By Beth Perell, VP, Board of Directors for Arts on the Block

Highlights from Giving Tuesday 2020

2020 was an unusual year for the Arts on the Block (AOB) board, as we shifted to virtual work, everything from board recruitment to regular meetings. It was a challenge to find opportunities for the board to connect. The Giving Tuesday event with the Catalogue of Philanthropy gave us that chance. AOB valued the opportunity because it provided a framework and goals for the board to organize around, with a focus of securing the largest number of donors within a ‘power hour’.

To prepare for Giving Tuesday, the marketing team created a timeline as well as sample messaging and social media graphics for the board to use as-is or personalize. On the day, the AOB team set up a virtual event room for participants and donors to “mingle” and learn more about AOB’s programs. It was also helpful to have the team available for any troubleshooting or reminders. 

The board members created individual fundraising pages and worked the phones to remind their friends to donate during the power hour. Like a mini-telethon, we found that just-in-time reminders helped increase the number of donors acquired during the short time span. While the leaderboard looked close during the hour, AOB ultimately earned second place, which was an admirable position to be in for our first team effort. The team raised $8000 in just one hour, and we gladly welcomed donations that came in the rest of the day. 

Plans for Giving Tuesday 2021

AOB has four new board members since last Giving Tuesday, and we are enthusiastic to join this event again this year. We are implementing many of the same techniques we did in 2020, including the lunch bunch to support the power hour. The marketing team provided a template with beautiful artwork for each board member. Mine is a mosaic butterfly! We plan to focus on real-time reminders via text to new and returning donors as that was a technique that our most successful fundraisers used last year. We are also planning a debrief later in the day to check in with each other and celebrate. 

AOB has recently moved into a new studio space. Over the past couple of months, the board has invited small groups to visit the studio. Some of these individuals were newly introduced to AOB and some were old friends who were glad to see the new space. These visits have been another strategy to build momentum leading up to Giving Tuesday.  We are also holding a Winter Open Studio shortly after Giving Tuesday. We hope these in-person connections will support our online giving efforts through the end of the year.