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How to Write a Solicitation Letter for Donations

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How to Write a Fundraising Appeal Letter That Brings in the Money

110 Tips to Raise More Money from Your Solicitation Letter for Donations

How to write an solicitation letter that will open our donors’ hearts and prompt them to make generous gifts?

So many nonprofits struggle with this challenge. And unfortunately, many efforts to write appeal letters end up falling flat with donors.

Why are solicitation letters so important?

Fundraising solicitation letters are the backbone of your annual fundraising campaigns that your nonprofit absolutely relies on.

Many annual giving programs include direct mail integrated with social media and digital appeals to create a true campaign. These tips focus mostly on the direct mail solicitation package, but they also apply directly to digital appeals as well.

Your Annual Donors

Your annual donors are very special people – they’re the foundation of a sustainable fundraising program. These donors produce a revenue stream that your organization can rely on year after year.

Large gifts are coming in too. Believe it or not, we are seeing more and more four, five, and even six-figure gifts coming in thru regular direct mail and digital fundraising campaigns.

Smaller donors are so important!

Direct mail and digital campaigns typically focus on smaller gifts. These campaigns can also trigger monthly pledges and even (surprise!) estate gifts.

Since these are some of the most important communications vehicles your organization will ever have, let’s nail your next appeal campaign.

Caveat: These are basic tips that form the very basis of good solicitation campaigns. Try using this tip sheet as a checklist for your next appeal campaign.

Raise all the money you need by following these very basic, best practice tips:

THE BIG PICTURE – Top 10 Tips

  1. Use the same fundraising solicitation message and call to action in your mail solicitations, on your website, and in your email appeals –this reinforces your message over and over.
  2. Focus more on your donor and what they may want to accomplish. Focus less on your own organization’s accomplishments and needs.
  3. The appeal letter or message can have only one objective: a clear ask for support. It is not a newsletter, an end-of-year report, an update, or mixed in with other communications.
  4. Your top priority is always to renew your past donors. They are your customer base – your “money in the bank.” Don’t let them slip away. 
  5. Be sure to communicate with your donors frequently between solicitations so they are up to date-and feel connected to your organization. How well you stay in touch with your donors will determine whether they give again.
  6. Maintain control. Don’t let a committee approve or edit your letter. If you let well-meaning but unknowledgeable people help write your appeal, they will ruin it. Too many cooks really do spoil the stew.
  7. Update your website and make your donation page easy to use. Many donors who receive a snail mail letter will go to your website to make their gift. Be ready to welcome them there with an easy-to-follow online donation process.
  8. Create an entire campaign. Use phone, postcards, letters, emails, and social media to build a series of appeals. Don’t rely on only one letter to do the work for you.
  9. Create a budget and look at it as an investment. Know that, if well executed, your direct mail/digital program should yield a 400% return. That is, if you invest $20k in these communications to your donors, you should receive $80k back.
  10. Never, ever neglect your paper snail mail fundraising appeal letters. People are experiencing deluges of email and very little snail mail. That means that paper letters stand out far more than a digital appeal in a crowded mailbox. Paper letters get your donors’ attention.

How to Write a Solicitation Letter: Draw Your Donors in at the Beginning

  1. Very important: use the word “you” immediately in the first sentence or two of your appeal.
  2. Your goal in the letter’s first part is to get your reader’s attention.
  3. Consider starting with a story to draw your readers in.
  4. Make your first two sentences so compelling that your donor will want to keep reading. (You can easily lose them in the very beginning.)
  5. Consider a short, sad story that transforms into a happy one. The sad emotion is what will pull on your donors’ heartstrings.
  1. Be sure to thank donors for their past support early in the letter. It reminds them of their partnership with you.
  2. Pretend you are writing to your grandmother. The most generous group of donors are the older ladies. A recent study found that for every $100 men gave, women gave $258.
  1. Don’t use a lot of photography and fancy layout in your letter or accompanying materials. Too much design makes it much less personal.
  2. If you use any pictures, be sure they are of people, not buildings. It’s what happens inside the buildings that counts.

