The summer slowdown is real. Across the board, everyone turns it down several notches, whether they’re on vacation or pretending they are. That makes for a leisurely fundraising season, and the respite is well-deserved—as an organizer, you’ve been hustling for months! If you’re in the office, the summer months present an excellent opportunity to tackle some to-dos that will minimize stress when things go from zero to sixty in the fall.
We’re not suggesting anyone go nuts (it is summer, after all!), but you’ll thank yourself later for taking care of a few things before your organization’s next big push.
Four Summer To-Dos for Fall Fundraising
1. GivingTuesday prep
According to GivingTuesday, there was a 6% increase in participants in GivingTuesday 2021, and giving in the US totaled $2.7 billion—this was a 9% increase compared to GivingTuesday 2020! Now is a great time to start nudging your ducks toward some semblance of a row, because you’ll for sure have your hands full with other projects in September. Start working on:
- If you aren’t using a fundraising platform, now’s the time to check out all your options, and we invite you to check out Eventgroove. Our campaign templates make setting up a crowdfunding pagebranded to your organization and its GivingTuesday 2022 push a snap. Plus, we’ve got built-in social media tools and integrate with email marketing services like MailChimp and your CRM. (Here’s an article on how to create a crowdfunding page for GivingTuesday).
- Take a look at your various social media platform analytics to get a feel for what sort of content seems to work best and what audience segment uses which platform the most. For example, according to Pew Research, 77% of 30–49-year-olds use Facebook and 48% of them use Instagram. Meanwhile, 22% of that same age group uses Snapchat while 48% of people ages 18-29 are all about the Tok. Start researching hashtags and developing messaging specific to your organization’s audience segments. For bonus points, start preparing images and content.
2. Set the framework for a Halloween fundraising event
Did you know that Halloween is the most popular holiday for decorating after Christmas (source)? And that Americans spent $490 million on costumes for their pets in 2019, which works out to double what they spent in 2010 (source)? Whether or not your nonprofit focuses on children, Halloween is an opportunity to connect with your community and raise awareness about your cause. Get your creative juices flowing with this easy fundraising idea for Halloween:
- A virtual and in-person pet Halloween costume contest and parade. Invite your audience to tag your organization on social media posts or photos showing their pets dressed up for trick-or-treating, and share those images on your own platforms. It’s an easy (and adorable) way to spread awareness of your organization. In tandem with that push, you could host a dog costume pet parade (do not underestimate the draw of these!) at which you can host a fun raffle. Livestream the parade, invite participants to vote for their favorite costumes, and offer a link to your raffle site so everyone can bid.
Want more Halloween fundraiser inspiration? Check out History.com’s article The History of Halloween and our tips on How to Scare up a Great Halloween Fundraiser
3. Review the intel to make informed fundraising decisions
Access any of the below and they’ll provide valuable insights into what’s on the horizon, offer perspective into this moment in time, confirm what you’re doing right, and reveal where your organization might make some adjustments.
- How is inflation affecting giving? The Nonprofit Times explores that question here.
- The Nonprofit Marketing + Fundraising Trends report for 2022 from Hubspot offers some really great information. There’s a section about inspirational #GivingTuesday campaigns, TikTok, and a discussion about what a successful nonprofit marketing campaign looks like in 2022. The whole thing is worth a read from the forward to the very end.
- Salesforce’s Nonprofit Trends Report covers all of the issues facing nonprofit organizations today, including mental health, diversity, equity, and inclusion, how nonprofit fundraising and marketing have permanently changed, and how nonprofits are still raising funds (and exceeding goals) despite challenges.
- Nonprofit Hub’s exploration of How Digital Technology is Transforming Nonprofit Fundraising focuses on hybrid events (online auctions, peer-to-peer fundraising, and raffles) it dovetails with the findings in our own Outlook for Fundraising and Events in 2022 Report.
4. Practice mental health
While this is a terrific time to take care of odds and ends, it’s also important to prepare yourself for the back half of the year. The time we live in is a stressful one, with concerns about inflation, climate change, and COVID all vying for attention. So, do something nice for yourself, take some planned time off, and fortify yourself with new habits that support your mental health. Our article 7 Mental Health Tips for Event Planners and Professionals offers really great advice. While geared toward event professionals, the advice from Charessa Sawyer of Event Therapy Network is something we should all incorporate into our professional lives.
Dive Into Fall!
For more helpful information that’ll prepare you for fall fundraising, check out our blog. We’ve got articles about How to Get Gen Z Involved, How to Run a Hybrid Raffle, and How to Use QR Codes to Cook Up A Food Fundraiser. If you’d like to explore how the Eventgroove fundraising platform can help your nonprofit engage supporters and host successful online, hybrid, and in-person events, check us out or schedule a quick tour with our team.
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