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A Colorado Gives Day Checklist: Steps You Shouldn't Skip

By Angela Bevacqua, Senior Communications Specialist


Are you a nonprofit counting down the days to Colorado Gives Day? If you’re like us, you are. You’ve got your list and you’re checking it twice. Here are our suggestions on what should be, at a minimum, on your check list.

One of 4 places your appeal appears
Make sure your GivingFirst Profile looks great!
  • Submit final changes by Friday, Nov. 16, so that they can be approved and live in time for the big day.
  • Write a compelling “appeal.” 
    • The appeal is a new feature that lets you write a short summary (300 characters or less) of your organization that appears in several place: 1) in the GivingFirst home page when you get a donation, 2) in search results 3) in the checkout cart, and 4) on your profile page. If you don’t write an appeal, your mission statement is the default. 
    • Consider adding a special appeal just for Colorado Gives Day. For example, “The Puppydog Foundation provides low-cost medical services for ailing dogs seven days a week. Help us reach our goal of hiring new staff to serve 20% more dogs with your Colorado Gives Day donation. 100% of your donation will support our programs.”
    • This is also a great place to remind donors about addition tax credits like Enterprise Zone and Child Care Credit because it will show up in the checkout process.

Add a logo to avoid a blank space
Upload your logo
  • Use your logo to attract donors and help with recognition. Spaces for your logo are on the GivingFirst home page, search pages, checkout pages and, of course, your profile. If you don't upload a logo, the space will be blank. Here’s what the search feature looks like when an organization doesn’t include a logo:
Upload compelling photos
    Bold photos and logos look great on profile
  • Do you want people to check out your profile? Upload your best, most engaging photos. Otherwise consider a powerful number reflecting one of your organization’s outcomes.
Make sure your nonprofit’s website is ready
  • Use the GivingFirst “Donate Now button” to help people understand they are going to a new website.
  • Use the pre-made web announcements.
  • Ensure you’re using accurate links. Link people to either your Nonprofit Profile page or Donation page (log on to the Nonprofit Resources page to access the code for your specific donation page).
Use Donate Now button on your website
Make sure you've got the facts right!
Key messages for Colorado Gives Day include:
  • 24 hours to give where you live
  • 100% of every donation goes to charity
  • The FirstBank Incentive Fund increases the value of every dollar donated
  • Colorado Gives Day is presented by Community First Foundation and FirstBank
Last but not least, contact your supporters!
  • Email
  • Phone calls for big supporters
  • And don’t forget to thank them for their donations!

Good luck on December 4 and we’re here to help. Contact us at:
Marketing: abevacqua@CommunityFirstFoundation.org
Technical: givingfirst@CommuntiyFirstFoundation.org

Check out the Nonprofit Toolkit for marketing resources.



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