How to Write an Solicitation Letter: Make Your Tone Personal and Informal

  1. Always (of course) send out personalized letters. (Dear Mr. Smith, rather than Dear Friend). Make sure your letter is really addressed to the reader.
  2. Write to only one person and not a group of people. Emphasize your one-on-one connection with the reader. Don’t use “you” in the plural sense.
  3. Use contractions – it’s less formal. Formal does not work!
  4. Make your letter as personal and conversational in tone as you can. Make it sound like you sat down and wrote it to a friend. 
  5. Repeat the word “you” frequently: it’s the most important word in your letter.
  6. Use the word “I” in the letter to make it more personal and friendly. It does wonders in changing your tone from “institutional” to “personal.”
  7. Always make your appeal letter about the donor – not about your organization. Help your donors imagine what they can achieve with their gifts.

Write a Fundraising Solicitation Letter and Create a Dynamite Case for Giving

  1. Talk about opportunities – it’s never about your needs. “We have the opportunity to . . .”
  2. Make your message emotional. Donors give out of emotion, then justify it with logic.
  1. Use stories in your copy but only one story. One story is more powerful than three stories. (~Tom Ahern)
  2. Make your story SHORT but powerful. It can even be a one-sentence story such as, “Monday morning, little Jenny woke up, hungry again.”
  3. Flatter your donor: Tom Ahern says that you should ask (and flatter your donor) and you thank (and flatter) and report (and flatter.) Neuromarketing studies say that flattery WILL make your donor love you more.
  4. Can you share measurable results of what you have achieved with other donors’ gifts? Give it a try. (~Penelope Burk)
  5. DON’T use the words “programs” or “services” any more than you have to. They are boring and too generic.
  6. Repeat the need and its urgency – several times in the letter. That’s your case for support!
  7. Use statistics to build credibility and make the cause more concrete.

How to Write a Solicitation Letter That Your Donors Will Actually Read

Assume your reader will . . .

“pick up the four-page letter, look at their name in the salutation, flip over to the P.S., then shuffle the letter around in their hands, maybe start reading here, maybe start reading someplace else, jump around a bit, and then, after this ragged scanning, MAYBE start reading at the beginning.” (~Happy donors blog)

  1. Make your letter easy to skim and still deliver its message.
  2. Break up your fundraising letter copy in every way possible. Use headings. Use bullets. Vary the indentation. Use boldface type. Use ellipses . . .
  3. What will your reader really see? Artwork: 80%; photos: 75%; headlines: 56%; captions: 29%; and very little text! (~Tom Ahern)
  4. Have plenty of white space on the letter, which makes it easy to read. Wide margins will help.
  5. VERBS matter: Use snappy action verbs that convey action.
  6. Use the present tense. Never use the passive voice when you can use the active voice. (~George Orwell). I.e.: “People are being helped.”
  7. Use short, concise sentences and paragraphs. Vary the length of your sentences and paragraphs for interest.
  8. Write choppy, jumpy, repetitive copy. (see the reader’s profile above) (~Jeff Brooks)
  9. Very short paragraphs: No more than three sentences per paragraph.
  10. Very short sentences: No more than 6 to 8 words in each sentence.
  11. Write on the 5th-grade level for easy reading. (like these tips.)
  12. Use a type large enough to read easily. 12 point type is the minimum size for fundraising material. The average age of a donor in a “house file” is 67. The average age requiring reading glasses is 43 yrs old.
  13. Eliminate every possible word – including adjectives and descriptive phrases – in your copy. “If it is possible to cut a word out, cut it out.” (~George Orwell)
  14. Write your letter. Then remove the first paragraph and see if it isn’t stronger. You don’t need a long preamble. (~Tom Ahern)
  15. Longer letters with more pages are more successful than one-page letters. The letter needs to be as long as it takes. Don’t make it too short. (~Harvey McKinnon)

How to Create a Killer Ask in Your Solicitation Letter or Email Appeal

  1. Make the ask an “invitation” to give.
  2. Tell your donor explicitly.
  • Why this organization? Why this program?  Why NOW?  Why me?

