Many nonprofits begin their end of year giving campaign with Giving Tuesday, which this year falls on November 30, 2021, to build a month of generosity during the month of December. Here are five things you can do to make your end of year campaign more successful.
Develop an EOY campaign plan.
a. In September:
i. Set goals for your campaign.
ii. Outline the theme of your appeals.
b. In October:
i. Pull past campaign reports.
ii. Segment your donor list.
iii. Prepare your online giving channels
iv. Write your year-end appeals
c. In November:
i. Review and finalize your content
ii. Send out your Giving Tuesday appeal
d. In December:
i. Update donors on progress
ii. Send follow up asks
iii. Thank donors for their support
e. In January:
i. Ensure all your donors have been
thanked
ii. Report on your progress
iii. Celebrate your year-end success
Make it easy to give. The easier you make it to give, the more likely people will give. Make sure to remove all barriers to giving and expand the ways you can receive donations. Donors must never have to look hard to make a gift. Make sure your donate buttons are visible front and center. Many individuals will look at your appeals on their phones. Consider having your charity accept Apple Pay and Google Pay so they can donate quickly from their cell phone.
Take advantage of digital media to attract donors. According to MobileCause Fundraising, 57% of online donors make a gift after watching a video, making it the most effective form of media. Create compelling videos that showcase the good you are doing; show individuals who have been touched by your mission; highlight the transformative impact of giving; and compel your donors to act.
Showcase your fundraising results. Make sure to encourage your donors, followers, and ambassadors to give by letting them know how your campaign is doing. Many donors make additional contributions during the last three days of the year. Consider:
- Displaying a live fundraising thermometer on your website
- Linking to your thermometer on all campaign communications
- Updating supporters in real-time on social media, including Facebook Live
- Post videos with mid-campaign updates to challenge supporters to do more
Show your gratitude. Thanking your donors is one of the most important things a charity can do. Consider embedding a video on your donation page; sending an automatic email with a photo and tax receipt; personally, posting a thank you and tagging donors on your social media wall; sending personal text messages; calling your donors over the phone or leaving a voice mail; or sending a written personal note.
We hope these five tips will increase you end of year giving this year. If you have questions, contact me at
ivy@landmarkchange.com.
PS: Remember that the last two days of the year are still considered the biggest giving days. According to Kindful, December 30 and 31 produce 567% and 1,212% more revenue than non-giving days. Get planning!
