#GivingTuesday is Over, Now What?

It’s time turn the page from your Giving Tuesday campaign and zero in on end-of-year giving. What else can your nonprofit do to have a strategic end-of-the-year to reach your goals?  

As you finalize your plans, here are a few questions you and your team should ask yourselves: 

• How are the organization’s actuals trending toward 2024 goals? 
• What are my nonprofit’s needs between now and the end of the year? Are they monetary, tangible, or people power?  
• What will my team and I need to start next year strong? 
• Do we have the capacity to squeeze in another donation campaign? 
• Does my platform allow me to quickly (without extra cost) deploy a text-to-donate campaign to donors already in our system? 
• Who do you have left to talk to who might want to give more before year-end or who can open doors to new donors?  (Board, volunteers, donors, lapsed donors, sponsors, partner organizations, local groups)  
• Where can we insert some creativity or try something new in our fundraising or marketing? 

As you formalize the answers to these questions, you’ll better understand where your opportunities are between now and the end of the year. We’ve gathered a few low-lift fundraising and marketing ideas to bridge any gaps or take you above and beyond your goals over the next few weeks. 

 

Fundraising and Other Direct Support Ideas 

“In Lieu of Gifts” Campaign 

As is often done to celebrate birthdays or weddings, running an “in lieu of gifts” campaign during the holidays is also a tactic to drive fundraising success. In a time when holiday spending is a flutter, encouraging people to donate to your mission (maybe setting it up as a peer-to-peer campaign) instead of shopping is a feel-good, goal-getting alternative.   

Online Holiday Store

Shopping for a cause is always a great incentive! If you have leftover auction items, swag, or merchandise left in your closet, now could be a great time to set up shop for supporters to purchase holiday gifts while supporting your cause.    

Text-to-Donate Campaign 

If you already have a text-to-donate platform set up, send out an ask to your donors via text message. To expedite the ask, use a list from past campaigns or an upcoming one so you don’t have to add a new list of donors to the system. You should also use any text message templates provided by your vendor. This task will take just a few minutes and offers the potential to collect some final end-of-year donations. 

Wish List 

Do you need goods or other items before the end of the year or for the start of next year? Are there utility bills or other fixed costs donors could support? Are there fixed costs your services cover, such as loads of laundry, meals, or rides? 

Build a wish list of these items and other costs, and ask your donors to help fulfill these needs. An online wish list is set up like online shopping, except that your donors don’t receive the actual items – you receive a donation for the cost of needed items instead. This framing gives donors a tangible sense of purpose behind their donation and checks needed things off your list.    

Marketing Ideas 

Digital Impact Report 

You likely have your annual impact report ready, but have you considered sending it digitally?    

Doing so will help you reach more of your supporters, and you have the opportunity to pull certain pieces to target your donor segments more effectively. An impact report is the most important form of follow-up communication to donors across all age segments.  

Paid Social Ads 

If you have a little extra budget or haven’t used all of your Google Ad Grant, running paid social ads is a superb way to target your donors and collect end-of-year donations. Ensure you have a compelling call to action and value proposition that clearly states your need for their support. (Hint: Matching gift funds often go unused at the end of the year, so a matching gift ad or other solicitation reminder might be an effective way to reach your goals)   

As you finalize your end-of-year fundraising and marketing plans, see what you can build on or quickly accomplish to drive big results. Over The Rainbow Housing wanted to host an end-of-year campaign that was true to their organization’s mission. See how their staff unleashed their creativity, invested time in trying something new, and garnered board support for their highly successful, reinvented Kindness Tag campaign