     If your letter doesn’t lay this out, go back to the drawing board.

  1. Your call to action is the most important part of your letter. Make it clear to donors what you want them to do. And repeat it!
  2. Give the donor something worth doing that is easy to do. “Restore sight for $25.” (~Tom Ahern)
  3. Use the MPI formula to ask: Please consider a gift of $ MONEY for a specific PROJECT that will create a specific IMPACT.
  4. Ask several times in the letter. It’s ok! Especially if it is a long letter – you can ask 4 or 5 times.
  5. Explicitly tell your donor exactly what THEY can accomplish with their gift. And tell them HOW you will spend the money – what project, what purpose. (~Penelope Burk)
  6. Make your ask as specific as possible. Donors will give more if they feel their gift is going to something specific. 
  7. Use a matching or challenge gift opportunity and tell your donors it will make their gifts go further. Play up the concept of “leveraging your donor’s gift.”
  8. Always ask for a specific amount or “the largest contribution you can make.”
  9. Place your ask in the first part of a paragraph. Don’t bury your ask at the end of a sentence or paragraph – it will get missed.
  10. Don’t ask for a “gift”. Ask instead for an investment, a contribution, for help, or to supply something special. (Mal Warwick) Also ask the donor to “become a supporter” – this plays on the concept of “donor identity.”
  11. Create a sense of urgency by asking for an immediate contribution or asking for help with an urgent or critical situation.
  12. Use please such as “Please send your gift today” or “Please consider a leadership contribution of xxx.”
  13. Give the donor a deadline for responding and a reason for the deadline.
  14. Give the donor the option not to give. Recent studies have found this increases donor response. Say:
  • Please don’t feel obligated…
  • Whether you give is entirely your choice…
  • Any amount you want to give will help…
  • You are free to say no — I will understand…

Tips to Upgrade Your Annual Donors

  1. Focus on more frequent gift opportunities each year as a way to upgrade your donors to higher giving levels.
  2. Establish a monthly giving program. People who give monthly will give much, much more.
  3. Use gift clubs to encourage higher-level donations. Ask donors to move up to the next level.
  4. When you ask for an upgraded gift: talk about an increased or enhanced partnership with the donor.

Tips to Raise More From your Top Donors

  1. Be sure to send your Top Donors special, custom-tailored personal letters and digital appeals.
  2. Have board and staff members write or visit top donors personally with an individualized appeal.
  3. Thank them in the opening sentence for their continuing and steadfast support. Emphasize their partnership with your cause.
  4. Be sure these donors get many warm, personal touches during the year!
  5. Come right out and ask these donors to make a “leadership gift.”

Create a Full-Scale Campaign and Schedule your Mailings

  1. Set up a calendar of digital and mail communications and plan ahead. Echo the same theme and ask throughout all the communications.
  1. Segment your mailing list and mail personalized appeals to specially targeted groups. (i.e., past donors, volunteers, people who have attended your auction, corporate sponsors, board members, and past board members.)
  2. Mail to donors more often than nondonors. 
  3. Track your LYBUNTS (people who gave “Last Year but Unfortunately Not This”) and send them repeated, cheerful and enthusiastic appeals to be sure they renew. Once a donor has given for two straight years, they are likely to remain a donor for the long run. 
  1. Develop a series of appeals to SYBUNTS. (People who gave “Some Year But Unfortunately Not This Year”). “We’ve missed you!”
  2. The letters you send to your LYBUNTS and SYBUNTS should remind them of their past support and remind them how much they have helped create your success. (“We love you, we miss you, we want you back!”)

