11 Simple Ways to Raise More on National Food Bank Day

National Food Bank Day is on the first Friday of September every year. We want to help you unlock the generosity of donors who are passionate about contributing to the cause.

Food banks have the critical job of providing meals to those facing hunger, which is no small feat. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen a larger number of people in need of their services.

In 2020, food banks distributed 6 billion meals to those facing hunger in the United States.

Launch a compelling crowdfunding campaign to take advantage of National Food Bank Day this September and raise more to impact more lives.

Optimize your campaign, boost your organization’s visibility, and take a sizable step toward your year-end fundraising goals with this list of quick tips.

Download Your Crowdfunding Campaign Checklist

Reach New Heights On National Food Bank Day

Create a well-designed, cohesive crowdfunding campaign to support your mission on National Food Bank Day with these must-have elements.

1. Welcome supporters to your campaign with a strong hero block

Your hero block is the first thing a supporter sees when they land on your campaign. It typically consists of a graphic and impactful text that sits at the top of the page. Inspire donors to take action by choosing design elements that seamlessly draw them to your donation form.

Step 1: Upload a custom image to use as your headline.

Use a headline image on your landing page instead of a simple text headline to add visual appeal and give you more control over how your page looks. The Food Bank of South Jersey incorporated this design for their Virtual Food Drive campaign to create a deeper connection with donors.

Step 2: Remain consistent with the branding of your other assets.

Ensure that your National Food Bank Day campaign is a natural extension of your brand to establish trust with your supporters.

Step 3: Define a single call to action.

Focus on just one call to action, to donate, on your crowdfunding campaign to boost conversions.

Try It on Classy

Easily customize your hero block on the Classy giving experience platform with our easy-to-use design tools. Simply select the part of the page you want to edit and your design tools will appear automatically.

Learn How to Build a Stellar Campaign With Classy Academy

2. Communicate a sense of urgency with your supporters

Tell your story with a sense of urgency to motivate immediate action. Emphasize the timeliness of your ask with specific dates and showcase the impact each donation will make on the life of a beneficiary.

In this example, Capital Area Food Bank uses powerful statistics to clearly define the problem they’re addressing in their campaign and highlight the harsh reality of rising food insecurity in the DC Metropolitan area.

Customize your “About the Campaign” section to clearly and concisely communicate your goal for National Food Bank Day, and why it’s relevant right now. Provide tangible examples of how your campaign will support your beneficiaries, like “Hitting our goal by September 3 would allow us to provide warm meals for over 1,000 members of our community.”

Speak to the increased demand for your services, and how these needs won’t be met without support from your generous donors.

Try It on Classy

Within minutes, you can customize your crowdfunding campaign description on Classy to tell your story, define your goal, and inspire action.

Keep in mind that you can always come back and edit this information in the future if you need to refresh your language, include a new quote, update a statistic, or reframe your goal.

Tap Into the Power of Storytelling

3. Make your donation button stand out

Make sure your supporters know exactly where to click by placing a visually contrasting donation button in your hero block.

Display a clear “Donate Now” button next to the progress bar on your campaign page to tie your ask to tangible social proof that others are supporting your cause. You can see a great example of this with Second Harvest of Silicon Valley’s crowdfunding campaign.

Try It on Classy

Call on your supporters to donate with a personalized button. Create an emotional response that cements the action of giving by using Classy’s advanced designer to edit your button’s text or style. A short, simple phrase like “Feed the Hungry” can help supporters understand the impact of their donation, which makes them more likely to donate.

4. Add customized impact blocks to showcase the value of each gift

Show donors exactly what each donation helps to accomplish with impact blocks. For your National Food Bank Day campaign, you could quantify the impact of various gift amounts through months of groceries provided to a family, the number of meals that could be served at your food bank this month, or even the number of sandwiches you will be able to provide to a local school.

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley connected dollar amounts to examples of how many food items each gift would provide.

Use a high-resolution image or engaging graphic with a customized description in each block to reflect what’s being shown. Keep your copy short and provide strategic options for recommended donation amounts. Remember, the suggested amounts should align with your organization’s typical donation amount, as well as stretch goals.

Try It on Classy

In a few quick steps, you can change the images, donation amounts, and descriptions featured on your impact blocks. You can easily add more if needed, or reorder your set by dragging individual blocks to the location you want on your campaign page.

4 Pro Tips on How to Use Impact Blocks Creatively

5. Avoid links to another webpage

Keep your supporters on track to donate by limiting the number of distractions on your page. Limit the navigation options available, even to your own website, to keep donors moving straight to your donation form.

The more focused your page is on one call to action, the more likely your donors are to give.

6. Make your campaign page interactive

Make your donors feel appreciated with a prompt, personalized message of appreciation posted in direct response to each gift.

Display recent donations and comments on your page to keep donors engaged and inspired, and to offer a space where donors can explain why your cause is important to them. This digital hub of communication between donors and administrators encourages connection and gives each supporter the instant recognition they deserve.

