The Association Blog

We grabbed this week’s tip from Jo Sullivan’s and Matthew Mielcarek’s session from the Fundraising track at The Spring Conference for Animal Welfare Advancement. Stay tuned to this channel for more learnings from the conference.

It may seem way too early to talk about Giving Tuesday. But not if you’re looking to raise more funds this year.

Yes, your organization will definitely want to participate in this global generosity movement on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. In 2021, donations in United States alone totaled $2.7 billion.  Yet it’s important to be aware you’re competing with many other organizations—both local and national—for donors.

“Larger national groups are always going to buy us out of SEO, and can outspend on marketing,” says Jo Sullivan, LMSW, Chief Community & Development Officer at Houston SPCA.

 Like many shelters and rescues, she says, organizational “size prohibits us from being us able to ‘own that day.’’

To that end, Sullivan says that many agencies, including Houston SPCA, have had great success leveraging their own fundraising days that are unique to their own individual organizations. “This special giving day can be on your founders’ day, or the day your organization was chartered,” she recommends. “People get excited over a day or event they can be involved in.”

Have you tried this? Thinking about it? Leave a comment and let us know.

More Tips & Info

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Tip of the Week: Which Job Would You Apply For?
Tip of the Week: 5 Ideas for Minimizing Distractions

Photo: Lina Trochez/Unsplash