Get the Most out of December

Nonprofits should be well underway with their end of year campaigns. About 1/3 of all charitable giving happens in December and it’s the best time to win new supporters! So do you have a plan for the rest of the year? Here are some strategies to help your organization have a successful End of the Year.

The most important strategy is planning. Ideally, you would plan your broad messages in the fall for the following year, using an editorial content calendar. A calendar allows you to see ahead what you plan on saying, in addition to mixing in non-ask content. But, if you weren't ahead of the game, just sit down and start planning your messaging now. You need to make sure to give yourself enough time- time to plan and time to get to know your donors.

For many the first step (those that didn’t get around to planning out content ahead of time), is knowing your donors and cleaning up your email lists. Make sure all your emails and contacts are uploaded to your CRM system. Check what messages were bounced back in the past and clean up your lists. If you haven’t segmented your donors into types, consider doing this now (or soon!). You can assign various personas to your stakeholders, which consider their characteristics and past participation in the organization. Recognize how they have been connected to the organization in the past: have they attended an event? Donated (and how)? Signed up for updates? Don’t treat all your donors the same. Each has a unique connection to the organization.

Design messaging campaigns that considered the needs of these different groups independently. For example, mature stakeholders (those over 65) respond best to direct mailers and like to make tributes, whereas Gen X likes to participate in events and often donates through email solicitation. Despite all our love for social media and ubiquitous email, direct mail is still the number one medium for the end of the year donations. Its also important to remember that most people require 2-3 “touches” or contacts before they donate, whether that is a newsletter or an event. Additionally, 2/3 of individuals do not do research before donating, but either know the organization or rely on friends and families recommendations.

By planning ahead and using software, you can automate automate and track your message. Write your messages, schedule them, and make time for other tasks!

Some additional advice:

Focus on returns. Without a lot of fundraising ambassadors or a large audience, fundraising on social media may not get you the response you want.

USE CRM and Track the results of online and offline touches. Evaluate your efforts and learn from them. For example, look at your data to understand who is opening your emails, what messages didn’t work, etc.

Story tell. December is the time for "heart-first" messages. First hand stories of how your organization changes people’s lives creates a personal connection.

Use Facebook Data. Run targeted ads to your subscribers or find Facebook users with same interests and locations as your subscribers. You can run advertisements in concentric circles to find a message that gets a response.

Consider the Non-ask Ask. Sending a holiday card or a thank you card without any ask for donations is a "touch" that many appreciate. If you need to have messages with asks, put holiday cards or thank you cards in your calendar for next year!

Remember donors give for their own reasons, not yours. Understanding your donor is important to creating messages. Find out how the organization is helping donors achieve their goals.