4 Year-End Fundraising Tips for Nonprofits

WRITTEN BY LINDSEY HIMPHILL
2020 has been an interesting year to say the least. While you may be ready to ring in the new year and put 2020 behind you, you still have a very important year-end fundraising campaign to plan. To make the most of the charity giving season it’s important you plan ahead and begin your appeals early. We’ve outlined four tips below to help you begin preparing now, so you can meet those very important year-end fundraising goals. Follow the four tips as an outline to the four last weeks to fundraise in 2020.
4 Year-End Fundraising Tips for 2021
Tip #1
4 Weeks Until 2021- Thank Donors
Your nonprofit likely sends thank yous as part of its year end fundraising campaigns. But chances are your donors receive countless thank you emails and letters from other nonprofits. Avoid copying the exact same language you used in your promotional materials and personalize your thank you to each donor. Thank them for their one-time or recurring donation. Address which capital campaigns they contributed to. Acknowledge their attendance at a virtual or in-person fundraising event this year. Rather than sending a simple thank you, remind each supporter what their donation allowed your nonprofit to do this year.

ProTip: 66% of nonprofit professionals believe they can do more with their donor thank you strategy.1 Download our infographic, 5 Ways to Create a More Personal Donor Thank You, for more donor thank you tips.
1. Survey taken from 363 nonprofit professionals in 2019 during MobileCause live webinar, Cultivate Donor Loyalty with the Perfect Thank You.
Tip #2
3 Weeks – Inform Supporters of Your Goal
Never assume supporters know the importance of year-end fundraising for nonprofits. Make your appeal time sensitive, explain why you need donors’ support right now to continue your mission into 2021. Chances are your nonprofit and its beneficiaries have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, so address that. Also include any mentions of additional funds you’ll need due to any other circumstances of 2020.

Tip #3
2 Weeks – Send Personalized Appeals
You should never take a one size fits all approach to fundraising appeals. Your supporters have different levels of income, interests, and motives for giving. For example, you would not want to ask for a $20 gift from someone who usually donates $800, or vice versa. Customize messages for each communication channel, such as email, direct mail, or text-to-donate. You can take it a step further by personalizing appeals with donors’ first names and the names of capital campaigns they contributed to in the past.

Tip #4
1 Week – Send Appeals Via Text-to-Donate
The closer you get to year end, the more urgent your fundraising appeal should be. Consider this, on average 24% of all nonprofits’ marketing emails are opened, compared to 98% of text messages. With mobile messaging you’ll not only reach more donors, but reach more faster. By reaching out to donors on more immediate channels like mobile messaging, you’ll also create a sense of urgency that you’ll need their support in the few remaining days left of the year.

Find out more about mobile messaging and text-to-donate with MobileCause here:
I hope these tips will help you save time and streamline your year-end fundraising efforts. For more assistance writing your year-end appeals, I recommend you download our Year-End Fundraising Appeal Templates: Customizable Donor Messages.
Lindsey Himphill
Digital Fundraising Strategist
MobileCause
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Our goal at MobileCause is to help nonprofit organizations create and manage successful digital fundraising campaigns, raise more money and retain donors longer. Request a free demo with one of our fundraising experts to learn, step by step, how MobileCause can simply help set up your campaigns while transforming your results.
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