Soapbox Engage Blog

With nearly a third of all charitable giving coming in during the month of December, year-end giving is a critical time for most nonprofits for year-round financial stability. Year-end fundraising is probably one of the most demanding, exciting, exhausting, and engaging times of year for development professionals.

Add the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, and you've really got some added uncertainty this year! A practical year-end giving timeline can you stay organized, reduce stress, and improve your overall fundraising performance.

A successful year-end fundraising campaign takes months of planning and preparation. The great news is that it's never too late to create a timeline for your year-end fundraising. We'll help you get there!

A Year-End Giving Campaign Timeline for Your Nonprofit

First, carve out some time to create a timeline for your year-end giving campaign. Every nonprofit is a bit different, but here's a sample timeline to get you started.

Summertime (July and August)

Key Actions:

• Review the previous year-end giving campaign
• Set specific and measurable goals for this year's campaign
• Establish a budget
• Begin outlining themes and narratives for your year-end campaign
• Delegate tasks and responsibilities to your team

Review last year's campaign results. What went well, and what would you like to do differently? This is also an excellent opportunity to review your donor list and fundraising statistics so you can set reasonable goals for this year-end giving campaign.

Some valuable factors to review and consider include:

• How much did your year-end campaign bring in last year? Did you meet your fundraising goal?
• How many people gave to your campaign?
• Have those who gave to last year's campaign engaged in your organization since?
• What theme did you use last year? What kinds of responses did you receive from people?
• What fundraising channels, strategies, and content did you use last year? How effective were they?
• What thank-you and follow-up steps did you take? Were they effective?

How much money do you want to raise in light of previous year-end campaigns and your current financial needs? How many new donors would you like to engage? Be as specific as possible with these goals, so they're easy to track.

Summer is also a great time to start outlining the theme or narrative of your campaign. Will you raise money for specific programs or initiatives? What is the primary goal of your year-end appeal?

Now that you've got a specific fundraising goal, will you integrate some of these numbers into your messages and strategies?

Donors appreciate knowing what their money will accomplish and why these initiatives are essential to the overall mission. Take the time to answer these questions in advance so you'll present the answers clearly in your fundraising content.

As you continue to develop and outline your campaign, here are a few more key questions to answer during the slower summer months:

• Who is the target audience of your year-end giving campaign?
• How will you reach these ideal supporters?
• What approaches will you use to connect with current donors compared to new donors?
• What metrics will you use to determine the success of your campaign?

Depending on your organization and how many people are on your team, now may be a great time to delegate tasks, responsibilities, and leadership roles to people. If you've got highly technical or specialized needs, find volunteers or professionals to accomplish those tasks.

September

Key Actions:

• Create a timeline of events for your year-end giving campaign
• Begin segmenting your donor lists
• Finalize the campaign theme and narrative

Now that you've got your team in place, a budget, and your goals and campaign outlined, it's time to create a timeline of events for your year-end giving campaign. This timeline should include internal milestones and deadlines.

It's also time to start segmenting your donor lists. Create lists of donors based on their activity levels, social media engagement, or other factors that will help you personalize your year-end appeal.

As you segment your list, identify donors who have given large gifts in the past or are particularly likely to give this year. You'll likely want to create more targeted appeal content for these supporters. Consider planning individual appeals or added contact strategies like phone calls and in-person donation requests.

Finalize your year-end appeal theme and narrative. Make sure your call-to-action resonates with your target audience. Also, take the time to ensure the core message and appeal will translate across all channels you plan to use in your campaign. For example, content you create for your Facebook page might need to be written differently than the content you write for your website.

October

Key Actions:

• Finalize campaign content
• Gather or create infographics, photos, and images
• Begin to fill your content publishing calendar
• Update and test all donation pages and landing pages

Now it's time to generate (or finalize) content. Write blog posts, create infographics, gather photos and other images you want to use throughout the campaign. Begin filling up your publishing calendar.

Preparing much of your content in advance will alleviate a lot of pressure amid the year-end rush. It's also wise to create backup and alternative content. You never know what might come up and where you need to change or add a social media post or different blog content.

Many development professionals create a few different versions of email appeals and social media posts. That way, you'll be prepared for all kinds of variables and unknowns that might come up!

Don't forget to update and test all the donation pages and landing pages connected to your year-end appeal. It would be a real bummer to miss out on some donations because of a broken link or a landing page not working correctly.

November

Key Actions:

• Soft launch your appeal campaign a week or two before Giving Tuesday
• Launch your year-end giving campaign a day or two before Giving Tuesday
• Take advantage of Giving Tuesday
• Pay attention to how your audience is responding to content and adjust as needed

Let the fun commence! Don't wait until Giving Tuesday to start your year-end giving campaign. Begin early by reminding your audience of your overall mission. Start "priming the pump" by casting a vision for your year-end appeal. You can even begin making small asks and engaging those VIP donors you identified when segmenting your lists.

As you begin to roll out the content of your campaign, assess how people are responding so you can adjust accordingly. This is one advantage of starting a "soft launch" of your year-end campaign a week or two before Giving Tuesday. You have time to adjust and refine your content and appeal.

A day or two before Giving Tuesday, begin your official year-end fundraising campaign. Send your first mass email and start posting content on social media, websites, and other platforms. Aim for at least two "touches" or meaningful interactions with potential donors (especially those on your high priority list).

Pay attention to what content is gaining the most traction with your audience and adjust future content as needed.

December

Key Actions:

• Follow your year-end appeal plan!
• Thank donors and follow up with everyone

December is the most crucial month of the year for most fundraising. Utilize all channels and platforms to engage current and potential donors. Take time to send thank-you emails to your current supporters. These aren't designed to bring in more donations. It's a valuable part of donor care!

As December 25 and 31 approach, schedule at least two more email appeals with a time-sensitive appeal. Remind supporters of the deadline to make tax-deductible donations. Don't forget to stay active on your website and social media pages, too!

On January 1, you can breathe a sigh of relief! While the hard work is behind you, you're not quite finished yet. It's time to gather data about how this year-end giving campaign performed and begin following up with your supporters and thanking donors.

Now that you've got a strong outline for your year-end giving campaign, here are three more resources to help boost your appeals.

• 5 Ways To Boost Your Wording When Asking for Donations: One of the critical factors in fundraising is choosing the right words when asking for donations. Whether you're crafting an email appeal or writing content for your donation page, your wording can impact the outcome. This blog will help you choose the right words to inspire your supporters to donate.
• 10 Giving Tuesday FAQs for Fundraising Success: Giving Tuesday is sometimes considered the official start of year-end giving season. It's a global giving day that helps create a sense of connection for donors to understand they're part of something bigger than themselves. This blog answers some of the top frequently asked questions and helps you prepare for a successful Giving Tuesday campaign.
• Why (and How) Your Nonprofit Should Start A Recurring Giving Program: Monthly donations are one of the easiest ways to boost fundraising revenue without bringing in new donors. It also appeals to many donors who might not make large, one-time gifts but can give smaller amounts more frequently. Check out this blog to get all the basics about recurring donations and how to start a program for your nonprofit.