‘Tis the season for End of Year fundraising–a la la la la, la la la la!
December is crunch time for many nonprofits. Our clients are in the midst of mailing their End of Year appeals, sending emails to their constituents, posting accomplishments of 2020 to various social media channels, and compiling their annual reports. We’ve generated a list of best practices to help make this season more jolly and less overwhelming!
Options, options, options for giving! Donors have different preferences on how they want to give. When you provide different giving options (i.e. cash, credit, check, link in an email, link in social post, etc.) you do your donor and organization a service.
Beware of the “donor fatigue” fallacy. There are few circumstances when donor fatigue is an issue, and the end of year appeal is not one of them. If you have maintained a steady cadence of communication throughout the year, donors expect communication with an ask from you in the month of December! By assuming that donors are fatigued, you actually undermine their desire to hear from an organization that they love and their capacity to make a difference.
Keep it bright and cheery! While you do not want to understate the struggle of the people you serve or gloss over the hardships of this year, you also don’t want to lead with doom and gloom. Letters, emails, and social posts should always carry a tone of accomplishment and positivity. Think of your appeal like a sandwich: your accomplishments as the top bread, needs and problems to solve as the middle stuffings, and gratitude with an ask as the bottom bread.
Stay organized. It’s time to make sure that your emails and social posts are scheduled. Letters take even more thought and time. Our best practice is to ensure letters are in your audience’s mailboxes by mid-December! We begin creating our letters by the first of November.
With these simple but impactful steps to executing an end of year fundraising campaign, your nonprofit will be equipped to receive your donors’ generosity this holiday season!
Wishing you all health, happiness, and prosperity in 2021!
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