GivingTuesday: The Resources You Need to Succeed

Head’s up: GivingTuesday is just weeks away! Isn’t it funny how the holiday season happens at the same time each year, yet it always seems to sneak up on us?

Consider this your warning: It’s all going down on Tuesday, December 1st.

Around since 2012, GivingTuesday is a national day of philanthropy for nonprofits far and wide, large and small, and for every cause under the sun. It follows Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Shop for Good Sunday, and Cyber Monday.

Yep. People will shop . . . drop . . . and then give back. (Even in 2020!)

Every year, more and more nonprofits are joining the fun. Yes, it can be a little intimidating for first-timers, but it can also payoff big time (if it’s done right). In fact, in 2019, over $500 million dollars were raised!

If you’re still on the fence, need some advice, want a marketing toolkit, or need to see some examples, I’ve got you covered. Keep reading to make your #GivingTuesday dreams come true!

If you only choose to look at one website, be sure it’s the official Giving Tuesday website. There you’ll find out how to participate, a toolkit and other resources, statistics, and stories of impact.

GivingTuesday: Should You Participate or Not?

• Pursuant laid out a short list of the pros and cons of #GivingTuesday participation for your nonprofit.

• Nonprofit Expert gives you five reasons to participate, including the fact that it helps you build trust.

• Need a specific reason to say yes or no? CauseVox will give you four scenarios to consider.

• While they may be a little biased, GivingTuesday can help persuade you, and also remind you that each year’s campaign doesn’t have to be completely new and fresh.

• Funraise presents some pretty compelling reasons to jump in with both feet, especially during the chaos of 2020.

• Red Start Creative shares their perspective, and #1 alone is worth the read.

#GivingTuesday Best Practices and Advice

• Nonprofit Hub has a terrific article about prioritizing relationships over tactics when it comes to your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts.

• GivingTuesdaySpark will help you inspire young people ages 6-21 to take action for your cause.

• One Cause has seven best practices that you should pay attention to. I particularly like #2.

• “Thank Your Donors” is just one tip that The Modern Nonprofit gives you. It’s a simple one, but should never be overlooked!

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy has compiled all their best articles and advice for you. I recommend taking a look at 6 Things Data Tells Us About Giving Tuesday.

• Have you jumped on the video bandwagon yet? If not, Wild Apricot may just convince you to press record.

• Are you a little technologically challenged? Soapbox Engage will guide you through some of the finer points.

• Keela has three tips to help you make the most of your #GivingTuesday campaign, and you should definitely take a gander at #2.

Resources and Toolkits for #GivingTuesday Campaign Success

• My friends at Funraise have put together a super helpful GivingTuesday Toolkit, including a step-by-step calendar and pre-written emails and social media posts.

• CauseVox has outlined a simple campaign timeline, and it’s a great place to start for some general guidance.

• While not exciting to look at, what I like about the Smithsonian’s toolkit is that it has options for starter, experienced, and advanced campaigns, as well as examples.

• Download Qgiv’s Ultimate #GivingTuesday Guide for messaging templates, promotion templates, and even a post card for your donors.

• Blackbaud has their own toolkit for you, and includes some items you won’t see from others such as webinars and podcasts.

• Wordpress’ nonprofit resource, GiveWP, created a whole workbook that you can download. It’ll walk you through campaign ideas, public relations and corporate partner options, and email templates.

• Be sure to check out your own state’s #GivingTuesday resources. Here in Georgia, we have GAgives.

• Kindful has curated a very comprehensive list of resources, and you’ll find ideas, examples, communications and marketing advice, and virtual fundraising suggestions.

• Want someone to walk you through a GivingTuesday strategy? Give Lively has you covered with an on demand webinar.

• Classy has a full resource center for you with a planning checklist, email templates, a webinar series, example campaigns, and more.

• The Whole Whale is priming you with 31 ideas for the big day, and you probably haven’t thought of some of these!

Examples for Your GivingTuesday Campaign

• You know storytelling is important in fundraising, and GoFundMe gives you five examples to learn from.

• Snowball Fundraising will show you nine of their favorite campaigns, and a template for your donation page.

• Campaign Monitor gives you four email examples to scrutinize—one for each prominent email of your campaign.

• Neon One is giving you a peak behind the curtains with four of their clients, and highlights examples for nonprofits both large and small.

• Donorbox explains the fundraising process in 10 steps . . . and gives you an example to go with each one.

