#GivingTuesdayNow: Generosity and Unity in a Time of Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all sectors of our lives. Financial strains and an unprecedented transition to newfound forms of virtual and remote volunteering have combined to create a multifaceted burden on nonprofits. For organizations who would like to connect regarding additional resources or best practices for any of these items, please don’t hesitate to reach out to covid@givepulse.com.

In light of these changes, GivePulse chose to partner with GivingTuesdayNow, an initiative that encourages communities to donate time, talent, and treasure to the organizations that need them most. In doing so, we hope to elevate all the great community work that is happening. We know that asking for help right now can be difficult; we believe it is worthwhile to assess whether your organization feels it is appropriate to seek monetary donations at this time in your community. If not, perhaps a donations drive, volunteering campaign, or some other alternative will offer more approachable forms of giving.

Whatever you decide is an appropriate path for your organization to take this #GivingTuesdayNow, we hope that this guide will help you to communicate and plan effectively.

GivingTuesdayNow will take place on May 5, 2020, in addition to the regularly scheduled GivingTuesday on December 1, 2020. Created in response to urgent needs produced by COVID-19, GivingTuesdayNow promotes a concentrated generosity surge to help organizations when they need it most.

On GivingTuesdayNow, individuals can share their resources of any sort, whether that’s by donating money, volunteering virtually to share their time, fulfilling needs for an organization, or sharing a skill to complete a crucial project. In this way, GivingTuesdayNow encourages all communities to give as they are able, no matter what form this giving takes. As with virtual volunteer efforts, GivingTuesdayNow campaigns are strongest if they are built on transparency and connectedness. Below, you will find information about topics including:

How to effectively communicate needs
How to convert volunteers to donors
How to use this opportunity to strengthen connections to your cause and to your organization

We also want to highlight a product enhancement that we hope organizations will benefit from this GivingTuesdayNow: in response to feedback from our network, our team has developed a new in-kind donations functionality, just in time for this day of generosity. Donation Drive events create a space for wishlists and in-kind donations, for everything from food to hand sanitizer to books for children. GivingTuesdayNow is about more than just financial support; it’s about generosity in all of its forms. Donation Drives can help you to request whatever your organization and your clients need most, in addition to (or as an alternative to) financial forms of giving. If you have any questions about Donation Drives, contact our team at donationdrives@givepulse.com.

Communicating needs

In order to effectively drive donors and volunteers to your organization, you will want to find a compelling way to communicate your organization’s needs. Through conversations with our partners and through our own research, we have identified the following aspects as keys to successful communication:

If you are seeking monetary donations, recognize newfound burdens

Language that conveys your understanding of the financial instability of this time will show that you recognize that not everyone will be able to give, while doubling down on showing the need for donations from those who can. In fact, according to Fidelity Charity’s survey of regular givers, 54% of donors said that the amount that they would donate would not change in light of COVID-19 — and 25% said that they would donate more.

Diversify the digital resources you use

At a time when virtual stimuli can be particularly loud, using a variety of digital resources helps to ensure that everyone on your network will learn about your GivingTuesdayNow campaign, no matter their preferred mode of virtual communication. A few ways to diversify digital resources include creating a virtual countdown on both your website and your Instagram stories, sending email calendar invites from GivePulse registration and linking to the calendar event in your newsletter, posting more regularly on every social media platform, sending newsletters to volunteers and donors alike, and making sure to use the hashtag #GivingTuesdayNow to amplify your message.

Convey urgency through transparent communication of needs

Now is the time to be honest and explicit about your organization’s needs. Authenticity and transparency are more critical than ever to indicate how COVID-19 has altered your organization, and how investments of time, talent, and treasure now will strengthen your programs moving forward. Let folks know about loss of revenue, about depleted funds, about staff reductions and center closures. This vulnerability will underscore your understanding that these times are unprecedented, and will also authentically portray why GivingTuesdayNow is of the utmost importance.

Show the impact of donations

Explain how a donation will help your organization, in as much detail as possible.Tell the story of how funds and goods are used. Ask volunteers to send in reflections on how they have seen their programs impact the community, and share these stories through your social media and through newsletters. If you can, put a name and face to your donation requests. 65% of donors say that they would donate more if they knew the impact of their donations — the more transparent you are, the more volunteers and donors will choose to give if they can.

