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#GivingTuesday Best Practices Summit 3/18/2014

“Oh the weather outside is frightful,
but planning for #GivingTuesday can be so delightful…”

Monday’s “snowpatricksday” storm may not have been our idea of spring weather, but it was the perfect backdrop to get us in a winter mindset for today’s #GivingTuesday Best Practices Summit at the United Nations Foundation Headquarters in the District.

The all-day summit brought together fundraising experts, thought leaders and key partners that helped make #GivingTuesday 2013 a success. For those unable to attend in-person, the UN Foundation’s LiveStream channel allowed others from all over the U.S. (and the world!) to listen in.

#GivingTuesday is a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations. This year’s #GivingTuesday is on Tuesday, December 2nd.

Although #GivingTuesday is still more than 8 months away, it’s not too early to begin planning. Below are some quick tips we learned from various panelists throughout the day:
  • START EARLY! It’s never too early to begin building anticipation for #GivingTuesday on your social networks. Use the tools that givingtuesday.org provides and find ways to incorporate them in your communications plans throughout the year. Also, now is the time to start evaluating your online giving experience (through your website, social media, etc.). You can do a lot with marketing and social media, but if the donation experience you offer your users is complicated or confusing, your efforts may fall flat. The simpler the better!
  • Get Creative! Been itching to try a fun new donor outreach initiative? Don’t be afraid to try something new on #GivingTuesday. “Surprise and Delight” your audience by making giving a fun, fulfilling experience.
  • Establish metrics! How can people make a difference with their donation? How will you measure the success of your campaign? As one panelist said, “You can’t analyze data if you don’t have it.” Start thinking about your metrics (and how you’ll communicate them) now.
  • Collaborate! #GivingTuesday is the perfect opportunity for nonprofits to work hand-in-hand with other nonprofits to share resources and best practices. Talk to others in your network, and brainstorm how you can work together to make a big impact on December 3rd.
  • Establish partnerships! Pick your 5 dream partners and ask them to participate in #GivingTuesday with you. Given that this is a rapidly growing, national movement, this could be a great way to get a foot in the door.
  • Have fun! Above all, #GivingTuesday should be a fun experience for your organization and your donors. If you can communicate your organization’s enthusiasm, donors will take note and feel the same!

For more great tips on #GivingTuesday, we recommend following @givingtues on Twitter for continuing updates and ideas to make the most of the day.

Stay tuned for more on Catalogue’s #GivingTuesday planning throughout the year…

#GivingTuesday: We’re not done yet!

Still looking for opportunities to give this #GivingTuesday? Look no further! The organizations below are all running #GivingTuesday campaigns, and need your support.

Arlington THRIVE
As winter approaches, your Arlington neighbors in need require your support now more than ever. Your gift of $250 can prevent the shut-off of an Arlington family’s heat and keep them safe and warm this winter. You can be confident that your gifts to Arlington Thrive prevent evictions and utility shut-offs and pay for emergency medical and dental care for our Arlington neighbors.
http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/Emergency-Needs-Utility-Assistance

A-SPAN
On December 3rd at 5pm, please consider?making a gift to A-SPAN?(as little as $10) to make an impact on Giving Tuesday. Razoo is hosting a giving Power Hour from 5 to 6 pm where the nonprofit who receives the most number of donors will earn bonus money! When you give, share your donation on twitter and facebook through Razoo and ask your friends to give as well. Tag each post with#GivingTuesdayand spread the word!
http://www.razoo.com/story/Givingtuesday-For-A-Span

Asian American LEAD
Help us spread the good word AND reach a fundraising goal of $2,500 to go towards our AALEAD After School, Summer and Mentoring Programs serving low-income and underserved Asian American youth! https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/AALEAD

CASA Prince George’s County
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)/ Prince George’s County empowers community volunteers to advocate and provide a voice for abused and neglected children in the Prince George’s County foster care system. A CASA volunteer is very often the only adult a child has been able to rely upon in their entire lives. It’s that simple – a qualified, caring adult can change everything. Your tax-deductible donation to our #GivingTuesday for the Child! Campaign will help us recruit and train more volunteers who will bring a voice to children in foster care.
http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/Givingtuesday-For-The-Child