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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Women: Steer Your Career and Get Where You Want to Go

Today’s post is from our friend, Gloria Martinez, of Women Led, which aims to celebrate women’s achievements in the workplace and is dedicated to increasing the number of women-led corporations, organizations, and small businesses by educating others about women-led achievements.

We’d all love to see more of that, wouldn’t we? If you’re a woman who wants to take a more intentional approach to your career, listen up! Gloria will provide you with practical tips to steer your career and get where you want to go.

Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels

Do you remember when you were a kid and someone asked what you wanted to be when you grew up? Maybe you said something practical like a teacher or nurse, or maybe you said something outlandish like being a lion tamer. Whatever our dreams are, it’s all too common for women to lose sight of those goals somewhere along the way, or else struggle to make them happen.

This is an unfortunate reality of being a woman in the workplace, and it’s just as common in the nonprofit and social enterprise sectors. But when you know you’ll face barriers, you can either head for the hills and run . . . or find practical strategies to break them down!

Never Stop Learning

The folks at Signify know how important it is to outsource skills that are outside your realm of knowledge. That’s why so many nonprofits and socially driven companies hire them for their copywriting and marketing expertise. At the same time, it’s just as important to recognize when you may be lacking skills or knowledge that would help your career move forward.

Even as you have to fill several roles at once, it’s unreasonable to expect yourself to be an expert at everything. Instead, continue gaining skills that will serve you the most. If you find that you want to branch out into a new arena, you may need a degree to get where you want to be. Alternatively, if you simply want to advance the skills you already have, enrolling in an online university is a great option for busy women who are also working. And for a crash course in a specific topic, take a look at LinkedIn Learning and HubSpot Academy.

Lastly, always look for opportunities to continue growing your skills, including both hard and soft skills. Take any chance you get to attend seminars, take online master classes, and read current blogs and books that are relevant in your field.

Listen and Lead

Learning happens in everyday life too, but that doesn’t mean that learning opportunities will simply fall in your lap. If you don’t already have a mentor, seek out a person who has the skills and experience you want to acquire. This may be a leader you work with, or the perfect mentor could be someone outside of your organization.

We all need mentors, whether you’re already in a leadership position or that’s something you aspire to. That’s because the best leaders are those who are willing to admit that they don’t know everything—but are always open to learning. As the website Diversity Woman suggests, one of the best ways to gain more experience, and ultimately learn what you need to move forward, is to ask for more responsibility.

Own Your Ambition

Too many women in the workforce have internalized the idea that we’re supposed to be humble. Sure, we all have to acknowledge what we don’t know, or else we’d never grow. But being humble becomes a problem when it turns into self-doubt.

That’s why Business Insider tells us how important it is to own our ambition. Do you have big hopes and dreams? Great! Now own them and your ambition to achieve them. Just as we have to listen and learn to be good leaders, we also have to acknowledge our accomplishments, talents, and strengths.

Ask for What You Want

A similar issue is when women fail to prioritize their needs in the workplace. This is especially common in nonprofit and social impact sectors where we’re often so focused on the mission that we shy away from addressing our own needs. As one nonprofit leader tells Forbes, one way to avoid this mistake is to know what’s negotiable. Whether we’re talking about salary, schedule, or anything else you need to reach your goals and avoid burnout, don’t assume that negotiating is off limits.

Burnout is a very real risk to professional like you, and it has more causes than you may think. If you feel stuck in your career or overwhelmed by barriers, you may be headed for burnout. The good news is that you can always turn this situation around—you just need the know-how and the courage to make it happen!

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Gloria Martinez loves sharing her business expertise and hopes to inspire other women to start their own businesses and seek promotions in the workplace. Her brainchild, Women Led, is an avenue for her vision to help women advance in the workplace and celebrate their achievements. 

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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12 Questions That Inspire Content Creation

You know you should be reaching out to your audience on a regular basis, but you’re just not sure what to say.

It’s a common problem, and one I get asked about a lot. Whether it’s through emails, blog posts, social media, or other formats, coming up with a constant stream of topics can be daunting, especially with everything else on your plate as the leader of a nonprofit or social impact company.

So, where can you find inspiration at any given moment—especially when you’re not feeling it?

Surprisingly, content ideas can come from just about anywhere, if you know where to look.

Let’s talk about 12 questions you can ask yourself the next time you need to create content for your cause.

Creating Content and Content Marketing

Before we get to the questions, let’s quickly discuss content marketing. Part of my job here on this blog is to educate nonprofits and social enterprises about the best ways to get the word out about their mission, and that includes timely marketing tactics.

