The 10 Essential Ingredients of Successful Year-End Campaigns

When you plan your year-end fundraising campaign, how do you know what will really open your donors’ hearts and minds (and wallets) to your cause?

After all, there are so many fundraising strategies and hoops to jump through. How do you put it all together?

The first step to realize is that a fundraising campaign is an exercise in persuasion and communication.

Just like a recipe, different formats will yield different results. But whatever recipe you choose, the important thing is to understand the reasoning behind the “ingredients” that go into it.

Let’s take a look at what every successful year-end campaign should have — regardless of how your recipe gets stirred up.

1. Step-by-step timing that gets your donors’ attention.

You’re competing for your donor’s time, energy and attention in a very crowded media marketplace. It will take several steps and appeals to gain recognition on your donor’s overloaded personal radar screen.

Start first with a warm up, such as a phone call thank you and update. Then send a postcard announcing your year-end campaign. Then the appeal letter; then the follow up letter (“we haven’t heard from you.”)

It will take several attempts for you to actually gain your donor’s attention. If you are planning to send out only one letter, you’ll be disappointed with your results.

Whether it’s an email campaign or direct mail campaign, followup processes are an essential ingredient. Plan your followup along with everything else. It should be part of very appeal process.

2. Different media that reinforce your message.

You’ll need to reinforce your message in each communications channel you use: email, web, letters, postcards, brochures, phone calls. Your email reinforces your letter; and your letter reinforces your phone call. And you need the same message in each channel – all echoing each other.

Again, your donor is overloaded with messages coming in from everywhere. This is how do you get through to her.

And her habits may be changing.  Is she even opening her snail mail these days? Does she even write checks any more? Or does she avoid technology? Meet her where she is.

She really cares about your cause, but she just has to be reminded in several different ways.

3. A story that evokes emotion.

We all know that stories are more powerful than organizational accomplishments.

Make your appeal into a story. People are more likely to read a story than they will read a regular letter. Stories will draw your donor in and encourage them to keep reading. Powerful stories illustrate how you are changing and saving lives.

Studies show over and over that donors give out of emotion, then justify it with logic. You have to open your donor’s heart to the cause before you ask for her financial help.

Use a visual metaphor to illustrate your story. Try telling the story from a different angle in each appeal. The story is what will grab your donor’s heart.

4.  An appeal letter that your donor will open and read.

I hate to tell you, but lots of appeal letters simply aren’t opened or read. So how do you get through to your donor and make sure he reads the appeal?

First, the envelope needs to be memorable. If it looks like an impersonal form letter, you’re dead. Check the label – if it looks institutional, then your letter will be trashed quickly.

And the letter has to be about the donor, not about you. Talk about what the donor wants to accomplish and what’s important to the donor.

It’s essential to use:

• “I” and “you” words to make it very personal.
• Lots of white space, short sentences and paragraphs, bullets, photos, headings to make it easy to read.
• A strong P.S. – because that’s what the donor will read first.

5. A specific dollar amount that encourages a larger gift.

If you “hem and haw” about your ask, then you’re dead. You need to cheerfully and enthusiastically ask your donor for his financial commitment. No if’s, ands, or buts.

Be completely up front and ask for a specific dollar amount. If you just ask for “a generous contribution,” your donor is liable to low-ball, and you’ll be disappointed.

6. A clear call to action that motivates the donor to give.

Where, oh where, is the call to action on nonprofit web sites, in appeal letters, in presentations and speeches? You gotta tell the donor what they can do to help. You gotta make that request clear and simple. You must ASK:  Write your check today. Or make a gift today. Join our cause today. Take action right now.

Your call to action conveys urgency showing why they must give and give now.

And it needs to show how the money will make an immediate and lasting difference. Make it clear how much money you need and what you need it for.

And make sure your call to action is the same on both web, email and direct mail – and in personal presentations.

7. A donation process that makes it easy for your donor to give.

Clearly you have to make the giving process simple and seamless for the donor.

For direct mail appeals, you’ve got to include a pre-addressed reply envelope with every appeal. If you don’t include that envelope, you can pretty much forget your campaign.

But remember many donors are not writing checks any more. Be sure your web page offers a clear, simple path to make a gift. Test your web donation process by making a gift yourself – how intuitive is it? Is it cumbersome? Are you asking your donor for too much information?

Studies show that many donors leave the donation page before they make a gift. Don’t let that happen to you!

8. A web site that encourages donors to give.

What does your web site look like? Is it a brochure presented in web format? (boring) Is it all about you?

Have you considered what visitors to your site are looking for and what THEY want?  You might be surprised. (hint – check out your search box and what visitors are searching for)

Studies show that many donors who write checks visit web sites first to find out more information.  Be sure your site gives your visitors and donors what they want!

Set up a “Your Gifts at Work” page to show donors what you are doing with their money.

9. A thank you process that will keep donors giving.

Plan your thank you process when you plan your overall campaign. We all know terrific thank yous and stewardship are the first step in preparing your donor for an additional gift.

Plan now to have board members to call and say thank you immediately after you receive the gift.

Create the thank you letter when you write the appeal letter. Create a special welcome packet for new donors to make them feel part of the cause. Remember the old adage: find 7 ways to thank your donors and they’ll give again!

10. A Dec. 30-31 strategy that will maximize on-line giving.

Many organizations receive a majority of their on-line gifts the last two days of the calendar year. And between 35-42% of on-line gifts are made the last two months of the year. You need a specific strategy for the last week, with appeals scheduled for the last two days.

On-line gifts made in the last two months of the year tend to be higher than those made earlier in the year.

So plan those year-end email appeals now!

If these tips help you, plan to join me for my next webinar on September 22 for Top 10 Strategies to Raise More Money This Year-End. We’ll drill down more into these topics and I’ll share even more successful fundraising strategies to help you raise the most you can this year-end.

And leave a comment and tell me your impressions of this list!