Did you know that 31% of annual giving happens in December? The holidays bring a sense of generosity and kindness to many - and that extends to year end giving.

With a great plan and execution, you can have your best year-end giving ever. 

Below are 4 steps to help you run a successful year-end giving campaign.

Year-end giving: 4 steps

1. Plan the communications

Those who plan accomplish far more than those who wing it. Take some time to plan out your year-end giving campaign.

Why

Simon Sinek said it best, “Start with why.” 

Why are you pursuing a year-end giving campaign? It could be: to close the financial gap for the year so we can begin our mission next year with even greater momentum. 

Whatever your “why” is, capture it early as it should influence the following steps.

Who

Who will be receiving your communications? 

Some groups of people to think through: anyone who donated in the past year, anyone who donated ever, those who gave a first time gift in the past year, those who gave monthly throughout the past year, those who gave in the top 10% of all donors last year. 

Choosing your audience is key as it will shape how you communicate your end of year donation ask. 

Want to engage multiple groups? Simply duplicate this process and make each campaign particular to the chosen group. 

This strategy can be especially helpful for large gift donors as they are often more sophisticated in their giving behaviors.

What

What will be sent out to your audience(s)? 

I recommend thinking through these two categories: 1. Digital, 2. Print.

Digital deliverables could include email, ads, podcasts, social media, video, booklets, brochures, etc.

Print deliverables could include booklets, billboards, letters, etc.

→ Learn about some tips that will help you step up your nonprofit video marketing.

Where

Where will you be distributing your communications? 

Channels could include: social media, television, radio, email, mail, etc.

→ Check out these five email marketing best practices for your nonprofit. 

When

What are the key dates for your communications? 

Include due dates for deliverables as well as dates for when to publish or push to your channels.

→ Learn about the best software for nonprofits in 2021

2. Communicate the need and call them to action

Now that your planning is rock solid. It’s time the communicate your “why” and your need. 

This is also a great time to celebrate all the impact that your organization has made in the past year. Show, don’t tell, the stories of how donations have changed lives. 

Use high quality people-centered images and story to draw in the reader or viewer. 

Donors want to put their money where they know it will have an impact. Show them your organization is worthy of that and ready to keep going if supported.

3. Follow up/celebrate

Your year-end giving campaign should have more than one touch point. 

After initial contact, you will want to follow up with your audience(s) and let them know how it’s going (how close to goal).

This is a great time to celebrate recent donations as well as mention any “matching incentives” or other tactics that may move your supporters to action. 

Also, don’t forget to communicate the urgency of the matter. There is limited time left to give in the current year. Call them to act now!

4. Thank your community

Your organization wouldn’t exist without your supporters. Communicate the weight of that reality with an authentic thank you. 

Let them know how the year-end giving campaign finished and what this means for the following year of work. 

Reinforce your organization's mission statement and how your supporters are changing lives. 

This is also a good time to point to your published, or forthcoming, annual report (check out these great annual report examples).

If your organization is looking for an online giving software, we would love to help. Anedot is trusted by more than 20,000 organizations just like yours. Get started today for free.