Holding Holiday Drive? Do it online!

The holiday season is just around the corner. We know how important this time of year is for you. To help you make the most of the holidays, engage your existing donors in the most meaningful way and attract new supporters, take a look at our 2018 Holiday Tips.

Create a Gooddler Wish List

It’s time to set up a Gooddler Wish List for your organization. There are some people that love knowing exactly the impact their donation had on an individual and prefer to donate items instead of money. As nonprofits, we need to make it easy for people to donate!

Some tips to help you get started with your organization’s list:

1. Keep the requested number reasonable — the best results with requests of 25 or less.
2. Put the most needed items at the top of your list.
3. Ask for a variety of items — different things resonate with different people.
4. Share your needs a few times a week on your various social media channels.

Engage your entire community online

Ask friends to support your Holiday Drive — to purchase toys and holiday gifts from your wishlist, to share your wish list with their friends. Use social media, send emails to people you know.

Some tips:

• Showcase your holiday drive with posts. Build deeper connections with stories. Make it specific. Share real stories. Do you have 6 kids in a hospital that need table games?
• Photos and videos can help make your posts more attention-grabbing. Keep photo and video simple. The most effective images are often the simplest. Share pictures of the donations that come in and thank people.
• Gooddler tells you who sent in a donation, and sends Thank You letter for you. But it would be great if you send personal email with pictures and thank people who supported your campaign.
• Post on Facebook each week thanking everyone for their donations. Boost your Facebook posts. The few dollars you spend promoting the post will pay off.
• Keep it consistent. Once you find a visual style that works for your cause, try to stick to it.
• Get attention quickly. With videos, get straight to the point. Attention spans are short, so try to get your message across in 15 seconds or less.
• Include the Gooddler Wish List as a way to donate in your email marketing communications

Add “Purchase Gifts” button to your website.

As you tell the world about your organization through a variety of media sources, people will check out your website trying to find a way to engage. Offering to purchase gifts for you is an excellent way to begin building a relationship with a donor. An individual giver may prefer to start working with a nonprofit by offering in-kind support. Corporate donors are looking for ways to engage their employees in holiday giving and buying meaningful gifts for you could be just what they are looking for.

The benefits of a Gooddler wishlist include:

• Get exact items needed
• Donations management tools (delivery when needed, as needed, to a desired location): Eliminate challenges of inventory management (sorting/storing/selling/distributing), Make goods donation easy and decrease the cost of managing donated goods (eliminating spot delivery, lack of in time tracking, random donations, etc)
• Donor management tools (tax-deductible receipts, thank you notes, donor information)
• Reporting and analysis
• And more…

Plan a holiday event

A holiday event can be a great way to connect with people in the real world and get them to visit your charity. Be creative. :)