Sharing iGive with New Audiences

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While many people recognize the name iGive, there are still countless potential supporters who do not fully understand what we do or how we can help their favorite causes. Communicating the essence of iGive is crucial to expanding our reach and making a greater impact. By clearly articulating who we are and what we do, we can better connect with new audiences and demonstrate the significant difference we make through everyday actions.

The iGive Message: People of Action

The core message of iGive is simple and powerful: we are people of action. This concept should be at the heart of all our communications. By consistently presenting ourselves as a community of dedicated individuals who channel their everyday shopping into meaningful contributions, we help outsiders understand our mission and the impact we can achieve together.

Get started with some of our ready-made ads (login required).

Marketing Materials

iGive offers a range of ready-made marketing materials to help you spread the word. These include customizable templates for ads, social media posts, images, and more. Using these resources, you can create compelling content that reflects the iGive spirit and motivates others to join our cause.

Find all these materials in the iGive Advertising Kit (login required).

Telling Your Story

When creating ads or social media posts, it’s important to tell your story effectively. Here’s how to craft a compelling message:

Describe the Action

Start by explaining what action your cause is engaged with. For example, you might say, “We partnered with iGive to raise funds through online shopping.” This initial statement sets the stage by clearly outlining what your organization did. It gives the audience a concrete understanding of your activities and demonstrates that you are actively engaged in making a difference.

Share Proof of Impact

Once you have described the action, the next step is to provide evidence of your impact. Use statistics or testimonials to highlight your accomplishments. For instance, you could say, “Our efforts helped raise $5,000, providing essential supplies to local shelters.” This not only quantifies the success of your initiative but also helps to build credibility and trust with your audience. Sharing tangible results shows that your actions lead to meaningful outcomes and encourages others to support your cause.

Call to Action

Finally, clearly state what you want people to do next. Whether it’s to donate, participate, or learn more, your call to action should be straightforward and compelling. For example, you might say, “Join us on iGive and make your shopping count.” A well-crafted call to action motivates your audience to take the next step, whether it’s visiting your website, signing up for your newsletter, or making a donation. It’s an essential part of your message that drives engagement and support.

Be sure to include a link to your iGive page or website in your call to action to make it easy for people to take the next step. Get your unique iGive link by logging into your iGive account and navigating to the “Promote Your Cause” section, or by clicking here.

Show Members Taking Action

Visuals are a powerful way to convey the iGive message. Choose images that show real-life, everyday moments of your members in action. Here are some tips for selecting the right imagery:

Feature Authentic Moments

Capture genuine, candid shots of members engaging in charitable activities. Authenticity resonates with audiences because it feels real and relatable. Avoid staged or posed photos that may seem artificial. Instead, focus on capturing moments that reflect the true spirit and passion of your members as they work to support their causes.

Convey Motion

Choose photos that depict movement and action, bringing energy to your story. Images that show people in the midst of an activity, such as organizing an event or delivering donations, can convey a sense of urgency and dynamism. This helps to create a narrative that is engaging and inspires others to get involved.

Highlight Diversity

Showcase the diversity of your supporters and the community you serve. Representing different ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds in your images highlights the inclusive nature of your organization. It also broadens your appeal by demonstrating that your cause is supported by a wide range of people and that everyone is welcome to join and contribute.

Use Warm Lighting

Opt for images with warm lighting and natural colors to evoke a welcoming and positive atmosphere. Warm lighting can make your photos feel more inviting and friendly. It helps to create a positive emotional response, making viewers more likely to feel connected to your message and your cause.

Focus on Small Groups

Highlight a few individuals in each photo to create a personal connection with viewers. Images that feature small groups or individual members allow viewers to see the faces behind the actions. This personal touch can make your story more compelling and relatable, encouraging people to engage with your organization on a deeper level.

Avoid images that feel staged or impersonal. Instead, strive for authenticity and relatability in all your visual content. Genuine photos that reflect the real experiences and emotions of your members will resonate more effectively with your audience.

Conclusion

By sharing the iGive message clearly and consistently, we can reach new audiences and amplify our impact. Whether through compelling stories, powerful visuals, or effective calls to action, every piece of communication should reflect our commitment to being people of action. Together, we can inspire more individuals to join iGive and make a difference through their everyday shopping.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A shopper starts shopping online by first going to iGive.com.

The shopper, your supporter, identifies your cause as the one they support. If your cause is not already on our list of causes either they or you can add it. This tells us where to send the donation. This only has to be done once unless the shopper wants to stop or change causes.

The shopper then identifies the merchant where they want to shop that day from our categorized list of over 1700 merchants. Once they click on that merchant, they are finished for the day with iGive and taken directly to the merchant’s website. If they have shopped there before, they begin shopping. If it is their first time shopping at this merchant’s website, they will have to follow the merchant’s instructions for registering there by providing their name, delivery address, payment method, email address, and perhaps some other information depending on the merchant.

When they are finished shopping, they check out as usual. They are done and only have to wait for their order to be sent to them.

Meanwhile, back at iGive, a message is received from the merchant which documents the transaction. Periodically the merchant adds up what they owe iGive in the way of commission and sends iGive the money. This sometimes takes a month or more after the shopping trip because the merchants want to take into account returns, exchanges or other modifications to the total amount they collect.

iGive then adds up all of the commissions that they have received that are designated to be shared with your cause and sends you the accumulated portion for your cause. This is usually added up on a monthly basis for the period since the last donation to your cause.

There is no cost to the shopper or to your cause.

iGive works with all types of causes — big or small, local or national, and regardless of whether they are a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit or not.

Merchants pay iGive a commission from the shopper’s purchase because iGive referred the customer to them. They want customers to shop at their store, and shoppers with iGive want to shop at stores that support their cause. iGive utilizes that commission to facilitate a donation to your cause on behalf of the shopper.

The money sent to your cause is the incentive iGive offers shoppers to use iGive.com as the entry to online shopping at our 1700+ affiliated stores.

This is different from when a cashier asks if the shopper wants to round up or add a dollar to donate when the shopper checks out — in that case, the shopper is paying slightly more to donate to the store’s chosen cause—not the shopper’s. With iGive, the shopper pays the same amount they would if they didn’t use iGive. Your cause receives a donation from iGive for all of your supporters who use iGive.

The amount the cause receives depends on how many of your supporters use iGive and the amount of money they spend shopping online. You can increase the amount of the donation by encouraging your supporters to use iGive.com when shopping online. Your cause does not pay iGive anything.

iGive has a wide range of participating stores. These are listed at iGive.com either by category of merchandise or a comprehensive list of all merchant affiliates. This includes popular online retailers in categories such as clothing, electronics, travel, and more. See the list of affiliated stores here.