Are you prepared to receive your share of the millions (billions) of dollars that will be donated to charities over the next few months?
Midsummer is always a good time to begin planning for year-end giving. Take a look back and honestly assess what you’ve done so far this year to prepare. If you’re off track, you’ve got nearly six months to course correct.
Ready for Year-End Giving? 8 Questions to Answer
Here are eight important questions you should be able to answer as you shift to year-end giving.
1. Did you build relationships this year?
Fundraising is about relationships. The better you are at building relationships with new and past supporters, the better your year-end giving will be.
Do you know how you are doing so far? Quantify it:
- How many times have you visited with current donors so far this year?
- Have you sent donors programmatic updates and inform them of how their donation is being used?
- How many donors and prospective donors have come on a tour of your organization?
- How many new, prospective donors have you had a meaningful conversation with?
- How many donors have you engaged with meaningful volunteer work?
These are just some of the ways to measure how you did at building relationships with current and prospective donors this year.
If you are successfully building relationships with donors and supporters, then you will likely benefit at year-end and throughout the year in terms of increased donations.
2. Did you provide your board and staff members with fundraising training?
Did you invest in continuing education for your board and staff members? Did you attend fundraising conferences, workshops, or webinars? Did you hold a board retreat with at least some fundraising training aspect?
If you expect your board and leadership staff members to help with development and improve their skills from year to year, you will need to invest in this critical area. The executive director of your organization should also be continuing to improve their fundraising skills each year.
3. Did you research new donor opportunities?
Were you active or passive about identifying new prospective donors?
When looking for individual donors, did you utilize your database to identify your largest and most loyal donors? Have you done any wealth screening or prospect research to do a deeper dive on donors? Did you ask board and staff members to introduce you to individuals who might be interested in your cause and your organization?
If you answered yes, then you were active. If not, then you were likely passive in the acquisition of new donors and it’s time to get active for the remainder of the year!
4. Did you have a diversified funding plan and implement new strategies?
Did you implement any new fundraising activities this year or solicit donors in a new way? Did you…?
- Solicit donors by email?
- By mail?
- By phone?
- By Zoom?
- In person?
If you answered “no” to any of these questions, which strategy did you leave out? Why? Can you add it to your plan for next year?
If you expect to raise more money and not be as vulnerable to changes in the economy, you should always be thinking of new things to try, and have as diversified a funding base as possible.
5. Did you thank your donors and tell them how their money was used?
Acquiring new donors is many times more challenging than keeping your current donors. Why not do everything in your power to keep loyal donors giving to your organization?
Did you thank your donors frequently and in many different ways? By email? In person? By phone? In writing? How quickly after they made their gift did you thank them? How personally?
I’m not saying to bombard them or be disingenuous, but you should genuinely thank your donors in multiple ways and throughout the year. Be sure to tell them how their money is going to be used (even if the funds aren’t designated) and then tell them how it was used before asking for a subsequent gift.
6. Did you accomplish your mission?
It’s especially difficult to ask for money when you’re not being true to your mission. Did you serve the population you set out to serve? Did you accomplish your goals? Are you on your way to accomplishing your goals?
If so, shout it from the rooftops! Put it in your appeal letters and email blasts. Tell your donors and supporters! If not, share that with donors too. Let them know how challenging your mission is and what you’re up against. They may want to help be part of the solution.
7. Did you recruit new board members?
Did you add any new members to your board this year? Adding a few new board members to your board each year is one critical way to keep your organization fresh, vibrant, and in touch with the community.
Too many organizations have the same board members, year after year after year, and wonder why nothing changes. Are you stuck in a rut with your board? Maybe it’s time to shed those toxic board members.
8. Did you get 100% giving from your board?
Did all of your board members make contributions to your annual fund this year? If not, you still have some time to get on the phone or schedule a meeting with them to make sure it happens.
Having 100 percent participation from your board is a requirement for any organization that I work with. (They must at least be working toward that goal.) All of your board members should be making gifts to your organization if you expect others to give.
If your board members — the closest people to your organization; those who know the mission and the programs most intimately, and are the ones with the greatest understanding your financial needs — still won’t make a gift, why should anyone else?
Bonus Tip: Remember this in December
Keep development staff (or at least someone who can accept donations, credit cards, checks, gifts of stock, etc.) on-call during the week between Christmas and New Years. It always amazes me when organizations completely shut down that week and donors don’t have anyone to contact if they need information or assistance before making a donation. On-call staff members can check messages remotely and pop in to check the mail for 5 minutes. They no longer need to actually be in the office.
I’m not saying this to be a Scrooge, and I know how important time off is in our field. That said, do you want your organization to be unavailable during the busiest fundraising time of the year?
How Many Questions Did You Answer with ‘YES’?
So… how did you do? Are you prepared for year-end giving?
If you answered “yes” to a majority of the eight questions above, then you’re likely in pretty good shape. If not, keep this list handy and make sure you can answer all eight questions in the affirmative by the end of the year.
And if you weren’t able to answer “yes” to any of these eight questions, which one(s) are you struggling with the most? Tell me about it in the comments below.
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