20 Resources for Your Year End Giving Campaign

It’s no secret that the end of the year presents a wealth of opportunity for nonprofit organizations. While the holiday season still feels far away, your organization has probably already started buckling down into end-of-the-year strategies, goals, and stress-induced planning. It can be overwhelming to even think about such an extensive project, but these resources are meant to arm you with the inspiration and insight necessary to create an effective end-of-year campaign.

By understanding sector trends, database insights, how to build an effective year end giving campaign, and remembering to share gratitude, you’ll arrive at the end of the year ready to engage your donors and support your mission in a big way.

End of Year Giving Trends and Opportunities

• Fifth-Annual Charitable Giving Report: Did you know that 17% of all giving happens in December? Download this report for even more insight into year-end giving.
• A Clever Way for Nonprofits to Prepare for the End of the Year (Before It’s Too Late!): In this blog post, Joan Garry associates the beginning of year-end fundraising with going back to school.
• End-of-Year Fundraising: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Webinar:  Hear real opinions from veteran fundraising about what works for year-end giving, what doesn’t, and what can go wrong.
• 5 Things to Do This Summer to Get Ready for Year-End Fundraising: Vanessa Chase encourages readers to get their ducks in a row during the summer months.
• Get Your Website Ready Now for #GivingTuesday Later: It’s always good to plan ahead. Consider how you can optimize your website now to be ready for your end-of-year giving.
• Amplify #GivingTuesday with Social Ambassadors: Develop a strategy to engage your most socially active supporters to boost your social engagement.
• #GivingTuesday 2017 Webinar Series: Stay up to date with advice, how-tos, and more in the coming months with this webinar series.

Preparing Your Database

• Guarantee Success for Your Year-End Campaign with Donor Data as Your Guide: Make the most of your database by utilizing these best practices before the giving season begins.
• Using Nonprofit Data to Find Your Next Major Donor: Gain valuable insight about which donors are more likely to give by leveraging your nonprofit’s data.
• Easy Ways to Keep Your Data Clean and Donors Happy: Stay on top of data hygiene to avoid duplicate data and ensure that your donor’s experience is always a positive one. 

Building a Successful Year End Giving Campaign

• How Facebook Can Boost Year End Fundraising Results: The social media giant is as integral to an online strategy as ever. Use these tips to create a solid plan for Facebook.
• The New Normal in EOY Multi-Channel Fundraising: A successful marketing strategy has expanded beyond direct mail and email. Learn about other effective channels and how you can utilize them to drive online donations.
• Top Ten Ways to Screw Up Your Year End Campaign: It’s not easy to think about, but there are definitely ways your campaigns can go wrong. Arm yourself with the knowledge of what you could do wrong so you can do what’s right.
• 450 Email Subject Lines From End of Year Fundraising: Examine a few of the email trends from previous giving seasons, including send date and the most used words in nonprofit subject lines.
• 6 Tips to Spice Up Your Nonprofit Newsletter: Avoid low open and engagement rates with these email tips!
• How Nonprofits Can Improve Their Email Deliverability: Ensure that your emails are being delivered to your donors’ inboxes and avoiding the spam folder.

Stewarding Your Donors

• How to Ask Every Donor the Right Amount: Show your donors that you really know them by asking them for the right amount. Utilizing the gift ask chart in this article is one way to do that.
• How to Say “Thank You” to Donors at Year-End: Do a better job saying thank you to donors and give them that “warm-fuzzy” feeling after your year-end campaigns.
• Love your donors? Why You need to care about keeping them: From the article: “Retention is cheaper than acquisition.”
• 7 Ways to Appreciate Your Volunteers: Don’t forget about your volunteers! They’re donating their time and resources as well. Especially during busy times, they can be a lifeline for your organization and a valuable resource to your campaigns.