6 Tips to Raise More Year-End Money in Just 4 Weeks

New Year’s Eve is just a few short weeks away, but you still have time to raise more money for your nonprofit this year.

More donations are given to charity at this time of year than any other time, so it’s not time to rest yet. As a development professional, your chance for vacation will come after the New Year, not during the “busy season.” Fortunately, we can work from home these days between cooking, cleaning, and visiting with friends and family.

6 Tips to Raise Last Minute Money Before the Year-End

These six tips will help you prepare for your fundraising busy season and get more donations before year-end.

1. Call your top 20 individual donors.

You know the 90/10 rule, don’t you?

Ninety percent of your donations may come from as few as ten percent of your donors. Treat your top donors like the VIP’s that they are. It’s never too late to start building a relationship with them and to thank them for their loyal support.

Reach out and give them a year-end update about all the great things your program accomplished and emphasize the important role they played in that process. If nothing else, wish them a happy holiday season and a healthy New Year.

Thanking your donors, keeping in touch, and providing them with meaningful updates will impact your bottom line in two important ways:

1. First, it is more expensive to acquire a new donor than it is to retain one.
2. Second, repeat donors often give more than first time donors, so keeping your donors will be exponentially more valuable to your organization in the long run than constantly replacing former donors with new ones.

2. Call your top 10 foundation funders.

If you do this, I guarantee you’ll stand out in the crowd. Treat your foundation funders with the same thoughtfulness and respect that you would an individual donor. Foundation staff are people too. They need to be thanked, acknowledged and kept informed.

3. Follow up on your appeal letter.

Do you have lapsed donors…? Those donors from last year that have not yet responded to this year’s appeal? If so, they could use some love in the form of personal follow-up.

Call them, send them an email, or mail them a handwritten note. Do not sit around and assume that they’ll remember to make a donation this year. Many people need the reminder.

4. Make sure your online donation system is in good working order.

I’m sure I’m not the only donor frantically making donations at 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve before going out for the night. Although I hate to admit it, last year, I was one of those people sitting at my computer making donations at the last minute. Unfortunately, there were two charities I tried to give to, but their online donations forms weren’t working.

When was the last time you made an online donation to your own organization? Try making a small donation to get a feel for the user experience for yourself. Then do what you can this month to make improvements.

5. Prepare acknowledgments in advance and have them ready to go out ASAP.

Don’t leave this until after you return from vacation or after the New Year. It’s important to have thank you letters out within one week of the donation arriving in your office. Set up systems now to save time later!

6. Don’t close the office between Christmas and the New Year.

I don’t want to sound like a Scrooge, but this is your busy season. Make sure you’re available to answer questions and accept donations from donors up until the last minute. At a bare minimum, have your office phone forwarded to your cell phone and be prepared to take calls and return emails.

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What other tips do you have to raise more money at the end of the year? Share your thoughts in the comments.