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Hello Melissa,
Welcome, November! This month kicks off an important fundraising time, which means it's an important month for marketing and communications. In this issue of Rooted, we go in-depth on Giving Tuesday and how to make it a successful day through your social media, newsletter, and email channels.
Here's what else you can find in this month's issue of Rooted in Marketing:
- November content inspirations
- Giving Tuesday - a marketing moment!
- Make Giving Tuesday personal
- Local successes
- Resources - branding toolkit
- Upcoming & previous training
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Volunteer Communicator Orientation webinar. It was great to have so many of you there! If you missed it, the link is in the training section of this newsletter.
If you have any questions or need help with your marketing, join our weekly office hours, ask questions in our private Facebook group, or email us. We are here to help!
Happy Gardening! 🍂
Melissa & Barbra
UC Master Gardener Program
Statewide Communications Team
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Content Inspiration - December | |
The December Inspiration Guide is here! Remember, these are just inspirational ideas; these are not requirements. Pick and choose what works for you! If you have suggestions on items we should add to these one-sheets, please email Barbra Braaten at bbraaten@ucanr.edu | | |
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December Social Media Inspiration
Find inspiration for your December social media content, celebrate National Giving Month, Poinsettia Day, the Winter Solstice, and more! Keep in mind when posting holiday messages, to include all holidays, or post a general Happy Holidays message.
Download the December doc here.
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Giving Tuesday - a Marketing Moment! | |
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Ever notice how the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has become a big day for nonprofits on social media? Giving Tuesday is the Black Friday for charitable giving! For the UC Master Gardener Program, it's a perfect moment when audience attention and giving align. Last year alone, people donated over $3.1 billion to their favorite organizations during Giving Tuesday and the UC Master Gardener Program raised almost $50,000 to support local county programs. Save-the-date for Giving Tuesday taking place on Dec. 3, it's never too early to start preparing!
Why your role matters more than ever
Here's the simple truth: people can't support their local UC Master Gardener Program if they don't know we need their help. That's where you come in! Research from the NonProfit Times shows that organizations that posted consistently about their Giving Tuesday campaigns for at least two weeks before the event raised 3-5 times more than those who posted only on the day itself.
The power of your communication skills
Your social media and communication expertise makes a real difference:
- 84% of donors say they're more likely to give if they're familiar with an organization's impact before being asked. Your regular posts about our programs help build awareness.
- When you share photos of community gardens, post about teaching kids to grow vegetables, or highlight water-wise gardening tips, you're doing more than sharing content. According to Network for Good, donations increase by 100-200% when organizations share specific impact stories versus general appeals.
- When donors see others supporting a cause on social media, they're more likely to give themselves. The 2023 Giving Tuesday Impact Report found that social sharing increased donation likelihood by 350%. Encouraging your followers and volunteers to share your content can help increase giving. So, even if a volunteer doesn't donate, they can still support it by sharing your posts!
Simple Steps, Big Impact
You don't need to be a marketing expert to make a difference. Simply sharing:
- photos of our gardens and projects
- stories about people we've helped
- posts about our educational programs
- updates about our community impact
Every post you create helps build the foundation for successful fundraising. Remember: if we don't tell our story, no one else will.
Ready to Make an Impact?
Your communication skills are more than just posts and shares - they're the catalyst that turns community interest into community support. As we approach Giving Tuesday, your role in sharing our mission and impact is more crucial than ever.
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Make Giving Day Personal! | |
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Success on Giving Tuesday comes down to one key strategy: making your message uniquely local. Personalizing your Giving Tuesday campaign can engage your community even more effectively. You can easily personalize your content using the framework from the UCANR Giving Day Toolkit. Make sure you subscribe to UC ANR's The Scoop newsletter to get access to the Giving Tuesday toolkit when it launches later this month.
First, let's look at why personalizing your message matters so much. The numbers make a strong case:
- personalized donor communications get 47% higher response rates than generic appeals (2023 Fundraising Effectiveness Project)
- local, tangible projects are 76% more likely to receive donations than general campaigns (GivingUSA 2023)
- social media posts featuring local impact receive 3.5 times more engagement
What does personalizing your message mean? Your goal is to tell your county's story and show how supporting your program will make a difference. While the UCANR Giving Day Toolkit includes general copy and graphics that are fantastic, here's how you can personalize them specific to your program:
Graphics:
- Include multiple photos of your projects, with the Giving Tuesday graphic as the last photo. This prevents your feed from being filled with only generic Giving Tuesday images.
