Giving Tuesday is now a global movement, which started in the US can be a good moment for an NGO to launch their fundraising campaign: the first Tuesday after Black Friday, it aims to balance the mindless spending and buying that often happens before Christmas. With the spirit of love and giving already in the air around the Holidays, potential supporters are more likely to listen to a message of charity.
1. Small donations are just the beginning
A one-time, small donation can work like a gateway-drug to social responsibility or activism: it’s easy, and doesn’t require much energy and personal risks from the donor. So it can be the first step for new, potential supporters of a cause or an NGO to become involved. After the donation, they will already feel more connected, and it becomes easier to involve them as volunteers, regular donors. So make sure to collect their contacts and stay in touch with these new, one-time (yet!) donors.
2. Be transparent about your result
As in any fundraising campaign, for special occasions like Giving Tuesday, the donation doesn’t end once the money is transferred: donors are interested in seeing what comes to being thanks to their money, and keeping them updated strengthens their connection with the cause. So showing them joyful moments, or the very tangible results is an essential part of the campaign.
3. Difficult topics - back personal stories with data
It might be that it’s easy to get people to donate for sad stray dogs and their adorable puppy eyes without much explanation. However, in more controversial topics the education and awareness raising can’t be avoided. A combination of personal stories backed with numbers and data are the best way to go if you want to show your cause to a wider public.
4. Remove the aura of sadness from giving!
The idea that giving has to be a completely selfless act still prevails, yet, there is no shame in feeling good from helping others. It is okay to emphasize the positive effects that activism and charity can have on both sides: volunteering, activism, or even just donating money increases our feeling of self worth, lets us connect to like minded people, and can lead to meaningful experiences in multiple ways. If we ourselves have fun while helping others, that doesn’t decrease our impact: on the contrary, it spreads more positivity, and can inspire others to follow our example!
The examples and patterns we bring from our childhood shape us, and our attitudes towards activism and charity, so teaching these values for children would be crucial. But how to do it? Some NGOs aim educational campaigns for the youngest public, which need extra caution from their side to make sure they remain ethical. And the Hungarian government even made volunteering for high schoolers compulsory - a controversial move, with good intention but many critics too.
You can listen to the podcast in Hungarian here on Hive Mind's Spotify channel. The podcast was created by NIOK Foundation's team (Andrea Sczígel, Vera Bécser) and Szonja Herczeg, writer, journalist and András Hajós, songwriter and TV personality as guest, and ambassadors of Giving Tuesday 2021 in Hungary.