The end-of-year giving season is a crucial time for nonprofits as many of their donors give and 47% of their revenue is received during this busy season. By personalizing communication, telling compelling and engaging stories, showing the impact of donations, engaging through multiple digital channels, simplifying the giving process, and expressing gratitude, organizations can maximize donor engagement and support their cause effectively during the holidays. Remember, it’s not just about the funds raised, but also about fostering lasting relationships with your supporters.
This season, often marked by a spirit of generosity and reflection, offers a unique opportunity to maximize donations and engage with supporters. In 2023, text-to-give campaigns have emerged as a powerful and innovative tool and communication channel,, blending convenience with effectiveness. In this blog post, we’ll explore the best text-to-give campaigns to utilize in the end-of-year giving season of 2023.
1. Understanding Text-to-Give
Text-to-give is a method of donating where supporters can send a monetary contribution to a nonprofit via a text message. This method has gained popularity due to its simplicity and the constituent’s widespread use of smartphones. In fact, 73% of adult cell owners use the text messaging function on their phone, with text messaging users send or receive an average of 41.5 messages per day, with the median user sending or receiving 10 texts daily. Due to these statistics and over $400 million being raised for nonprofit organizations, text-to-give has become an innovative new tool and platform. It’s a quick, secure, and user-friendly way for donors to support their favorite causes.
2. Choosing the Right Platform
The success of a text-to-give campaign largely depends on the platform you choose. Key factors for nonprofits to consider should include ease of use and onboarding, customization options, transaction fees, and integrations with your existing donor management system. Platforms like Virtuous, FundraiseUp, Blackbaud, Classy, and Salesforce stand out in 2023 and trending for 2024 for their robust features and user-friendly interfaces.
3. Campaign Customization
Customizing your nonprofit end-of-year campaign to resonate with your audience is crucial to amplifying your impact and increasing revenue during the end-of-year giving season. Campaign customization can include creating a compelling narrative, setting a clear and achievable goal, and ensuring your text-to-give keyword and short code are easy to remember. Personalization can significantly increase engagement and donations.
4. Effective Promotion
Promoting your end-of-year text-to-give campaign is essential. Utilize all communication channels at your disposal – social media, email, your website, text messaging, and direct mail. Remember to articulate the impact of donations clearly and consistently across all platforms.
5. Harnessing Social Media
Social media can amplify your campaign’s reach. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are ideal for sharing stories, updates, and call-to-actions. Engaging content, like videos and testimonials, can boost visibility and encourage sharing, expanding your campaign’s reach.
6. Engaging Corporate Partners
Partnering with businesses or influencers can potentially enhance your campaign’s effectiveness. Corporate partners and influencers can work to match donations, provide incentives and prizes for donors, or help promote the campaign. This not only increases the potential fundraising but also adds credibility to your campaign.
7. Creating Urgency
The end-of-year giving season is limited, so creating a sense of urgency can motivate donors to act swiftly. Countdowns, real-time donation trackers, and regular updates on progress towards your goal can create a sense of momentum and urgency. Additionally, calls to action such as “time is running out” or “donate now” can add urgency to your campaign.
8. Leveraging Matching Gifts
Encourage donors to check if their employers offer matching gift programs. This can potentially double the donations without additional effort from the donor, significantly boosting your campaign’s impact.
9. Seamless Donation Process
Ensure the donation process is as seamless as possible. A complicated or lengthy process on your mobile-friendly donation page can deter potential donors. The ideal text-to-give service should require only a few simple steps to complete a donation. Consider partnering with a text-to-give platform that allows for direct hyperlinks that allows for donors to click once from the text and then donate to the organization.
10. Post-Campaign Engagement
After the campaign is sent, it’s critically important to keep donors engaged. Share your gratitude for their donations and thank them for their contributions, update them on the impact of their donations, and keep them informed about future initiatives. This helps build a lasting and loyal relationship with your supporters.
As we approach the end of 2023, embracing these strategies can make a significant difference in your fundraising efforts, helping you to reach or exceed your goals while strengthening your relationship with supporters. If you want to get your nonprofit ready for a successful end-of-year giving campaign, contact Tatango today.
