We are about to enter one of the noisiest times of year in general, and the noisiest day of the year for nonprofits: the holiday season in general, and Giving Tuesday for nonprofits.
I’ve watched Giving Tuesday grow from a grassroots movement into a mammoth movement. Though there are still people out there who don’t know what the day is, there are plenty who groan when it’s mentioned.
The day still seems to be finding its footing. Potentially, last year might have been the “ugly teenage” year of its development, with crazy matches from Facebook and inboxes inundated with emails. It was certainly the first year I hear more groans from people than celebrations.
Now, with the pandemic, and nonprofits starting to appreciate the nuance of the day, we seem to be headed in the right direction. The focus has moved back towards a global day of generosity instead of nonprofit leaders feeling like they are letting a vital opportunity pass by if they don’t bother their lists with pleas for money. And, in a year where we all feel separated and isolated, people might respond to the warmth of being part of a collective day.
Wherever your organization is on Giving Tuesday, (we remain big proponents of the day and the organization behind it. If you haven’t ever checked out their amazing resources around fundraising take yourself over to their website and poke around), this is a really good time to think about your communications this year.
It’s so easy to feel like we ‘have to’ send out certain communications, whether it’s Giving Tuesday emails, Annual Reports, Annual Appeals, and Year in Review emails. It’s so easy for for communications to become a list of check boxes that we feel obligated to complete, without stopping to think about their value and how they match our organization.
As we have said before: every communication should have a clear audience and a clear purpose. And, spoiler alert, “because we’ve always done it” or “because everyone else does it” is not a clear purpose. So, as you move through all your end of year communications, do stop and think. Or, if you already chugging along, spend some time after this hectic season to reevaluate and think about what you could do differently in 2021.
We aren’t saying don’t ask for money. Because in order to raise money, you do have to ask. We’re saying be careful of contributing to the noise. Think instead about how you can add value to conversation. As our lives become more and more content saturated (hello social media and doom scrolling!), just putting something out there to put something out there almost seems unkind to the world at large. It’s already noisy enough. So save your communicates for things that can cut through the noise. And make the season a little less hectic by doing so.
If you need ideas about streamlining your communications, check out our tools, including our Words to Avoid template.