Sun, Summer and … Year-End Giving?
It's that time of year again! No, not summer vacation – it's time to start planning for year-end! You may be thinking it’s much too early to prepare for the holiday season, but with 31% of all annual donations happening in the month of December alone, it’s never too soon to start strategizing for that lucrative year-end giving season!
We’ve likely all been through year-end planning before, however, with the ever-changing fundraising landscape, we have to constantly evolve our fundraising strategies to evolve with the industry.
To help you make the most out of your 2021 year-end campaign, the team at Fuse has compiled a guide based on our years of experience with year-end planning. While every organization is different, these seven steps can help ensure that this year is your most successful year-end yet.
Step 1: Analyze Prior Years’ Results & Review Budget
In order to move forward, you need to know where you’ve been. Analyze your last few year-end campaigns, and determine which campaigns and tactics were most successful as well as which initiatives did not bring in strong results. Utilize these learnings to establish the foundation for this year’s campaign.
Review your current year-end budget to determine what tactics, channels and strategies will align with your current budget and allow you to reach your program’s year-end goals. Determine how you want to allocate spend during this critical time. Keep in mind that even with the growing popularity of Giving Tuesday, the last three days of the calendar year generate 10% of all annual giving!
Step 2: Establish a Campaign Theme
In order to create a cohesive experience for donors throughout the year-end time period, it is critical to establish a campaign theme (or overarching story arc) and call to action that is carried across efforts and channels. Messaging and creative elements should be consistent across channels, creating a “surround sound” experience for the donor. Ensure that your theme and narrative are related to your mission and establish a strong case for support.
Step 3: Determine Your Channel Mix
Once you have a campaign concept and theme identified, you should then determine which channels will allow you to effectively bring your campaign theme to life and engage your donors further with your mission. Your channel mix should be varied and include channels both online and offline. As we all know, efforts in one channel can have a significant impact on performance in other channels, so make sure to factor in channel impact and attribution into your channel planning. To establish the optimal channel mix, you not only need to evaluate the channels that your donors are responding to, but also the cost/benefit of each channel during this time. Media spend is at a premium during this timeframe, so be strategic and purposeful about when and where you are spending. And of course, channels can have very different lead times, so make sure that you are planning out each channels’ efforts well in advance so that you are able to execute everything on time.
Step 4: Focus on Compelling Storytelling
Some of the most successful year-end campaigns are those that create a personal and emotional connection between the donor and the organization, and the best way to do that is through storytelling. Use the campaign to illustrate your organization’s impact in a human way. Ensure that you are telling stories through a real person’s experience with your organization to provide an honest and trustworthy reflection of your organization and the work that you do. If possible, let people tell their own stories by using direct quotes and videos. Your stories should inspire donors, creating a deep emotional connection, and then empower them to become part of the story by taking action.
Step 5: Strategize Tactics & Testing Opportunities
Now that you know WHAT we are going to do at year-end, you need to determine HOW you are going to do it. This is where we start thinking about the various tactics and methods that you can leverage to engage your donors.
We all know and love Matching Gift offers (if you need a refresher on Matching Gifts, check out our previous blog series on Matching Gifts), but unfortunately, they aren’t always available. In the absence of a match, there are plenty of other tactics that can be just as effective.
Establish a fundraising goal – a revenue goal or a number of donors goal – and highlight the importance of reaching that goal throughout your communications. Show your audience how you are progressing towards your goal using techniques such as goal meters, but get creative with the design – we love animation! Encourage donors to help you reach that goal and reiterate that reaching this goal is only possible with their support.
Creating urgency at year-end is essential, so utilizing countdown clocks in digital efforts can be a great tool to create a sense of urgency with donors. In offline efforts, make a deadline very prominent in your creative and messaging.
Gift Equivalencies are another great tactic to employ at year-end. Donors want to know exactly what their gifts are being used for and how even a small donation can have a huge impact. Show the donor tangible ways that their donation is being used to make a difference.
Lastly, do not forget to test your efforts! Year-end can be a great opportunity to get reads on new channels, tactics and messaging/creative, so make sure you are testing where you can. These learnings can help inform strategies that can be applied across the year and help grow your overall program. And don’t be afraid to pivot during this time – if you see something isn’t working, change your approach!
Step 6: Thank Your Donors
Make sure to thank your donors! You’ve likely hit up your donors quite a bit over the last few months, so make sure you are properly thanking them for their support. Show them the impact that they’ve been able to make and let them know how valued they are to the organization.
Step 7: Analyze (Again) … and Begin Planning for Next Year!
Once the whirlwind of year-end is over, take some time in January to review your year-end campaign. Go through your KPIs and determine if you were able to meet your goals and analyze which channels and tactics were most successful and which didn’t yield the results you were hoping for. These findings will be essential for next year’s year-end planning.
Year-end continues to be the most philanthropic time of the year, but it requires detailed planning, hard work and an agile approach. We hope that the guide above helps you to lay out your plan for year-end 2021 and that this year-end campaign will be your best yet! Good Luck and Happy Fundraising!
Photo by Anete Lusina from Pexels