/ FORWARD THINKING
Roadblocks and Successes in Philanthropy Communications Giving Tuesday is a unique fundraising initiative driven by marketing rather than development. For both the marketing and development teams, this could create uneasiness. Here is how we addressed it. By Bonnie Jess Lopane, CFRE, Amy Lewis, Nicole Minardi, and Allison Bucher
G
iving Tuesday is a fundraising initiative familiar to many development officers and marketers. In 2019, $511 million was raised online in the United States during Giving Tuesday.1 Similarly, Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s 24-hour online community giving day, the Extraordinary Give, raised nearly $11 million in 2019. Unlike any other fundraiser held by Hospice & Community Care, it is driven by marketing rather than development, reliant solely on online gifts, email marketing and social media––all of which is implemented within two weeks prior to the event.
For the development team this creates some uneasiness, as they don’t oversee the organization’s digital and social media efforts. For the marketing team, it can be stressful because they aren’t responsible for soliciting gifts, as this is the development team’s responsibility. And for the organization to be successful, it requires open communication, a cohesive plan, being organized, respecting each other’s roles and abilities, and delivering a consistent message across all platforms.
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