Followup Makes A Huge Difference

  1. Send a follow-up letter a few weeks after your appeal: “We didn’t hear from you, and we hope you will remain a supporter.
  2. Studies show that follow-up letters are the most important factor in securing the donor’s gift. (Mal Warwick)
  3. Follow-up letters need to be short and play on urgency and emotions.
  4. Write your follow-up letter at the same time you write the first letter.
  5. Organize the board members to make phone calls to follow up appeals to donors.  You can’t lose by following up with a personal call.

How to Welcome New Donors

  1. Your brand-new donors are the least likely group to renew next year. Only 23% of new donors will typically renew. (~Bloomerang data). Go all out to welcome them!
  2. So, create a dynamite welcome packet for new donors. This will help them renew when the time comes to ask again.
  3. Craft an ENTIRE special thank you and communication program for first-time donors. Celebrate the beginning of this partnership!
  4. Invite new donors to get involved. Move quickly to develop the relationship to keep them on your bandwagon.
  5. Go all out to welcome online donors just like your mail donors. New online donors are even less likely to renew their gifts than paper donors. Don’t let them fall thru the cracks.

Sharpen Up Your Website

  1. Include your website address in the snail mail appeal. Even when they give with a check in the mail, donors will probably check out your website.
  2. Use different landing pages and URLs to track donors’ responses to individual appeals and campaigns. It’s easy, and it’s important.
  3. From a donor’s perspective, the most important page on your website is “your gift at work.”

Direct Mail: Create a Mailing Packet That Brings Results

  1. Size matters. Try larger sizes to get your reader’s attention. Or smaller sizes.
  2. Everything in your mailing should be easy to read and understand.
  3. Your direct mail packet should include four pieces:
  • The solicitation letter
  • A reply/pledge card
  • A return envelope for the reply card
  • The outside envelope.
  1. Your outside envelope needs to grab your reader’s attention. Put something attention-getting or startling on the outside. NOT a self-serving tagline, though.
  1. Try bright colors. Target Marketing says, “Using standard #10 white envelopes will guarantee a low response rate unless you are giving away money.”
  2. Always include a return envelope. It is critically important to make sure it is easy for people to give.
  3. Be sure your mailing label is attractive and not full of computerized numbers. A “mass market” look to your mailing label can immediately put your letter in the trash.
  4. The reply slip needs to stand out in the package.
  5. Put a headline on the reply card, such as “Yes! I want to help!”
  6. Don’t give your donor more than four choices to consider. More than that will drive your donor away.
  7. Use checkboxes on your reply slip rather than fill in the blanks.
  8. But limit the amount of information you request. The more boxes on the reply card, the more confusing it is to your donor. If you confuse your donor, she will likely abandon your donation card.
  9. Make sure there is room for handwriting on the reply card. Don’t make your donor cramp to write on your card.
  10. Make the reply card paper easy to write on. And remember to have a large font so your donor doesn’t have to reach for her reading glasses!
  11. Circle the amount you are requesting from the donor on the reply card.
  12. Don’t forget to ask for recurring monthly donations!

Now use this list as a checklist – review your mailing program against it and highlight the tips you need to implement.

GOOD LUCK, and may you raise tons of money!

 

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Top Capital Campaign Trends for 2023

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Top Capital Campaign Trends (1)

Capital campaigns are everywhere these days. Despite a murky economic outlook, nonprofits large and small are moving forward with big fundraising goals and high dollar campaigns.

We’re seeing some interesting new capital campaign trends among our clients, based on learnings and practices developed during the recent pandemic.  As we’ve found with many of our clients, a few strategic efforts can help your capital campaign  be a booming success.

Most high-net-worth donors have done well over the past few years, and many of them may be ready to move forward and discuss how they can help – even in an uncertain economy. Here’s how you can take advantage of these current capital campaign trends to reach your campaign goal:

1. More Transparent Messaging

We are seeing a strong trend toward more specific, much more transparent communications with major donors. Organizations that share their status openly and honestly with their donors are receiving more support.

