For nonprofits, nearly a third of all donations are given in the month of December and 12% of ALL yearly giving occurs within the last three days of each year. Prepare your nonprofit to finish the year strong by using these tips when planning for your fundraising the last week of the year.
Tip 1: Check your mobile optimization.
Remember, nearly 80% of scrolling on social media now takes place on a mobile device. This is especially true for Facebook. If your audience is seeing your social posts or reading their emails on their smartphones, you must ensure that your emails, donation landing pages and every part of your website are optimized for mobile viewing. Double check this before anything else we recommend in this post.
Tip 2: Send those year-end emails.
Update your e-newsletter subscribers how much more money you have to raise by the end of the year in order to reach your goal. Use a visual, such as a fundraising thermometer, and be sure to link to your donation page in the email. For many nonprofits, December 31st is one of the largest giving days out of the whole year. Consider even sending two emails on this day; one in the morning and an update one in the evening.
Tip 3: Say thank you, again.
There’s no better time than the end of the year to thank the donors who have given to your cause over the course of the past year. Ensuring they feel appreciated might just nudge them to give again. Whether you do so over the phone, with a card or via email, plan to thank donors one last time.
Tip 4: Make your contact information front and center.
Be sure that your contact information is listed clearly on every page of your website, emails and social media channels. If donors are wanting to reach you by phone, email or send a check in the mail, you want it to be easy for them to do so.
Tip 5: Pitch a story to the local media.
Since the week between Christmas and New Year’s is usually a slow one for newsrooms, a pitch you send in is likely to get picked up, especially at a local news station or newspaper. Include the “who, what, where, when and why” of your fundraising campaign or whatever story about your nonprofit you’re pitching and send it off now. Offer images if you have any and don’t be afraid to follow up if you don’t hear back right away.
Tip 6: Plan your social posts.
Although we recommend that you always plan your social media posts, it’s an especially good idea to plan posts for the last week of the year. Vary up your posts from updates about your fundraising and reminding people to donate with posts about your vision for the new year and the things you accomplished in the past year. Some platforms even have technology that tells you the times when your content will reach the most people— a particularly beneficial feature when you’re asking for donations.
Tip 7: Consider paid social campaigns.
Evaluate which channel you receive the highest engagement numbers from and consider running a paid advertisement about your nonprofit’s fundraiser on it. Even a relatively small ad budget can reach a high number of people.
Tip 8: Edit your donation form.
Par down the length and amount of information you ask for on your donation form. It’s easy for potential donors to get overwhelmed and decided to forget about giving because it appears to be too much work or time. You’ll need their name, contact information and gift amount. Remove anything else, at least for the time being.
Tip 9: Check your landing page.
Much like your donation form, double check that the page you’re using to inform visitors about your fundraiser is still relevant with working links, social sharing buttons and correct information.
Tip 10: Use stories to impact.
Whether posted on your social media channels or as a blog post (or both!), use the end of the year as a time to recap stories—both written and visually—about the ways your nonprofit has been able to make the world a better place. This allows potential donors to make an emotional connection to their gifts.
At 4aGoodCause, our mission is to help nonprofits connect with donors online, in order to exceed their fundraising goals. If you’re ready to see an increase in your nonprofits fundraising dollars in the new year, get in touch with us.
