Giving Tuesday's Done. Now What?

Fun fact, I totally forgot about Giving Tuesday this year.

Maybe it’s because I was aggressively head-down in client work.

Maybe it’s because I took a little hiatus from social media.

Maybe it’s because I have giving-day PTSD from years in the fundraising trenches.

Maybe my wife’s suggestion that I have selective hearing and attention is actually true.

Whatever the reason, Giving Tuesday is over.

My guess is that your inbox carnage has cleared, your email service provider is wheezing in a corner, and the donors who love you enough to tolerate the 13 sense-of-urgency-email-subject-lines you sent have done their thing.

Congrats, my friend! You survived another round of the nonprofit Hunger Games!

Now comes the part nobody wants to talk about because it sounds dangerously like work:

What the heck do you do next!?

Everyone obsesses over the big day or the big event.

And that’s adorable.

But the most important work you’ll do isn’t on Giving Tuesday, or your gala, or your golf tournament.

It’s in the afterglow, when all your supporters are wandering around wondering whether you actually noticed their generosity or if their gift fell into the same mysterious void as my kids missing gloves they “totally brought home from school.”

So here’s the deal: event success and momentum isn’t self-sustaining.

You actually have to do something with it.

“But what is that ‘something’ Patrick!?” you may be yelling at your screen.

Don’t you worry, I got you boo!

Here are the things you should have top-of-mind when the event smoke has cleared!

1. Say thank you like a human

If your post-Giving Tuesday gratitude is a single mass email that screams “THANK YOU SO MUCH” followed by the digital equivalent of elevator music…

Please God, no.

Your donors didn’t show up for that.

They showed up for connection. If you want momentum, you’ve gotta act like you're glad they exist.

Send a hand written thank you note.

Leave a short thank you voicemail.

Record a 20-second video from your office, car, kitchen table, or whatever remote outpost you’re trapped in this week due to the cold.

You don’t have to be polished. In fact, I think it’s more authentic if you aren’t.

You just have to be real.

Gratitude is the cheapest retention strategy on earth. It shocks me how many orgs are horrible at this still.

But not you! You’re gonna do better!

2. Show people they made a difference.

Your supporters want receipts.

Not ones they give to their tax guy. Emotional receipts.

Tell them what their gift did. Not what it will someday do in a fantasy world where you have infinite staff capacity, a functioning printer and a board that helps open doors.

I mean what it’s doing right now.

Did their donation help cover winter coats? After-school snacks? Therapy llamas?

Paint the picture. Make them feel it. Let them see they didn’t just toss money into the abyss.

This new age of fundraising requires you to link impact with gifts more than ever.

Anyone can tell a good story, but not all nonprofits can show where the $100 gift changed lives.

Your difference in connecting with your donors is showing that connection of treasure to transformation.

3. Follow the energy

Ok, “good vibes” might sound a bit hippidy dippidy, but I’m telling you it works.

Giving Tuesday reveals a ton if you actually pay attention to what just happened, instead of collapsing face-first into a box of cookies or a bottle of Barefoot Moscato (‘cause what nonprofit leader can afford any wine on that mid to top shelf!?)

Who gave unexpectedly?

Who increased their gift?

Who shared your post?

Who opened every email like they had nothing better to do?

Those people are raising their hands and they need EXTRA attention.

In every campaign or event, a handful of new cheerleaders appear naturally.

Don’t ignore them because you're too tired or annoyed or busy arguing with your board chair about why you can’t “just ask [insert name of local business leader who seems to give to everyone in town except for you, except you know they don’t give to everyone, but you saying that out loud at a board meeting is just gonna cause chaos].”

Tag your hand-raisers. Track them. And start connecting.

This is the easiest way to answer the question “Who can we get to open doors for us?”

The ones that are already doing it.

4. Prep your next move before you lose the plot

People love to say “follow up within the next few weeks.”

I’ve said that 37 times since Monday

Sure, its an OK response.

But here’s the thing, if you don’t plan out your next 30, 60, and 90 days, you’re going to end up staring blankly at your donor list like Netflix asking if you’re still watching.

You don’t need the full 30-60-90 day blueprint right now. (OH HI, YES, WE’RE DOING A WEBINAR ON THIS because I refuse to waste a good system on just one blog and I’d be a terrible marketer if I didn’t tease at least one call to action here!)

But you do need to know the basic rhythm:

30 Days: Show gratitude. Report impact. Connect personally with your VIPs and “OMG, where did YOU come from?” donors.

60 Days: Share stories, behind-the-scenes updates, or early wins. Invite engagement without asking for cash. Let them feel like insiders.

90 Days: Strategically tee up the next ask, event, volunteer moment, or campaign. You’re not begging. You’re offering people another shot to be awesome.

That’s the skeleton.

The muscle and organs arrive later. (Gross metaphor, but my kids are learning about the human body in science class, and I can’t think of another analogy.)

5. Don’t ghost your donors

You know what kills momentum faster than anything?

Epic silence.

The nonprofit sector is filled with brilliant people who mysteriously forget how communication works after a big fundraising moment.

Listen, I know you are tired. And I know the idea of bucking up and getting back in the relationship building saddle seems exhausting.

But your donors are ready to party, and you’re gonna have to get a second (or third or fourth) wind.

And you don’t have to turn into Robert Jordan with your communication. (Bonus points for those nerdy friends here that are still with me – Wheel of Time may have sucked on Amazon Prime, but those books? Amazing.)

Your donors do not need you to write them a novel.

They just need to know you’re still alive and kicking and enthusiastically doing work worth caring about.

Because they are still excited, and you need to bring them along.

A simple “here’s what we’re working on this week” post does wonders.

And a final reminder: donors want to keep playing the game

Giving Tuesday or any event, really, isn’t a finish line. It’s just one of 365 days you have to fundraise and build relationships.

Donors want to feel useful. They want to feel part of the story. They want to be connected to the impact you make…all year round.

If you treat your giving days like the Superbowl and everything after it like preseason, you’re going to lose the people who actually want to stay in the game with you.

As a Vikings fan, who has never experience a Superbowl, and based on this year…like every year before it, never will – I spent a LOT of time on this analogy.

Your donors are diehard superfans – of the ups and the downs.

So take a breath.

Have an extra coffee.

Splash a dash of Bailey’s in it. No judgement here.

Oh, and maybe stand up and stretch your spine after hunching over your laptop like my kids do as playing Fortnight in the basement.

Then get back to your people.

Momentum isn’t some mysterious magic that only a few folks can do.

It’s a million small actions of you showing up for those that love you the most.

Now go make those thank you phone calls.

And let me know if you want an early invite to a 30-60-90 Day Fundraising Framework webinar. 😉

-Patrick