Annual Campaigns

Now is the time to plan for the fundraising and communications activities you’ll employ between the time you read this and December 31.

The second year-end appeal letter is focused on donors who have not yet responded to the first appeal. The donor should receive the second letter on December 26. It is critical that you update your database daily as the mail comes in.

As you write a new donor appeal letter (or email), close your eyes and see the donor. See their smile, speak their name, blink at them and make it real.

As you’re getting ready for Giving Tuesday — or the campaign season starting before Thanksgiving — this question comes up often: Should I include my monthly donors in my Giving Tuesday campaign? 

A nonprofit has the same needs as any other business. If you want to attract donors and patrons, then you need to constantly build buzz and awareness about what you do. The interest you build moves people into the top of your sales funnel, so they can become donors by the time they reach the bottom.

How much is the year-end goal that are you raising? Also, what percentage of those funds are part of your whole budget? State these facts as a way to inform the donor about how their gift fits into the whole.

The most lucrative fundraising months of the year are now upon us: September through year-end. The heat is on. Are you ready?

What are the key indicators of a strong nonprofit fundraising campaign? In order to have a strong fundraising campaign of any sort, whether it be capital, endowment or even annual, you need several hallmarks of success in place before you launch it...

There were 35 days between Giving Tuesday and New Year’s Eve last year. No doubt, these were some of the most stressful days of the year for nonprofit fundraising teams, with anything from 30 to 50 percent of annual revenue riding on such a relatively short period of time...

Many groups end the year and then move onto their next project starting Jan. 1. While forward-thinking and acting is important, it is also equally as critical to do some analysis of the past year; calendar year-end, particularly, since it is a barometer of the overall health of your development program...