Storytelling for #GivingTuesday performs a novel function in your group’s communication plan. #GivingTuesday on Mightycause isn’t nearly donations. As a nonprofit group, your objective is to encourage your neighborhood to put money into your trigger. Storytelling is the inspiration of making long-term supporters to your mission. Supporters donate, volunteer, unfold the phrase, and champion your work.
#GivingTuesday is the proper time to assemble new donors and interact your trustworthy supporters! You’ve gotten a restricted time to drive donors to your marketing campaign with a purpose to attain your funding objectives. This implies your storytelling must be present, impactful and well-planned.
Nonprofit storytelling for #GivingTuesday will be damaged down into three phases:
- Put together
- Compose
- Put together to Publish
Put together 
Throughout your preparation, you’ll consider a number of elements that when introduced collectively create a robust story for #GivingTuesday.
First, decide your Angle.
We will’t discuss all the things, however we’ve to speak about one thing. Keep in mind #GivingTuesday is a limited-time marketing campaign. Your angle must be laser-focused on what you might be asking of your donors. For instance:
- Does your group have a right away want?
- Are you rolling out a brand new initiative?
- Do you could have a long-standing program that depends on #GivingTuesday funds?
Your angle have to be:
- Easy to speak
- Simple to grasp
- Conducive to visible storytelling
- Tied to your nonprofit’s mission
- Broad sufficient that you may tie in a number of associated tales, equivalent to testimonials.
Second, evaluation your Mission.
What’s your group all about?
Your nonprofit’s mission presents the concepts on the core of your nonprofit’s work. These concepts are your bedrock rules; they’re easy concepts that designate why you do the work you do. Finally, as a nonprofit, you aren’t asking your neighborhood to assist your applications and companies — you might be asking them to purchase into the concepts and rules that gasoline your applications and companies.
It may be useful to check with your nonprofit’s mission assertion when you’re unsure the place to start.
Third, outline your Key Messages.
As soon as you understand your mission, Break it down into 2 to three key messages. These must be broad and converse to your why somewhat than your what.
For instance, let’s say your nonprofit is a meals financial institution. Two strong key messages could possibly be:
- “We imagine that every one individuals must be free from starvation.”
- “Communities have to work collectively to serve others who want a serving to hand.”
For #GivingTuesday chances are you’ll be tempted to select how many individuals your meals financial institution feeds yearly as a key message. However that’s a what and never a why. So as an alternative of discussing what your meals financial institution does to handle starvation in your neighborhood, spotlight why.
Now you’re able to kind your #GivingTuesday Messages.
Now that you’ve got your angle, mission, and key messages – mix them.
Zero in on 2 to three #GivingTuesday messages in gentle of your angle. As we talked about, #GivingTuesday is a limited-time, laser-focused marketing campaign. We’d like only a few key messages that spotlight the mission of your group however give attention to the angle.
Issues to outline in your #GivingTuesday messages may embody:
- The impression of supporters coming collectively to assist your trigger on #GivingTuesday.
- A particular program or new initiative.
- A recommended donation quantity that’s particular to a right away want
- Any message intently associated to your marketing campaign’s angle.
You’ll wish to hold your messaging broad however targeted. The important thing messages shall be promoted quite a few instances main as much as and on Giving Tuesday. So the messages must be broad sufficient to weave into your numerous promotional retailers equivalent to your e-mail communication and social media posts.
Persevering with with our meals financial institution instance, #GivingTuesday messages may be:
- Right this moment we come collectively to work towards ending meals instability in our neighborhood.
- A present of simply $25 can feed a household of three for per week.
- Our neighborhood has a accountability to assist these amongst us affected by starvation.
TADA! You’ve gotten created your nonprofit storytelling funnel for #GivingTuesday.
Your group’s angle, mission, and key messages funnel into your content material. It isn’t selecting one over the opposite.
→ Your mission issues.
→→→ Your messages get your mission performed.
→→→→→→ Your angle presents your messages to your neighborhood.
Your key messages must be on the middle of all of your nonprofit storytelling for #GivingTuesday. Whenever you’re selecting which tales to inform, whenever you’re selecting testimonials, whenever you’re scripting and enhancing your movies, or whenever you’re drafting an email- your key messages must be the inspiration of every.
These messages will act as a information whenever you’re constructing your content material. Whenever you and your workforce undergo this course of, you can see that these messages typically end in content material roughly writing itself — they’re an awesome guiding gentle as you put together to attach along with your supporters about #GivingTuesday.
Subsequent, contemplate How you’ll inform your #GivingTuesday story.
Movies, social media posts, emails?
Every group is totally different. So look to see which mediums resonate along with your neighborhood and contemplate your advertising assets. Take into consideration what outreach has labored up to now and how one can up your recreation this 12 months.
