Ahh my first blog post as an employed, tax-contributing member of Canadian society, how fun :)
Gross. Anyway, moving on from that, Giving Tuesday is the little shining beacon of hope at the end of all this insanity. A day to give back, do something great, and help spread the word about your favourite charity. The good peeps at Giving Tuesday Canada provide great support to Canadian charities, so Canadian charities can run their own campaign very easily. I'm aware that Giving Tuesday is reaching across the world, and it also took place in the UK. Really, there's no reason not to get involved.
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So I won't go on and on about my summer/fall and how crazy everything has been, but all I really need to tell you is that I have somehow, incredibly, got my DREAM job and am now the Integrated Direct Marketing Manager at the Toronto Humane Society.
So I'm back in to the world of fundraising in full force and I'm already signing up to every e-newsletter, social media and blog going to get my nose in and devour some inspiration and creativity.
By the way, if you want a source of my fundraising favourites, check out my Fundraising Inspiration board on Pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/rosayb/fundraising-inspiration/
If you work for a charity, no doubt you will have heard about Giving Tuesday. If you didn't run your own campaign this year, I strongly recommend that you get planning for next year, as Giving Tuesday isn't going anywhere!
In a nutshell, Giving Tuesday was founded on the 3rd December 2013. It is known as the annual day of giving back, and follows those hideous days of hysterical consumerism, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Sorry if my view comes across a little strong there, but this picture from the UK newspaper Metro came up on my Facebook feed on the morning of Black Friday and made me despair for humanity:
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Gross. Anyway, moving on from that, Giving Tuesday is the little shining beacon of hope at the end of all this insanity. A day to give back, do something great, and help spread the word about your favourite charity. The good peeps at Giving Tuesday Canada provide great support to Canadian charities, so Canadian charities can run their own campaign very easily. I'm aware that Giving Tuesday is reaching across the world, and it also took place in the UK. Really, there's no reason not to get involved.
My personal favourite thing about Giving Tuesday this year was the #UNselfie campaign. I really pushed this for the Toronto Humane Society and it was a great way to engage with our supporters. The #UNselfie tag was buzzing with activity in the week leading up to Giving Tuesday, so we did our best to have THS supporter pictures popping up in that feed on a daily basis. Of course, being an animal shelter, we have the huge advantage of having the most adorable unselfie opportunities ever - here's a selection of my favourites:
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We also put together a quick video to use for further engagement in our emails and social media campaigns. Also adorable, so I suggest you check it:
But enough about us. Here's some other campaigns and ideas that I thought were really fantastic!
The Ottawa Humane Society sent me an email from Zoe the cat. For the first 2,500 donations made to their Giving Tuesday campaign, Zoe's human friend would add $10.
Free the Children International released this weird but wonderful video of Andy the goat (who had a slightly cockney accent..?!) who asked everyone to donate $50 to buy a goat to help families overseas.
The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre offered one lucky Giving Tuesday donor and three friends a private tour of the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre to learn more about Chester, a false killer whale who was rescued and rehabilitated at the centre.
I could go on. There's loads of great, creative and some kinda weird campaigns out there. As a Giving Tuesday newbie who has just completed her very first Giving Tuesday campaign, here are some tips for 2015:
Get it in your budget! Don't make it a last minute thing, and don't let your boss spring it on you last minute! (looks like this happens a lot judging by the response to Fundraiser Grrl's hilarious blog post about the subject )
Secure a matching donor! Your campaign will have so much impact if all donations made on that day are matched, or added to (like the Ottawa Humane Society!) I wanted this soo bad this year but couldn't. Next year though, look out every body.
Get creative! Make it funky, make it social, make it interactive. Even a little bit weird, like Andy the Cockney Goat.
Fundraise for something specific! As always, if you have a specific target or project that you could fundraise for on Giving Tuesday, you will be sure to incentivise donors even more.
Use the tools! If your country's Giving Tuesday partner offers a campaign (like #UNselfie), toolkits or media messages, USE THEM! They are helpful, and your charity will be recognised in the overall Giving Tuesday buzz, which can only mean more $$$$!
I would love to hear about your Giving Tuesday experiences and fave campaigns! Talk to me on Twitter! @rosieeebbb
