Giving Tuesday was first established in 2012 to encourage people to volunteer, advocate for a cause, donate, and perform other acts of generosity. This day has become a fundraising milestone for nonprofits: in 2019, people donated nearly $2 billion on Giving Tuesday in the U.S. alone.
This year, Giving Tuesday is on December 1st. Giving day related search trends spike each November in the U.S. and more than half of nonprofits have reported a decrease in fundraising as a result of COVID-19. So early October is the right time to set up Ad Grants campaigns to be ready to raise funds online when the day arrives.
We compiled our top five tips for designing Ad Grants fundraising campaigns to help you prepare for Giving Tuesday:
1. Define your goals
Design your digital marketing strategy by identifying your target audience, setting organizational goals and establishing a value for each goal. Fundraising goals could include raising a certain amount of donations or generating a certain number of RSVPs for a virtual fundraising event.
2. Update your website
Refresh your website often with clear calls to action. Since 40 percent of people will leave a page that takes longer than three secondsto load, you’ll want to test your website’s speed and get tips on how to improve it.
3. Turn your goals into ads
Structure your Ad Grants account for success by translating your goals into your campaigns. If your goal is to promote a virtual event, you’ll need to write headlines that grab people’s attention and ad copy outlining exactly why they would benefit from attending. Learn how to adapt the goals you previously defined into actual ads.4. Measure what matters
Measure your goals by tracking the actions people take on your website via conversions. Conversions are the actual website actions that complete your goals such as clicking the “Donate” or “RSVP” buttons. By tracking these conversions you can understand exactly how many people are taking the actions you want after viewing your ads.
5. Ask for help
If you sign up for Ad Grants, you also have access to free help from Google Ads-certified university students through the Online Marketing Challenge program. You’ll be matched with a team for hands-on support, including setting your strategy and activating new campaigns. You can also ask other nonprofits questions in our community forum, find answers to commonly asked questions in our help center, or see if other free Google tools can help your nonprofit make the most of Giving Tuesday.
Since 2003, Google Ad Grants has provided over 115,000 nonprofits across 67 countries with free Search advertising to raise awareness for their missions, drive donations, and recruit volunteers. We hope these tips we’ve learned over the years will propel your organization to raise more funds on Giving Tuesday and set you up for sustained online growth.