When talking in regards to the rule of seven in advertising, Certainly.com reminds us that partaking your donors by means of “a wide range of strategies ceaselessly might help to construct belief.” Don’t be afraid to inform your #GivingTuesday story typically and thru a number of mediums.
A couple of ideas are:
- A video. Having a video on #GivingTuesday is advisable as a result of you need to use it in so many alternative methods — in your web site, on social media, in emails, in your Mightycause web page. You possibly can even present it at an in-person occasion! Should you’re unsure methods to go about making one, put a name out on social media and e-mail for a volunteer videographer who might help you set one collectively. However even when you can’t discover a videographer, you may DIY a #GivingTuesday video by splicing collectively photographs, video footage (which telephones are literally fairly nice at capturing) and utilizing a free on-line video editor like YouTube Editor, apps like VivaVideo, and Capcut, or web sites like Kizoa.
- Photographs. Collect photographs you need to use on #GivingTuesday. Photographs will particularly assist hold issues attention-grabbing on social media. They might help boost your emails, convey flare to your story on Mightycause, and will be added to your web site and/or weblog.
- Social media share graphics. Use the photographs you’ve gathered to create some shareable graphics for #GivingTuesday! Add a quote from a testimonial or a name to motion, together with the #GivingTuesday brand. (Obtain logos right here.) Free on-line instruments like Canva might help you simply create eye-catching share graphics already formatted for social media on a price range.
- Draft emails/weblog posts. These shall be a bit extra long-form than your social media posts, so you may be sure to add in all the main points and flare you’d like. These longer items might help inform the shorter items you’ll want to provide, equivalent to your social media posts. Test-out #GivingTuesday e-mail templates right here: #GivingTuesday E-mail Templates and Finest Practices.
Lastly, select your #GivingTuesday Characters. 
Each nice story wants nice characters. And in nonprofit fundraising, having relatable characters is crucial as a result of they convey the problems of your work all the way down to a private degree. It may be arduous for the on a regular basis particular person to narrate to starvation, animal welfare, or humanitarian work . These are massive, overwhelming matters and infrequently the general public places on blinders as a result of it’s arduous for many people to wrap our heads round them. By connecting these points to an individual or story (i.e. a household your meals financial institution helped feed, an animal your shelter rescued, or a refugee in disaster that your group supported) the common particular person is ready to then join emotionally to your trigger.
For instance, in case your group is working to boost consciousness and funds for canines in pet mills, you may share the journey of 1 canine’s rescue from a pet mill to a secure residence. This will make a giant, advanced problem really feel private. And the character of your story is a single pet.
Listed below are some belongings you’ll wish to contemplate when selecting your storytelling characters for #GivingTuesday:
- Does their story assist us inform our story?
- Can we simply contact them?
- Are they accessible to inform their story in their very own phrases?
- Is it a novel angle that hasn’t develop into cliche or overused by comparable organizations?
Make Contact.
After you identify the type of characters you might be in search of, contact anybody whose story you want to use in your storytelling for #GivingTuesday. Your attain may be organization-wide or particular to only a few splendid characters. It’s as much as you.
Earlier than you attain out, be sure to are ready to have interaction:
- Have just a few preliminary questions able to ask in case you solely have one interplay.
- Put together interview questions.
- Be able to deviate from the interview if the dialog flows in a different way
- Have waivers or permission types available when you intend to make use of photos, movies, or quotes. Remember to comply with your group’s insurance policies for this content material.
Compose
Diligent preparation will make writing simpler.
Simply begin writing!
Get important data out of your head and onto paper or the pc.
Don’t fear about proofreading as you go. Simply write. As you discover your movement you’ll start to search out the storytelling for #GivingTuesday simply occurs.
After the preliminary data is out of your head, contemplate your viewers. Who’re you writing to and the way would you like them to obtain your story for #GivingTuesday?
Additionally, determine your channels of communication and tailor your story to swimsuit every channel. Make a listing of all of the alternative ways you’ll talk with the general public earlier than and on the day of #GivingTuesday. Then contemplate a #GivingTuesday technique for every. As an example:
- How are you telling your story on Mightycause? Are you making a #GivingTuesday-specific fundraiser web page or utilizing your group web page?
- The place in your web site will you promote #GivingTuesday? When will you announce it?
- Do you could have a #GivingTuesday e-mail schedule? Can you add #GivingTuesday advertising to your upcoming unsolicited mail campaigns? (Make the most of our e-mail templates right here: #GivingTuesday E-mail Templates and Finest Practices)
- Which social media platforms will you utilize? And what number of posts do you intend to make on every platform? (Want some social media submit concepts, try our latest weblog, #GivingTuesday Social Media Pattern Posts (Fb and Twitter.)