All along, donors have shared that they dislike formal, lofty language from the organizations they support. All the acronyms and nonprofit speak puts them off and dampens their enthusiasm.

During the recent pandemic, we found nonprofits talking about their work very differently. Our clients were frank with their supporters. They were sharing exactly what is going on financially and what they really needed. As a result, donors responded generously.

Transparent Messaging Yields a $1 Million Gift!

Here’s a terrific example: our Major Gift Intensive client, Historic Columbus. was very worried about their dramatic drop in contributions during the pandemic.

We suggested to Executive Director Elizabeth Walden, that she select 20 major donors for a special monthly “Insider” communication. And she implemented our advice quickly. Moving forward, she sent out a friendly, informal update on how the organization was faring during the shutdown.

One important point: She was upfront about the organization’s dire financial situation, but her tone was brave and businesslike.

A few months later, out of the blue, one of these donors suddenly gifted $40,000. The donor explained that he appreciated her frequent communications and the transparency she showed in being perfectly open about the organization’s financial status.

And, a year later, another donor up and made a $1,000,000 gift! The donor also thanked her for her openness, transparency, and frequent communication. Elizabeth said she almost fell on the floor when her donor came forward with such a generous gift.

Capital campaign trend takeaway: When your financial situation shifts – or when you have a major opportunity like a capital campaign – it is more important than ever to be transparent with your donors.

2. More Straightforward Conversations with Donors

Post-pandemic, the events and meetings are now back to a regular schedule. However, during the pandemic, we saw some new trends emerging that seem to be taking hold for good. Or at least we hope so!

Back during the shutdown, we were forced into absolutely direct conversations with our donors. No more oblique dancing around with meetings, lunches and social events.

We are training our clients to move right along with their donors and find out what they are interested in. Be ready to ask your donors in a very straightforward manner:

“Could you see yourself becoming more involved with our work?”

“Would you like to know more about how you can help?

As a result, our clients are saving so much time by finding out quickly which donors are interested, and which ones are not.

Capital campaign trend takeaway: It’s easy to find your most passionate supporters by asking a few direct questions.

3. Donors are Ready to Discuss Their Gifts Early in the Campaign

In an environment where you have some donors who are feeling wealthy, you actually can move forward quickly. When nonprofits directly discuss their needs, opportunities and vision with donors, good things can happen quickly.

For example, our campaign clients are seeing extraordinary results with one simple question:

“Would this be a good time to discuss your support of our campaign?”

This polite question is usually easy to ask. For instance, one of our clients closed a $100,000 gift the first time she asked this question. The next time she asked it, she closed a $250,000 gift.

Note that both of these gifts came in without a formal campaign ask. We just coached her to look for the right signals and then be ready to pose the question gently. Note: she was on the phone or Zoom for both of these conversations – in a digital format.

Takeaway: You can close major campaign gifts by asking your donor about their timing. Many of your donors are more ready than you may think.

4. Taking Advantage of Non-Cash Gifts

Real estate, valuables, and investments have grown substantially in value over the past decade. And, when donors are “feeling” wealthier, we will know that they are much more likely to make larger gifts.

Remember, most of the wealth in the US and Canada is NOT held in cash bank accounts. Instead, it’s held in some type of investment.  We find that so many campaign and major gift fundraisers forget to consider a donor’s capital assets.

So, it’s always, always a smart move to remind donors about the benefits of giving non-cash gifts, such as appreciated stock. Not only can donors avoid capital gains taxes, but they can also gain significant tax deductions from their charitable contributions.

For example, a donor purchased stocks for an average $100 per share, investing a total of $10,000. Ten years later, the stocks could now be worth $280/share. The donor’s original investment is now worth $28,000. That’s a whopping gain!

By making the gift of the fully appreciated stock, the donor avoids capital gains taxes and gets to help their favorite organization with a significant campaign gift.

