Why Your End-of-Year Appeal Starts in January
Why Your End-of-Year Appeal Starts in January
By Cara Thornton- Marketing Manager & CEO Lindsay Jordan
The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently published early fundraising results for 2022’s end-of-year campaigns, and while nonprofits with general operating budgets of more than $1MM faired well, those with budgets of less than $1MM struggled.
The Chronicle chalked the decreasing in giving up to a lack of investment in technology, but that’s not typically what we see with our clients. We find that most nonprofits with budgets of less than $1MM (which represents 66% of all nonprofits in the U.S., according to Guidestar) simply don’t have the same internal capacity to execute an end-of-year campaign as organizations with larger budgets. Many of these nonprofits fail because they make of the the following mistakes:
They don’t start fundraising until November.
They don’t engage private foundations and/or corporations in their campaigns
They only ask for donations once per year
So, is it worth it to even try?
On average, nonprofit organizations raise 17-22% of their annual revenue in December. According to Neon One, One-fourth of all revenue for the sector is raised in the final month of the year. Of all revenue raised in December, nonprofits bring in 17-31% of these gifts online and 10% in the last two days of the month.
#GivingTuesday also remains a strong kick-off opportunity, with $2.7 billion raised in the U.S. in 2022.
All in, $90-100B is raised in the final few months of the year. So yes, no matter your organization’s size, it’s worth it.
There are a few helpful resources that small-to-medium-sized nonprofits can utilize to stretch their capacity and win a significant piece of that pie.
1. First, construct an annual campaign. A campaign runs for one calendar year and typically has a single fundraising goal.
2. A healthy campaign consists of 2-3 cadences. Cadences are simply themes such as holidays such as Valentine's Day,, Earth Day, or a special nonprofit anniversary or milestone.,
3. A single cadence consists of 10-15 messages delivered over three months. Depending on the nonprofit organization's assets, messages can be delivered via email, social media, direct mail, etc.
Why an entire year of cadences? The key to fundraising success in any individual campaign is to effectively bring about a behavior change in donors. Donors who are conditioned to give a particular way will continue to give in that way. This is one reason why, for example, monthly donor programs are so deeply valued by fundraising professionals. Monthly donors, because they give habitually, are more likely to respond to additional campaigns, giving more frequently and at higher levels than other donors.
A typical cadence lasts about 90 days. Write On uses the BASIC method for messaging (Build Awareness; Advance Knowledge; Sustain Relevance; Initiate Action; Create Advocates). For our clients, we find that the most effective cadences deliver BA messages in the first month; AS messages in month two; and IC messages in the final month of the cadence.
How are you going to find time to write all of those messages? It’s not as overwhelming as it may appear. Each message is really only about 200-350 words and will rely heavily on information you already have access to - facts and figures, client stories, testimonials, etc. If going it alone (or with few development staff), we recommend writing these short messages in batches. Typically, 15 messages can be knocked out in three or four writing sessions. This is far more preferable (and more feasible) than trying to find time to write them out one at a time, or all at once.
A Few Final Keys To Success
Divide annual campaign goal into individual cadence goals; communicate each cadence goal during the cadence, but share the TOTAL raised (by all cadences) at the end of the campaign.
Leverage foundation and/or corporate matches in every cadence.
Set specific goals for internal audiences like board members - potential donors tend to engage at higher levels once they see these milestones met!
Make it easy to give - two clicks or less from the homepage! Utilize banners, big donation buttons at the top and bottom of emails, and provide clear instructions to give in mail pieces.
Make sure monthly giving options are apparent in online giving forms.
Measure success not just in total dollars raised but in new donor acquisition, returning donors, increased gifts, etc.
Need a bit more help? Our team is standing by to level up your fundraising game! Email info@writeonfundraising.com to schedule a complimentary session with our team or call 888-308-0087.
Resources:
https://neonone.com/resources/blog/year-end-giving-statistics/