Year-end giving has long been a capstone of a nonprofit’s development plan, but 2024’s holiday season will finish off a year of global and domestic unrest, high inflation, a drop in giving, and a contentious presidential election.
Figuring out a plan to break through to donors and persuade them your cause is worthy of holiday giving means laying the groundwork now.
To help you succeed, the Chronicle spoke with three fundraising experts about how to craft a strong campaign to overcome these obstacles and sustain your organization throughout the coming months. Here’s their advice.
Start planning now.
Summer is the right time to start designing your strategy for November and December. Begin by analyzing the past year of giving to identify statistical trends.
Mine your data to determine where most of your donations have come from, the response rate on donor emails, and what kinds of messages have worked best. Be frank when analyzing how your fundraising has been trending over the past year and evaluating the success of previous year-end campaigns — it’s important to set targets you can hit. “It is much easier to re-forecast revenue goals in July or August than to do it in December and risk seeing a major shortfall,” says Seth Rosen, chief development officer at the American LGBTQ+ Museum.
The giving season is not the time to try new things. Use the summer to nail down where you’ve had the most success so far. “Lean into the channels where you are making the most money,” recommends Rosen. “Is it online or through the mail? And make that the centerpiece of your year-end campaign.”
Lean into the channels where you are making the most money. Is it online or through the mail? And make that the centerpiece of your year-end campaign.
You may have some fresh ideas to test, but save them for another time of the fundraising cycle, he says. You want to know you’re going to get over the finish line using the strategies that have historically had the best payoff.
Decide on your chief objective.
There are a variety of ways to approach a year-end campaign, and choosing the right one for your organization will depend on a few factors.
Ask yourself whether you most need to expand the number of new donors to your cause, even if the average gift is small, or whether to ask longtime supporters to increase their giving. “You could decide to grow your donor base and then work with them year-round, or try to make it worthwhile with one very strong appeal and try to raise as much money as you can,” says Diana Martin, chief external relations officer at the U.S. Soccer Foundation.
Just remember, you can’t do it all in the same campaign, so pick one area where you most want to grow right now. “The strategy would be different based on your priorities,” she says.
Use A.I. to help with brainstorming.
The newest wave of content-creating programs, or generative A.I., may seem like magic. But while some fundraisers are experimenting with ChatGPT and similar tools to develop appeal letters, they are doing so cautiously.
Rosen says he’s been playing with A.I. to learn more about its usefulness. “If you’re using the right prompts with A.I., it can help you develop ideas for appeals,” he says.
As an example, Rosen’s organization recently workshopped ways to brand a new product as part of the museum’s year-end campaign. He used ChatGPT to suggest names using alliteration. While the group didn’t end up using anything ChatGPT suggested, “it gave us a head start and helped us tremendously,” he says.
Deidre Kennelly of Kennelly Consulting, a fundraising firm that focuses on small nonprofits, says she doesn’t personally use A.I. but acknowledges that small groups contending with reduced staff and increased demand for their services may find that the technology can help kick-start their year-end campaigns.
A.I. can be useful in helping write the first draft, she says, but don’t simply send it out the door without careful review — refine it until it works with the rest of your messaging. “Be sure to edit and tailor it to your organization’s voice and the audience you’re appealing to,” she says.
Stay upbeat, even if the news is not.
The holidays are an ideal time to highlight the beneficial impact your organization has had all year long, especially at the end of a tumultuous year. Positive messaging will resonate more with donors, all three experts say.
“Do you want to be part of the gloom and doom or do you want to counter it?” asks Martin. “Help your donors see that they can have a meaningful impact.”
Do you want to be part of the gloom and doom or do you want to counter it? Help your donors see that they can have a meaningful impact.
Have some fun with it, she adds: “It’s the one time where you are going out to your donor base that wraps up your key message with joy, pride, and celebration.”
Kennelly agrees that year-end campaign messages should get to the heart of why your organization exists and why it relies on donors’ support. “Gather high-impact stories that really exemplify the ground-level work your organization is doing,” she says.
Rosen says that, barring a major news event that directly impacts your mission, fundraising trends aren’t typically swayed by the news. You should plan to stay the course you’ve plotted throughout the election season, no matter its outcome.
