Every one of you I’ve talked to recently — every last one — has told me that your year-end campaign went out late.
Hey, it happens. It’s been a year.
But have no fear. if you’re behind on your goals, you can still do plenty between now and December 31.
1. A Home Page Takeover
Consider a “home page takeover” like this. You know that yes, online giving is growing because of how accessible and easy it is (or how easy and accessible it’s supposed to be). So how easy are you making it for your donors to give online? Here’s a tip: give two (or more) of your friends $10 and ask them to donate to your nonprofit online, via your website. Ask them to be brutally honest in their feedback. What you might think of as a fast and easy user experience could actually often benefit from some tweaking.
You’re also a great judge of what works and what doesn’t, so make that $10 gift on your own time and observe what it’s like to walk through the process. What does the donor experience look like?
Be sure to download this donation page checklist from our Basics & More Online Fundraising class and add it to your arsenal of tools! Go over yours with a fine-toothed comb and you’ll have a great guide that will help you further evaluate and tweak your page accordingly.
2. Include DAF
Add the option to give via DAF if you haven’t already. Gifts by DAF (Donor Advised Funds) increased by 83% from 2019 to 2023. Ensure you’re making it easy to give by DAF with a “DAF widget,” a small piece of code embedded on a website that allows donors to make donations directly from their Donor Advised Fund (DAF). ”DAF Direct” is a specific platform that provides a DAF widget, allowing donors to easily recommend grants from their DAF accounts to a participating charity directly on the charity’s website, with options to choose from participating DAF providers like Fidelity Charitable or Schwab Charitable; essentially, DAF Direct is a branded version of a DAF widget with more features and integration with specific DAF platforms.
3. Phone Calls
Create a list of donors who made a year-end gift last year but haven’t given it yet for this campaign.
Gather together your “ambassadors” (board members, program staff, volunteers) and create a schedule to either call or reach out by way of an additional reminder note. Tailor our Donor Thank You Call Script to your nonprofit’s need and your style.
4. Create a Facebook Ad Campaign.
Upload the list of donors who have received your year-end direct mail campaign and create an ad campaign solely for them.
5. Revisit Your Email Ask Series
Is your email ask series ready to go? Download our Year-End Email Series Template (the exact guide I use to create my clients’ email series) to make sure you’ve got all bases covered!
6. Adjust Your Signature Line
Make it personal and create email signature lines for each of your board and staff members. Email signatures (a.k.a. sig lines) are powerful, low-cost, high-return marketing tools (a virtual business card or ad) for your foundation or organization.
7. Your Thank You Email and Redirect Page
Redo your year-end thank you email. This What’s In My Inbox blog post from a few years ago sheds light on how to do it.
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