Your year-end plan is one of the most important aspects of your complete fundraising approach for each year. Your fundraising strategies should be centered on ensuring you reach your fundraising goals. Creating a timeline and solidifying your message now, will be beneficial come November. (FYI: 12 percent of giving happens in the last three days of the year.)

Reflect on Previous Year’s Efforts

Look at the results from past years. Use this information to decide what you do well and what could use some improvement. Did your ideas work? Did you need more time to accomplish some tasks? Did you factor in enough time for staff approvals? Did the holidays slow your print job or your mail delivery? All of these factors could affect your next year-end fundraising effort.

Is Everything Up To Date?

How long has it been since a professional mailing service cleaned up your mailing list? Have you added the new donors you attracted during your last campaign? How about your website? Does the online giving mechanism work well or are there persistent problems? Is it easy to use? Is it secure?

Fix these problems now; if you don’t, your year-end giving potential could be seriously diminished. Double the Donation reported that online monthly giving revenue grew by 40% as recurring donation options become increasingly popular with online donors. You do not want to miss out on numbers like this.

How Can We Broaden Our Efforts?

Are your fundraising efforts limited to a letter or two? If so, you should consider fresh, new ideas to garner attention from all types of donors. Nonprofits should always be trying new ways to reach out and connect with donors. You should also differentiate your appeals. New donors should receive different information than your biggest supporters. This is a tough job, but it’s important for any charity organization that wants their work supported year after year!

For example, you could:

• Start a social media campaign.
• Create videos to show donors why their support is vital.
• Add an option to allow supporters to text their donations.

The Power of Repetition

Don’t discount the power of repetition when it comes to raising money. Identify your best donors, and ask them for their continued support. Most people don’t read every piece of mail or email they receive. If they do look at it, they skim it at best.

Did you know the average person gets around 150 emails per day? Crazy, right? Well, if you want yours to be noticed, you will have to make sure you are sharing your message multiple times in multiple ways. This is called an omnichannel marketing approach. For example, you might send a postcard, post on social media, give them a call and send an email. Putting your message in front of donors, and potential donors, with as many touchpoints as possible, is crucial in this day and age.

Is it time to contact the experts?

If you aren’t sure of what the next steps are, or you don’t have the time to come up with a plan, then maybe you should outsource that responsibility. You can try to do it alone, but the route to success is much easier when you partner with professionals. When you hire a fundraising consultant, you are getting a new perspective and a diverse set of skills. Once your organization has decided to compete for donations, your fundraising experts will help you find new donors, nurture them and turn them into regular supporters you can depend on far into the future.

It’s Not Too Late

Nonprofits are always looking for ways to raise funds and support their cause. Most nonprofits start planning these efforts early in the year, but it’s never too late to get started! The last six weeks of the year are when donations will be rolling in. That is; if you plan your strategy in advance. You don’t want to have regrets come December 31st.

If you need any assistance with this process or want some other fundraising tips, we can provide that as well. We know how important raising money is for nonprofit organizations like yours, which is why our team of experts strives to offer the best possible service every time. Contact us today if you would like more information on our services or just want a fresh perspective. We’d love to talk!