#ThanksGivingTuesday
In the flood of #GivingTuesday emails washing over our in-boxes yesterday, one powerful message stood out.
Marked #ThanksGivingTuesday the message came from Concordia College-New York.
This elegantly simple message of gratitude represents everything that #GivingTuesday — the Big Box Store approach to fundraising — does not.
The message was accompanied by the video below.
Beyond doing an effective job of thanking donors, the video represents a triumphant example of involving an entire organization in reaching out to not only its donors but all its stakeholders.
Here’s how Heather McGinness, the VP of Advancement at Concordia described the process:
“In addition to the e-mail which was sent to donors, alumni, friends, church partners, community members, parents, Regents and pretty much anyone who’s engaged with us in some way and shared their e-mail address, has a full day of giving thanks and sharing gratitude with internal and external stakeholders.
“It officially kicked off with a midnight breakfast that was served by College leadership (including the President, First Lady and myself) as a thank you to our students. Other activities that you won’t see on the schedule include delivery of thank you cards to neighbors on the surrounding streets (the ones who deal with the College’s traffic, students, etc on a daily basis)…the President answering the College’s main phone line for part of the afternoon…thank you notes written by students to donors, and a “thank you takeover” on the main website (Concordia-ny.edu).
“And, lest I forget, there was also free ice cream waiting for everyone outside the Thank You Rally at the end of the day as an added surprise gesture of thanks.”
Here, in a word, is The Agitator’s reaction: WOW!.
Our hats are off to Heather McGinness, who turned “Giving Tuesday” into “ThanksGiving Tuesday”, proving the power of a creative fundraiser whose ideas are backed by the entire organization.
An Agitator Raise to Heather and all the folks at Concordia. No wonder the school’s tagline reads: Small school. BIG IMPACT.
Roger
P.S. Check out the full schedule of activities for Concordia’s #ThanksGivingTuesday.
P.P.S. Can anyone match that?! Please share your #ThanksGivingTuesday experience.
10 responses to “#ThanksGivingTuesday”
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I took the same approach by sending an all-donors email with the subject line, “Are you tired of #GivingTuesday? So are we…”. The body of the email included a photo of two loyal donors and a message only expressing gratitude and appreciation for our donors (no ask). Loved Concordia’s inclusion of a video. Putting it on my list for next year!
Outstanding example and insights!
I bet it moves the Annual Fund upwards…
Scouts Canada took a similar approach this year and used Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to thank everyone who has made our organisation possible – staff, volunteers, donors (individual and corporate), youth, parents, alumni, the list goes on. It just felt right to use this day as a platform for appreciation.
We also had our youth take to our social media channels to say thank you – and emphasize the the power of one… how the efforts of one has had a tangible impact on the personal experience of one.
Love Concordia’s campaign … definitely rock stars!
Thank you for both the Agitator Raise and the kind words. I am lucky to have a great boss who let me run with the idea, and I pulled together an enthusiastic committee who represented all the stakeholders we wanted to reach. One of the most meaningful outcomes of the day is that it brought everyone together and helped them feel valued for their role in our mission. That’s how lasting relationships are formed and that’s how missions move forward.
I can’t tell you how much I love this! Heather – huge congratulations!
Heather, THANK YOU: three minutes after reading your story yesterday, I shared two of your ideas with a client and referenced the Agitator post for full details. Both are being put into action for year-end. Huge gratitude to you for the ripple of good you started, and a deep bow to your genius. 🙂
Wonderful and inspirational, Heather! Thank you for sharing this with us, Roger-
LOVE THIS! Congrats Heather, and also Jennifer and Stephanie. I’ve been on the flip #GivingTuesday to #Giving(Thanks)Tuesday since it began, and am just delighted to see this idea taking flight. In the long run, I’ve little doubt it will boost donor retention and fundraising results overall.
Fantastic idea Heather! Congrats!
We did something similar at the AONE Foundation. We did #GivingThanksTuesday. The main activity of the day was making thank you phone calls to all donors and volunteers we could reach. (We left messages too.) Members of the Board of Directors and Staff helped, and one Director did a Facebook Live event in addition to his calls. It was a lot of fun, and I’m already brainstorming what we can do next year.
I love this idea. Well done to the fabulous Heather McGinness for the initiative.