Year-end Appeal Archives -

Spend some time this summer prepping for year-end!

Summer is well underway and I hate to tell you this… but year-end campaign season is right around the corner!

Even if you still feel like you’ve barely recuperated from last year’s campaign and your to-do-list is eight miles high, it is time to start planning.

Before you decide this is completely out of the question, let me remind you of last fall, when you said to yourself, “I wish I had time to figure out how to do XYZ better… but I’ve just got to get this letter out the door!”

Remember how you told yourself you’d figure this out next year, when you had more time? Well, here you are!

Although you probably never feel like you have enough time, it’s essential to create time for things that are not necessarily urgent, but still very important.

Here are five things to add to your to-do list over the next few months that will make your fall so much easier. [Read more…]

Disappointing year-end campaign results? Here’s how to recover.

Now that we’re well into the new year, nonprofits are beginning to understand their big-picture fundraising results from 2016.

So far, as with most years, I’ve heard mixed reports — some groups saw improved results over the previous year, while for others, the results are quite disappointing.

If the latter is true for your organization, why might this have happened? What can you do to recover and get back on your feet during the year ahead? [Read more…]

Upgrading Gifts Through Your Year-End Campaign

Beyond the obvious goal of raising more money for your mission, your year-end campaign has another critical purpose: it is a primary tool to engage and inspire your donors.

As you craft your year-end appeal, keep in mind that you aren’t just asking your donors to fork-over their hard-earned money — you are offering them an important benefit in exchange for their gift.

You offer them an opportunity to make a difference in their community, act on their deeply held beliefs, or effect change in the world.

For certain donors, when the time is right, your year-end campaign is an opportune time to engage them more deeply as a partner in your mission by asking them for a higher level of financial commitment. Further, if you neglect to ask a donor for an upgraded gift at the right time, you’re not only losing money for your mission, you’re doing that donor a disservice.

But gift upgrades won’t happen automatically. It requires some work on your end. To get that larger gift, you need to prompt your donor with a specific ask.

Here are 5 tips to help you get started with an upgrade campaign within your year-end appeal: [Read more…]

7 Ways to Involve Your Board in Your Year-end Fundraising Campaign

As a nonprofit fundraiser you are about to get extremely busy.

Year-end is coming!

There are appeals to create, stories to write, lists to segment, checks to process, donors to thank, social media tactics to learn, and email subject lines to test. At this overwhelming time of year, it’s tricky to juggle all these important tasks.

So what’s the best way to get it all done? Delegate!

Since nonprofit board members are constantly told they should participate in fundraising, but “hate asking for money,” they are the perfect candidates to help with your campaign.

Here are 10 year-end fundraising tasks and projects that are perfect for the board member or engaged key volunteer to jump in and take the reins: [Read more…]

Take a closer look at your mailing list for better appeal results

Before you find yourself rushing to get your year-end renewal appeal in the mail and blindly mailing to every name in your house file, carve out some time to review your mailing list.

Why? Not everyone in your database is appropriate for a year-end appeal. [Read more…]

Planning a simple but smart year-end campaign

Did you notice that this Webster’s Dictionary definition of “campaign” is a series of activities?

Did you see that a campaign needs a specific goal?

This also applies to your year-end campaign.

Specifically, a year-end campaign is a series of donor communications occurring within a specific timeframe, with a well-defined goal.

Even if your year-end efforts have in the past been limited to just one fundraising letter and a thank you note, it isn’t all that difficult to turn your fall fundraising letter into a full-fledged year-end renewal campaign. If you’ve been running a more sophisticated campaign, it might be time to add a new channel or produce a campaign wrap-up video.

Regardless of your campaign’s current status, taking it to the next level will take some advanced planning to ensure that you have enough time, money, and technology to execute it well.

To get you started, here’s a quick guide to planning and preparing for your annual campaign:

[Read more…]

Do your organizational and business donors need a unique approach?

In my hometown, there is a popular locally owned gift shop. Instead of charging a fee to gift wrap purchases, the store asks their customers to donate a dollar or two to a specific charity.

For many years, one specific charity was the sole recipient of these funds (along with a tremendous amount of publicity).

When I went to this store to grab a birthday gift the other day, I was surprised to discover that a different charity was now the gift wrap money recipient. [Read more…]

5 fundraising appeal mistakes that waste your nonprofit’s money

In a small nonprofit, with heaps of fundraising tasks on your plate, planning for fundraising appeals typically gets the short shrift.

There’s plenty to keep you scrambling: finding a compelling story, crafting a donor-centered letter, and rushing to get your package in the mail at just the right time.

But there are hidden costs and wasted funds when appeals become an afterthought. You’ll lose out in ways you may not even recognize.

Here are several costly appeal mistakes nonprofits often make. Are you guilty of any of these? [Read more…]

Evaluating your annual appeal

It’s always exciting to count the floods of money arriving from your year-end appeal.

While its a pretty safe bet to say that most organizations know how much money their appeal brought in, there are other important metrics that are largely ignored.

Neglecting to thoroughly measure and analyze your appeal results means you’ll miss critical information that would have helped you raise more money next time around. [Read more…]

Annual Appeal Workbook is Now Available!

I’m thrilled to announce the release of my first book, The Smart Guide to a Smarter Annual Appeal.

Written specifically for small nonprofits, this guide shares the tools I’ve developed over years of managing fundraising appeals. Beyond just teaching you how to write a letter, it’s about strategic and tactical implementation of a successful appeal package. [Read more…]