October 7 – Revels Day of Giving

Help make our first “Day of Giving” fundraiser a success.

Washington Revels is journeying back to in-person celebrations! We’re excited to welcome audiences and we’re working to keep everyone involved in our events safe and secure.

We’re also excited to experiment with new ways to fundraise for the programs you love. Our first-ever “Revels Day of Giving” on Thursday, October 7 is a great example — a test of a one-day, in-house peer-to-peer campaign that relies on you to spread the word and tell friends and family why supporting Revels matters to you.

There are many easy ways you can support Revels on October 7:

  • Create and share a Facebook Fundraiser for Washington Revels. Find full instructions here.
  • Not on Facebook? Encourage friends and family to donate directly to Revels at our “Day of Giving” donation page. Find full instructions here.
  • Want to donate? Make a gift here, then head to social media and share that you donated and encourage others to give with you!
  • Like and share any Revels Fundraiser you see on social media throughout the day.

You can create your own, too!

Join the Revels Board in Promoting ‘Day of Giving’

October 1, 2021

Dear Friends of Revels,

No doubt you’ve heard about our upcoming fundraising event — the “Revels Day of Giving” on October 7th.

As members of the Washington Revels Board of Directors, it has been exciting to see this organization adapt throughout the pandemic to bring virtual Revels programs to the DC area — and, amazingly, to the world! Now we are venturing back to in-person activities, including the 2021 Christmas Revels at Glen Echo Park.

The Revels Board is thrilled that we are resuming many of our treasured in-person celebrations. We also are confident that the lessons of the past 18 months will ensure that Revels continues to innovate — to learn, to listen, and to grow in the months and years ahead.

Our upcoming “Revels Day of Giving” is an example of this mindset. We’re excited to test this new peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, and to see if it can become one of the many ways that our community can increase support for Washington Revels. The Revels Board will be promoting this giving opportunity, and we hope you’ll join us in this new endeavor!

“Revels Day of Giving” is special because it relies on you encouraging others to support the Revels programs that matter to you. As we’ve learned through over 35 years of Christmas Revels ticket sales, the people involved in the show are always the best at promoting it — and we know that the people who love and support Revels now will be the best at finding new donors to make a commitment to Revels!

Please make plans to help on October 7th. It’s easy to do! You can create a fundraiser for Washington Revels on Facebook, send an email to friends and family who you’ve brought to past performances, share your decision to donate on social media and ask others to give along with you — or help however works best for you. The Revels staff has prepared many helpful resources so that you can quickly share a post or message and then go about your day.

Thank you for making Washington Revels part of your life, and for joining us in “Revels Day of Giving” as we head towards December’s Christmas Revels and a dynamic future ahead.

With appreciation,

The Washington Revels Board of Directors:

Joan Burns, chair
Gary R. Correll, treasurer
Karen Schofield-Leca, secretary
Jane Bloodworth
Meredith Cabe

William B. Conway
Claudia Dulmage
Aryn Geier
Cynthia Shauer Langstaff
Terry Winslow

Click below to learn more about “Day of Giving” and get involved:

How to Help: Facebook Fundraiser

Facebook Fundraisers are easy to create and share. Best of all, Facebook handles all donations and Washington Revels receives 100% of gifts.

How to set up your “Day of Giving” Facebook fundraiser:

  1. Click here to go to the fundraiser setup page. Facebook autofills much of the information, but you can change it to be even more effective (see below).
  2. On the left side of the page, set the goal for your fundraiser. We recommend an amount between $500-$1,000. Make sure the currency is U.S. dollars.
  3. Pick an end date for your fundraiser. Revels Day of Giving is just one day, but you may want to give your fundraiser a few days to reach people, so we suggest an end date of Sunday, October 10.
  4. Give your fundraiser a title. It can be simple, like “[Your Name]’s ‘Revels Day of Giving’ Fundraiser,” but feel free to give it a name that will excite your Facebook friends to donate.
  5. Fill in the body of the fundraiser under “Why are you raising money.” Facebook provides 3 paragraphs automatically. Leave the last two paragraphs unchanged (our mission statement and the note about processing fees), but we heartily suggest replacing the first paragraph with a personalized message. If you need a starting point, you can edit the sample message below.
  6. Update the Cover Image with one of our “Day of Giving” options below. First, download one of the pre-sized cover images below. Then click the card icon in the upper-right corner of the old cover photo (on the left hand side of the page). In the pop-up menu, select “Upload New Photo” and choose the photo you just downloaded.
  7. When you’re finished, click “Create.” Facebook will prompt you to invite friends and to share the post on your timeline. Share and invite away!
  8. We encourage you to reshare your fundraiser a few times throughout the day (or however long you let it run). It’s also great to thank people as you receive notifications that they donate. Your active engagement will help the post reach more folks.

