As the year winds down, nonprofits gear up for peak fundraising season. With 30% of annual giving occurring in December and 10% of annual donations arriving in the last three days of the month, by focusing time and energy on traditional fundraising and crowdfunding, your publication can reach more individual donors and increase gifts.
Here’s a 4 step year end fundraising checklist to guide efforts and maximize impact.
1. Diverse Donation Channels
- Utilize Traditional Fundraising and Crowdfunding: Mix and match to reach diverse supporters from Boomers to Gen Z.
- Promote your publication in person by tabling at community events and/or being a speaker at local clubs and organizations. Bring postcards and/or handouts and signage with a fundraising QR code and/or text to give.
- Mail letters and/or postcards with a QR code, text to give, and ideally a handwritten note.
- Call and/or text supporters and share a text to give code.
- Trade advertising in your publication for radio promotion with text to give.
- Ask a local business to match donations received via traditional and/or crowdfunding avenues up to $x in exchange for print, website, social media and/or crowdfunding campaign promotion.
- Update Your Website: Share success from this year and goals for next, and how your supporters are partners in your publication’s mission. Ensure the donate button is easy to find, ideally the top right above the fold, and at the bottom for folks who want to learn more before donating. Stay connected and have social media icons in both locations.
- Incorporate Crowdfunding: Make the most of this tool for easy sharing via newsletters, email and social media.
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- A powerful, emotionally engaging story is key to success. Adding pictures and video increase donor connection and the likelihood of giving.
- Be transparent and show supporters exactly how their contributions will make a difference. Use real numbers or visuals to illustrate outcomes.
- Ensure your requests to donate and share the campaign are direct and specific.
- When possible, include monthly recurring and/or a gift with donation options.
- End your campaign with a heartfelt thank you and request for the donor to share with their friends, family and colleagues.
2. Social Media and Digital Marketing
- Create a Content Calendar: Schedule content posts documenting achievements from this year and goals for next, interspersed with donation asks. Remember the 80/20 rule – 80% content, 20% ask.
- Review Channels: Is your publication utilizing new platforms to connect and increase readers, subscribers and/or donors? Have you abandoned channels that don’t meet your publication’s needs or objectives which should be closed?
- Update Pages: Are active pages up to date with recent and engaging content? Consider a quick refresh to prepare for increased traffic and interest in your publication.
- Use Hashtags, Trends, Tags and Follow: Participate in GivingTuesday or other relevant movements to expand your reach. Tag friends and colleagues, and follow like-minded individuals, organizations, and businesses who collaborate or sponsor your publication.
- Incorporate Video: Short videos showcasing impact stories, donor testimonials and/or your team can significantly increase engagement and emotional connection, and thus donations. Crowdfunding campaigns with a personal video raise 150% more than those that don’t.
3. Email Campaigns
- Identify Your Audience: Segment your supporters to effectively tailor outreach. Are they first time, long term, recurring, lapsed, subscribers or other?
- Personalize Outreach: Tailor your message by using individuals’ names to make donors feel important and valued. When possible, reference past contributions.
- Create an Email Series: Send a balanced mix of appeals, thank-you notes, accomplishments, goals, and reminders through December 31.
- Test and Optimize: Experiment with subject lines, images, and CTAs (call to action) and learn what resonates most with your audience.
- Utilize Double Opt-In: Ensure your messages go to the inbox and not spam by requiring individuals do this extra verification step.
- Skip the algorithm: There’s no algorithm here deciding what messages reach your supporters, so embrace this opportunity by sending emails on various days and times. With some email platforms counting a preview as open, a better indicator of reader interest is clicks.
4. Last-Minute Giving
- Send Countdown Reminders: As already shared, many donors wait until the last few days of the year to give. Use this urgency to your advantage.
- Highlight Tax Benefits: Remind donors that your publication accepts tax deductible contributions.
- Use Your Network: Subscribers and all levels of donors are great advocates. Ask them to share your crowdfunding campaign with their networks to expand your publication’s reach.
- Individual Contact: For longstanding and large donors, consider a personal phone call and/or text with appreciation for past giving and inquire if you can count on their support again.
One last tip which applies to all fundraising options, remember to keep interactions focused on the donor as your partner – not an ATM. A collaborative, partner approach builds emotional connection and investment in your publication’s journalism and success.
With a proactive diverse plan and execution, your publication can finish strong and set the stage for even greater success in the new year.