It’s Time! 5 End of Year Giving Campaign Tips Plus 3 Strategy Ideas

It comes around so quickly. We blink, and before we know it! It’s time to start strategizing for the beloved end of year giving campaigns.

We want to help you make this year-end fundraising campaign one of the greatest you’ve ever had. So we’re unfolding 5 best practices and 3 strategy ideas for the upcoming giving season.

Let’s get started!

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Why Should Your Nonprofit Focus on Having an End of Year Giving Plan?

If your nonprofit is not yet participating in an end of the year fundraising campaign, you might be wondering what the fuss is all about.

How are the last few months of the year any different from the other 3 quarters?

Whether it’s because it’s the end of the year so everyone is clearing out their books…

Or more people are enveloped by the holiday season, there’s a reason why the last few months are called “the giving season.”

Take a look at these year-end giving statistics:

According to Nonprofit Tech for Good, approximately 31% of all annual giving takes place in the month of December.
Also according to Nonprofit Tech for Good, around 12% of all donations happen in the last three days of the year
And finally, according to Nonprofit Hub, 28% of organizations collect up to half of their year’s funds from end of year giving campaigns.

It’s no wonder so many nonprofits participate in this giving tradition! If your organization is still focusing on fundraising, then having a year-end campaign is more than likely one that can’t be missed.

The Top 5 End of Year Giving Campaign Tips:

1. Plan and Strategize Early!

Although the giving season doesn’t typically ramp up until November or December, you want to start ahead of time.

You’ll need time to plan out your goals, review your results from years past (more on that in a minute), and strategize how you’ll promote your campaign.

Plus, it takes a bit of time for some content to get in front of your ideal donors and stick in their minds.

The earlier your nonprofit teams can start planning for your year end giving campaign, the better!

2. Review Last Year’s Successes and Feedback

We’re firmly in the camp that data is one of the most useful resources for making decisions. So, if your nonprofit has created a giving season fundraiser in the past, it’s time to pull those reports.

Read through those reports to remind your teams of the approach your organization took and the results of them.

Highlight the major successes and determine if they can be repeated. For example, was an email campaign specifically for your end of year fundraising project successful? If so, can you re-write another email marketing campaign?

It’s also a good idea to highlight what didn’t work out so well. You’ll know more about what to avoid as you strategize for this year’s fundraiser.

3. Set Your Goals for This Year’s Campaign (and Write It Down!)

Where would a plan be without any goals? Setting SMART goals is going to help your nonprofit stay on track for what you’d like to achieve.

Think of your SMART goals as a roadmap for the rest of the campaign.

Here’s how to set them:

Specific. Hone in on the major goal you want your nonprofit to accomplish. Having one, specific goal gives you more focus!

Measurable. Set a goal that’s measurable so you know exactly where your nonprofit stacks up. For example, do you want to increase your monthly giving program’s supporters by 5%? Are you looking to increase overall annual funds by another 7%?

Attainable. Be realistic in setting your goals. Don’t strive for something that’s not possible, otherwise you run the risk of lowering morale.

Relevant. What’s a goal that pertains to your nonprofit’s mission?

Time-sensitive. When should your nonprofit meet this goal? Giving your organization an end date keeps your teams pushing.

4. Update Your Online Donation Form

Before you start launching your campaign, your team needs to have everything in order. Make sure your online donation form is updated and simplified!

After all, you’re more than likely driving traffic straight to it. So the best thing you can do is make sure you’re giving supporters the best possible experience.

Try this guide for online donation page best practices!

5. Brush Up on Your Nonprofit Copywriting Skills

Whether you’re sending out direct mail campaigns or you’re focusing solely on fundraising online, this one is a must.

The bulk of your ability to fundraise effectively comes from communicating your needs properly.

Nonprofit copywriting helps you do exactly that. It’s a skill that anyone writing emails, social media captions, blog posts, website pages, or direct mail letters should have a basic understanding of.

If you want to brush up on your copywriting skills, then check out our training course!

Find Out More About Copywriting for Nonprofit Fundraising!

3 Year End Giving Campaign Ideas for Your Fundraising Strategy:

Having a strategy for your year end giving campaign is crucial to success. And if you’ve participated in the giving season in years past, then you may be able to reuse the bulk of your previous strategies!

But sometimes, you need something to spruce up your fundraising. So here are 3 year end giving campaign ideas to help you freshen up your strategy:

1. Try Out Nonprofit Video Fundraising

Short-form videos are trending all over the internet, thanks to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Even long-form videos on YouTube are still widely popular.

So, if you need a way to re-engage supporters in your fundraising strategy try implementing nonprofit videos.

NextAfter reported that this campaign idea works best if you use nonprofit videos to connect with donors, rather than using the video to ask for donations.

So, send out nonprofit videos in nurturing emails, rather than in emails with a “hard ask.” Use nonprofit videos to build rapport and relationship with your supporters. Then use nonprofit copywriting techniques to ask for the donation.

2. Ask Donors to Opt Into a Monthly Giving Program

Nonprofit monthly giving programs are one of the best ways to bring in sustainable donations your organization can count on.

So why not use your year end fundraising campaign to increase your program?

Rather than asking people to donate once, ask them to make a smaller donation every month. Use your strategy to gain more funding sustainability for next year!

3. Use Nonprofit Social Media Fundraising Campaigns

Social media is still trending as one of the greatest ways to connect with supporters. And because there are so many different tools you can use within a social media campaign, these platforms are sure to be effective!

Here are a few social media year end campaign ideas:

Continue posting organic content that is centered around your year end fundraising
Launch a new social media ad campaign to reach specific audiences
Go live on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok to talk about your year end campaign
Use peer-to-peer fundraising to reach wider audiences

There are so many ways you can incorporate social media into your year end giving campaign! If you want to find out more ways you can use social media for your year end fundraising, then check out our free webinar.

Find Out These 5 Social Media Tips for Year End Fundraising for FREE!