In the nonprofit and charitable sector, the weeks between October 1 and New Year’s Eve is known as “The Giving Season.” Charities see a large amount of their donations come in at this time and special campaigns are in full force. How does your organization prepare for this demanding and exciting time? This webinar provides you with tips, advice and ideas to make this year's Giving Season a smooth success!

1. Planning for Holiday
Giving
July 21, 2010

2. CanadaHelps.org
What is CanadaHelps?
A public charitable foundation that provides accessible and
affordable online technology to both donors and charities.
For Charities
A cost‐effective means of raising funds online.
For Donors
A one‐stop‐shop for giving.
CanadaHelps is a charity helping charities.

3. Today’s Presenter
Kirstin Beardsley
Communications and Marketing Coordinator
CanadaHelps

4. Reminders
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Webinar recording and slides
will be available on
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5. Agenda
1. Overview of Giving Season
2. Getting Started
3. Creating Compelling Messaging
4. Effective Outreach Tactics
5. Building Better Donor Relationships
6. Giving Season Promotional Ideas

6. OVERVIEW OF GIVING SEASON

7. ‘Tis the season to be giving!
• “Giving Season” is October ‐ December
• 50% of donations made through CanadaHelps are in
December
• Many cultural celebrations during this time of the
year with common theme of togetherness,
generosity, compassion, goodwill

8. Understand what motivates donors to give
• The spirit of giving
• Family, holiday and religious
traditions
• Making a difference
• Having an impact
• Inspiring fundraising campaign
• Recognition
• Social influence
• Tax benefit

9. A big motivator is simply being
asked…especially by someone in
your personal network

10. Challenge Opportunity
• It’s a season of giving back
• Standing out from the crowd
• People, companies, families,
• Competing with donors’ tight schools are more likely to donate
budgets at this time
• Keeping organized and motivated • Media are looking for charitable
stories
• Companies are thinking about
meaningful gifts for their staff
and clients

11. GET ORGANIZED!

12. 1. Create a Plan
• Define your goals
• Set measurable objectives
• Pick the right tactics & tools
• Set timelines
• Assign responsibilities
• Define budgets/ other resources
• Decide how you’ll measure success

13. Planning Checklist
1. When is the planning start date?
2. Who is involved and who is the project leader of the campaign?
3. What other resources are needed?
4. What are the goals and what does the charity want to
accomplish?
5. What does the timeline of events look like? Is it reasonable?
6. When is the launch date of the campaign?
7. How will the progress of the campaign be monitored? How will
the campaign be updated on the website?
8. How will the campaign be marketed?
9. When is the end date of the campaign?
10. How will you analyze the results of the campaign and draw
conclusions?

14. 2. Update Your Website
• Make sure your site is easy to understand &
easy to navigate
• Put key information in your prime real estate
• Test and fix sources of frustration

15. 3. Gather Contact Info
• Collect contact information everywhere
• Build your email list now
• Update your donor database

16. 4. Understand Your Audience
• Define your target audience (NOT “general
public”)
• Create an audience profile
• Choose tactics that target your audience

17. CREATE COMPELLING MESSAGING

18. 1. Think of Your Audience First
• Don’t ask “What does our organization want
to share”
• Ask “What does my audience want to know
about, care about, want to share”

19. 2. Use a Personal Voice
• Adopt a personal writing style that caters
to your target audience
• Write to convey emotion
• Don’t have a formal tone, especially on
social media

20. Evergreen’s “Gift of Nature”

21. 3. Share Interesting Stories
• Storytelling is effective in
making an emotional
connection with donors
• Stories and photographs
illustrate a more positive,
immediate impression than
an overload of stats

22. Lutherwood Child and Family Foundation’s Stories

23. 4. Be Clear & Consistent
• Have a clear call to action
• It’s important to make your
message stand out
• Keep consistent across
platforms
• Think in terms of what
messages get shared
• Use consistent branding

24. FEED NOVA SCOTIA’s Compelling Message

25. 5. Avoid Statistics
• Statistics and numbers get in the way of
conveying emotion
• Use statistics sparingly in the right places (i.e.
when explaining how you spend your money)

26. EFFECTIVE OUTREACH TACTICS

27. 1. Use Social Media
• Social media is a great, personal way to
connect with supporters
• Be your own publisher

28. • If you haven’t started, join
one social media site and
make it part of your holiday
toolkit
• Allow your “compelling message” to represent
the online voice of your campaign, whether
through tweets or Facebook posts

29. Holiday Facebook Examples
Epilepsy Toronto
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kitchener‐Waterloo & Area

30. 2. Engage Traditional Media
• Create bonds with local media
that can be sustained over
time
• Craft ready‐to‐go stories for
time‐strapped journalists
• Connect your messaging to
their audience

31. Scouts Canada’s Article on Fundraising
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/1014153

32. 3. Email Marketing
• Email campaigns are cost‐effective, timely
and personal
• Time messages over a period of time – don’t
think one message will work
• Track success

33. • Need
• Solution
• Cost
• Urgency
• Donor Context
• Donor Benefit

34. 4. Integrate
• Make sure all communications efforts are
integrated and coherent
• Use multiple channels for one campaign

35. BUILD BETTER DONOR
RELATIONSHIPS

36. 1. Focus on Impact
• Donors want to know that their contributions
make a difference
• Clearly and regularly communicate the impact
donations have

37. Fort York Food Bank’s Holiday Impact on Donors

38. 2. Say Thank You
• Optimize your stewardship program now to get
ready for your busiest time of year
• Thank the donor more than once for their
donation

39. • Let donors know you are grateful for their
participation.
• Thank every donor, even your online donors!

40. Canadian Association of the Deaf’s Demonstration of Thanks

41. 3. Build Community Relationships
• Involve the community in your holiday
fundraising
• Build relationships with local businesses and
other nonprofits to help spread the word

42. Ecotrust Canada’s Community Feel

43. Giving Season Promotional
Ideas

44. Donations as Gifts
• Many people are
looking for
alternative gifts to
give and receive

45. Gift Ideas
• Last‐minute gift • The gift for the person
• Avoid the line‐ups gift who has everything
• Eco‐friendly gift • Unique gift

47. Promote the Tax Benefits
• Remind donors to give before December 31st for tax
reasons
• Giving online is great for last‐minute donations
(receipts are emailed instantly by CanadaHelps)

48. Donating Gifts of Securities
• Most gifts of securities are made at the end of the
year
• Accepting gifts of securities is easy & hassle‐free with
CanadaHelps
• Explain the benefits and process in your
communications

50. Gift‐Free Holidays
• Invite your supporters to create fundraising
campaigns through GivingPages
• Give donors specific ideas: donations in lieu of gifts,
pledge event, fundraising challenge amongst friends,
“gift‐less” parties, etc.

51. • GPAGE EXAMPLE – giftless holiday

52. About MyCharityConnects

53. www.mycharityconnects.org
• Free online resources
“Orientation for Charities
• Information about technology Newly Registered with
• Video demonstrations CanadaHelps”
• More webinars
August 18
• Past webinar recordings 2PM – 3PM (ET)
• Learning opportunities
• Events

54. Question and Answer
You can hear us, but
we can’t hear you
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Ask away!

55. Thank you for attending!
Webinar slides and recording will be up on:
www.mycharityconnects.org/pastwebinars
Check out www.mycharityconnects.org for more resources!
Questions, feedback, comments?
Email us at: info@canadahelps.org