Sample Message (to get you started!):

  • Hi Friends! Today is Revels Day of Giving and I’m raising money for Washington Revels. You’ve seen me post about Revels before. This community is an important part of my life and I just want to help them as they head back towards in-person events and performances. Can you help me reach my personal fundraising goal? #RevelsGiving

Cover Photo Options:
Download by right-clicking on the photo and selecting “Save Image,” or by clicking and dragging the image to your desktop. Trouble downloading? Email rwixon@revelsdc.org and ask for these images directly.

How to Help: Emails + Other Social Media

If you aren’t on Facebook, aren’t on any social media, or simply prefer to share a post on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter over creating a Facebook fundraiser, this is the page for you! Find instructions writing emails and other social media posts below.

Email:

Sending an email encouraging friends, family, and others to donate is easy. Simply copy and paste the sample message below (photo and all!) into the body of an email, copy and paste in our pre-written subject line (or feel free to write your own), personalize your message, insert the email addresses, and click “Send”!

Important Notes:

  1. As you think of people who are likely to support Revels, consider writing to folks who have experienced our programs with you. They not only know you, but they also know Washington Revels’ events and your message may be just the nudge they need to make their first donation!
  2. In the sample text, be sure to delete any bracketed placeholders, like “[Name/Salutation Here].” Those are just to help remind you to customize your message as applicable.
  3. Feel free to swap in any of the wide landscape graphics below. These fit nicely with the flow of the email and will link to our donation page. Simply copy and paste your chosen image into the email, and delete the original, to change out the graphic.
  4. Most important as you edit, do not change the “donate” link; otherwise your recipients may not know how to give.

Email Template:

Dear [NAME/SALUTATION HERE],

You know how important Washington Revels is to [ME/US/OUR FAMILY, ETC]. [THIS THURSDAY/TODAY] I’m helping raise funds to support Revels on their October 7 “Day of Giving.” It would mean so much to [ME/US] if you would donate to Washington Revels [ON THURSDAY/TODAY]. You can donate easily online at: https://bit.ly/revelsday

[THANKS/LOVE/HUGS],

[YOUR NAME]

More Email Photo Options:


Other Social Media:

Posting about our “Day of Giving” on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook is as easy as Copy-Paste! Copy any of our sample posts below, paste them into your social media message of choice, edit the text, attach a photo, and you’re ready to share.

Important Notes:

  1. As you edit text, be sure to keep the link to the donation form: https://bit.ly/revelsday
  2. Posts with photos reach more people than photos with the link alone. Sometimes pasting in a link will pull up a preview image, but this isn’t the same as attaching a photo and doesn’t reach as widely. Please download one of our many photo options below to make your post “pop”!

Sample Posts:

  1. @RevelsDC created a place for us to share music, stories & traditions when we couldn’t gather in person. Now Revels is working to gather together again safely. Help me support them on Revels Day of Giving! Anything you can donate will make a difference: https://bit.ly/revelsday  #RevelsGiving
  2. On Revels Day of Giving I’m raising money for @RevelsDC. They kept music, story, and traditions alive online and now they’re working hard so that all of us can “revel” in person. Can you help Washington Revels with a donation today? Give here: https://bit.ly/revelsday  #RevelsGiving
  3. I’m so proud to be part of the @RevelsDC community! We’re working together to make traditional celebrations of music, dance and story happen safely in person again. Can you help us now on Revels Day of Giving? Anything you can donate means so much: https://bit.ly/revelsday  #RevelsGiving
    HOW TO TAG: @ tags work automatically on Twitter and Instagram. On Facebook you must retype “@RevelsDC” and select “Washington Revels” from the drop-down menu to tag us.

Social Media Photos:

WHEN: All Day on Thursday, October 7
WHAT: Support Washington Revels by sharing Facebook Fundraisers or our direct fundraising page. See our sharing kit for Facebook and for Email/Other Social Media.
SIGN-UP: Email Grace VanderVeer at gvanderveer@revelsdc.org to let her know you plan to participate as a social media ambassador — you’ll receive updates and instructions before and on October 7. Thanks for your help!