Set and track specific goals

Give donors something tangible to contribute toward. Set a specific target goal, and if possible, indicate why that target goal is pertinent. For example, if a certain amount of money allows your organization to feed a family, make your dollar goal correspond to the number of families fed. If you are running a donation drive, the same principle applies. Maybe you want to deliver one new book to every student your organization works with, and your organization works with 600 students. Set the target goal at 600 books and underscore that this means every student your organization works with will receive a new book. Donors can see that their donation corresponds directly to an individual student, and you can send regular updates throughout the day as you get closer and closer to your goal.

Converting volunteers to donors

This chart shows responses to our Program Assessment Survey question asking respondents whether they would consider using this time to convert volunteers to donors. 67% said yes; 33% said maybe, but unsure how.

From our Program Assessment Survey, we learned that about one out of every three organizations would consider using this time to convert volunteers to donors, but aren’t sure how to do so. While some programs might be concerned about asking those who already donate their time to shift this to a financial donation, statistics suggest that this is in fact a very common transition: according to data from the International AFP Conference, the average volunteer is four times as likely to donate as someone who doesn’t volunteer — and they typically give ten times as much! To encourage this transition, we suggest the following:

Relate donations to volunteering time shared

Whether or not your volunteers have been able to engage virtually with your organization, you can emphasize donating as analogous to their usual time shared. Indicate how donations directly impact their usual volunteer efforts. How much does it cost for supplies that your volunteers typically use? For the space that they work in? For the staff who train and work with them? Use your volunteers’ own experiences to display the value of their donations.

Encourage reflection and sharing of stories

Go even further in using volunteer experiences to display the value of donations: use the days leading up to your GivingTuesdayNow campaign to ask volunteers to share stories and anecdotes about their volunteer experiences. This will both provide content that you can share to your volunteer and donor networks in requests for their assistance on GivingTuesdayNow, and encourage your volunteers to reflect on the impact that the organization has had on their lives. Drawing their attention simultaneously to your donation campaign and to the positive experiences they have had will align the two, a link that may lead to more giving.

Emphasize connection

GivingTuesdayNow offers an opportunity for volunteers who might normally get to connect in-person through trainings, celebrations, and engagement to combat isolation. Ask them to engage in peer-to-peer fundraising efforts and invite them to a celebratory event at the end of the day — see our section on thanking donors and staying connected for more ideas!

Overall, your volunteers are individuals who care deeply about your organization and their community. Even if they do not typically donate, you can be confident that they will do what they can for your organization. Once you show how donating will impact the cause they care about, it’s more than likely you will find that these volunteers are excited to donate if able in these times.

Setting up donations and donation drives

For any donors, whether they are new or returning, it is important to make the donation process clear and easy. How you decide to set up your donation and donation drive campaigns will impact whether and how much people donate. Taking into account how donors are driven to your page, where funds are placed, and how long your campaign will extend can make all the difference. Here are some tips for how to do so:

Use a general fund

Your funding needs during the COVID-19 crisis will most likely be unpredictable, so fundraising for a general or emergency fund where you can easily access and use donations will be essential. You don’t want your funds to be locked into a certain fund as your needs continue to change over the upcoming weeks.

Send automatic reminders

Use a calendar invite to both remind donors of GivingTuesdayNow and to provide a link through which they can easily donate. For example, if your organization plans to set up a donate button on your GivePulse page, you can link to that page on the calendar invite. You can also create a fundraising campaign or donation drive event, which will automatically send reminders to registrants! Decide how often you want to remind your network of the upcoming event — perhaps three separate reminders, scheduled for one week, three days, and one day before?

Keep donors updated

Once your donors get to the donations page, you’ll want to have a way to show the target goal and how close you are. GivePulse can help to keep donors informed, whether through the landing page for the fundraising campaign as shown in the image below or through email, SNS, SMS, or another communication method (reach out to support@givepulse.com for more information about these options). Similarly, share regular updates throughout the day on your social media! If donors see that you are close to the target this may encourage them to bump their donation to reach the goal; for those who haven’t donated yet, seeing reminders throughout the day on social media will encourage them to join in the effort.

