12 Ways to Plan for a Strong Year-End Giving Season
As the leaves begin to fall, it means the end of 2021 is drawing near. Did you know that more than 50 percent of nonprofits receive a majority of their annual donations in the last three months of the year (October, November, December) and 31 percent of all annual charitable giving occurs in December? https://prosper-strategies.com/end-of-year-fundraising/
The season is upon us and it’s not too late to get your plans made and in motion this month.
We are happy to share with you 12 ways to plan in this two-part guide to help you make the most of your year-end giving season. Begin your planning now with these six strategies and be sure to look for the remaining six strategies in a few weeks.
Happy planning!
PART 1
(Look for Pro Tips added throughout in parenthesis to add a little something extra to your planning experience. Feel free to hum “On the First Day of Christmas as you read!)
“On the first day of planning…
- Inspire your team
- Set your goals and create your campaign theme
- Make a timeline
- Prepare your mailing lists
- Prepare donation forms
- Write an email letter
1. Inspire your team.
Set a meeting with a generous time frame. Make it a full day if possible. Invite your staff for your year-end planning session. (Spice it up and make it fun by using a holiday theme with decorations and serve holiday-themed snacks, drinks, and meals.) Ask each team member to gather all the metrics from last year’s campaign and plan in your agenda time to analyze data for key insights. What worked well? On what platform did you see the most traffic? Where do you need to improve and put more planning and effort this year? How many appeals did you send last year? What was the total amount of fundraising received?
Plan on assigning specific tasks and roles for each team member. Set a schedule for when you expect a progress report from each team member in the coming days.
2. Set your goals and create your campaign theme.
How can you keep it fresh to keep your committed donors engaged and attract new ones? Will you include Giving Tuesday in your planning? Find out more here: https://www.givingtuesday.org/
Plan now to use specific end-of-year campaign branding on every piece your produce on every platform where you will have a presence. It ties it all together for the donor to make them aware you a promoting year-end giving.
How can you adjust your goals to exceed participation and giving from last year?
Of course, you need to make a year-end budget to align with your annual budget.
As always, set SMART goals. Make sure your year-end goals are:
• Specific: Specify a final result. What do you want to achieve from the campaign?
• Measurable: Can the results be accurately measured?
• Attainable: Can the goal be reached in the timeframe you have?
• Relevant: Is meeting the goal necessary for your organization to operate?
• Time-Based: Do you have a start and end date for the goal to be met?
(Get more help here with organizing and setting year-end goals: https://www.classy.org/blog/year-end-fundraising-resources-nonprofits/ )
3. Make a timeline.
In October, you’ve made your plans and by November you are ready to activate your plans. Include in your timeline early in November to send a first direct ask before the Thanksgiving season is here and Giving Tuesday grabs all the attention. Include in this letter your heartfelt thanks for the ways your donors have supported you during the past year. (Just to add a special personal touch, consider sending a Thank You Video Email.) Make sure your plans for Giving Tuesday are all set. The biggest day for generosity this year is November 30. How will you inspire people to do good this year? In December, plan to increase your asks, include more compelling stories, and target the people most likely to contribute to your campaign. Be aware that the majority of December giving happens in the last 10 days of the month. Plan now to be diligent! In January, follow-through with donors and thank them for their giving and report results. Then be ready to challenge them to support your nonprofit in multiple ways in the new year so you can retain them as regular givers, not just one-time supporters.
4. Prepare your mailing lists
Create segmented lists so you can target the right people at the right time. Segments could include the average gift amount, by types of supporters, and/or date of the last gift.
5. Prepare donation forms
Do you have an easy way for people to give? Analyze your platforms. Do you have a convenient button for people to push on your website, emails, and social media platforms that sends them to a year-end giving page? Are you set up for easy giving for mobile users?
Consider setting giving levels to let people know how their money will be used. (For example, $100 will purchase four winter coats for children or 10 holiday meals for the hungry.)
6. Write an Email letter
This campaign piece is a tried-and-true standard because it can be personal and brings a high success rate. Keep your letter brief. Include eye-catching graphics and a clear call to action.
Make sure your email has urgency. Set a deadline date when donors should send their funds to make it count toward your year-end goal. Be sure and send another email reminder a few days before that deadline.
(OR… do you have room in your budget for a letter or postcard you can mail? If so, make it bright, fun and brief. Share a story, photos, and tell specifically how and why they need to give now.)
(Find more details and inspiration here: https://doublethedonation.com/tips/end-of-year-appeal-strategies/
In Part 2, look forward to planning ideas for social media, writing compelling content, follow-up plans, and more!