Mother’s Day is one of the most celebratory occasions on the calendar. Next to Christmas, it is the one holiday that is viewed as a major priority by much of the population.
For many in the non-profit space, Mother’s Day is a vital opportunity to advance relations and upgrade the involvement of their donors, volunteers and in-kind supporters. In this chapter of “FUNDRAISING DOs & DON’Ts”, we will look at a handful of ways how Mother’s Day can strengthen your charity’s fundraising capacity.
DO launch a series of tribute or peer-to-peer appeals on Mother’s Day. In honour of the women who loved, cared and sacrificed for us when we were young, encourage people within your charity to organize individual funding appeals this Mother’s Day.
Whether they pay homage to their moms, grammas, aunts or older sisters, invite your board, staff, volunteers, and clients to express their love by asking people to donate in the name of the most cherished lady in their lives. Create a template landing page that people can customize and use for their own appeals on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. Provide them with the support, guidance and tools they need to be successful. Frame the key messaging around the linkage between a mother’s love for her children and the impact of your programs on the community’s well-being. Allocate space on the landing pages where participants can share maternally-themed anecdotes, memories or poems.
If some prefer traditional or “old school” methods of raising funds, people within your organization can conduct informal “in lieu of” campaigns where they invite family, friends and colleagues to donate as a tribute to their mother’s boundless love rather than buying an obligatory gift. Requests of this nature are more organic and are usually made in-person, over the phone or via email. Tribute appeals can also welcome “in-memoriam” gifts to honour mothers who are no longer with us.
Organizing events like bake sales, raffles and small dinner parties to recognize the love and devotion one receives from their moms are additional ways that individuals can raise money for your cause. Not only do these activities generate immediate discretionary funding for your programs, but they are also a proven way to attract new long-term donors.
DON’T forget to use Mother’s Day to engage and advance relations with new and current donors. The key to building a strong passionate base of support is establishing an ongoing dialogue with them. The secret to generating dialogue with donors is engaging them in all forms of communication throughout the year. Though the bulk of these conversations focus on philanthropy, they’re a great opportunity to connect with donors on a personal and emotional level.
Few topics strengthen bonds between people getting to know one another better than reminiscing about warm memories of their moms. Encourage donors, volunteers and in-kind supporters to celebrate Mother’s Day by sharing reflections and experiences on your social media platforms regarding how their moms nurtured, inspired, guided and supported them throughout their loves. Ask your supporters to elaborate about how their mothers helped to make them the individuals they are today.
Better yet urge supporters to exchange stories and reflections among one another. Allow them to become misty-eyed as they recount how their moms stayed up all night with them when they were sick, comforted them following a breakup, chewed them out for breaking curfew, cheered them on during soccer games, and played hostess at every birthday party or sleepover.
Hearing people within your support base speak lovingly about their mothers will provide you with greater insight into their personal values, interests and aspirations. Acquiring a deeper understanding of your supporters will empower you to shepherd them along their respective donor journeys more effectively.
Sharing stories and reflections about their mothers will also instill a heightened sense of unity donors, volunteers and in-kind supporters. As they relate to one another, donors will discover the values, beliefs, likes and guiding principles they each share. Bringing donors closer together fosters a deeper culture of philanthropy within the charity and advances its overall sustainability.
