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Here’s a short video to help you raise more money between now and December 31st. We’ve simplified this list to include the things that will raise the most money with the smallest effort for your organization.

Plus, watch for how you can have Better Fundraising review your Thanking and Receipting materials and give you tips on how to improve them. Have a great December, and good luck!

 

Suggestion for you; save all of the fundraising letters and emails you receive between now and Christmas.

The best, free way to get great at fundraising is to watch what the professionals are doing and to apply the same principles to your organization’s fundraising.

Three tips to help you get the most out of this exercise:

1. When you review the materials, look at them as a donor, not as a Fundraiser. Don’t analyze every word, just look at them for a few seconds – like most donor’s do.
2. Make sure you’re saving the fundraising materials from at least one large organization where the fundraising is done by professionals. You may not personally like this fundraising as much, but it’s proven to work and you can learn from it.
3. Count the total number of times each organization contacts you between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Chances are it will be more than you think — and that your organization can be communicating to your donors more often.

You’ll be surprised at how much you’ll learn. And you’ll be able to apply it to raise more money next year!

Want to raise more money? Want to avoid the storytelling mistakes that drive donors away from your organization?

Here’s a helpful video where Steven Screen walks you through some easy fixes you can make to your storytelling. The tips will help you raise more money immediately, and are especially important during the last few weeks of the year.

Steven co-hosts a podcast called Fundraising Is Beautiful with author and Creative Director Jeff Brooks. You should subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already – it’s chock-full of fundraising advice for fundraisers who want to get better at the noble work of raising money.

Watch the video — you’ll absolutely learn something that will help you raise more money before the end of the year!

Do you want a simple plan that will maximize the amount of money you raise at the end of this year? If so, then there are three main things you need to do.  I’ve listed them in the order of importance. If you can only do one, do one. If you can do all three, great. The important thing is to be asking your donors to help your cause / your beneficiaries this time of year – your donors want to help!

Here’s the list:

1. Send a year-end appeal letter
2. Send a year-end email on December 31st.
3. Modify your website so your visitors can easily gift a gift.

Do you want more information about this year-end fundraising plan.  Click here to watch this short video.

Happy Holidays and Happy Fundraising!

If you’re a small- to medium-sized nonprofit, chances are you need to Report back to your donors what their gifts have accomplished. Especially to your major donors.

We suggest this because, on average, 71% of donors to nonprofits do not know what their gift accomplished.* Do your Major Donors know what happened because of their last gift? If not, you need to Report. Immediately.

Here’s what to do this November:

• Identify your Top 12 major donors who have given a gift in the last 12 months.
• For each donor, ask yourself “Do they really feel like their last gift made a difference?” If your answer is “no,” you need to Report to them.
• Find a beneficiary story that has a powerful “before” and “after”. Get a photo of that person (quality doesn’t matter).
• Set up a 15-minute phone call with each Major. Clearly tell them, “I am not going to ask you for a gift, I want to share a story of what your gift accomplished.” Email them the photo.
• On your call, share the “before” and then share the “after.” Don’t talk for more than 30 seconds about what your organization did for the beneficiary, just stay focused on the beneficiary.
• End by saying something like, “I just wanted to share this story with you because it wouldn’t have happened without your help. This is the kind of thing that happens each time you make a gift.”
• Don’t talk about any other topics unless the donor asks questions. The whole goal of this meeting is to Report the story in a powerful way. That’s it.

When you’ve finished what we’ve recommended above, you will have accomplished two incredibly powerful things:

1. You’ve thrilled each donor by proving that his or her gift made a real difference in the life of one person.
2. You’ve radically increased the chance that each donor will give you a gift the next time you ask. You know, in December. Next month.

You’ll also have raised some money, because some donors will be so thrilled to hear what they’ve done that they’ll want to do more of it right away.

And you’ve taken the all-important first step towards implementing Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat – a simple fundraising system that will make your life easier and will help you raise more money.

* This figure was derived from research done by Dr. Adrian Sargent, 2000.  Click here to see the research document.

To be a successful fundraising organization you have to do each of the basics well: Ask, Thank and Report.

Organizations that do each of them well get to experience the following results:

• Increased revenue
• Increased donor retention rates
• Increased response to all fundraising over time

There are no silver bullets in fundraising. If your organization isn’t Asking, Thanking and Reporting well, figure out what your donors need to hear next. It’s usually a Thank or a Report. Then get to work on it right away.

Organizations that master the most important building blocks will create an organization that helps a lot of people and lasts a long time.

 

Reporting back to your donors and showing them what their gifts have done is the single best way to keep your donors giving year after year. And if you do it well you’ll also raise a lot of money now.

This video shows you how professional organizations Report to their donors with a newsletter. But you don’t have to be professional to send your donors Reports that they love – you just need to follow the principles Steven and I outline in this video.

And for your Major Donors, if you hope to receive a gift at the end of the year it’s VITAL that you Report to them as quickly as possible.

Another reason to watch; at the end of the video we’re giving you a chance to have us review your Reports to your donors and tell you how to improve them — for FREE.

Watch the video! I guarantee it’s worth 6 minutes of your day.

Jim

In recent months have you thanked your donors promptly and emotionally for their gifts?  If the answer is no, then you have some work to do this month in order to prepare the hearts of your donors to make generous year-end gifts.

Now is the time of year to thank your donors. Send them thank you notes, pick up the phone and call them, or send a short video of one of your beneficiaries saying thank you.

Now is the time to thank your donors before you enter the most fruitful time of the fundraising season. Watch this video to learn how to thank your donors well!