It’s Summer! Time to start thinking about your year-end fundraising campaign
By Beth Sadler, Director of Fundraising Services
It’s summer time! So, why are we talking about year-end year fundraising?
First, some quick stats. According to Double the Donation, 30% of annual giving happens in December, with about 10% of all donations coming in the last 3 days of the year.
Most of the organizations we work with at Purpose Possible have capacity to run just one or two campaigns per year, so odds are, your organization is running some sort of year-end fundraising campaign utilizing direct mail, peer-to-peer fundraising, or email blasts to your donor lists. Rather than trying to fit in the recommended six (yes, at least six!) donor asks per year, it’s critical that organizations with limited capacity focus on the quality of campaigns over quantity, with well-planned, intentional fundraising campaigns.
Now is the time to ask yourself, “What can I be doing now to prepare for a successful year-end campaign?”
Run a summer donor engagement campaign.
Regardless of the number of campaigns you run per year, any and every campaign, whether online or offline, should be treated as a year-round activity, with plenty of time for donor cultivation and stewardship built into the planning. How many times do we find ourselves staring at our annual fund donor list in October and thinking, “Darn – I should have reached out to this person earlier! If I reach out now, they know that I’m going to be asking them for another year-end gift. Was January really the last time I spoke with them?” Your current donors should be stewarded with thoughtful communication year-round, including 1-2 personalized touchpoints (phone calls, meetings, event invitations etc.) well-before another ask is made. Summer is a great time to share your organization’s impact without an ask so that by the time the end of the year rolls around, your organization is top of mind.
Think about content.
Summer can often be a good time to identify a theme that will give shape to your year-end campaign. What are some emerging themes from your organization’s work this year? Have you been focused on making a deeper or wider impact? Has it been a year of transition? Experimentation? Is your team adapting to new challenges? What have been your successes? Summertime can also be a great time to gather testimonials, conduct stakeholder feedback or interviews, and capture videos or photos of your work in action. Utilizing the summer to brainstorm themes, topline messages and content will allow you to build out your campaign more deeply in a few months.
Prepare your boards, junior board, and other volunteers to engage.
The end-of-year season is busy for everyone – work, family, holiday gatherings, vacations and staycations. By the time the end of the year comes, it’s often too late for volunteers to engage in meaningful ways. It’s never too early to start talking with your boards and other volunteers about your year-end fundraising plans. Ask them to start thinking about how they want to engage in the campaign now. Are they preparing a list to make personal asks? Are they willing to write thank you notes, make phone calls or sign letters? Can they help identify a matching or challenge gift to inspire other donors? Or perhaps the board would like time to organize a holiday-themed event that could drive donations to the campaign? There are lots of ways to engage, but now is the time to plan so that board members can provide meaningful support.
Revisit your annual development plan.
You probably have a stellar annual development plan and you’ve been sticking to it – great job! If you don't, that's ok too! By this point in the year, our work plans are probably looking a little bit different than we had imagined. New grant deadlines, lost or new funding, changing priorities – it’s okay if things have gotten a little out of whack. Work plans are iterative and should be revisited at least quarterly if not monthly to make needed adjustments. Your plan likely needs a summer refresh. There’s no better time than right now to carve out some time for writing, envelope stuffing, and letter signing. Avoid the end-of-year crunch with some intentional planning.
If you are able to work on any of these activities over the summer, you, your volunteers, and your donors will surely feel more prepared for a successful campaign come year-end.
Your future self will thank you!
Beth Sadler has more than 10 years of experience fundraising and organizing in behind-the-scenes roles to support movements for racial and social justice in D.C. and nationally. She has worked with HumanitiesDC, The Be. Org, Maryland Out of School Time Network, and Community Youth Advance, among others.