Soapbox Engage Blog

According to fundraising statistics from Double the Donation, 30% of all charitable giving happens in the month of December, with about 10% of all annual donations coming in the final three days of the year. That means if your team has yet to reach your year-end fundraising goals, you still have time to do so!

We recommend ramping up your strategy with the following tried-and-true best practices.

Six Tips to Reach Your Year-End Fundraising Goals

1. Participate in Giving Tuesday.
2. Make targeted donation asks.
3. Communicate progress toward fundraising goals.
4. Make giving as easy as possible.
5. Get year-end gifts matched.
6. Follow up on previous match-eligible donations.

The better you optimize your organization’s fundraising strategy with smart end-of-year appeals and other giving season engagement tactics, the more likely you are to reach your overall year-end objectives. And now is the time to make adjustments to your efforts in order to drive big results before the year’s end.

Let’s dive in with our first tip.

1. Participate in Giving Tuesday.

Since its inception in 2012, the Tuesday immediately following Thanksgiving each year has been dubbed Giving Tuesday—a day designed to promote philanthropy in its many forms in the midst of the holiday season. Nonprofit supporters tend to be increasingly generous, and many organizations devote dedicated campaigns to make the most of the opportunity.

The official Giving Tuesday website reports findings that an estimated 35 million adults took part in 2021, with U.S. participation alone totaling over $2.7 billion in revenue. That’s a huge chunk of funding, and your organization should be taking part⁠—if you’re not already.

Not to mention, a successful Giving Tuesday can be an excellent way to kick off the rest of the holiday giving season, setting up organizations to charge on to reach their fundraising goals with continuous giving.

2. Make targeted donation asks.

Targeted fundraising tactics are nearly always going to be more impactful than generalized mass requests⁠—both in terms of dollars raised and relationships built. While it might be tempting to forgo personalization in the midst of the chaos known as the year-end giving season, know that the added effort goes a long way when it comes to results.

So if you’re looking for new ways to boost your campaign and close the gap that is your fundraising goal, you’ll want to;

• Address your donors by name!
• Use their favorite communication channels!
• Reiterate gratitude for recent support of your organization!

For example, consider establishing personalized donation requests. For individuals who tend to give through direct mail, send a handwritten fundraising letter to request their support. Donors tend to notice the added effort going into asks, feel increasingly connected to the cause, and subsequently, be more inclined to give.

3. Communicate progress toward goals.

You have a set goal that you’re aiming to reach by the end of the calendar year⁠—and it’s coming more quickly than you might have expected. Make sure your donors are aware of your objectives and how they can get involved to help.

For example, you may choose to send one or two email asks with the progress toward your goal in the subject line. Here’s an example: “Brendon, we’re 84% of the way to our year-end fundraising goal. Will you help us cross the finish line before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve?”

Alternatively, you may decide to share regular updates on social media⁠—such as each time your team hits a major milestone. Here’s a sample social posting: “Humane Society supporters: we just hit $5,000 of our $7,500 year-end goal. Click here to get involved⁠—every dollar gets us closer!”

4. Make giving as easy as possible.

There’s a lot going on during the end of the year for nonprofits and donors alike. The last thing you want to do is maintain roadblocks in your giving process.

Thus, we recommend making giving as easy as humanly possible; and one of the best ways to do so is to offer a wide variety of ways to give. Here are just a few to consider;

• Using optimized online giving forms on your organization’s website
• Giving via peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns
• Making a text-to-give or mobile donation
• Participating in direct mail giving
• Supplying a cash donation
• Buying from your e-commerce store

The more ways an individual can get involved with your organization⁠—and more specifically, your year-end giving campaign⁠—the more likely they will ultimately take part. And each person that does participate brings you closer to your goal!

5. Promote matching gifts in appeals.

If you’re looking to drive participation in your year-end giving campaign, highlighting matching gift opportunities is the way to go. In fact, research shows that 84% of individuals are more likely to donate if a matching donation is offered, while 1 in 3 donors would give a larger gift if matching is available.

All in all, this leads to findings that simply mentioning matching gifts in fundraising appeals results in a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in donation amount. In other words, matching gifts equal more and larger donations, which equals reaching fundraising goals faster and more efficiently overall. And it can be as easy as saying, “Robert, your $50 year-end donation this year could provide $100 worth of mission impact with a gift match from the Home Depot.”

6. Follow up on previous match-eligible donations.

As the year comes to a close, you’ll likely see an uptick in donor giving; and you’ll certainly want to aim to get those gifts matched as they stream in. But another source of bonus funding that we recommend targeting is match-eligible donations made previously in the year.

In fact, many employers set their matching gift request deadlines at the end of the calendar year in which the donation was made. That means that many gifts’ submission windows⁠—whether they were made one month ago or nine months ago⁠—are likely closing soon. So use that sense of urgency to drive matches to completion before it’s too late!

Here’s an example: “Joan, did you know that your $100 gift made on July 1st of this year is most likely eligible for a match from your employer, Apple? Click here to submit your match request before the end of the year.”

The year-end giving season is upon us. Is your team ready?

Incorporating these key tips into your organization’s holiday fundraising strategy can be an excellent way to further develop relationships with supporters, make the most of workplace giving opportunities, retain donors,and bring in more funding to set your team up for success in the coming year. And with these practices up your sleeve, you’ll be sure to reach your goals in no time.

Good luck!