How to Make the Most of Your Year-End Giving

As all of us in the fundraising world know, December is the time of year when the vast majority of contributions are made! In fact, nearly one-third of all charitable contributions are made during December with 10% of all gifts being made in just the final few days of the year.

While this tremendous outpouring of support provides critical revenue for nonprofits, what I like to remind fundraisers is that what you do next is what is really important, especially when it comes to first time donors. With their gift, donors have demonstrated an alignment with your mission and a belief in your work to achieve it. More importantly, they’ve demonstrated a desire to be involved and what you do next is critical to capitalizing on that sentiment.

So, as we kick off the new year, here are my top 5 ways to make the most of your year-end fundraising.

1. Track Data – It’s important to ensure that you’ve captured your donors’ data accurately and as thoroughly as possible. This includes the basics like contact information and gift details as well as information that can help you predict their future behavior. These areas include noting the type of correspondence they replied to (email, social media, mailing), how they made their gift (online vs. check), and the theme of the solicitation (was there a specific program/clientele that spoke to them).
   

2. Make Phone Calls – Sending the basic acknowledgment letter is certainly fundamental to the process (and required for tax purposes) but you need to go a step further. Have the board and CEO make phone calls to thank your larger donors with the fundraising staff calling to thank mid-level donors. To make the process as easy as possible, give each caller the basics on the donor and gift (name, phone/email, gift amount, etc.) and provide them with a script to follow. Each caller can re-work the script to make it sound like them but providing talking points is always helpful and helps lessen the burden of your volunteers.
   

3. Send a Welcome Packet to New Donors – As a new donor, they likely haven’t been getting your correspondence up until now. Welcome them to the family by sending a handwritten note and including things like past copies of your newsletter, your previous year annual report, ways to follow you on social media, a small and inexpensive gift (pen, sticker, bookmark) and, of course, include your personal contact information so they have a direct point of contact.
   

4. Get Meetings – Think about the various segments of gifts that need extra attention – major donors, first time donors and donors who have been giving for 5+ consecutive years. This group should be prioritized for one-on-one meetings so that you can build a relationship, find out more about their giving interests, and learn about their philanthropic goals. It’s only by understanding donor motivations and building rapport that you’ll be able to increase a donor’s giving.
   

5. Develop/Update Your Stewardship Plan – While items #1 - #4 are helpful in the immediate 60 days after your year-end campaign, to truly take your donor stewardship to the next level, you need a comprehensive, year-long plan. This plan ensures you regularly communicate your organization’s impact and how you are putting donors’ funds to use.

If you already have one developed, take the time to review and refresh as need. It’s important to regularly update how you are stewarding donors as your activities may become stale if it’s the same-old, same-old each year. 

If you don’t have a plan, you should take the time to develop one because it ensures regular, somewhat personalized touchpoints with your donors throughout the year. Donors don’t want to feel like an ATM, so you need to talk to them when you are NOT asking. Here are some things to consider including in that plan:

• Invitation to a lunch or dinner meeting with the ED and/or Board Chair

• A phone call to share ‘exciting’ news or updates

• A personal tour of a facility

• A thank you note from a client

• Invitation to participate in advocacy work, complete a survey and/or sign a petition

• Newsletter or other programmatic update sent from the ED

• An email sharing recent news articles about the organization or an area connected to its mission

• Holiday cards with a note from the ED or Board Member

• A mailing of the Annual Report with a personalized note attached

• Event invitations with a personalized note

And, to decide who gets what, you’ll need to segment donors into groups – new donors, long-time donors, major donors, volunteers, board members, corporate donors, etc. This will allow you to provide additional personalization and touchpoints to donors who make larger contributions or impact your organization in bigger ways.

Implementing all 5 of these steps will ensure that your organization doesn’t just reap the benefits of the contributions that you receive in December, but that you are able to use them as a springboard to regular, recurring gifts throughout the year, and likely increased levels of giving for 2024.

Best of luck!

About Rachel M. Decker

Having spent nearly 20 years in the nonprofit sector as an effective and strategic fundraising and foundation executive, Detroit Philanthropy Founder and President, Rachel Decker is passionate about helping others, making meaningful connections, solving problems and, most importantly, creating impact in our community. With the founding of Detroit Philanthropy, she turned that passion into a commitment to champion philanthropy throughout metro Detroit as a philanthropic advisor, fundraising consultant and speaker.