- What number of blogs will you submit about #GivingTuesday?
- What media contacts can you utilize to assist publicize your #GivingTuesday marketing campaign?
- Do you could have any alternatives to market your #GivingTuesday marketing campaign at upcoming in-person occasions; do you could have one deliberate for the large day?
- Can you submit fliers or posters in your nonprofit’s amenities? And do you could have the foot site visitors to make this efficient?
It’s time to tweak your #GivingTuesday story.
No storytelling is ever full with the primary draft.
Upon getting accomplished the primary draft of your story stroll away from it for some time. Whenever you come again you’ll have a transparent thoughts to start out refining your story and customizing it to your totally different audiences and communication strategies.
Hold these 5 issues in thoughts:
- Keep away from: Deleting content material. Chances are you’ll have to take away a phrase, sentence, or paragraph. That’s okay; simply be sure you paste it someplace else in the meanwhile. Chances are you’ll wish to reuse or revisit the knowledge later.
- Make sure: Your #GivingTuesday messages are on the middle of your tales.
- Think about: Does the story should be extra lighthearted? Does it want higher element or much less? Have you ever gone off on a tangent or develop into too technical? Ought to this be two totally different tales?
- Distinguish: Which communication channels will embody what. You’ll discover that totally different channels could also be higher fitted to totally different features of your tales. Being prepared to regulate!
- Enlist: Others to assist edit. A completely recent pair of eyes can inform you if one thing is lacking or doesn’t appear clear. They are going to see belongings you learn over. It’s simply the way in which it’s. It occurs to each author.
Put together to Publish
The final job is to create the precise #GivingTuesday story you’ll publish.
How does your story look?
That is greater than making the video or including the #GivingTuesday brand to your photos. That is producing the complete weblog submit with the donate button and video embedded. Put together precisely what shall be launched to your neighborhood.
Storytelling for #GivingTuesday contains your textual content, photos, and movies. Make sure these are all visually interesting for every of your outreach avenues. What works for a big poster won’t essentially work for a flyer. And don’t belief that your formatting will work for each social media platform. Double-check what your content material appears like on desktop and cell units.
Most significantly, DON’T NEGLECT THE FINAL EDIT! What’s the remaining edit? It’s the final look earlier than you submit your #GivingTuesday story to the general public. You don’t need a typo entrance and middle. And let’s face it, all of us learn what we expect it says once we are studying it for the a hundredth time. Ask others to do the ultimate proofread!
For instance: On #GivingTuesday you wish to give thanks to your supporters. You don’t want to offer tanks to your supporters.
Coordinate Your #GivingTuesday Content material Launch Calendar.
Launching your content material is a key a part of storytelling for #GivingTuesday.
As soon as all the things is able to go public, create a content material launch calendar. Decide what and when to submit and ship. All the things doesn’t exit without delay. You’ll wish to ration photographs and movies based mostly on timing, bonus challenges, and normal viewers exercise.
For instance: Don’t launch your greatest story video at 6am or 9pm. You’ll miss the majority of your supporters.
One of many nice issues about storytelling for #GivingTuesday is that it’s okay to reuse content material. Simply because the video, photograph, or quote has been used as soon as, doesn’t imply that it could actually’t be used once more. The truth is, you wish to be reiterating your key #GivingTuesday messages to your neighborhood. (Don’t neglect what Certainly.com said- selection and frequency.) However you’ll want to have a schedule preplanned with the intention to hold straight what you could have used and can use.
Additionally, make certain another person has the content material launch schedule simply in case you could delegate. Loopy issues occur on #GivingTuesday.
To not point out, having your emails, posts, newsletters, postcards, and all the things else able to exit makes your life main as much as and on #GivingTuesday a lot simpler! All you wish to do the day of is click on “Ship.”
Professional-tip: with little to no effort, you may transition your storytelling for #GivingTuesday into storytelling for year-end fundraising. So hold your content material and hold your schedule shut by.
Let’s recap your storytelling for #GivingTuesday.
Preparation is the important thing to storytelling for #GivingTuesday!
First, decide your angle, mission, and key messages. Mix these to create your #GivingTuesday messages. Decide how you’ll interact your neighborhood and enlist your storytelling characters.
Subsequent, begin writing! Get your ideas out of your head. Take time to think about your viewers and resolve on your communication channels. Then edit your story to ensure your #GivingTuesday messages are entrance and middle.
Lastly, put together to publish. Create the precise content material you’ll share along with your neighborhood. Add your graphics, embed your movies, and double-check the formatting. Schedule the sending and the posting of every merchandise. And most significantly – proofread yet one more time!!
Don’t neglect, when you haven’t registered for #GivingTuesday on Mightycause you are able to do that right here. Don’t wait, November shall be right here earlier than we all know it!