*GivePulse can help to keep new and returning donors up to date with its automatic display of the dollars raised versus the goal.*

Extend your campaign

Consider making this a longer campaign. GivingTuesdayNow offers an excellent focal point, but it certainly does not mean that your fundraising campaign needs to be limited to only May 5! You can make GivingTuesdayNow the end or start date of a longer campaign, framing it as a kickoff for or celebratory end to a successful giving campaign.

Thanking donors and staying connected

Both during and after your campaign, you have a perfect opportunity to strengthen connections to your organization and cause. There are a variety of ways that you can show your appreciation for donors:

Send a thank you letter

This is a classic for a reason. Receiving a physical reminder of their donation and an acknowledgement of the difference it makes shows a donor that their giving matters, and makes them feel personally connected to your organization. This physical reminder can be digital — an email, for example — or physical. No matter what the format, a tangible indication of your gratitude will connect the donors to your organization.

Host a virtual thank-a-thon

Meeting virtually can help donors and volunteers to connect with one another, and also to deepen their connection to the organization. Create a structured virtual event where you show the impact of donors’ efforts and thank the top donors individually. To make it easy for everyone to find and access your event, you can create a virtual event on GivePulse and add a conferencing URL to help everyone access the thank-a-thon at the click of a button. Give everyone the opportunity to applaud the end results. Extend this into a happy hour and encourage casual conversation. Get to know your donors and volunteers as individuals, and learn more about why they care so much about your organization.

Use a leaderboard and donor wall

Show donors that you appreciate their efforts by highlighting a virtual donor wall! GivePulse users are able to activate a leaderboard and be updated concerning recent giving activity for any fundraising campaign. Donors can be updated on the campaign and are able to share this with friends and family to drive further donations.

*GivePulse fundraising campaigns automatically generate a Campaign Leaderboard and Activity.*

Use volunteers for stewardship efforts

Message your volunteers asking them to send thank-you videos to donors and to let them know how their funds will impact volunteers. This will show exactly what donors’ funds are going toward, and might encourage them to become long-term donors. If your volunteers have already recorded impacts on GivePulse, you can look through their shared testimonials and reflections to collectively tell the stories and impact they make to the organization!

Stay in touch

Send out follow-ups to show the impact of donations; this will help to turn one-time donors into lifelong proponents of your cause! Add your donors and volunteers to a listserv and regularly update them on how funds are being used. When possible, include pictures, as well as specific stories and anecdotes.

We hope that this guide helps to give some starting points for this GivingTuesdayNow. Remember to post your efforts with the hashtag #GivingTuesdayNow on social media, and to tag us if you are using our platform! Join us at our Open Office Hours this Friday May 1st at 1pm CT or reach out to support@givepulse.com for help with setting up donations, fundraising campaigns, and donation drives for your organization. Contact our COVID-19 taskforce at covid@givepulse.com if you’d like to brainstorm and discuss how your organization can best shift to virtual opportunities to connect with volunteers at this time.

Virtual and Remote Volunteering Best Practices

As COVID-19 continues to severely affect our communities, all forms of engagement are more important than ever. We are so thankful to the volunteers, doctors, and nurses risking their lives on the frontlines, and are honored to help support teams in drive-thru testing, call centers, and contact tracing. We are dedicated to supporting continued community engagement in light of rapidly changing protocols regarding shelter-in-place and physical distancing.

*Kaitlin, a Community Engagement Success Manager at GivePulse, spent the weekend volunteering remotely through the Boys and Girls Club*

These protocols and safety recommendations have led many of our partners to look for ways to facilitate virtual/remote opportunities for volunteers to allow everyone to make an impact. In light of this, we created this guide of best practices for virtual and remote volunteer opportunities, using input from our partners and resources we have compiled on our COVID-19 support portal. Below you will find:

Tools for an internal assessment to determine capacity and readiness for managing virtual/remote opportunities
Important steps for setting expectations and guidelines with virtual/remote volunteers
Suggestions for creating and facilitating virtual/remote opportunities

When you are ready to post or find virtual/remote opportunities, you can do so through the GivePulse search portal.

