Reaching donors at the end of the year is crucial for many nonprofit organizations to meet their fundraising goals and boost their financial support. As the year comes to a close, people are often more willing to make charitable contributions for tax purposes and to reflect on the causes they want to support. Here are eight campaign approaches to consider as you plan out your year end giving.
1. Giving Tuesday Campaign
Leverage the global Giving Tuesday movement, which falls on the first Tuesday of December, to kick off your year-end fundraising efforts. Create a Giving Tuesday campaign with a specific fundraising goal and promote it through email, social media, and your website.
2. Countdowns
Create a countdown campaign for the last 10 or 12 days of the year, or days around the holidays. Each day highlight a different aspect of your organization's work and impact. This can build anticipation and engagement as you share stories, videos, and infographics about your impact. Go even further by tying each day to specific program, person, fundraising goal, or perk for donors who give on that specific day. The repetitive nature of a countdown campaign shared across multiple channels can enhance awareness and action as frequency of engagement increases each day.
3. Donor or Matching Challenges
Create challenges for your donors to participate in, such as a "Mile-A-Day Challenge" where donors commit to walking or running a certain distance every day in December and seek pledges for each mile. Have a large donor that wants to make a bigger impact? Turn their gift into a matching challenge to raise their donated amount by the end of the year.
4. Email Drip Campaign
Develop a series of automated email messages that tell a compelling story about your organization's impact. Start these emails a few weeks before the end of the year and continue them through December, culminating in a year-end appeal. These should not be bogged down with your upcoming events, newsletter clips, or other content. Creating a clear look to this campaign and keeping the message clear to showcase impact, need, and a clear call to action to donate is key.
5. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Launch a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign where supporters create their own fundraising pages and reach out to their networks for donations. Provide them with resources and templates to make it easy for them to promote your cause.
6. Rewards and Incentives
Offer rewards or incentives to donors who contribute above a certain threshold. For
example, a personalized thank-you card, a virtual meet-and-greet with the team, invitation to a VIP donor event, or recognition on your website or social media.
7. Impact or Annual Reports
Share detailed impact reports with your donors. Show them exactly how their contributions have been used throughout the year and the outcomes achieved. Transparency can build trust and encourage continued support. Be sure to include a clear call to action and a remittance envelope or other donation device that is trackable. If you have not already started your Impact Report, check out this past post with our Page Planner to help you get started.
8. Partnerships
Collaborate with local businesses or influencers to create joint year-end campaigns. They can help promote your cause in exchange for brand exposure or a portion of the donations. Looking to increase donations for a food pantry? Partner with your local supermarket to collect donations at check out. Pet rescue? Partner with a local pet supply store. Don't be afraid to ask them for inclusion in their emails, social media posts, or direct mailings. Their customers are all your potential supporters.
Track the impact.
Remember to track the progress of your campaigns, adjust your strategies based on the results, and express gratitude to your donors at every opportunity. Additionally, consider using a mix of these ideas to create a comprehensive year-end fundraising strategy. Keeping good records year over year of how a campaign is ran will also help you make decisions on future campaigns.