Giving Tuesday 2019 was the first major campaign I created and executed in my role as Communications Coordinator for the Elks National Foundation. I had never participated in or even heard of Giving Tuesday before, but I dove in headfirst and learned as I went.

In the past, Giving Tuesday had never been a huge success at the ENF. Our constituency and fundraising methods are extremely different from other nonprofits—the majority of the time, we don’t directly solicit our donors. However, Giving Tuesday was an opportunity for the ENF to not only fundraise, but to raise its visibility. Being part of a global day of giving gave use a platform and ensured our brand carried legitimacy.

After a two-month-long coordinated social media campaign, the outcome of Giving Tuesday 2019 was more than double what we received in donations and number of gifts for Giving Tuesday 2018.

I planned and executed a donor-centered social media campaign focused on the giving stories of our donors—why they give, and what the ENF and its programs mean to them. I assisted in the development of a unique identifier, a campaign hashtag, #OneOfAMillion. The hashtag tied into one of the concepts the Foundation was founded on—that the ENF wouldn’t be built by a few donors giving millions, but millions of donors giving what they can.

The ENF’s Communications Manager created digital frames and graphics for the campaign, while I sourced stories and materials for the posts. I created web content, consistent social media content for the lead-up and the day of, and email content specifically for the day of Giving Tuesday, which incorporated a multimedia component featuring the ENF’s Director.

Between one-time donations and the establishment of recurring gifts, we raised a total of $32,031.08 on Giving Tuesday, more than double what we raised in 2018—$14,318.89. Looking at Giving Tuesday 2019 by the numbers, we also doubled the number of recurring gifts, which doubled the long-term value of those gifts, and the number of one-time gifts plus the average one-time gift amount also doubled.