Nov. 23 — 29

This week's festivities may look different this year, but the ways in which we share our gratitude will be sincerely felt, even if they take a different shape. As we head into a few days of connecting with friends and family (virtually!), binging our favorite shows (luckily!), and staying safe at home (thankfully!), we want to express our gratitude for the public service you provide to communities across the U.S.

This year has replaced what was once familiar with the unknown. Throughout it all, journalists and newsrooms have provided a steady voice of facts and reason, quelling any anxiety with the assurance that we'll get through it together.

And with that, let's dive into this week's assignment. It's is a big one since we're covering this week's pitch and preparing for #GivingNewsDay all at once. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

— Christina & Courtney
The Basics
In this section, we've listed the bare minimum of what you should do to run your NewsMatch campaign. If you don't have a lot of time on your hands, focus on this section to stay organized and up to date. We are following the suggested schedule on the 2020 Campaign Roadmap. Feel free to modify this schedule to fit your editorial workflow.
— Nov. 23 to 25
  • Customize your next email pitch (Email 5) 
  • Schedule your social media post. The suggested date is Nov. 25 but anytime before and on Thanksgiving would be appropriate for the suggested copy. 

— Nov. 26 to 30: Gear up for #GivingNewsDay


If you haven't already:
  • Begin uploading your donations into this year’s Match Cover Sheet and creating a folder of your related documentation. Try logging donations in batches as you go to speed up your reporting process at the end.
  • Give thanks to your staff, board members, and volunteers who are working alongside you to run this year's campaign 🙏
☝️Pro Tips!
We'll use this section to provide additional insight into campaign resources and share tips on what you can do to make them your own.

Set a sprint goal! If you've already reached the cap or need a campaign boost, set a public goal to help drive urgency. Your goal can be a monetary goal — (We're on a mission to raise $5,000 by midnight!) or a community count goal (Our goal is to get 50 new members today!). Review the recap from last week's NewsMatch webinar for more ideas on how to pivot your message.

Incorporate testimonials to strengthen your messaging. Contact people who have already given and ask for testimonials on why they support you. Share their statements on social media using this quote frame

→ Check out how Sahan Journal applied both of these strategies on Twitter. We love this example because it is easy to execute, feels personal, and is AMBITIOUS! 
Get ready for #GivingNewsDay
Here, we'll provide advanced tips and opportunities to get the most out of NewsMatch. I'm sure your plate is already full and you may not be able to get to them all — try just tackling just one!
GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past seven years, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

Through NewsMatch, we leverage the momentum on Giving Tuesday to promote the idea of giving to nonprofit news. We call this #GivingNewsDay! 

— How to cut through the noise

Earlier this month, Giving Tuesday met with a small group of newsrooms during a NewsMatch Information Exchange session to share ways to cut through the noise. We came up with a list of ideas for newsrooms to consider. Which one could you pull of?

  • Set a specific goal of what you’d like to achieve on this day — maybe it’s a certain number of new donors or a specific dollar amount that exceeds what you raised on this day last year.

  • You could also focus on a particular donor segment on this day. Use the day to convert one-time donors to monthly subscribers or invite lapsed donors to renew their annual gift.

  • Use this day to simply say thank you. Take a moment to send a heartfelt thank you to the funders, donors, and supporters that have helped you get through the year. This is an especially great communication tactic to engage people who have already contributed to your campaign.

  • Ask readers to help you in ways other than a monetary donation. Giving Tuesday / #GivingNewsDay is about inspiring all types of kind acts. Ask your followers to spread the word about the work you do with a retweet, share, or forward to a friend.

  • Provide a unique opportunity to engage with your existing donors — like a virtual Q&A or virtual meet and greet with a reporter who broke a big story this year. How can you make this day memorable?


— What others have done in the past

Here's how NextCity used Twitter to track its performance towards reaching a fundraising goal for the day.

The Marshall Project deployed different types of posts throughout the day. They had some merch that was timely just because they were featured on Jeopardy! a few weeks prior (RIP Alex Trebek). And they had these great descriptions that said "My donation..." with different variations like "sustains progress" and "establishes facts." 

Finally, here's how NC Health News did their own thing with the graphic to let readers know that gifts would be triple matched.
— Help us spread good news on Facebook & Twitter.
Have you checked out the NewsMatch feed on Twitter and Facebook feed lately? Throughout the campaign, we will be looking for stories that illustrate the value of nonprofit news for the people, with the people. If you’ve published a story that you think we should highlight, send us a link here! Here are some ideas:
  • Things you're doing to bring people together
  • Stories that unpack people's reaction to trending news
  • Fact-checking stories to dispel false information that is spreading
  • News coverage that has changed someone's life for the better
Upcoming key dates and webinars
— Tuesday, December 1
Giving Tuesday / #GivingNewsDay
GivingTuesday (December 1) is a global day of giving, inspiring hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. At NewsMatch, we’ve remixed this day to make it our own — #GivingNewsDay.

How can you cut through the noise? What should you say if you’re close to reaching your goal? Try some of these pointers shared during Wednesday's information exchange.
— Wednesday, Dec. 9 • 1 pm ET / 10 am PT
This year, NewsMatch grant payments will be issued upon completion of your organization’s NewsMatch post-campaign report and INN Index questionnaire.

Join INN for a kickoff conversation about this year’s INN Index. In this webinar, we’ll review a few changes to the INN Index reporting process, how your newsroom data is used and protected, and answer a few commonly asked questions. This webinar will help you and your team prepare for this essential piece of INN’s programming and research.

If you have any questions about the INN Index survey, we’re here to help. Please contact index@inn.org.




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