails to keep people abreast of how much you’ve raised. This way, you’re growing an email list that you can engage later on.

4. Focus entirely on digital giving  

One of the positives about Giving Tuesday is that it’s focused on digital giving. This is perfect for churches trying to move away from dealing with cash and checks. Focus on getting people excited about giving and talk about all the ways they can give digitally.

Use this as an opportunity to recast a vision for your church app. Encourage everyone to download your app both inside and outside your church. For attendees, this is an opportunity to get more people to embrace your preferred giving infrastructure. For those on the outside, it offers another touchpoint with your church and gives them an easy way to give during the next high-profile local drive. 

You can also use this opportunity for text-engagement. Some folks aren’t ready to download a giving app, but they’re willing to do a simple text-to-give. This is a significant first step to help people get over the mental hurdles associated with digital giving and see how simple the process really is.  

People want to give—help them

The beautiful thing about Giving Tuesday is how it demonstrates the philanthropic nature of most people. They’re generous, and they’re just looking for an opportunity to give. This annual event kindles your congregation’s giving spirit, so direct it toward something that makes the most sense for your community. By being intentional about it, you can encourage more exceptional generosity in a way that makes everyone feel the most confident about giving! 

For more on launching new initiatives to encourage generosity, download the free ebook, Teaching Your Church to Give, today!