He also says the best tactic is one that focuses on your organization’s wins, not on the potential impact of not meeting your fundraising goals. “Stay away from the lights-out appeal: ‘If you don’t give, we won’t survive,’” he warns. “People don’t want to give their money to something that could fail. Make people feel good about giving to your organization. ... People won’t do that if they are afraid you are closing.”
People don’t want to give their money to something that could fail. Make people feel good about giving to your organization.
Share strong photos and stories to stand out.
You may be tempted to share data as a benchmark of success: the number of people you’ve served, how many children participated in your after-school program, or how many meals were delivered.
However, there are more effective ways to get that message across.
Organizations — especially smaller ones — sometimes don’t know how to broadcast their success most effectively and may overly emphasize statistics, says Kennelly. While these statistics are helpful internally, she says, when speaking to supporters, “it’s much more relatable and memorable for a donor or potential donor to read about someone’s experience with the nonprofit and how they’ve benefited from it.”
Real-life testimony is the gold standard, agrees Martin, who recommends using video and multimedia approaches to get the story across. For example, as part of the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s fundraising campaign to build 1,000 small soccer fields, it publishes an interactive map with photos of every soccer pitch completed so donors can see where their gifts have had tangible results.
A good visual aid “brings your dollar very close to your cause,” she says.
Reimagine GivingTuesday.
Despite the popular notion that GivingTuesday should be the Black Friday of fundraising, it can be challenging for nonprofits to break away from the pack. “GivingTuesday is super crowded,” says Rosen. “Everybody makes a pitch, and unless you are a very large organization with big name recognition, it is very hard to get through.”
Instead of asking for money, he recommends using the occasion to express gratitude to your supporters from the past year. “Our staff, our board members, and our volunteers use GivingTuesday just to thank our donors,” he says. It’s less expected and a more relaxed change of pace from the other appeals your donors will likely be receiving that day.
Brush up on your penmanship.
All three experts agree that authenticity is paramount to break through the clutter of fundraising messages. Thousands of charities will be competing to raise money at year’s end, but a personal touch underscores that your organization has prioritized its relationship with its donors.
Martin says she is returning to the idea of handwritten holiday cards as a way to underline that personal connection.
“If you can write 20 cards that say, ‘Thinking of you, happy holidays’ in your own handwriting — it makes a big impact,” she says. “People are looking for meaning, purpose, and connection, and you can’t do that in any contrived way.”
If you can write 20 cards that say, ‘Thinking of you, happy holidays’ in your own handwriting — it makes a big impact.
Kennelly says she likes to ask executive directors to customize appeal letters with a personal note for a small segment of important supporters — such as your organization’s biggest donors or those who have been giving the longest.
Even if it’s just a sentence or two, she says, “small personalizations like this go a long way and make a donor feel special and called out, making it more likely that they’ll give again.”
Enlist your entire staff.
Tap into your organization’s most elite group of informed, committed backers. No, not your board of directors — your colleagues.
Martin says the most successful campaigns bring together communications, development, and finance teams, along with any other office staff, to make sure everyone is united in the organization’s messaging. “I love the opportunity to collaborate internally and get everyone excited about the year-end campaign,” she says.
Turning your staff into boosters can also be a great way to help them reach out to their friends and family who may be looking for a trustworthy charity to support but don’t have time to research a meaningful cause. Your employees are well-positioned to use their inside knowledge and passion to vouch for your nonprofit’s worthiness. For example, they can share your social-media posts on their own timelines or bring up the organization’s name when people they know say they are looking to make a difference.
“It’s a very effective strategy when you have your employees go out to their friends and family and say, ‘I support this organization all year long,’” she says.
Remember why you’re doing this work.
Fundraisers, especially those who are newer to the field, may feel a lot of pressure to have a really successful year-end giving season. However, it’s important to keep your stamina up and not exhaust yourself trying to reach your goals.
Take a moment at the beginning of the campaign to reconnect with your mission, Rosen advises. Recall why you chose this path for your career and the ways your nonprofit is doing valuable work. If things are not going as planned or you don’t have a spectacularly successful GivingTuesday, for example, that internal motivation will help you not to panic.
“Remind yourself why it is important to you,” Rosen says. “That will drive you and help you get through when you are working so hard.”
