Give to the Max Day is coming up on November 16, 2023 and it’s an incredible opportunity many nonprofits in Minnesota have to maximize and excite donors around their cause and raise some extra funds as we head into the end of the year. Like anything in life, without a plan you will not reach your potential in gifts. You need to engage both your finance and communications shop to make this day successful, so here are a few tips we give clients as they head into Give to the Max Day.
1) Outline an email schedule – how are you contacting donors and past donors? Get in their inbox, not once, not twice but multiple times over the next few weeks. Use compelling subject lines to draw their attention to open, read and click DONATE.
2) Find a donor who will match gifts! Maybe all nonprofits should take a look at what retail companies do to excite consumers – two for one! If a donor feels like they can give more with their $20 or $200 gift – find someone to match that gift.
3) Tell a story – if you work with K2 you know the story and “why” behind a gift is pivotal to fundraising. You need to move donors with an emotional appeal to give on this day. Use your stories, individuals, successes and the need for support, to drive the “why” to raise more funds.
4) Engage your board – if you don’t have the mass email list to reach enough people, Give to the Max Day is a great opportunity to ask supporters and board members to forward an email asking their network to contribute. You do not need a large board to do this – remember giving starts one person at a time and you have to start somewhere when expanding your house file.
We are all humans with emotions driven to give and support causes we feel compelled to. On Give to the Max Day it is your job (the nonprofit) to tap into those emotions and make it easy for the donor to give. It’s also your job to remind them.
Happy raising (and happy giving!)
-Kristen Sheehan