Your Complete Guide to Scheduling Year-End Fundraising Appeals
Charitable giving is about to pop off, so make the most of it.
The end of the year is a crucial period for nonprofits trying to hit their annual fundraising goals. It all starts on #GivingTuesday, which helped nonprofits raise $400 million in online donations in 24 hours last year. Then, there’s December, the biggest fundraising month of the year. Over 30% of annual charitable giving happened in December last year, with 12% occurring in just the last 3 days of the year!
Take advantage of this critical window by scheduling your email and social media appeals through the rest of the year. Follow our calendar for below to raise more between #GivingTuesday and the final days of December.
(Learn more: Preparing for#GivingTuesday.)
#GivingTuesday
Follow this communication schedule throughout the day. At the end of the day, thank all the supporters that gave to your cause. Don’t be afraid to include your year-end appeal in your Thank You email or phone call. It is never too early to start making your year-end appeal.
First week of December
First, finalize your end-of-year appeal plan. Starting making social media pushes to engage your donors with success stories and highlights from the last year. Make a hard ask for your donors to support your organization with an end-of-year gift. Plug the fact that the gift is tax deductible and will help ensure your organization can continue working towards its mission.
Second, make sure your Give Lively campaign page are finalized or try something new by embedding a Give Lively widget directly on your site! Make it as easy as possible for your donors to donate. If you plan on sending out a direct mail appeal, include a Text-to-Donate code. Giving your donors new and multiple ways to give eliminates any barrier for them to donate.
Third, send your first annual appeal email! Highlight a really impactful story that demonstrates a success your organization has experienced this year. Be sure to include an engaging subject line, appealing imagery and of course, a link to your fundraising page! Your donors are going to be receiving appeals from numerous organizations, all with asks for year-end support — make your campaign stand out!
Second week of December
Experiment by launching a year-end Peer-to-Peer fundraising challenge. Get your board members involved, engage any programmatic alumni, or ask other ambassadors for your organization to participate. This will increase your donor base organically.
Don’t forget to thank your monthly donors! They have given a certain amount month to month, so you will want to spend them a strategic Thank You for their sustaining gift, but also nudge them to consider an additional year-end gift.
Third week of December
Remember that your donors might be taking vacations and time-off during the holidays, so be sure to start your end-of-year appeal early while they are still plugged in!
Check in with your supporters via email and social media before the holidays kick off. Make a straightforward appeal that includes a link to your fundraising page, appealing imagery, and something about your nonprofit’s impact, whether a moving personal story or a round-up of what your organization did this year. The appeals should be similar, or at the very least complementary, between email and social media channels.
Year-End Countdown
December 24/25
Schedule an email and a few social posts to wish your supporters happy holidays and to show gratitude for their support in 2017. No need for a pitch, but feel free to include something about all the good work your nonprofit did this year, whether that be an individual story, or a summary of your programs.
December 26
Get right back into pitching your appeal in the days after Christmas. Stress urgency by mentioning your goal, and the impact reaching that goal will have on your organization. Highlight that donors can deduct contributions made to your organization in April 2018. Also, mention that they may not be able to do this next year depending on changes currently being made to the tax code.
December 28
Send similarly worded emails to anyone who didn’t open or click through your previous email. On social media, keep focusing on your message of urgency leading into New Years’ Eve, and stress the importance of hitting your year-end fundraising goal. You can also add a note that donors can support your organization even more by starting a monthly contribution that will run through 2018.
December 30
Go into overdrive with your message about tax deductible contributions, as many donors will be looking for last-minute opportunities to reduce their tax burden next year. Continue to highlight your nonprofit’s impact with beautiful, appealing imagery and stories about your organization’s impact.
December 31
Don’t be afraid to send multiple emails to donors on New Year’s Eve as it is the biggest online fundraising day of the year. Millions of donors will be looking for ways to give as 2017 comes to a close. Segment your audience to make sure donors who have already given aren’t annoyed by your appeals. If you don’t have a good way to do this with your email system, simply write a short note at the beginning of your email saying something like, “Please disregard this message if you’ve already contributed to our year-end campaign.” On social media, post throughout the day about progress towards your year-end goal, and talk up the real impact your organization will make by hitting that goal. If you’ve already passed your goal or are close to passing it, increase it by a few thousand dollars to raise even more.
January 1
Send an email on New Years’ Day thanking donors for participating in your year-end campaign, and telling them about the impact their donations will make in 2018. You can include a message for those who did not give that says something like, “Didn’t give in 2017? You can still support us by giving today.”
There isn’t very much time left for you to make the most of the year-end giving spree that’s about to commence. Get started scheduling now if you haven’t already!