Evaluating your organization’s ability to facilitate virtual/remote opportunities

As you consider implementing virtual or remote volunteer opportunities for your organization, it is important to first evaluate whether your organization is able to facilitate these options. Some important questions for self-assessment include:

Does your organization have stable internet access? For example, can you stream and watch video on Youtube or a Webinar?
Do your volunteers have access to phones/computers? Have they been accessible through these technologies for previous communication?
Do your volunteers prefer email, text, or call communication? How can these be utilized for virtual or remote opportunities?
Do your clients have the technology needed to access virtual content?
Do your volunteer opportunities require handling or providing resources? If so, can these be transitioned to contactless methods?
Have your clients’ needs changed due to COVID-19? Are there ways that your organization can assist with these needs while still aligning with your mission?
Can you use this opportunity to convert volunteers to donors in order to ensure that your organization is able to operate at full capacity after COVID-19?
Have you asked volunteers how they can help and what their availability is at this time?
Can your organization identify short and long term projects that can be worked on virtually and remotely?

You can fill out our Program Assessment to determine your organization’s readiness. If you are already able to answer these questions with specificity, you should be primed for success. In this case, we recommend adding your virtual/remote opportunities on here for volunteers to apply! If not, feel free to reach out to us here and we can schedule a time to help you think through this together. We hope that this guide will help you to get started!

Communicating your remote/virtual opportunities

In order to effectively communicate these opportunities, it is important to first make sure that your volunteers know what you mean by virtual and remote. We have found the following definitions helpful:

Virtual: Any opportunities that use technology to replace traditional face-to-face contact. This technology often includes phones (mobile applications, texting, calling) or computers (internet, desktop apps).

Remote: Any opportunities that can be completed remotely from the organization facilitating and evaluating the engagement. These opportunities may or may not be virtual.

Note that organizations may not necessarily have the same definitions of remote. For example, some organizations refer to an organization as remote if the volunteer experience takes place at a location other than the organization headquarters; if a volunteer works with students at an elementary school, this opportunity might be marked as remote because it occurs at the school rather than at the headquarters. Because of this, it is important for organizations to communicate what they mean by remote to their volunteers!

Beyond these definitions, it is important to also communicate expectations, intended impact, and method of evaluation.

Expectations include the anticipated timeline of the project (is there a date by which you need the volunteer to complete this opportunity?) and any aspects of the volunteer experience that may not be obvious to the volunteer (for example, if your organization is running a digital read-aloud, should the volunteer ask questions at the end of the story, or should the volunteer ask questions throughout the reading? How many questions should they ask?).

Intended impact should indicate who the audience is (is it meant to reach the usual client base? Consistent volunteers? Donors?) and how this work will be directed to the clients (for example, if your volunteers are being asked to write a reflection on their time with the organization, will it be directed through a newsletter? A blog post? Will it be posted on social media, or sent straight to the client(s) the volunteer works with?).

When discussing methods of evaluation, you should include whether you will be evaluating based on hours served, in which case the volunteer should be tracking these hours, or whether instead it will be based upon reflection or on the output of the opportunity. In addition, make it clear whether the opportunity is a complete project on its own, or if it is one step toward a larger overarching project (for example, if you are seeking pro bono skills for web development, you might only ask that an individual volunteer create one web page, with the overarching project working toward a new website).

Overall, communication is critical in this time. Your volunteers, like you, are experiencing uncertainty and newfound strains. Fostering connection through virtual meetups and regular, thorough communication will help to alleviate these uncertainties and make the experience of virtual/remote volunteering a positive one! The more transparency you can provide, the more comfortable your volunteers will be — and, by extension, the more they may be able to volunteer.

Common-use cases, updated

Many organizations might benefit from hearing what similar organizations have found effective updates to their programs in this time. We have compiled particularly effective options below, divided by the type of organization that we think might find these particularly effective:

Tutoring/Mentoring:

For programs that rely upon face-to-face connection, this pandemic has changed the very nature of their volunteer opportunities. Luckily, there are many alternatives that maintain the core connection and trust so critical to these programs:

Video conferencing: To maintain the immediate connection of face-to-face content, you can promote video conferencing. Security is of the utmost importance in these scenarios. If you are using a platform like Zoom, make sure the rooms are password protected so that only your volunteer and their tutee/mentee can access it. We also recommend having a third party, such as a staff member of your organization, present on this call to ensure that nothing inappropriate is said or shared.
Pre-recorded content: Ask volunteers to film themselves teaching 15-20 minute lessons that students can follow along to anytime, particularly with interactive elements students can try at home! Similarly, volunteers can film themselves reading aloud a favorite book, which can then be shared with families who have young children.
Mobile apps: A variety of mobile applications, such as KidzLit and Marco Polo, offer helpful hubs for organizations to organize video content and back-and-forth communication between client bases and volunteers.
Pen pals: Connection can be maintained through digital postcards, emails, or Messenger Kids (which requires that parents read messages before kids), as well as traditional postcards! In addition to maintaining connections, these also emphasize writing skills for students. Bonus: if you ask volunteers to create a digital postcard, you can ask them to attach it to their impact on GivePulse so you have a record of it that you can look at later!

For example, the Boys and Girls Club of Atchison offers opportunities to record videos to provide to mentees; one such opportunity is Activity Videos, which asks that volunteers submit footage of them sharing an interactive project for the kids to complete!

Hospice/Elderly Assistance:

Like tutoring and mentoring, elderly assistance programs often rely strongly on face-to-face connection. Once again, alternative forms of connection will help to keep a sense of connection and community strong:

Technology assistance: Offer virtual technology support/lessons to help folks stay connected to family and friends who may no longer be able to visit. These lessons can be through videos, clear and thorough written guides, or video chat (see next point).
Video conferencing: As with tutoring and mentoring, connection can be maintained through virtual face-to-face communication. Security will once again be of the utmost importance — for a platform like Zoom, make sure the rooms are password protected. We also recommend having a third party, such as a staff member of the elderly community or hospice, present on this call, whether in the room or online, to ensure that nothing inappropriate is said or shared.
Pen pals: Letter writing and exchange of postcards is another option that, as with tutoring and mentoring, can maintain valuable connections without using technology or face-to-face communication.

For example, Ohio University Center for Community Engagement is facilitating “Smile Mail”, which allows volunteers to brighten a senior citizen’s day with a drawing or note of encouragement.

Food Security:

Food banks and food pantries are experiencing increased need for donations and assistance. Some of the most important things volunteers can do to help include offering donations of goods and money and helping to deliver food. For centers, other ideas include:

Food drives: Run virtual food drives and in-kind fundraising campaigns. For a virtual food drive, indicate your needs through an online campaign, and ask that donors order food to be delivered to your food bank/food pantry.
Emphasize donations: You can set up donation and fundraising campaigns for money as well as for goods, requesting funds that can be used to order the food directly to the center and maintain its operations during this time.
Cleaning supplies: Request donations of in-kind gifts such as cleaning supplies. These will allow you to deliver/safely prepare food for clients without putting them at undue risk.
Ask volunteers to answer phone calls requesting resources in order to track client needs.

For example, Mile High United Way’s 211 Call Center connects individuals and families to a variety of necessary resources, including food. Helping out with call centers is a great way to virtually connect to your community.

Animal/Pet Centers and Humane Societies:

As individuals have quarantined in their homes, many have recognized that they can help to support an animal without a home of its own. This is a perfect opportunity for animal centers to emphasize the mutual benefits of caring for a shelter animal:

Promote fostering: Particularly for those quarantining, fostering is a perfect way to offer care for an animal in newfound free time. While some might have previously been unable to foster due to hours spent out of the house, they may now find themselves with enough time to care for an animal while it waits for its forever home. And who knows — maybe some of the fosters will be converted to adoptions!
Campaign on social media: Share photos of the animals who need love and care widely. Seeing the sweet face of one of your shelter’s dogs or cats might just garner the attention of someone who is looking for company during quarantine! You can also share needs for goods and funds, volunteers, and foster homes. Beyond social media, you can ask local media outlets to bring attention to your shelter.
Share your needs: Provide a wish list for supplies and goodies for the animals, and campaign for donations (in-kind donations & monetary). With Giving Tuesday right around the corner (May 5), this is a perfect opportunity to share your needs widely.

For example, the Austin Animal Center Foster Program has been seeking foster homes for pets they’ve taken in during and before COVID-19; contact them to see if you can offer a pet a temporary (or forever) home!