Content marketing has made a huge splash over the past decade, and it's only gaining ground.

If you aren't familiar with the term, content marketing is defined by the Content Marketing Institute as, "a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are providing truly relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues."

This is the reason you see more and more organizations of all sizes utilizing social media, blogs, webinars, podcasts, Pinterest, and the like. These mediums for "giving away" free content do not hurt revenue, and only help to spread the word about your organization. They also help build credibility as well as a relationship with fans. If you haven't jumped on the content marketing bandwagon, you'd be wise to not only consider it, but start the implementation process soon.

The Challenge of Creating Content

As previously mentioned, one of the biggest challenges to content marketing is creating a steady stream of, well, content. Some days it can feel like inspiration rains from the heavens, while other days are more drought-like.

So, if you need a springboard, or think your supply is running a little short, below are some questions to get you started.

CLIENT, CUSTOMER, OR BENEFICIARY INSPIRATION

Think about the people who benefit from your mission and work, who donate to you, or who make a purchase from you. There are often common questions and themes that come up over and over again, meaning the rest of your audience would be interested in the subject as well.

1. What questions have they asked?

2. What problem or need are you trying to solve for them?

3. What case studies can you share that others can learn from?

INDUSTRY OR FOCUS AREA INSPIRATION

Your mission matters to your audience for a reason, and you are a leader in their eyes. Consider how you can continue to highlight the fact that you are a subject matter expert.

1. What are the latest trends?

2. What have you learned at recent events or conferences?

3. What are your online and in-person mentors discussing?

PEER INSPIRATION

None of us can know everything, and some of your best ideas may come from those around you. The people both inside and outside of your organization might just be the spark you’re looking for.

1. What relevant conversations are you having?

2. What questions have they asked regarding your expertise?

3. What do you see them doing that could help your customers, beneficiaries, or fans?

POP CULTURE OR CURRENT EVENT INSPIRATION

Everyone loves a pop culture reference, and it can help bring out the fun side or personality of your nonprofit or social enterprise. Alternatively, your cause may be highlighted in the news, making it more timely than ever.

1. What movies or TV shows have sparked ideas or lessons for your organization?

2. What is everyone reading or listening to right now that reminds you of your work?

3. What current event is happening at this moment that makes your mission more relevant than ever?

As you see, inspiration can come from practically anywhere. Pretty soon, you'll start to recognize it in all its forms. And because information changes, your knowledge base expands, and perspectives shift, you can come back to these questions again and again.

A reminder: Make sure you have a system handy for writing down ideas when they pop in your head so that you have them ready to go in the future. And a tip for writing—do it when the mood strikes, and write as much as you can, even if it’s just bullets to start. Get ahead, if possible, for when you are low on time or your creativity is more tapped out. You’ll be glad you did!

Where do your content marketing ideas come from? Please share in the comments!

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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4 Tips for How to Become a Better Writer

As a copywriter with almost two decades of experience, one of the questions I get asked a lot is how to become a better writer. From grant proposals to product descriptions to blog posts to websites and more, you have a lot to say, and it needs to be said well in order to gain more support for your nonprofit or social enterprise.

Learning how to convince and compel with the written word is not just an essential skill, but one that stands the test of time.

No matter the format or latest trend, you’ll always be glad that you took the time to improve your writing. It’s a journey that never ends, but one you’ll gain confidence in as you go.

Plus, if you’re at a small cause-focused organization, it’s unlikely that you can outsource all of your writing needs anyway, which also makes it unavoidable. Might as well do the best with what you’ve got, right?

So, if you’re ready to get better at writing, sharpen your pencils because I have four tips that you can implement starting today.

A Disclaimer: Copywriting vs. content writing

Before we jump into how you can become a better writer, I first wanted to take a minute to explain copywriting versus content writing. Many nonprofit and social enterprise leaders are not well-versed in marketing terms because they are busy running their organizations—and that’s totally okay! That’s why you need people like me to not just do the work, but help you understand it as well. And I’m happy to!

Here’s the gist:

Copywriting is marketing copy that’s used to persuade. The words are intended to drive sales, increase leads and interest, and make people want to take action. The language is often strong, emotional, and engaging. (Here’s an example.)

Content writing is informative. The words are used to educate or tell stories. If you’ve heard of content marketing, then you know content writing is often utilized to build a know/like/trust factor so that people can get to know you over time. (This blog post you’re reading is one example.)

