How the Food Bank for New York City Leverages Giving Tuesday: Tactics and Team Collaboration
Association of Fundraising Professionals - New York City Chapter (AFP-NYC)
AFP-NYC is the founding chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
by Melanie Buhrmaster, VP, Philanthropy, Food Bank for New York City
For the Food Bank For New York City, Giving Tuesday is much more than a single day of fundraising. It serves as a signature matching challenge day within our 40 Million Meals Campaign, a comprehensive holiday initiative to address the urgent food insecurity impacting 1.3 million New Yorkers. This annual campaign brings together the full force of our Marketing and Communications (MarComms), Fundraising Operations (Direct Response), and Major Gifts teams to create a seamless and far-reaching campaign that inspires new and existing supporters to give, amplifying their impact.
More Than a Day: Amplifying the 40 Million Meals Campaign
While Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity, we use it as the springboard toward the highest volume of donations within our broader 40 Million Meals Campaign, which runs November-December.
Rather than focusing only on a single day, our Giving Tuesday efforts begin the week before with a carefully timed promotion that encourages supporters to start their Giving Tuesday plans early.
This approach allows us to build momentum and expand Giving Tuesday’s impact across the entire holiday season.
The 40 Million Meals Campaign is backed by a significant matching challenge—our goal is to secure $2 million in matching funds from generous donors and board members, a key tactic in inspiring giving across all levels. With this match in place, donors know that their contributions will go even further, motivating them to contribute and reinforcing the critical importance of their support. Food Bank maximizes the $2 million matching pool by offering special multiplier days throughout the 40 Million Meals campaign, sometimes offering 1:1 opportunities, and on special days like Giving Tuesday, extending the match 2X, 3X, and even 4X to leverage gifts of all sizes.
Tips for Communicating to Polarized Audiences
By David Langton, President, Langton Creative Group
My grandfather ran a flower shop in Woonsocket, RI, that was founded in 1948. My mother recalls that he was often asked to post signs from local politicians in the store, but he always refused. He reasoned it was better to sell flowers to both sides. When we worked on the promotional campaign for the Rescue Dinner, the $16 million fundraiser for the International Rescue Committee we needed to avoid the extremes of the immigration debate. Melissa Meredith, Director of strategic events, set the tone by saying, “We were looking for a fresh way to convey our values and communicate a message of hope to counter the divisive rhetoric in the marketplace.” We needed to convey that the refugee and displaced people crisis is not just about “them” it is about “us.” Our theme was, “We’re all in this together.”
It’s not always easy to see the other side and make peace with the great divide in our country. There’s so much at stake for both sides.
It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how we treat each other after the fact.
Building a communication plan for your organization that brings people together from both sides is a tall order that requires us to be open to other people’s perspectives. We need to be curious instead of hostile to views that don’t necessarily align with our own. To do that, we should look at some of the root causes of our separation and examine how we act towards one another. According to Anu Gupta, the root cause of our conflicts in “bias.” Gupta is a human rights lawyer and author of Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come from and the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them. He tells us that just as unconscious biases can be learned, they can also be unlearned. He identifies five habits that impact our ability to communicate with those who are different from us.
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Philanthropy in Action: How Nonprofit Boards are Meeting the Moment
By Susan Madon, CFRE CEO and Founder, Minerva Nonprofit Management Consulting
We've all been there. The board meeting where one trustee insists on reading every line item of the 27-page financial statement aloud while another trustee quietly plays Wordle on their phone. Or perhaps you've experienced the famous "strategic planning session" where the conversation somehow devolves into a 45-minute debate about the color scheme of next year's gala invitations. One of my personal favorites was the board chair who consistently referred to our "annual giving campaign" as our "annual giving champagne" – though in retrospect, maybe he was onto something about making fundraising more festive.
But here's the thing: even our most cringe-worthy board moments serve as valuable lessons in how to evolve and improve.
That trustee obsessed with financial statements? They helped us develop a more efficient dashboard reporting system. The invitation color debate? It led to the creation of a proper event committee structure. And yes, even the "champagne campaign" chair inspired us to inject more celebration and donor appreciation into our fundraising efforts.
As we look ahead to National Philanthropy Day 2024, the landscape of giving and nonprofit governance has evolved dramatically. The convergence of global challenges – from economic uncertainty to climate change, and from public health concerns to social justice imperatives – has fundamentally transformed how nonprofit boards approach their vital work of stewarding organizations and mobilizing resources for community impact.
The future of philanthropy depends on boards that can navigate complexity while staying true to their organizations' missions. As we gather on November 15th to celebrate National Philanthropy Day, we recognize that effective board leadership is more crucial than ever – and yes, maybe we'll even raise a glass of champagne to those annual giving campaigns.
Upcoming Events
Chapter Annual Membership Meeting, 2025
Non-Profit Partnerships: Collaborative Solutions for Complex Challenges
This event promises to kick off 2025 with a renewed sense of purpose, encouraging us to discover how, together, we can make a meaningful difference.
February 12, 2025, 8:30-11 a.m.
Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, F.I.T. 227 West 27th St, NYC
Fundraising Day in New York (FRDNY) — 2025
June 13, 2025, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. The New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square