GiveNow Week for Community Groups

Community groups of Australia: this is your chance to get giving on the radar!

GiveNow Week – 28 November to 4 December – is an Australia-wide event designed to focus attention on the many ways we can make a difference to the lives of others.

The holiday season has long been known as a time of giving – this year, you can help to create a giving bonanza in your community!

There are so many ways you and your group can help out this Christmas – we've outlined just a few of these below.

Spread the word.

Your group can help to spread the word about GiveNow Week by seeking some publicity. Tell the world what you do, why you're great and why they should support you and the community this Christmas.

If you need some help, download the sample media release (in Word), adapt it to your purposes and send it out to local media (see http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/mediacontacts for a list).

List your appeal.

GiveNow has collected more than $20 million for Australian community groups. Currently, there are around 2000 community group appeals listed – make sure yours is one of them. Throughout GiveNow Week (and throughout the year) we’ll be pushing donor traffic into GiveNow. Find out how your group can sign up at GiveNow.com.au.

Tell people about your cause.

The more people who know about your cause, the more chance you have of collecting a donation yourself and also spreading the word about GiveNow Week and why people should be giving to the community this Christmas. Put a link to your appeal on all your printed and electronic materials – every single thing that leaves your office – and encourage people to donate.

List a Christmas appeal.

Many groups schedule their major fundraising efforts at this time of year. Along with the general appeals listing, GiveNow.com.au has a specific link for Christmas appeals. When you list a new appeal, simply put ‘Christmas’ in the heading.

Spend wisely.

Lead by example by buying your organisation's Christmas trees and Christmas gifts through community groups. There's a listing of community groups with goods for sale at www.givenow.com.au/givenowweek (check out the Good Gifts Guide, as well as the Christmas trees and Christmas puddings’ listings).

Get others involved.

Tell everyone you know about GiveNow Week. Email them with a link to this site (http://www.givenow.com.au/givenowweek).

You can download the letter template and change it to suit your needs for a mail-out or email (Download the letter template in word)

Ask your local businesses and councils to get on board, and your local MPs as well (there's a section for them at www.givenow.com.au/givenowweek/localgov too).