Can you feel the hype? 2023 is almost over! October marks the beginning of the fourth quarter of the year; the most momentous time of the year for nonprofits. It’s a great time to fire up your board with engaging ways to participate in fundraising.
Before I spill the tea on how to excite your board about year-end fundraising, check out these fun and impactful stats:
30% of all nonprofit donations happen during the month of December.
28% of nonprofits raise up to 50% of their annual donations from year-end campaigns.
25% of Giving Tuesday donors say they were inspired to give by social media posts.
12% of all giving happens in the last three days of the year.
Now, with these revealing statistics, is your board hyped-up and ready to raise the mula your organization needs to end 2023 with a philanthropic bang?
Before you answer that important question, make sure you empower them with your Points of Pride (POP) Fundraising Toolkit. It should include your case for support, talking points, fundraising goal, a moving story or video, and a colorful infographic with impressive data showing the impact you are having in the community.
Then let’s Scroll and Roll! Have your board scroll though the contacts in their phones to identify 5-10 people who would give to your great mission or just give because of who’s asking. Most people would make a small donation of $100 if cousin, Sam, book club member, Linda, or rotary club member, Larry is courageous enough to ask for it. Give them the script and let them roll with lots of invitations to give and support you.
Now, let’s shoot for the stars and shine a light on practical and smart ways to prepare your board to help prepare for your year-end fundraising campaigns. This is what staff can do:
September
Share past trends, new data, and goals with them.
Include them in your social media plans.
Share your start dates with them.
Train them as necessary on any new software you’ve purchased that can assist them with fundraising for you.
Share your campaigns for Q4.
This is good practice to include your board for early buy-in. They will know what to look for over the next few months as you send out small teasers and announcements to build excitement for the larger campaigns to come!
October & November
This is it! It’s prime time and your staff and board will be in motion to help execute your campaigns with full force. With education, proper training, and the right tools your board can:
· Conduct email, phone, and in-person donor outreach.
· Use fundraising tools and campaign materials to spread the word to invite gifts in.
· Promote campaigns on social media platforms with moving videos, compelling stories, and appealing infographics.
· Communicate their progress to you and other potential donors.
· Leverage their business and corporate contacts to ask for matching gifts.
Remember November is #Giving Tuesday, and it should be the focus of your fundraising efforts. This is a great time to loop in your board for this exciting giving holiday. Here’s a great example (inspired by a real hospital) of a Giving Tuesday campaign to share with your board. Something as simple as the marketing script below can be posted on any social media platform.
Giving Patients MORE Tuesdays!
As a board member, I just made my gift to ABC hospital which includes our new and innovative Cancer Treatment Center for kids, but I am giving so much More!
This Giving Tuesday, you can rise to the occasion to give patients More!
More birthdays, More time with family, More compassionate care; and More Tuesdays!
Please join me and let’s rise to the challenge and give More Tuesdays to families in our community. Please send your gift for More at www.abchospital.org. #GivingTuesday
December
After the excitement of Giving Tuesday, board members can use the festive spirit of good cheer in December to appeal to donors who are feeling warm, fuzzy, and altruistic.
Remind them to optimize relationships with their connections on social media. Ask them to respond to messages and send notes of appreciation and holiday greetings. Remember to make campaigns shareable so your board can share them with friends, colleagues, and family members.
With a clear and strategic year-end fundraising plan you can hype up your board to seize the fundraising moment as you move closer to 2024 with a new sense of purpose, anticipation, and optimism.
Now Go For It!