Takeaway: Because of stock market growth in the past 5-6 years, many donors have extensive paper profits from their investments these days.  Don’t forget to inquire gently about giving with assets other than cash.

Bottom Line: Top Capital Campaign Trends

Take advantage of these new capital campaign trends. Look for opportunities for non-cash gifts. Be willing to be transparent, direct and straightforward with your donors. You’ll see terrific results.

Don’t forget we are happy to arrange a free campaign strategy call if you are in the process of planning a capital campaign. Just email us at coaching@gailperry.com.

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Our Predictions: Fundraising Trends for 2021

With a new year comes a hopeful new outlook.  We’re all glad to see 2020 go.

What a year it has been: we suffered through a terrible pandemic, disruption of our lives, families, workplaces, a volatile political climate, and much more. What’s worse, these issues are not over. They will continue impacting our lives – and fundraising – well into 2021.

Yet there are some silver linings.

We saw immense dedication and dogged commitment on the part of nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. And, we saw creative fundraisers take advantage of new opportunities offered by the virtual environment.

Based on What’s Happened in 2020, Here’s our Forecast for Upcoming Fundraising Trends for 2021:

1. Giving is up.  And all signs are that it will remain up.

Many nonprofits experienced critical revenue shortfalls from reduced service fees, ticket sales, and admissions. As a result, donors responded with record amounts of charitable donations.

2020 saw a surge in the entire scale of giving – from small gifts to major donors to new estate commitments. More people than ever were giving and at greater amounts than usual.

The Fundraising Effectiveness Project of AFP found that the first 9 months of 2020 saw an impressive increase of 7.6% over 2019.

Big institutional funders and foundations also stepped up to increase giving in 2020. Through September, Fidelity Charitable grant volume increased 30% over the same time period in 2019.

In 2021, we expect that donors will continue to be interested, open to nonprofit messages, and willing to help.

2. Donor fatigue is a myth.

Asks were everywhere, and donors gave.

The successful organizations laid their cases for support out plainly. In addition, they explained their financial situations clearly. Even more, they pulled appropriate emotional triggers – and donors responded.

Again and again and again, donors responded.

Even with the vast amount of political fundraising going on all year, donors continued contributing to their favorite nonprofits – and new ones too.

Why do fundraisers complain about donor fatigue? It’s because of sloppy fundraising.

Fundraisers keep going to the same donors over and over, exhausting those donors. And fundraisers talk too much about the money, not about the impact.

We predict donors will continue to respond generously in 2021, if they are approached with finesse and skill. 

3. Organizations that continue to invest in fundraising will see solid returns.

Many institutions slashed budgets early in 2020, and furloughed their fundraising staff.

These organizations forgot an important point – their fundraising teams were nurturing generous revenue streams. So what happened when fundraising staff was furloughed? The revenue quickly dried up!

On the other hand, many forward-thinking nonprofits managed to keep their staff and continue operating their fundraising programs.

These groups were able to stay in front of their donors with solid asks. As a result, they were able to ride the surge in donations and keep essential revenue streams flowing in the door.

And, these nonprofits saw a very nice ROI on their fundraising expenses.

Organizations that invest in fundraising will see an even greater growth in fundraising revenue. This will be true for 2021, and will never change.

4. New respect for digital strategies in the major gift world.

The new virtual world threatened to upend major gift fundraising.

But our clients persevered. Surprisingly, we all learned that digital could be a highly effective major donor engagement tool.

What’s more, we discovered that donors were happy to engage with us on the phone or zoom. Even more, going digital meant we could save time while connecting with donors more deeply.

Now, fundraisers could no longer rely on donor parties, lunches and committees as engagement tools. In this new world, we had to personally connect with donors, and talk to them about what mattered.

We predict that major gift fundraising will never be the same. Donor engagement does not have to be face-to-face anymore.  

5. Capital campaigns can absolutely succeed in the digital environment.

We encouraged our capital campaign clients to keep moving forward and they did, with success.