Museums:

Museums have had to close their doors to the public in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, this does not mean that the opportunities to spread knowledge and culture have stopped:

Virtual tours: Ask volunteers to send photos or videos they have taken of the museum that you can post on your social media or website. You can use these to create a virtual “tour” of the museum!
Virtual open house: Similarly, you can host a virtual open house to share information about the museum and maintain community connections to this space.
Focus on funding: You can set up donation and fundraising campaigns for money as well as for goods, requesting funds that can be used to maintain the operations of the museum now and moving forward. Virtual tours and open houses can be helpful to showcase what the funds will be used to protect!

For example, DoSeum has set up a Volunteer Virtual Open House where folks can learn about opportunities, benefits to volunteering, the application process, and more from the Volunteer Service Coordinator.

Civic Engagement:

While the pandemic may be overshadowing politics for many, 2020 is a critical year for civic engagement. Now is a perfect time to focus on actions that folks can take from their own homes:

Promote Census engagement: Explain the importance of the Census, and share how to complete it online.
Absentee ballots: Guide individuals to the forms they need to fill out for absentee ballots, and help them to come up with a timeline for when to request the ballot for primaries, referendums, and general elections coming up.
Phone bank: If your community has a primary or referendum coming up, phone banking can remind people of how to vote, particularly how to vote absentee. If quarantining remains the norm closer to the general election, phone banking will continue to be important to maintain focus on elections and to share candidates’ views on crucial issues.
Activism: This period has reiterated for many the importance of policy changes that will support and protect the American people. Organize campaigns to share concerns with congresspeople and to help folks find likeminded political activists to organize in favor of these policy changes.

For example, the Sunrise Movement out of Lawrence University is organizing a phonebanking initiative in support of the Green New Deal. Volunteers participate in an initial meeting to learn about the Green New Deal and phonebanking, and then participate in a virtual phonebanking meetup.

We know these may not cover every situation; here are some ideas from our community to get you started if your organization does not fit into one of the above categories:

Thank doctors and nurses on the front lines (see, for example, University of the Incarnate Word’s “Thank Our Heroes” postcard campaign)
Promote donations of money and goods for Giving Tuesday on May 5
Ask volunteers to translate materials into additional languages
Use video conferencing to maintain connections, whether volunteer to client, volunteer to volunteer, organization to client, or organization to volunteer
Encourage your volunteers and donors to share their efforts to create a peer driven effort
Set up donation campaigns, and take advantage of Giving Tuesday on May 5
Ask volunteers to help with social media campaigns and content creation to drive attention to your organization even if it is unable to convert its opportunities to virtual opportunities
Ask volunteers to research best practices and grant opportunities for your organization
See if there are any long-term projects that volunteers can work on from home
Seek pro bono skill sharing for things like taxes, accounting, and more. For example, a web designer might be able to help update your website, a lawyer might be able to review contractual agreements, and a Certified Public Accountant might be able to help you or vulnerable clients complete taxes
Check in with your volunteers through calling, texting, regular email updates, and more — make sure they are still thinking about your organization, even if they can’t volunteer
Have volunteers perform these check-ins! Help them to set up a new email or a phone number that they can use on top of their personal number in order to avoid any breaches of privacy
Lean on reflections from volunteers; use this time to compile anecdotes and feedback, which you can use to recruit and retain volunteers going forward
Share Bev, the Best Ever Volunteer, to inspire engagement!

We hope that this guide will help you evaluate whether virtual/remote volunteering is an option for your organization and come up with a plan to maintain volunteer connections, whether or not they are able to volunteer. Feel free to share the work that Bev, the Best Ever Volunteer, is doing. We hope that this graphic will inspire everyone to find a way that they can engage with their community while physically distancing!

If you are using GivePulse, remember that you can tag opportunities as virtual/remote to help volunteers search for them. GivePulse supports donation and fundraising campaigns as well; by the end of this week, we will also support in-kind donation campaigns. Keep an eye out for more information! Beyond this, feel free to contact our COVID-19 taskforce (covid@givepulse.com) for help in thinking through how your organization can mobilize volunteers at this time to continue helping your community. We are happy to brainstorm, troubleshoot, and help list opportunities.