My kids usually forget my birthday. They often say something like, “I didn’t get you anything, but I meant to! Hope it was a great one!”
They have known me for more than a quarter century. My birthday is October 9. Every. Single. Year.
Of course I forgive them. They are in their late 20s and early 30s, and I don’t want to have to Venmo them money so they can buy me a last-minute gift. And I am sure I was the same way in my 20s (sans Venmo).
Maybe you feel similarly unprepared for year-end fundraising. It’s late October: The next eight weeks represent the biggest giving season of the calendar year. But you’re not ready. It snuck up on you. This can happen to leaders with no development staff as well as to those who have a whole posse of fundraisers.
So here’s a recipe (and a rough timetable) for making the most of the next eight weeks.
Gather the ingredients. Deadline: Block out two hours a day for the next two to four days. Yes, you can! Tell everyone you are “cramming for finals.” When you are distracted, repeat after me: Money = Programs.
- First, send an email to staff and board members. Ask them to send you what they consider the organization’s most memorable accomplishments of 2021. Give them a deadline.
- Go find a third, fourth, or fifth grader. Yes, I mean it. Get them in real time: FaceTime, kitchen table, whatever. Tell them about your organization and why it matters. Use language they will understand. When you finish explaining your work, ask them what they think. Take notes on what they say.
- Grab one powerful piece of data that demonstrates why your work matters ‑‑ a fact that you can slip in after “Did you know that….”
- Find a quote that affirms the value of your work from someone who has benefited from it.
- Take an hour to think. Go on a hike, sit down with a glass of wine, whatever works for you. Think about what you would do if Mackenzie Scott came a callin’. Get out of the weeds and think big. Be aspirational.
Write the appeal. Deadline: Halloween. No trick-or-treating until this is done. Put all the ingredients on your desk(top) and write a powerful, heartfelt, compelling year-end solicitation.
Imagine you are writing to that fourth grader.. Don’t think about your biggest donors reading it; that would increase stress and diminish authenticity.
It’s going to be a great letter. You know why? Because you have data, stories, and that young kid, who helped you write about the work with powerful simplicity.
Plus, you actually have the ingredients to make more than your year-end appeal. This is like cooking a 20-pound turkey: You can make so many things from the leftovers.
Repurpose that appeal. Deadline: second week of November. Engage your board’s development committee and your best storyteller. (Ideally that person is already on the committee.) Here’s the assignment:
- Create two versions of an email or Facebook post for board members (and other volunteers) to share with people in their networks during November. These messages should be used to:
- Make it easy for board members to share their enthusiasm publicly about the organization’s impact. Get them exercising their ambassador muscles!
- Provide material for social media for everyone throughout the organization to use on Giving Tuesday.
- Develop a brief script for December calls to close gifts.
- Create a template for a pre-Thanksgiving email. Next, assign every board member a small number of donors to contact before Thanksgiving. Each board member will get some basic info about each donor, such as “just renewed” or “lapsed: hasn’t given for 18 months.” The members should adapt the information into a personalized email. Here’s an example.
“Hi, I”m Joan Garry, and I have the privilege of serving on the XYZ board. As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I find myself reflecting on all that I am grateful for. I’m guessing you are doing this, too. I am especially grateful for my connection to XYZ. <INSERT IMPACT STORY HERE - ONE THAT IS CLEAR AND FILLED WITH HEART>.
I am grateful to the staff at XYZ for the opportunity to play a small role in its meaningful work. And that brings me to you…
You have helped XYZ touch the lives of so many. All of us want you to know that as Thanksgiving approaches, we are especially thankful for the role you play <have played> in our work.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Mail the solicitation. Deadline: By the Monday after Thanksgiving. Your email list or mailing list will be imperfect. You may send to couples who are now divorced, and (I hate to even write this, but after a pandemic that has taken 700,000 lives) you might send to someone no longer with us. It will feel awful. If that realization prompts you to do some data cleanup (starting yesterday), get as much done as possible. Do the best you can in the time you have.
Finalize the call script and identify callers. Deadline: Make sure you are ready by December1, but start preparing a few weeks before. Here are the steps to take:
- Create a list of your most significant donors, whom you want to call to request a gift.
- Contact specific board members you believe will help. They get the job of asking donors to renew their gifts.
- Have staff members call those people who will be asked to give more.
- Decide whether to include lapsed donors on the call list or, instead, invest in building relationships.
Send a follow-up email to all donors who have not contributed. Deadline: Two weeks after the appeal goes out. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who cares about your organization but is very busy. The tone should be empathetic. These folks are connected to your organization in a way that holds meaning and purpose. Remind them of that. Note: Be sure someone is assigned to update the list so that no one who has just made a gift gets an email or call.
Make follow-up calls to significant donors who have not made a gift. Deadline: December 1- 20. December is no time for timidity. Assign people to make calls using a slightly revised script. Consider “stand-up” team meetings every few days, first thing in the morning for about 20 minutes. The goal: pep talk + share successes + answer questions + “go get ‘em!”
Say thanks all around. Call a meeting of all hands and just say thanks. Share the stories of successes.
Last but certainly not least ‑‑ and this may be the most important piece of advice in this article:
Please don’t send donors small gifts like coffee mugs. If you send a donor a thank-you gift, do it after New Year’s Day. A handwritten card, however, means the world to people.
One year, in a ski lodge, I wrote 300 thank-you notes. Donors received them about the same time as another organization’s coffee mugs. I got thank-you notes for my thank-you notes, thanking me for not sending a coffee mug.
I know this list is daunting. I have been an executive director, and I know that too often your schedule manages you and not the other way around.
So accept that you will not do all of these things.
But if you do some of these things, and engage some of your board, and reach out via email to as many folks as you can before you make calls, your year-end fundraising efforts will be successful.
You can do this.
Questions or comment for Joan Garry? Please share them.
