A Major Gifts Officer’s Year-End Checklist

For fundraisers, It's crunch time — that special and sometimes stressful part of the calendar when you’re trying to hit your year-end goals.  

At the moment, you’re likely feeling stretched thin, pinballing among meetings about revenue expectations, donor visits and fundraising events. At the same time, you can’t help but feel rejuvenated seeing so many people express their generosity through their gifts to your organization.  

As you attempt to manage all of these feelings and appointments, it’s easy to lose sight of your larger fundraising strategy — the touchpoints and tactics that you’ve planned to reach your objectives. There’s no doubt that the last two months of the year is when a lot of your revenue comes in, so you want to be on top of your plan and make sure nothing slips through the cracks.  

Whether or not you're looking for some more structure, guide rails or if your revenue projections are down, it’s not too late to assess your fundraising strategies. After all, you still have the rest of November and all of December to make course corrections and create the right plan that will help you be successful. 

Remember, it’s a busy time for donors, too. You want to stand out and capture their attention in the midst of their busy lives.  

I’m here to help. I’ve put together a handy list for you to follow as the giving season heats up. Think of it as an opportunity to supplement all the work you’re currently doing, and as a reminder to try some new things. They’ll make what can be an overwhelming time much more manageable and successful.  

1. Book All of Your Face-to-Face Meetings in November

Not only should you book your in-person meetings this month, but don’t take any meetings after Dec. 15. That date is typically when most people check out and say, “I don’t want to talk to anyone.” You want to respect people’s time and energy devoted to other obligations ahead of the holiday. Get in front of this and stay committed to keeping their attention before life gets too crazy.  

2. Review All of Your Expected Year-End Donors 

Ensure you have a solicitation and follow-up strategy for every donor you believe will give within the six-week year-end timeframe. It doesn’t have to be the same for every donor. Of course, it’s important to ask yourself if you know what drives each of them to give — then find those program needs that match their drives.  

3. Send Holiday Cards to Every Donor in Your Portfolio 

Do this ASAP. This ensures they’ll have your note before the holiday and have your organization top of mind as they consider giving. Double check you properly reported on the impact of their last gift and give them a quick update on that project or program. 

4. Review Your Portfolio to Find Donors Who You Expected to Give Already

If you find any donors who were expected to give earlier in the year and haven’t yet, then develop an outreach and reminder strategy. It could be a phone call, email or text message with a quick story about how your organization is addressing a need. It could also be as simple as wishing your donor a happy holiday. The point is to remind your donor about your organization and that you’re thinking about them. 

5. Review Your Portfolio to Find Donors Who Could Give Again

Look for any donor who has already given a gift and, with the right offer, could give again if you asked. Never forget that your donors love what you do. If you had an opportunity for them to fund and make a great impact on the world, why would you withhold it from them? 

6. Provide Information About Stock Gifts 

Give donors instructions for how to execute stock gifts. In many cases, the stock owner doesn’t realize that they have a gift for your organization in their hands. It is up to you to tell them about it, and to help them give it where it will matter most. 

7. Send an Impact Report to Every Donor

Ensure every donor you solicit during year end has had an impact report sent before you ask for a gift. So many fundraisers tear their hair out at the end of the year scrambling to share some kind of information that’s impactful. It's critical to work with your marketing and leadership teams to keep donors aware about how their gifts are being used, and what their next gift can provide.  

8. Work Your Plan

This is hard work. It takes structure, discipline, focus and accountability to be successful. Ideally, you are tying in a few themes from the plan you developed at the start of the year, highlighting complicated issues, and distilling them into simple, compelling and beautiful messages for your donors.  

I know there are many distractions right now, but if you keep each day organized and have the right strategy for your caseload, you’ll find ways to connect deeper with — and solicit more from — your donors. 

Your efforts to be disciplined and focused will create a major difference in how your donors respond to you and your organization’s needs.  

The preceding post was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.