We are rapidly approaching the end of the calendar year, a time when many donors make gifts and organizations tend to raise a significant portion of their total funds. As we all know, it hasn’t been an easy year. As we gear up for the final push, I want to offer thoughts on how to manage and mitigate fundraising burnout, and also share the following tips to raise money.
1. Make sure your online giving platform is easy to use
Your giving page should be prominently placed across your website with easy to read fonts. The giving form itself should allow a donor to make a one time or recurring gift. Need a quick refresher on the value of a solid giving platform? Listen to my chat with GiveButter CEO Max Friedman here.
2. Carefully review data
Make sure to identify every single person who hasn’t yet given in 2020 and solicit them. Add in people who have attended events and signed up for your newsletter. Take the time to build as large of a list as possible. Adding new names and reviewing data is critical to short- and long-term successes.
3. Prep for Giving Tuesday and Year End Appeals
It takes time to properly segment lists for big digital events like year end appeals and Giving Tuesday (which this year falls on Tuesday, December 1st). Start the process by identifying which groups you want to touch and which message they should receive. Run lists and comb through them. Be sure to remove any donors who may have made a gift in the time since you ran the list.
4. Brush up on charitable giving incentives
While I generally believe that donors make gifts to support organizations because they care about making a difference, there are new charitable giving incentives in the CARES Act that donors may be interested in as well as gift planning tactics that can optimize giving.
5. Execute a personalized solicitation to every major donor
At this point in the year, one of the most important things to do is make sure that every major donor receives a personalized solicitation. To be strategic with your time, determine whether a phone call, email, or meeting is best. I recently received an email from an organization I support asking to speak with me about my gift for the year. We arranged a short call. The conversation was clear and direct and used my time, and the organization’s time, effectively. And yes, I made a gift!
6. Show impact to those who have already given
Doing so creates the opportunity to make an additional ask at year-end. Send formal stewardship touches such as newsletters, updates, and reports as well as more personalized outreach like calls and personal emails.
7. Thank everyone who makes a gift
Thank you notes and calls should be prompt and personalized. Add in a special touch for major donors like a thank you call from a board member. Small details make the difference.
8. Make an additional ask
It may be appropriate to approach some donors for an additional ask. Those who gave earlier in the fiscal year can be asked if they can give a bit more. Long term donors can be approached to consider an additional gift to help close a funding gap. Remember that communication is key – be transparent and share your organization’s needs.
9. Continue to prospect
Utilize the various prospecting tools available to you. Go back to your board again for a final push and ask them to directly facilitate a connection to prospects.
10. Invest in digital
If you haven’t yet built out a digital program that focuses on both donor retention and donor acquisition, do so now. Don’t skimp in this area. The investment is worth it. New donors acquired digitally can become monthly sustaining donors and are the major gift prospects of tomorrow.
We are rapidly approaching the end of the calendar year, a time when many donors make gifts and organizations tend to raise a significant portion of their total funds. As we all know, it hasn’t been an easy year. As we gear up for the final push, I want to offer thoughts on how to manage and mitigate fundraising burnout, and also share the following tips to raise money.