Ready for take-off?
Here is a list of questions to answer before launching your live campaign. The answer doesn’t always have to be ‘yes,’ but you should at least actively consider each of these questions. Our goal as your Partner Success team is to anticipate your needs -- let us know how else we can support you as the countdown approaches!
Is your goal realistic?
Everyone likes to join a winning team-- Donors are far more likely to support a campaign that seems poised to be successful. Critically reflect on how you arrived at your goal and what data you have that makes you believe your target is achievable. See this GCU article on Donor vs. Dollar goals for tips on strategizing to maximize your success. We love seeing goals that are stretch but achievable; and time and time again, donors have shown they are happy to help a campaign exceed its goal.
Have you already reached 5-10% of your goal?
Soft launch secret tip! Help demonstrate that the campaign is gaining traction and likely to succeed by encouraging trusted volunteers and staff to donate ahead of your public launch--raising 5% to 10% (or more!) of your goal before you launch our campaign publicly makes a big difference in setting up your campaign for success. Don’t forget to add offline donations that you have already collected. All about that #goalproximity, folks! For more information on how to organize a successful soft launch for your campaign, check out this GCU article!
Have you cleared emails from GiveCampus?
During the course of your campaign, you may receive thousands of notification emails from GiveCampus to your school email system if administrators have opted into gift notifications. Please make sure your IT team is aware so that they do not inadvertently block emails from reaching school email inboxes. To reduce the likelihood that emails from GiveCampus are blocked by SPAM filters, you can ask your IT team to approve GiveCampus' IP addresses (167.89.40.164, 167.89.71.233, 168.245.105.222, 168.245.114.24, 167.89.84.144). For more details on ensuring smooth payment processing, check out this GCU article!
Have you made a test donation to see how the confirmation email is formatted?
Click here for instructions and best practices on how to create and activate your email confirmation / tax receipt. Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...
Do you have at least one Match and/or Challenge and one Personal Video in place?
It’s more intuitive for donors and volunteers when they can see the platform features in action and how much fun they can be to use. Strike up some #philanthropyfomo and prove to your community that folks are already engaging with your campaign in all sorts of ways. → More on Matches & Challenges & Advocacy
Have you enabled the leaderboard options?
GiveCampus offers Donor Maps, Affiliation Leaderboards, and Designation Leaderboards. Showcasing goals and displaying real-time progress toward those goals drives engagement. See this GCU article for more on leaderboard information. Celebrate these fun, engaging metrics and help your donors follow the leader(board).
Have you created any Incentives tied to Advocacy or donation level?
Click here for details on how you can encourage your donors to go the extra mile using the Incentives feature. We’re big fans of non-material incentives, such as shout-outs on social media and stewardship calls from student callers. #MotivationStation
Have you created any Unique Tracking Links to analyze your marketing?
Click here for details on how to track the number of clicks, gifts, and dollars can be attributed to each of your marketing initiatives (e.g. email, social media, print, etc).
Do you have a strategy in place should your campaign over / under perform?
Have you considered how you can build support should your initial outreach not return the results you had expected? Have you thought about how you can continue to generate enthusiasm should you reach your goal far earlier than expected (i.e., announcing a ‘stretch goal’ or new matches/challenges)? GiveCampus University is here to help.