Soapbox Engage Blog

It’s November - when the pumpkin is spicier, the turkeys more restless, and red lines on budgets prepare to turn black. Nearly one-third of the year’s giving will occur starting November 28th through the end of the year. And while this time is critical for meeting your bottom line, complicated it need not be. We humbly offer five simple wishlist items for your fundraising strategy to get your last minute gifts in order.

1. Start with Thanks

If the only communication a donor has received from you this year is an ask, you may not see the best possible results for your end-of-year campaign. This doesn’t have to be elaborate or cost a lot of money but donors need to know that you appreciate them. It’s a failsafe in case you haven’t thanked anyone all year long - and THANKSgiving is a great time to do this. Use donor segmentation to determine the best strategy. For example, major donors get a card in the mail, low-level donors get an email, everyone else a social media post. At the very least, the message is out.

2. Keep Your Call to Action Simple

When people are faced with too many choices they may feel overwhelmed or lose interest. Don’t crowd your appeals with too much detail or include multiple calls to action (donate, advocate, join us, and so on). Better to focus your message on one thing you want your supporters to do, targeted to what they are most likely to do. Donors need to know: why me? why now? why this organization? How does this translate for your nonprofit?

3. Get Your Retention Plan in Place

A community filled with gratitude will only build. Take your donor thank yous a step further and ask yourself how you will build on the momentum created from this campaign. This is a good time to think about how you can cultivate that long-term relationship we all want to have with our donors. Throughout the end-of-year season you can:

• Use your social media and call out donors

• Create a special donor honor roll on your website

• Pick up a phone and call to thank your donors (or have volunteers help you) 

• Activate your allies and volunteers to help here. Make sure they are sharing your Social Media posts and participating in the phone calls.

4. Jump on the #GivingTuesday bandwagon

All the data is pointing to how many nonprofits are generating new donors and increased giving with #GivingTuesday. But it has to be more than plopping a post on social media. Get your community involved to help share and support your content. If you don’t have a plan for #GivingTuesday, we offered a sample timeline in the past that can and modify to put your last minute plan together. Your end of year campaign message should be splashed across all of your communication mediums: social media, email, website and print. Create a theme between your online presence and any print materials to provide a consistent look and feel of your content, imagery and video.

In need of some more specific inspiration as the 11th hour approaches? For last minute #GivingTuesday tips, watch our webinar, #GivingTuesday Fundraising for Procrastinators.