Are you ready for Giving Tuesday and end of year fundraising?
Written by Katie Test Davis
I get it. Whenever I think about Giving Tuesday and the end of year giving season for our clients, I am hit with a mix of anticipation and excitement, topped with a thin layer of dread. As anyone who has ever worked at a nonprofit knows, while everyone else in the world is settling down with mistletoe and turkey, you’re sprinting full speed into one of the busiest times of year. Never fear—we’ve got your back.
Here are a few tips to make your end of year campaign the best one yet.
Make a Content Calendar
When we’re busy, we forget the basics, so I’m here to remind you to plan. Create a schedule for each week between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve and plot out a mix of push and pull tactics. Ensure you’re thinking about your average donor’s profile: their age, where they like to get their information and what they value about your organization. Then think through your aspirational donor. Maybe they are younger, more tech-savvy and like to give online.
Build a calendar that meets your target audiences where they are, and creates a steady drumbeat of content. Mix tried-and-true tactics (see below) with one or two new tactics, such as texting to donate or adding a donate button in your Zoom rooms.
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Avoid the Rinse & Repeat
Don’t just take what you did last year and hope it works this year. Actually take a look at the data so you know *for sure* what worked. Scan through all your outreach avenues, from social media to your website, email campaigns and mailings. Revisit what successfully resulted in dollars, and what could be improved this year.
For example, if your email campaign last year ran weekly from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Eve, check your data. Take a look at:
Which email produced the most dollars
Which email produced the most unsubscribes
Which email subject lines garnered the most opens
Then review and revise. Take the most successful subject line and build on it. Consider if a different cadence could work better for you. The same applies to social media. If you had a successful Facebook post when you featured a story about a family, but your quote from your Executive Director flopped, use that information to guide you this year.
Double Down on the Classics We Know Work
Here are a few time-tested best practices:
Lead with impact. Make sure you’re explicit about how your organization will use donor dollars, highlighting details they can imagine. For example, if you partner with faith-based organizations to provide parenting support and play groups, be specific about what that means on a day-to-day basis. Describe the details, such as what books they may be reading in play groups, or what activities your social workers run with new fathers. The more descriptive and specific you can be, the better a potential donor will be able to visualize their impact.
Tell stories about individuals, Studies show that donors respond more to stories about individual people—not large groups of people. Highlighting one child or one teacher allows your audience to connect with your work. Also, don’t feel pressure to produce all-new content. If you have a story from the last year that you know resonated with donors, re-use it and remind them. Remember, people need to hear things seven times before it sinks in!
Feature a single call to action. Ensure you have one call to action (CTA) per communication. If your email campaign asks donors to log on to your website to contribute, don’t mix messages by also sending them to Facebook. Pick one CTA for each part of your campaign and stick with it. Giving donors too many options may cause them to freeze (or get distracted!) and prevent them from taking action.
Say Thank You
Don’t forget to share your gratitude after a donor makes a gift. This is a critical step that some of us miss, and when we do, we miss an opportunity to build a long-term relationship with our donors. Say thank you, without making another ask, and reiterate their impact. You may want to feature a quote from a client or a staff member sharing what their gift means.
Giving Tuesday and end of year campaigns are a great opportunity to flex your communications best practices, use data and engage new supporters for your organization. Now grab yourself a cider (spiked or not, we’re not here to judge) and get to planning!
PS - Be sure that all your new and one-time donors get added to your regular email list, and that you create a steady drumbeat of content for them throughout the year. We’ve got more tips on engaging and thanking your donors all year round on our blog.
