Giving Season Checklist

Blog Post By Cassie Pence, Up10's Senior Marketing Consultant & Nonprofit Fundraising Extraordinaire

The arrival of Fall means pumpkin patches, football kick-offs and cooler temperatures. For nonprofits, it means that giving season is right around the corner! According to Charity Navigator, not only does nearly one third of annual giving occur in December, but 28% of nonprofits raise between 26 – 50% of their annual funds from their year-end ask.

Year-end giving is essential for nonprofit organizations, so it is important to make sure you are prepped and ready to put your organization’s best foot forward. Up10 is here with our Giving Season Checklist to help get you on the right track as you head into the fundraising busy season!

GIVING SEASON CHECKLIST 

1.      Define your goal(s)

How will you know if your year-end campaign is a success without determining metrics prior to launch? Establishing a monetary fundraising goal is one important baseline but consider including other data points when setting your goals. For example, set an ideal number of new and/or returning donors, as well as additional engagement metrics for your team to strive for during this giving season. Keeping detailed records of your previous donations will allow you to establish S.M.A.R.T. goals for both giving season and the entire fiscal year.

2.      Craft your story

During giving season, donors are being asked by multiple organizations for support – so crafting a compelling story to stand out above the crowd is a must. Now is the time to work with your programs' staff to identify impactful, moving, mission-driven stories from the past year you can share with your donors during year-end appeals. Often, follow-up interviews, pictures (even better video content!) are necessary to paint the picture for prospective donors, so give yourself and your team enough time to be successful in identifying those compelling elements and its execution!

3.      Clean up your lists

Database integrity is an ongoing process for most nonprofits, one that is never ‘done.’ However, knowing the potential for high volume of gifts during the giving season, ensuring your lists are in tip-top shape is a significant task. Identifying the audience for different year-end giving tactics (i.e. direct mail vs. email lists) and working to pull those lists now to remove incorrect or outdated information will be a big payoff come December. Instead of scrambling to finalize lists once content is complete – you can press “send” ASAP!

4.      Tap into your advocates

Not only are volunteers the backbone of so many nonprofits, but volunteers also give twice as often to charity as non-volunteers. Additionally, nearly 1/3 of all online donations are now a result of peer-to-peer fundraising, according to Nonprofit Tech for Good. Tapping into your already established bench of supporters can increase your giving season reach and success. Ask your board and committee members to share your year-end campaign with their network, provide key advocates with peer-to-peer fundraising ideas and templates to help them fundraise on their own for your organization. It is important to remember that volunteers can give more than just dollars, asking them to share your year-end campaign with their network is just one way they can contribute even more to your fundraising success.

5.      Think ahead to 2022

Yes, we aren’t even in giving season yet, but you need to start thinking about January 1, 2022. Hopefully, you will have added lots of new donors to your organization thanks to a successful year-end campaign… but what’s next? How will you thank these new supporters and keep them, as well as your renewing donors, engaged with your organization in 2022? Establish a post giving season stewardship plan as a part of your overall year-end prep, so it doesn’t fall through the cracks during the whirlwind that is giving season!

Giving season will be here before you know it, but there is still plenty of time to plan for a successful, lucrative year-end. If there is anything Up10 can do to help with these efforts or to help make your lives easier now and in the future, please let us know! We are lucky enough to work with clients like the one below and hope to add you to our client roster soon! 

"Cassie’s insights have upgraded our Foundation in so many ways. As we look to make a bigger impact in our profession (and fundraise to support it) we are grateful for Up10's experience and guidance." --Rebekah Brown, MACPA's Director of Development