Are you ready?
According to Network for Good, most nonprofits raise about 1/3 of their revenue in December. And 11% of their annual total during the last three days of the year.
Year-end is the easiest time to raise more money online! Think about it this way:
Your donors are more likely to give during the last weeks of the year than any other time of the entire year.
And because year-end is such an important time for digital fundraising, we want to give you 5 tips that will ensure a successful year-end for your fundraising.
# 1: Use the same message in every channel
Some of your donors are online, some aren’t. Pick your strongest message, then repeat it through direct mail, email, your website, and social media. It’s more powerful for your donors to see the same message in different media channels than it is for them to see two different messages. Repetition is your friend!
# 2: Ask early and often
You’ve been talking to your donors all year about what your organization does, you’ve told them how they can help. So this time of year, don’t Thank them. Or Report to them. It might feel counterintuitive, but our testing showed that Thanking and Reporting this time of year will cause you to raise less money than you could. Follow the advice below and just Ask well!
# 3: Emphasize the deadline
A deadline communicates urgency. December 31 is a natural deadline — for the tax year and for your organization. Tell donors your deadline and repeat it multiple times in your messages.
# 4: Set a goal
How much do you want or need to raise? What would it take for you to meet your budget? Feed everyone you want to feed by year-end? Shelter abandoned pets through the end of the year? Overcome a financial shortfall? Tell your donors the goal.
We need to raise $XX,XXX by midnight, December 31.
# 5: Communicate consequences
What will happen if you don’t meet the goal? Connect the donor right to the heart of your work.
We need to raise $XX,XXX by midnight, December 31 or we will have to cut back on the number of pets in our shelter in the coming year.
Or
We need to raise $XX,XXX by midnight, December 31 or we will not be able to advocate for the arts as effectively next year.
Whatever your organization does, if having less money means you would be able to do less next year, say so!
Most important tip? Start now!
This post was originally published on October 26, 2023.
