Unprecedented, unpredictable, uncertain: these words quickly became everyday vernacular in 2020. While we do not seek to diminish the hardships faced this year, we are proud to say that through perseverance, determination, teamwork, and many virtual happy hours, we were able to grow as a company and provide tremendous services to the nonprofit community in a pivotal time. We are humbled to have made the following impact:

Over 3 million dollars raised by our clients;
40:1 average ROI on End of Year campaigns
Planned and executed one in-person event and 4 virtual/socially distanced gatherings raising nearly $900,000.00;
Planned and executed 20 digital campaigns;

In addition to the major strides made in fundraising we also:

Welcomed The Concilio, Bishop Dunne Catholic School, Southwest Transplant Alliance, Ntarupt and the International Student Foundation to our Track15 family;
Became a Better Together technical assistance provider;
Became regular contributors to the OneCause Blog;
Managing Partner, Andrew Snow was invited by Wax Space to speak on the state of nonprofits during the height of the pandemic;
Formed formal partnerships with: Gratifilm, Qualigraphics, and Minuteman Press

We welcomed Jessica Gray to our team as the project manager and point person for many of our clients. She also oversees our internal operations and ensures that we always stay on track. Laila Rothermel joined our team as a data entry and CRM specialist. She will be working closely with Joel to help our clients pull reports, input data, and build CRM’s. Ashley Shultz also joined our team as our grant writing and foundation relationships expert. Ari Lundeen joined our family in April. While we have a strict policy against hiring newborns, he will join the occasional Zoom call to increase our cuteness factor.

The hardships of last year are still real today. The reality is that we are not yet out of the woods. Nonprofits will have to work harder than ever before to meet the needs of those they serve. We welcome the challenge. According to the Dallas Morning News,

““The benefits of reducing such problems are enormous. We estimate that every $1 contributed to combat hunger yields $33 in benefits to the economy. Government investments in food programs, mental health services and indigent health care bring dynamic annual rates of return to taxpayers of between 40% and 111% and much more in contributions to business activity.” ”

Our words for 2021 are on-brand: trust and excitement. With these motives propelling us forward, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2021!

Track15

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!
Track15