I point this out not just to make you a little smarter, though that’s always a good thing. I say this so that you understand that there are two different ways of writing for your organization, and they serve different purposes.

Good writers may be good at content writing, but may not be good at copywriting. You or another staffer may be terrific at creating blog content, but it doesn’t mean that you should be writing your fundraising or sales campaigns, or even the main pages of your website.

Definitely take the time to get better at writing, but know that you may still need to call in professional when it comes to marketing copy that’s intended to bring in dollars.

4 Tips That Will Vastly Improve Your Writing

1. Write (A Lot) to Improve Your Writing

“Practice makes perfect” is a cliche for a reason! Even (and perhaps especially) if you do not regularly write for your nonprofit or social enterprise, I encourage you to find an outlet to do so.

I actually started my personal blog while working as an Event Marketing Director because I had less writing to do for our nonprofit than in previous jobs. I needed that space to continue practicing at night and on the weekends since I wasn’t getting it during the day.

Writing is a bit of a use it or lose it skill, in my opinion. Not like you’ll completely forget how to write if you stop, of course, but it’ll be harder. You could experience more writer’s block or fall behind on best practices. Writing will become more of a mental game, and something you’ll likely keep putting off until “later.”

By writing more, you’ll also start to develop your own voice. Obviously, you’ll need to stick to the tone and voice of your organization for professional purposes, but as a more experienced writer, you can also help shape that for your team. Additionally, many leaders want to write a book, so developing your own voice will come in handy later, too.

The more you can write, the better—and more confident—you’ll get.

2. Read (A Lot) to Get Better at Writing

Sometimes it helps to learn from the pros, and one of the best way to do that is by reading as much as you can. That might mean blogs and newsletters, but I find that books are the best source.

Did you know that fiction books also increase empathy? Guess there’s more than one reason to read them now! But, seriously, following the same narrative over many chapters not only captures your imagination, but helps you learn how to tell a great story. (Just be sure to keep your marketing materials brief, ha!)

And nonfiction books have their own benefits, such as helping you learn new things, which is also an essential for any leader. Nonfiction is also, of course, more closely aligned to what you’ll be writing for your organization, so you’ll be able to see great content modeled for you.

Be sure to make time for both fiction and nonfiction books!

If you don’t consider yourself a very analytical person, don’t worry! I’m not asking you to methodically pick apart everything you read. It will likely just start soaking in subconsciously. You’ll begin to develop a preference for certain styles, and will see it play out as you begin to write as well.

3. Read What You Wrote Out Loud

It’s amazing how different something may sound in your head as opposed to when you read it out loud.

This trick can help you avoid any number of writing mistakes. The tone or pace of your words might sound “off,” or the meaning may even get lost. You may also find a run-on sentence or hear how a comma changes the entire structure. And you could discover that what you’ve written is actually a mouthful to say, and therefore shouldn’t be in your final version.

Reading your writing aloud is also a great way to detect new thoughts and paragraphs. Digital writing these days is done in smaller paragraphs, often of one to four sentences, so hearing places where you pause can help you figure out when to press “enter.”

Oh, and I don’t mean muttering the words to yourself under your breath, which I sometimes do. I mean actual, out-loud reading. Say it loud and proud, my friend! You might be surprised by what you hear.

4. Get Feedback on Your Writing

This tip may be the most difficult, because it means that you have to be vulnerable and ask for feedback. I don’t know about you, but that can be rough for me. However, having another person’s perspective can be invaluable, so give it a try.

And, who knows, if you’re feeling self-conscious because you don’t have much professional writing experience or have been struggling with writer’s block, your friend or peer may actually give you a boost of confidence by letting you know what a great job you did!

Here are a few ways to make the feedback process better:

• Ask someone who understands the purpose of what’s being said. Everyone has their own opinion on what makes for good writing, but if your best friend doesn’t have a good handle on your organization’s tone, voice, and message, they probably won’t give you the insight you need.

• Ask someone you trust. It’s not easy to ask for constructive criticism, so be sure to get feedback from someone who you care about, and who cares about you.

• Ask about something minor. Before you pour your heart and soul into your next campaign, get feedback on something minor and less important. See what kinds of feedback you receive on something of less consequence before the stakes are higher.

• Ask for specific feedback. If there’s a particular area you’d like someone to focus on, make it clear. Otherwise, you may not get the feedback you want.

• Ask from a good headspace. If you’ve just had a really bad day, receiving any sort of criticism is probably not going to be well-received. Ask on a day that you know you can take it.

What do you think? Which tip will you try first?

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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