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The Final Countdown: 5 Ways To Boost Year-End Donations
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Did you know that a lot of nonprofit organizations raise 30%, sometimes as much as 50% of their annual donations during the year-end giving season?
The lion’s share of all giving comes in December. Most nonprofits bring in nearly half of their online donations in the last week of the year. The three biggest giving days of the year are December 29, 30, and 31st. Giving literally quintuples in the final two days of the year. December 31st reigns supreme, with 31% of donations coming in that day.
Wondering when to send your year-end fundraising emails? Data shows the peak donation period is between noon and 7 pm, regardless of time zone.
How can you get the most out of the super generous last three days of the year?
Step 1: Show your donors the impact of their last gift!
According to author Penelope Burk, over-solicitation is the number one reason donors give for not making a repeat donation. This doesn’t mean you’re asking too often—it means asking again before showing their first gift had an impact.
Whether their last gift was for GivingTuesday or months before, you need to do more than just thank them. You must tell them how their gift made a difference. You could make a phone call, handwrite a postcard, send an email, or even a letter—just be sure to share a short story about the difference their gift made.
Think about organizing a board thank-a-thon, where board members can use simple talking points to give donors credit for their generosity and celebrate the incredible impact they’ve had.
Step 2: Map out, write, test, and schedule your end-of-year fundraising emails
Once you’ve finalized your campaign theme, channels, and goals—whether you’re targeting new donors or upgrades—you’re ready to get to work writing, designing, testing, scheduling, and segmenting your year-end email appeals.
A critical part of your success will be segmented and personalized email marketing. Why? You’re not just emailing some “Dear friend.” You’re reaching out to the individual behind the generosity. So use their first name!
Pro-tip: Adding your donor’s name to the email subject line can really boost email open rates.
Fundraising is not one-size-fits-all. Segmentation enables you to tailor your donor communication so your donors feel seen and appreciated. For example, your segment of monthly donors should receive an email appeal that thanks them for being a loyal monthly donor and invites them to consider making an additional end-of-year gift that will make twice the impact.
Step 3: Test, test, then test again
Don’t just test your appeal—test every link and every step of the donation process from your homepage and donation form to your thank-you email autoresponder and donation landing page. Enlist multiple people (including you!) to mystery shop your nonprofit with an online gift to ensure a stellar and frictionless donor experience.
After you’ve both mystery-shopped and tested your appeal across mobile devices and browsers, run it past my 21-point end-of-year checklist to ensure it passes the fundraising test with flying colors.
Step 4: Send more year-end fundraising emails than you are now!
You think your donors read every email you send. It’s why you stress over sending more emails. I’m here with a truth bomb: your donors do NOT read the vast majority of your emails. Don’t believe me? Open up your email program. Look at the open rate for the last email you sent. If you’re like most nonprofits, your open rate is around 35%.
Instead of thinking about the 35% of people who read your email, I want you to focus on the 65% WHO NEVER OPENED IT.
This is why you need to send more email; most of your readers will never see it. Claire Axelrad feels the same way and offers a great pep talk to help you do it with confidence.
Considering the money-making stakes of December 29, 30, and 31, I want you to send at least three email appeals on those days and, ideally, two to three more on December 31. Yes, this is in addition to your GivingTuesday campaign if you do one and all the other appeals you send before December 29.
Sound like a lot? Don’t stress! This next step will make it easy.
Step 5: Simplify your December 31st email strategy by reusing the same email
Follow Steven Screen’s seven-part outline for a simple email appeal to write and send three times—one time each on December 29, 30th, and 31st—removing a section in each subsequent send to shorten it.
- Get personal: “Dear Julie”
- Start with a deadline: “I’m writing you today in hopes that you’ll make a special holiday gift before midnight on December 31st.”
- Share the outcome of the gift: This is what will happen in the world as a result of the gift. Note that this is not a description of your program. “Because of your gift today, junior high school students will be better at math.” Remove this portion in the 3rd appeal.
- Provide reasons to give now: It could be a match deadline or ‘this is the last day to get a tax deduction for your gift’ or you can say why the gift is necessary now. For example: “The kids will be back in class on January 10, and your help is needed now so they’ll have the tutoring they need when they return.”
- Demonstrate shared value: “Julie, I know from your previous gifts that you care about kids learning math.” Remove this part in the third appeal.
- One more time: ANOTHER ask with a deadline
- Show you’re real: Signature
- Last opportunity: P.S. with another ask with a deadline
Here’s a bonus parting tip to finish the year strong and ensure those end-of-year donors stay loyal (drumroll, please…)
Bonus Tip: Make sure you’re fully prepared to properly thank and steward all those incoming gifts! Whether it’s with thank-you calls, cards, texts, or, if possible, video email, take the time to personally connect with your donors and show your gratitude.
Remember that these last few days of the year hold incredible potential for your fundraising efforts. Don’t be afraid to send those extra emails and show your donors just how much their support matters. Every ask counts—and so does every thank you.
Have any questions or ideas you want to share to boost year-end donations? Drop them in the comment box below!
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