A Quick Recap!
As you’ll recall, in the last High Impact Boards eNewsletter, we laid out the first three steps to help your charity raise $150K on Giving Hearts Day.
Specifically, the steps discussed were:
Step 1. Dreaming—and the bigger and more vivid the dream, the better.
Step 2. Teaming—in this step, you want to surround yourself with GREAT people; the kind of game-changers who will help you to accomplish your biggest, boldest dreams.
Step 3. Keeping—before even thinking about asking people to give on GHD, you want to make sure everyone has been properly thanked so that they know that their previous gifts have made a difference.
And now that Giving Hearts Day—February 12, 2026—is officially 112 days away, it’s time to unveil the final two steps.
Buckle up.
Step 4: Growing
If Step 3: Keeping is all about retaining your current donors, this step is all about increasing the amounts they give.
And the very best way to do this is through a MATCH!
Specifically, a “match” is a fundraising technique in which an entity (e.g., a company or a wealthy donor) “matches” your donors’ charitable gifts. So, if a person donates $50, the matcher will also donate $50 to your nonprofit.
Matching gifts are effective because they create a sense of urgency and excitement, which encourages more giving. In fact, when donors know that their contributions will be matched, not only are they more motivated to give, but they’ll actually give larger amounts!
In turn, securing a matching gift can create a virtuous cycle—where the more people give, the larger the match can get.
Pretty cool, huh?
So where can you find a “match” for your charity?
Specifically, there are five primary sources (which include, but are not limited to):
- Corporations & Merchants—65% of large companies match, and 28% of small to mid-size companies do as well! Merchants who have a vested interest in your mission often participate in matching donations (e.g., pet stores for animal-related charities).
- Your Major Donors—There are scores of major donors who love to provide matching gifts—they just need to be asked!
- Your Most Loyal Donors—Donors who remain active over FIVE campaigns are statistically likely to remain loyal to your organization from that point on! These people love your organization!
- Wealthy Individuals—People who have been blessed with a lot of resources are often excited about providing matches.
- Caring People—There are countless individuals who are just walking around and waiting for their opportunity to make a difference
But, when it comes to matching gifts, there’s one more thing—do NOT miss this.
When you secure a matching gift, make sure you let your donors know well in advance. Email them, post it on your website, announce it on social media, and get the word out through your board and ambassadors—do it by any means necessary.
If you do this, your donors will have plenty of time to reflect on the amounts that they’d like to give on GHD and how the match will impact their gift!
And this brings us to the fifth and final step of raising $150K on Giving Heart Day.
Step 5: Getting
By “getting” we are specifically referring to “getting the word out” (which, of course, results in attracting new and motivated donors).
And here’s another HUUUUUUGE insight.
Most people start with this step, not end with it.
And this is a big, big, big mistake.
Here’s why.
If you start your GHD campaign by getting the word out, you won’t have taken the essential step of thanking your current donors first. Believe it or not, when donors get solicited for a second gift before they’ve been thanked for the previous one, they often abandon your charity.
In fact, asking for a second gift before being thanked for the first one is the #1 cause of donor attrition—and that’s why about 60% of first-time donors never give a second gift to a charity.
(This is why you want to follow these five steps to a T.)
So, what are the best methods for getting the word out?
Obviously, there are at least 100 ways to make your message known, but perhaps the most powerful is through a personalized letter (yep, the kind that actually goes in the mail).
Specifically, your letter should include the following elements:
- It Should Be Personalized—First names only!
- It Should Be Heartfelt and Informal—Don’t simply lift text from your website or brochure! Use a story format that tugs at the heartstrings.
- It Should Make Your Reader the Hero—People want to belong, they want to right wrongs, and they want to make a lasting difference.
- It Should Be at Least Two Pages—This is the ideal length, it’s beefy.
- It Should Have Indented Paragraphs and a Standard Font—Indents make text easier to read. Use Times New Roman, 13-14 point!
- It Should Be Underlined and Bolded—Make the essential parts stand out.
- It Should Have a P.S. at the End—Never forget: the P.S. always gets read, always!
And here’s another important strategy item to chew on.
After you send your letter, it’s time to follow up with a simple, personalized, “text-only” email to reinforce what you just wrote in your letter.
Once you’ve checked these two boxes, it’s time to activate your social media accounts and place the message on your website!
Easy-peasy, but POWERFUL.
Extraordinary Impact
In the last two High Impact Boards eNewsletters, we’ve covered the five steps of making your Giving Hearts Day dreams come true.
Here’s a quick recap:
Step 1. Dreaming—The bigger and more vivid the dream, the better.
Step 2. Teaming—In this step, you want to surround yourself with GREAT people; the kind of game-changers who will help you accomplish your biggest, boldest dreams.
Step 3. Keeping—Before ever even thinking about asking people to give on GHD, make sure everyone has been properly thanked so they know their previous gifts have made a difference.
Step 4. Growing—Employ a match to jump-start bigger gifts!
Step 5. Getting—Get the word out to anyone and everyone—and do it through a physical, tangible, beefy, exciting letter!
Listen, Giving Hearts Day is your day to SHINE!
On this day, you’ll have the opportunity to feed the hungry, house the homeless, shelter forgotten pets, and much, much more.
And if you do it right, you’ll also provide everyone around you the chance to share their time, talents, and treasures to make the world a better place!
How cool is that?
As we move closer to November, we encourage you to make the most of the time you have before February 12, 2026.
Make it a point to execute these five steps!
If you do, our very best days are still ahead of us.
Thanks again for all you do!