Many organizations raise much of their annual budgets in the last quarter of the fiscal year. Preparations for year-end should begin long in advance of the Fall, but you can still catch up. I encourage you to approach this period with optimism and determination.

Fiscal year-end is an ideal time to pause, assess, and take stock of where you stand in your cultivation and engagement plans. When approaching what isn’t working, there are key areas where even small tweaks can yield rewards in terms of meeting your goals and ensuring that you’re on the right path.

First, get a clear picture of your donor retention. While you may know your overall retention rate off the top of your head, take time to look closely. What does retention look like for different groups of supporters? Focus on donors who made their first gift in the last fiscal year. Engaging those donors and renewing those gifts helps to secure your future pipeline. The bigger picture of declining donor numbers may have hit your annual giving program the hardest. Are there any creative retention tactics, such as informal community-building events, that you can try with this group? Are there engaged annual giving donors who could be solicited for monthly giving? 

I encourage you to schedule two briefings between now and the end of the year for donors. The topic can be anything timely that relates to your organization. A short update with your ED or CEO can provide a great opportunity to reach out to donors and invite them to participate. This act alone is great engagement and stewardship. Sometimes small activities like these can lead to big results.

Second, review your communications plan to see if you need to make adjustments. While you may not have time for a full communications audit, it’s wise to assess your current program and see where small changes could make a difference in engagement levels. For example, it’s always a good idea to check the frequency of your email communications and review open rates and engagement. Diving deeper into your content, see where recipients are clicking and think about how you can replicate this content to drive further engagement. You may want to increase communication at year-end – and not just about donating. Pushing out more content drives engagement.

Third, make sure that it’s as easy as possible for donors to give through your website. Limit the number of clicks it takes to complete a gift transaction. Accept as many payment methods and platforms as possible. Put all relevant information on your website in one place so that donors can see it. Include mailing address, tax ID number, and staff contact information.

These are just three suggestions where you might focus on making improvements that could have a broad positive impact at fiscal year-end. Remember, small tweaks can have big impacts. Take small, measurable steps so you can identify what works and what doesn’t. And stay focused. There are many distractions at year-end, but staying focused on donor engagement is always a winning strategy.