Add Some Love to Your Nonprofit’s Social Media Plan This Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day brings out a variety of people. Those who love the holiday, and those who roll their eyes and wait for the candy sales to start the day after. Whether you’re a fan of Valentine’s Day or not, we can all agree that it’s a popular day for social media.

A holiday based on love, generosity, and appreciation? It’s perfect for nonprofits. If your organization doesn’t have any type of campaigns planned for your social pages, you could be missing out. Fundraising is a tough job, but it’s a selfless job that requires tons of compassion, empathy, and love for others. We think that’s pretty special to bring awareness to this Valentine’s Day.

Let’s sweeten up those social feeds with a few ideas that’re sure to sweep your audience off their feet!

Spread #DonorLove

This is absolutely one of our favorite topics and seems like an obvious choice when it comes to Valentine’s Day.  What’s better than showering donors with gratitude? They’re your biggest advocates and deserve to be recognized. Because of this practice, donor love is also the key to donor retention! It’s important to keep cultivating these relationships and keep them thriving. Because social channels like Facebook and Instagram are image and video heavy, try telling stories.

Donor spotlights: Celebrate donors by publicly thanking them on social! If permitted, share their picture with a story of what they mean to your organization — OR, give them the chance to share why your organization is important to them. A personal giving story is a powerful way to capture an audience of potential donors, while building a lasting relationship with current donors.

*Disclaimer:  Make sure donors are comfortable with being addressed publicly. Get their permission before using their name or picture in any form of communication.

Donate in the name of love: Certain organizations have programs that allow people to donate commemorative bricks or plaques.  You’d typically see this with hospice organizations, however, this can also be done for major donors or corporations that sponsor nonprofit events. Running a sale on social channels for these plaques and bricks allows supporters to contribute to a worthwhile cause while also honoring an individual for their philanthropic efforts. Provide pictures as examples with a campaign that runs the length of Valentine’s week. “Donate in the Name of Love” is a sweet way for the community to gather together and appreciate one another.

Love is All You Need (and maybe a dog or cat)

Valentine’s Day and animals — it’s just an all-around win for animal shelters. Maybe because all of us here are serious animal-lovers, but each Valentine’s Day we anxiously await the adorable campaigns our customers run. Trust us, if you’re an animal shelter or any organization that serves the animals in your community, this is going to be easy-peasy.

Adoption specials: Run adopt-a-thon specials on your social pages with available animals. Many families are waiting to meet the four-legged love of their lives! Campaigns like “Half of your Better Half” not only melts hearts, but gets those sweet babies adopted much faster.

Kissing booths: Okay, so don’t actually kiss the dogs or cats. Maybe a kiss on the snoot, maybe a pet. Either way, this idea is a social media gold mine. We’ve seen multiple organizations craft a small booth (cardboard boxes work just fine) and brand it for their event. Participants donate to give the furry friend a kiss and take a picture to share on social. We suggest crafting a hashtag for this event so that it can gain traction on channels like Facebook, X, and Instagram. #Smoocheswithpooches is definitely the most adorable one we’ve seen trending.

Puppygrams: Our friends over at Brother Wolf Animal Rescue have one of those must-watch campaigns. Their Valentine’s Day Puppygram deliveries are genius. Along with a snuggly pup donning a red bow, they also come with roses, a personalized card and calendar.  Donations help pets in need AND make your spouse, friend, or family’s day. Check out last year’s outcome from a loving husband’s puppygram delivery. We just know Coffee is living his or her best life these days!

Get Sentimental with Current Fundraising Campaigns

Listen up fundraising friends! Keep your social channels up-to-date. What I mean by that, is change your organization’s cover and profile photo to match the current holiday if you have a campaign correlated to it. No one wants to stumble upon a Facebook page with the last update being made three years ago. During Valentine’s week, take advantage of putting a sweet twist on your current fundraising efforts and increase donations!

Record Valentine’s messages: A unique and personal touch, encouraging supporters to send videos to children in hospitals or any health organization is sure to get eyes on your social channels. Donors can record a short snippet and tag your organization, garnering attention to your cause. Make someone’s day a little brighter with well wishes.

Create a hashtag campaign: Revive or create a fundraiser this Valentine’s Day. Wish supporters a Happy Valentine’s Day accompanied with a small ask. Create a social graphic (this should also serve as your temporary cover photo on Facebook and X) that displays a CTA. Your CTA can come in the form of a hashtag that’s clever and light-hearted to fit the holiday. For example, #GiveYourHeart is a great option for a heart disease organization. If you’re a mental health organization, this is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness, get rid of the stigma and create a touching campaign like #HearttoHeart. Be an understanding outlet to those in need.

Get creative! Social media has so many benefits and the options are endless. Whatever you come up with, we’re sure it’ll steal some hearts this Valentine’s Day.