DC SCORES
If you walk around in a community that includes one of DC SCORES 47 schools, you’re guaranteed to see a child in a DC SCORES T-shirt. The jersey is only one element of a DC SCORES soccer uniform. To participate in a weekly Game Day, a student also needs socks, shinguards and shorts. Can you help provide a soccer uniform for 250 new studentshttp://www.razoo.com/story/Givingtuesday-Provide-A-Child-A-Soccer-Uniform

FACETS
As you share in the joy of the holiday season we hope you will remember that there are hundreds of families in Fairfax County needing FACETS’ help. They are living in cars or motels or doubling up with family members. Some are barely scraping by in their own homes with the specter of eviction looming. And there are hundreds of people who simply need a helping hand to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. Your generosity this season will not only open doors for people in need, it will also literally bring people home for the holidays’
http://givingtuesday.org/partner/facets/

Girls on the Run – DC
Girls on the Run is growing by leaps and bounds in Washington DC! In the past year alone, we have experienced a 100% growth in the number of girls we serve! Our goal is to continue this kind of growth until we can reach as many girls in Washington DC as possible. We invite you to join us by helping us financially to expand to more schools and offer scholarships to girls who otherwise would not be able to afford this transformational program.
https://www.raceplanner.com/donate/Girls_on_the_Run__Washington_DC

Healthy Babies Project
Healthy Babies Project’s recently-opened Perennial Transitional House gives homeless, pregnant teen moms a roof over their heads, a safe place to live, and a chance for a healthy baby. Will you help us reach our goal of $50,000 to fund household expenses so these pregnant teenagers can come off the streets and live in a safe place, eat healthy food, have medical care, and continue with their education?
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Black-Friday–Cyber-Monday–But-the-Best-is-Giving-Tuesday–Join-Us-.html?soid=1103044049871&aid=McYFJDUECFc

Joy of Motion
Our Seniors in Motion outreach program provides free dance classes to low-income seniors at seven housing communities and wellness centers in five wards of DC and Silver Spring, MD, along with our annual “by seniors, for seniors” concert at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. All classes are provided at no cost to the centers or the participants, and our Seniors in Motion Concert is free and open to the public. Support from our community members is how we bring this program to life. We depend on you to share uplifting arts experiences with those of all ages. Join us on #GivingTuesday! http://www.razoo.com/story/Givingtuesday-2077

KidPower
Kid Power students are achieving their ambitious goals for the school year, and Kid Power is there every step of the way to help students achieve these goals through regular goal tracking, small group academic instruction, hands-on enrichment activities, and service-learning projects. Will you support our goal to raise $4,000 on Giving Tuesday so that we can help these amazing students reach their goals?http://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/Giving-Tuesday-For-Kid-Power-Community-Leaders

Life Pieces to Masterpieces
Help us mend shared humanity‪#‎1stitch at a time! Life Pieces to MasterpiecesColor Me Community Conversations is a series of community discussions that provide a diverse group of people from all around Washington, DC with a safe environment to discuss challenges in our community. Participants commit to one-stitch (#1stitch) towards mending shared humanity. Hear more about their experienceshere. Our goal is to have one workshop every month in 2014, and we need YOUR help in order to continue this important conversation!

Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR)
Founded in 1974, OAR is a community-based, non-profit organization working with incarcerated individuals, returning citizens, and those performing court-mandated community service in Arlington County and the Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church, VA.
http://www.razoo.com/story/Oar

Our Daily Bread – Fairfax: Give the gift of HOPE this holiday season. It always fits, and it never goes out of style! Sponsor a Fairfax area family for holiday meals and gifts for kids through ODB’s Holiday Program. 2,400 people are still waiting for help in December. Share our #GivingTuesday page and help spread the word.
http://givingtuesday.org/partner/odbfairfax/

PEN/Faulkner
Last month, author Maria Semple visited the SEED School of Washington where she met with 21 11th grade students who had read her novel “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” This visit (and the approximately 170 others we’ll hold in DC this school year) was made possible by the generosity of our friends and donors. On Tuesday, Dec. 3rd, PEN/Faulkner is proudly participating in Giving Tuesday, and we’re raising funds to help buy great books for great students!
http://givingtuesday.org/partner/penfaulkner-foundation/

Reach, Inc
Donate During December: Children’s Book Challenge!
Help us raise $50,000 from individual and corporate supporters before the end of the year! If we raise $50,000, Reach will donate 200 sets of our children’s books. Each set of donated books includes all four of ouracclaimed, teen-authored children’s books. All books will be donated to schools and programs serving low-income students in the District of Columbia. Learn more at: http://www.reachincorporated.org/donate/

Washington Youth Garden
A local family foundation and long-time Washington Youth Garden supporters have pledged to match every dollar we receive in this campaign up to $7,000.00. Some of the needs you’ll be supporting with your gift include school garden development, SPROUT field trip subsidies, Green Teens internship program, Family Garden Day scholarships and Nature Explore classroom renovation.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/washington-youth-garden

Young Playwrights’ Theater
Join YPT in celebrating how far we’ve come, and how far we can go. By teaching students to express themselves through playwriting, our programs empower students with the creativity, confidence and critical thinking skills they need to succeed in school and beyond. Your donation will help us say “yes” to new students throughout the DC region.
https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1436983

#GivingTuesday is here! How will you make an impact in your community today?

Since Thanksgiving, retailers have been promoting incredible steals and deals to help you complete your holiday shopping. What if you could turn the pennies you saved from those deals into pennies given to our Catalogue for Philanthropy charities?

The Catalogue’s #APennySaved campaign, in partnership with #GivingTuesday, combines the thrill of saving with the thrill of giving. We encourage you to turn your holiday savings into tangible good in the community through your support of our 350+ vetted charities.

After you give, don’t forget to tell us about it on social media! Use the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #APennySaved to tell us about how you’re supporting our community with the money you saved. Together we can make this a season of getting AND a season of giving.

Looking for ideas on ways to give? Think about how you saved, and use the wish lists below to guide your giving! Remember, this is only a small sample of our network of 350+ charities. Go to cfp-dc.org/nonprofits to learn more about them.

Saved $10 on a gift for your sibling? Use that $10 for:

Saved $25 on a gift for mom or dad? Use that $25 for:

And for the really savvy shoppers out there…Did you save $50 on a holiday gift?Use that $50 for:

Happy Giving!!

Reflections from the Road: Holiday Journeys and #GivingTuesday

As we prepare for the holidays – packing suitcases, loading up the car, battling traffic or airport lines – it seems that the process of getting to our destination has become as much a part of holiday tradition as turkey, stuffing and that awkward annual dinner toast from a distant relative.

This inevitable “are we there yet?” mentality stretches beyond just the holiday travel season — it extends to our personal goals, career objectives and other milestones in life. Yet, while we’re on these personal journeys, it’s important that we use this time of year to stop and reflect — here, in this moment — on the things that have brought us to where we are today…and be thankful.

This Tuesday, December 3rd, #GivingTuesday gives us that unique opportunity after both Thanksgiving and the holiday shopping that follows to further reflect on all that we’ve been given, and turn our gratitude into impact.

As an official #GivingTuesday partner, the Catalogue for Philanthropy encourages you to reflect and re-think your approach to holiday shopping: as you shop for loved ones this year during the sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, turn your pennies saved into pennies…given.

With the Catalogue’s #APennySaved campaign, think about using your holiday shopping savings to lift up those in need in our community through your support of our 350+ local, vetted charities (You can learn more about them and give at www.cfp-dc.org/nonprofits). Use the money you save on items purchased this holiday weekend to change your community for good.

This holiday season, travel safely, reflect on the journey, and give thanks by giving back.