- Create a video of a volunteer or community member talking about why your project or program matters.
- Look for the Canva templates in the toolkit that you can update with your photos.
- use local project photos instead of stock images
- show images of UC Master Gardener volunteers in action
Messages:
- Turn general statements into specific goals.
- The toolkit includes ready-to-use copy for your emails and posts. Here's how you can improve it:
- Original: "This #GivingTuesday, the UC Master Gardener Program hopes to raise awareness and support for our program, which helps people learn how to garden, grow food, and manage pests. On Dec. 3, we aim to raise as much money as possible in 24 hours to expand our outreach across the state."
- Personalized: "This #GivingTuesday, the UC Master Gardener Program of [...] County hopes to raise awareness and support for our youth garden program, which allows 100s of children to visit our garden each year and learn how to grow food and the importance of nature. On Dec. 3, we aim to raise [local goal] in 24 hours to expand our outreach to bring even more schools to tour our garden next year. Help make a difference today [donation link]."
Feel free to think creatively about your Giving Tuesday content. Use the toolkit as your starting point or inspiration, then personalize everything to focus on your local program's work and fundraising goals. Remember: Your community supports UC Master Gardeners because they see your local impact!
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Let's look at some Giving Tuesday posts from past years that did a great job personalizing their content. These are some great examples to inspire you and what you can do with your Giving Tuesday content. | |
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Do include multiple images - San Luis Obispo
This post from San Luis Obispo shares multiple images of their volunteers working while the post talks about helping ...
"sustain programs like the Oceano Victory Garden and Veteran’s Victory Garden workshops, which show beginning gardeners how to start and maintain an edible garden in backyards, containers, and small spaces."
The multiple images help paint a picture of the work they do; having the Giving Tuesday graphic be last keeps their feed from being overwhelmed with the same graphic, and they are talking about specific work they are doing in the community.
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Do personalize everything - Sonoma
This post from Sonoma shows how you can use the content from the toolkit but put your own spin on it. They updated the photo to correlate with the project discussed in the post. They show how their program can help the local community:
"We hope you will support our programs, such as Garden Sense, whose aim is to show homeowners how reduced water use can go hand-in-hand with beautiful landscaping.
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Do spotlight your volunteers - Los Angeles
This post spotlights the work of a specific volunteer and shares that by donating you can help continue this work. This is a great way to make a specific ask and highlight the fantastic work of volunteers!
"When you donate to UC Master Gardeners of Los Angeles on #GivingTuesday, you support the volunteer work of Master Gardeners like Florence Nishida. She dedicates her volunteer time to the community garden at LA Green Grounds, where this year they introduced their gardeners to many new crops like malabar spinach, daikon radish, and bitter melon. We are here to enrich lives and landscapes; together, we can make a lasting impact!"
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Resources - Giving Day Toolkit | |
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The UC ANR Giving Day Toolkit will be released later this month in The Scoop. In the toolkit, there will be many resources, including an editorial calendar, graphics, and Canva templates. This toolkit is there to help you have the best Giving Tuesday you can. While we have talked a lot about how to personalize the content you put out for Giving Tuesday, please don't worry if you don't have the bandwidth to make that happen. You can still have a successful Giving Tuesday by posting exactly what is in the toolkit editorial calendar. The goal is to do something, the only way to get a donation is to ask. This is your moment to ask. Use the resources whether you personalize them or not. Go for it - you might be surprised by what you get!
If you have questions or would like to brainstorm how you can personalize the toolkit for your county please join our weekly office hours or contact Barbra Braaten | bbraaten@ucanr.edu.
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Private Facebook Group for UC Master Gardener Communicators | |
Subscribe to get the monthly issues of "Rooted in Marketing" | |
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Thanks for reading this month's issue! To submit questions, topic suggestions, or feedback, email Statewide Communications Specialist Barbra Braaten at bbraaten@ucanr.edu.
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Our Mission
“To extend research-based knowledge and information on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to the residents of California.”
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