3 Ways to Follow Up with Your Donors After Giving Tuesday

Your nonprofit's Giving Tuesday campaign doesn’t end when the clock strikes midnight the Tuesday following Thanksgiving!

What you do afterward is just as important as what you did to promote your organization beforehand.

To continue the momentum and truly make the most of this giving holiday, it's all in the ongoing follow-up this holiday season.

We’ll discuss the three things you must do after Giving Tuesday to help you form meaningful relationships with your donors.

Following Up with Your Donors

Following up after Giving Tuesday helps further establish a relationship with your audience. Whether it’s showing appreciation or providing updates, keeping the line of communication open is key to building a long-term donor relationship. These three things will help you put the finishing touches on your Giving Tuesday campaign:

1. Say Thanks

This step may seem obvious, but it is the first step in re-engaging with your donors. By taking the time to personally thank your donors, you are reinforcing that their contribution made a difference.

Here are some ways to thank your donors:

• Lead them to a thank you page

After they make a donation on your landing page, they should be directed to a page that thanks them for their gift and provides a little more information on what their money will go towards.

This is a great opportunity to grow your relationship with your donor because you can invite them to follow you on social media accounts or lead them to a success story blog post.

• Send a thank-you email

Even if it’s an automated email that gets sent after they complete their donation, it still shows that you appreciate their gift. Make the thank you message sincere, and be sure to provide them with a next step, whether it’s subscribing to your blog or following you on social media. This will help you form a connection with your new donors.

• Write a handwritten note

Nothing can beat the authenticity of a handwritten thank you note. If you are a larger organization and had a great turnout for Giving Tuesday, this may sound daunting. However, if you plan ahead of time and recruit team members to help you with the task, it is possible.

Handwritten notes are very personal and can make your donors feel greatly appreciated, which in turn, could make them consider donating again in the future.

Pro Tip: Don’t forget to personalize your thank you message! According to a donor loyalty study done by Abila, 71% of donors feel more engaged with a nonprofit when they receive personalized content.

2. Share Your Results

Chances are that when you were promoting your Giving Tuesday campaign, you told your audience that you wanted to meet a goal. Be sure to follow up with them on how successful you were in raising funds for your cause! Even if you didn’t share your goal, by sharing your results you are showing how effective of a movement Giving Tuesday can be for your organization.

Here are some ways to share your results with your donors:

• Post an infographic on social media

To make your results stand out, create an infographic to grasp your followers’ attention. Share how much you were able to raise for your nonprofit and translate that to how it will specifically help your cause.

For example, if a charity was raising money for children’s school supplies, then they can say that the $10,000 they raised on Giving Tuesday will help 125 children from lower-income families can receive adequate school supplies. By putting your results into an eye-opening stat in a visually appealing format, your audience can see how Giving Tuesday made a difference for your organization.

• Send a follow-up email

The main component of successful marketing emails is sending your reader relevant content. Since your donors gave back to your cause, they are most likely interested to see the results of your Giving Tuesday fundraiser. That’s why it’s key for you to include a call-to-action in your follow-up email that would lead them to a page that contains your results. This will help establish a relationship with your donor.

• Include it in your monthly newsletter

If your organization has a newsletter that it sends out to your advocates every month, then be sure to include your Giving Tuesday results. You want to be sure that you use all of your communication channels when sharing your outcome in case some of your donors don't use social media or see your email.

3. Show the Impact

Your donors took the time to contribute to their cause, so you need to take the time to build content that shows them the impact their funds made. Make them feel as if they’re a part of your organization by keeping them in the loop of your future projects.

Here are ways you can show your donors the impact they made:

• Publish success stories on your blog

By creating blog posts that show how the donations made a difference, you are creating relevant content for your donors. If they don’t already subscribe to your blog, you can easily share these posts on social media and in emails. Want to make sure you write a compelling success story? Check out these storytelling tips.

• Send out a report

Show your donors a breakdown of how your organization used the funds you received to make a difference. By being transparent and showing them the numbers, they’ll feel genuinely invested in what your organization is doing.

• Share pictures and videos on social media

Before-and-after pictures are perfect for showing the effect donations have. Videos are great ways to share testimonials of people your organization has helped with the funds it raised. Post this content on social media to show all of your followers how your donors helped you achieve your goal and made a difference in the community. 

Giving Tuesday is about more than raising money for your cause, it can also help you grow your exposure and donor base. Make the most out of it by keeping your new donors engaged with your organization.

Follow up with your donors using these three things to get started meaningful relationship with your donors today. 

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