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Your End-of-Year Fundraising Roadmap

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Don’t let the year-end rush catch you by surprise.

It’s the most important and profitable time of year to be asking your donors to give, particularly for those of us in the USA. Here’s a roadmap of things you can do in the final couple of months of the year to maximize revenue:

Thanksgiving (US only)

If you’ve never done a Thanksgiving appeal, consider doing one this year.

Thanksgiving is an important holiday in the US, with deep emotional roots for many people. It is not far behind Christmas and year end as an occasion for donating.

Your  topic: Thankfulness.

That’s right – remind your donors of the power and importance of being thankful – how it’s a key ingredient of a full and happy life. Let them know that charitable giving is a great way to express their gratitude for what’s good in their lives. Work to connect gratitude with your cause in whatever way works.

An appeal like this can be very powerful when it authentically connects with the donor.

If you are outside the US, you may find that the topic of gratitude is a powerful point to bring up in fundraising generally.

Giving Tuesday

This new giving occasion (it started in 2012) works well for some organizations – it is among the top digital fundraising campaigns of the year.

But it doesn’t work for all fundraisers.

If you haven’t tried it, you should. It could turn out well for you. If you have tried it and had a low response, that’s okay. Don’t waste your time. You don’t have to celebrate Giving Tuesday, no matter what the bloggers say!

Here’s a “minimalist” Giving Tuesday campaign you can use to dip your toe in the water … or if you get only modest results:

  1. Monday: “Get ready for Giving Tuesday!”  Or “get a jump on the big day by giving now!”
  2. Tuesday: “Join the Giving Tuesday movement and donate now!” (You can send more than one message this day.)
  3. Wednesday: “It’s not too late to make a Giving Tuesday donation!”

Some organizations start their Giving Tuesday campaign on the day after Thanksgiving or even earlier. Let your donors guide you on how much effort it is worth for you.

Hint: You should probably have a matching gift offer for your Giving Tuesday campaign. Some experts have noted that this is so common it creates a real sameness in the inbox. But failing to do so is like “bringing a knife to a gun fight.” Look for additional ways to make your messaging and offer stand out.

Another hint: Few donors give only because it’s Giving Tuesday. You still have to have strong fundraising. I’d advise against prominently using the official Giving Tuesday logo in your messaging. It’s not important to most donors.

Year End Appeal

Most fundraisers have a campaign that combines the Holidays with the end of the calendar year. This appeal usually mails just before or just after Thanksgiving, to assure the mail will arrive in the first part of December.

This brings together two giving motivations: The Holiday itself (Christmas, Channukah, Kwanza, etc.) with the December 31 tax deadline that many countries have. (Recent changes to tax laws in the US mean far fewer donors will bother to claim any charitable tax deductions, but it remains an important deadline to stress anyway!)

I don’t need to tell you this, but someone may need the reminder: Just because it’s a Holiday/Year End appeal doesn’t mean you can skip the fundraising basics! You still need a strong and specific call to action.

The fact alone that it’s a “giving time of year” is not the reason people give. They’re just more likely to think about giving than at other times.

Year End Follow-Up

Here’s a way to increase year-end giving: Add an extra appeal a week or two

after the Year End appeal, using the same topic as the Year End appeal. Keep it simple, and scale back to your higher value and most likely to give donors (such as those with gifts in the last 12 months).

You can even send the same appeal a second time. This may seem counter-productive, but it works well.

Final Week Campaign

Send email appeals several times, starting December 26. As often as every day that week, including twice on December 31 (which is the biggest giving day of the year, especially online).

These can be short, simple messages that are deadline focused, especially those at the end of the week.

Consider supporting this campaign by sending postcards to donors who have made online donations, urging and pointing them to your year-end giving page.

Then … take a few days off in early January. You’ve earned it!

This blog contains excerpt from the Moceanic e-book, Your Calendar for Successful Year-End Fundraising. Read the whole thing, free to download. It’s a step-by-step guide for the critical last quarter, starting from October and going through to the biggest fundraising day of the year, December 31. Proven steps for maximizing the most generous time of year.

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Author

  • Jeff Brooks

    Jeff Brooks is a Fundraisingologist at Moceanic. He has more than 30 years of experience in fundraising, and has worked as a writer and creative director on behalf of top nonprofits around the world, including CARE, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Feeding America, and many others.

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