GivingTuesdayNow, coming up next Tuesday 5 May, offers us an opportunity.

It’s not just about asking for support. It’s an invitation to highlight the importance of arts and culture. How many of us are spending more time than ever appreciating streaming performances, virtual tours, and other digital culture during this time of social distancing? By reminding our communities of the vitality of arts and culture, we can quietly make the case for supporting the long-term strength of our organisations.  

Let’s also use the time to publicly thank our donors — not just the ones donating on GivingTuesdayNow, but everyone: patrons who have donated their ticket refunds, ongoing donors and members, funders who are providing emergency funds or relaxing requirements. As I wrote in Part 1: by saying thanks, we have an opportunity to elevate the importance of philanthropy.

By saying thanks, we have an opportunity to elevate the importance of philanthropy. 

Yesterday, I wrote about some considerations for making your GivingTuesdayNow plans. Now I’d like to add some practical advice for achieving your goals.

1. Give your patrons choices.

Regardless of the situation, putting your audiences at the heart of what you do is key to deepening engagement. Think about your cancellations and postponements from your patrons’ perspective and offer them choices in a time when a lot of choice has been removed. That will go a long way in ensuring connections don’t lapse. By utilising Tessitura’s new cancellations tools and integrations you can efficiently service your patron’s needs whilst continuing to offer donations as an option. 

2. Measure the impact of COVID-19 related fundraising and #GivingTuesdayNow

For countless reasons it’s important to be able to audit the impact of the pandemic on your organisation. It’s especially vital to understand what efforts are helping you to retain and gain revenue. Return to your Tessitura basics: having a thoughtful campaign, fund and designation structure, as well as an effective appeal and source structure, is key.

Watch video: Recommended Practices for Campaigns, Funds & Designations >

The structures that you revisited above also help enable effective reporting. Tessitura Analytics can visualise your efforts and enable you to make data-driven decisions on your next fundraising steps. If you haven’t yet, download our new Event Cancellation Impact Dashboard.

And if you need a hand getting started, check out our guide to Tessitura Analytics. 

3. Think about how you’re connecting with your donors

The world continues to change, it is increasingly important to find new ways of connecting with your donors, cultivating and stewarding them through physical distancing so that relationships are just as strong on the other side. Vice President for Enterprise Consulting, Erin Koppel shares her insights on fundraising during social distancing and how you can meet your donors where they are.

4. Thank your donors

#GivingTuesdayNow is about elevating your thanks for the people who are supporting you. Ensuring you have a robust, yet personalised acknowledgment process is key to thanking your donors in a timely and effective way. Take some time to review how Tessitura can support your donor acknowledgements.  

5. Maximise your online giving through TNEW

Taking your giving online can be enabled through Tessitura Network Express Web. Watch our Pop-Up Skill Builder to learn how to create a specialised donation page with customised content and URL slug. We'll also show you how to create specialised products on TNEW, including “pay what you can” options, and how to include a link to digital content (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Livestream) in the order confirmation email and on the checkout confirmation page.

New to fundraising or needing to expand your skills?

We know that you may well be using Tessitura functionality that is new to you or you are supporting colleagues during this time.  With our self-paced, interactive online Introduction to Fundraising course, you can learn basic fundraising operations at home, either take the entire course or you can brush up on individual topics.

Take a look at our other learning opportunities, including our online Fundamental Fundraising Courses. 

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Our community is resilient, powerful, and much needed during this crisis and beyond. I’ll be thanking all of you next Tuesday, and every day for keeping me sustained until we can meet again. 

This article is the second of two parts on preparing for GivingTuesdayNow.

Read Part 1 >