Try It on Classy

Classy’s activity wall allows you to quickly recognize and thank donors in real-time, scale your outreach, and build donor loyalty. Once a supporter donates, you can reply directly on the activity wall with a public, personalized message. The donor is then immediately sent an email with a link back to the campaign landing page, notifying them you’ve started a conversation.

3 Ways to Use Your Activity Wall to Boost Donor Engagement

7. Offer a recurring giving option

Every time someone donates to your nonprofit, your form should give them the option to make it a recurring gift. Even if a donor has never previously considered a recurring gift, the option itself may intrigue them while they’re already in the mindset of giving.

Lean into the generosity surrounding National Food Bank Day to establish a predictable stream of revenue, protect the long-term financial health of your organization, and help you scale.

Although the monthly giving frequency is the most common, many forward-thinking nonprofits offer various giving options. Presenting your donors with choices makes their budgeting more manageable and reduces their likelihood of churning. Classy’s Recurring Donor Sentiment Report found that 50% of recurring donors prefer to give outside of just monthly increments when given a choice.

See What Today’s Donors Want From the Recurring Giving Experience

The Greater Boston Food Bank offers its donors a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual giving option.

Try It on Classy

Classy allows nonprofits to offer their donors eight recurring giving frequencies based on their preference, including:

• One-time
• Daily
• Weekly
• Bi-weekly
• Monthly
• Quarterly (every three months)
• Semi-annually (every six months)
• Yearly (every 12 months)

Simply scroll down to the Donation Frequencies section of your campaign and toggle the frequencies on or off to suit your needs.

8. Consider SEO best practices

Give your campaign some juice by prioritizing your page’s search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO is the process of earning traffic from your search engine organically. Organic traffic means you aren’t paying for ads or sponsored content placement. To earn that coveted traffic on National Food Bank Day, consider the following best practices:

• Include the keyword, National Food Bank Day, in your campaign name and page URL
• Position the keyword as far left as possible in your title tag (what appears as the clickable blue text in the search engine result pages and also at the top of your internet browser)
• Keep your title tag to 60 characters or less to avoid cutting off the copy
• Include relevant campaign information in your meta description to tell users what they can expect to find on your page
• Include a clear call to action at the end of your meta description to encourage users to click

7 SEO Tips and Best Practices for Nonprofits

9. Optimize your campaign for mobile

Mobile devices drive 58% of total traffic to Classy campaigns, lead to 21% of total donations, and guide 27% of social media traffic.

To ensure a seamless user experience regardless of the device your supporters are using, make sure to:

• Reduce the number of required textbox fields on your donation page
• Increase font and donation button sizes
• Trim unnecessary text
• Decrease image sizes to promote faster load times

Most importantly, adopt mobile-responsive fundraising software. Donors expect the giving experience to be easy and seamless. Don’t let a poorly-built form be the reason you miss out on a donation this National Food Bank Day.

Try It on Classy

Classy donation pages are automatically mobile-optimized. You can even preview what your page will look like on a desktop, tablet, or mobile device to ensure it’s ready to go.

10. Share your campaign on social media

4.2 billion people use social media worldwide as of 2021.

To ensure you don’t miss out on potential donors, get strategic with your social media strategy for National Food Bank Day.

When you engage with followers on social networks, you:

• Reach new donors in new areas of the world
• Increase fundraising campaign participation
• Boost visibility and overall exposure of your cause

Overlap the content you create between various channels to expand your reach with less effort. Be sure to include your campaign URL in the bio of each account. Post engaging content about your campaign goal, stories and photos of the impact each donation could have, testimonials from beneficiaries, or research that supports your call to action.

Download the Nonprofit’s Social Media Content Planner for More Tips

11. Steward donors through year-end

Leverage the momentum your organization establishes on National Food Bank Day to build toward your year-end fundraising goals.

With Giving Tuesday fast approaching, encourage your donors to stay engaged with your organization via social media, upcoming holiday events, recurring giving, or even just subscribing to your newsletter.

Get Ready for Giving Tuesday With This 3-Month Checklist

Consider launching a follow-up campaign after National Food Bank Day with a targeted CTA to donate again on Giving Tuesday. Tell your donors how much you appreciated their gifts, and how much of an impact they will make. Motivate them to strengthen their impact through the year-end season with continued support for your cause.

Make the Most of National Food Bank Day

With these 11 best practices in mind, get started on your crowdfunding campaign today. Speak to the urgency of your ask, remind donors of the critical importance your food bank serves, and emphasize the difference each dollar can make.

Eager to learn more? Request a Classy product demo or explore our free resources:

• The Guide to Nonprofit Storytelling
• The Nonprofit’s Donation Page Checklist
• Checklists for Crowdfunding, Peer-to-Peer, and Event Fundraising Campaign