The year is coming to a close and for many direct response campaigns it may seem that there is nothing more that can be done at this point. The audience has been selected, data pulled, creative written, and mail dropped, and all that is left to do is sit and wait. However, it is not too late to make an impact on year end fundraising. There are still plenty of opportunities to reach your donors, e-mail, digital advertising, telephone, or even a face to face meeting.
Topics: Year End Strategy, Upgrade Strategies, Major Donors, Action Strategies, Ask Strings, Ask Strategies
Right now, many organizations are pulling together year-end numbers to see if they hit their fundraising goals in December.
Topics: Annual Fund, Year End Strategy, Revenue, Trends
For many of us, this last week of the year is a time when things slow down. Whether you're traveling for the holidays, taking off a few hours early, or - even if you are working your standard work week - a lot of the world just seems to operate at a warm-up speed, as opposed to full-throttle. This is not the case, however, when it comes to donations. More donations will come in over this last week than at any other time throughout the year. For 2017, nonprofit organizations have a lot riding on just how much of a surge we'll see in year-end donations.
Topics: Year End Strategy, Revenue, Trends, Fundraising Effectiveness Project, FEP
My son is ten years old, but still loves that damn Elf, Chippy. For seven years now, I’ve faithfully moved Chippy around the house every night between Thanksgiving and Christmas – he’s hung upside down from ceiling fans, poked out between flower arrangements, rode huge stuffed animals, played in the band with Beatles figurines, dumped my son’s underwear drawer on the floor and gorged himself on M&M peanuts. There were a few times I forgot though. And I either had a little boy crying at the top of the stairs because I wouldn’t let him down until Chippy moved or I had to make up a story about how he fell asleep and forgot to go back to Santa.
Topics: Donor Retention, Year End Strategy, Fundraising Strategies, Revenue, Major Donors
Every Saturday before I head to the grocery store, I write a list of the meals my family will have for the week. This helps me figure out what groceries I need to buy. Planning ahead has its advantages, but it has disadvantages too. If you don’t allow yourself flexibility to adjust the plan once in a while, you can find yourself with some rather disappointing results - and no way in which to change them.
Topics: donor upgrading, Year End Strategy, Fundraising Strategies, Upgrade Strategies, Revenue, Trends, Budgeting, Reactivation, Lapsed, Lapsed Donors