Feasibility studies went smoothly in 2020. We found that donors were just as happy (some were happier!) to talk to us over zoom or the phone as they were in person.

We helped clients stage virtual campaign events. Even more, we delivered capital campaign training to board members. And we guided major asks  – all virtually, and all successfully.

In 2021 capital campaigns will now be organized and executed with a combination of virtual and in-person strategies. 

6. Fundraising continues to become more sophisticated.

New advances in knowledge are yielding helpful new advances in fundraising.

For example, artificial intelligence is just beginning to show us its benefits, especially in the area of identifying stronger donor prospects and saving us time.

And behavioral economics is revealing how to nudge donors toward a gift rather than turning them off.

We are all coming to understand donor psychology better: what really warms our donors’ hearts?  And what emotional triggers will encourage them to be generous.

We predict that these tools will help fundraising become even more successful in 2021 and the coming years. 

7. Giving Days just keep getting stronger and stronger.

2020 saw not one, but two Giving Tuesdays – and both were hugely successful.

In December, 2020’s annual Giving Tuesday yielded a whopping 25% more than the previous year, with 29% more donors participating.

In addition, many organizations and institutions are staging their own proprietary Giving Days with solid success.

Giving Days are successful because they:

  • Add a note of gamification and fun to the fundraising process
  • Reach new donors
  • Provide urgently needed unrestricted gifts

Since Giving Days are still somewhat new, they are gaining more and more visibility. They will continue to grow as important fundraising tools in 2021 and beyond.

8. Virtual events and galas can succeed nicely. 

We continued to be surprised by so many very successful virtual events and galas.

Several organizations in our Major Gift Intensive saw higher totals from virtual events than from previous in-person events.

Many unforeseen benefits occurred when pivoting virtual, including:

  • Event costs were slashed (no more flowers, food, venue, insurance or music)
  • Staff saved vast amounts of time
  • Loyal financial sponsors pulled through
  • Many more people could attend the event on a virtual platform

 

Thank goodness we may never see galas like before. Virtual events will become a reliable alternative moving into 2021.  

Bottom Line: Our Predictions on Fundraising Trends for 2021

There’s a lot of opportunity hidden within a disrupted environment. Smart institutions will be opportunistic, agile and creative  – and they’ll see tremendous success.

Follow these fundraising trends for 2021, and seize the opportunity!

 

As always, it is a pleasure to share our weekly news and insights with you. 

If you want to build and expand your major and principal gifts programs in 2021, keep an eye on your inbox. Applications will open soon for our 2021 Major Gifts Intensive.

Wishing you a prosperous and positive start to 2021!

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Donors are Stepping Up! Giving Was Up 7.5% in the First Half of This Year

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Remember April, when we were all clenching our teeth and thinking “Oh wow, this is not the year for fundraising. How will we get through it?” 

Well, it turns out recent data proves that 2020 is actually a great year for fundraising.

So if you were one of those organizations who didn’t hold back and kept at your fundraising in the spring – Good Job! 

Why 2020 is a Good Year for Fundraising 

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently reported that giving was up 7.5% in the first half of 2020 based on results from the widely respected Fundraising Effectiveness Project (AFP, 2020). This project works with over 25,000 nonprofits and donor software providers to track and identify quarterly gain/loss findings for the nonprofit sector. 

And what’s more, it wasn’t just the wealthy who were behind the rise. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported gifts of $250 or less rose 19.2%, accounting for a big part of the growth (COP, 2020).

This means that donors are pouring out contributions to their favorite nonprofits – right now. This also means that your steadfast supporters are feeling generous – and they want to help. 

And, there’s more good news in this report: 

Major gifts are up by 6.4% compared to this time last year. And mid-level gifts are up even more – by 8.1%! 

“the number of mid-level gifts ($250 – $999) and major gifts ($1,000 or more) saw year-over-year increases of 8.1% and 6.4%, respectively, compared to 2019 data.” (AFP, 2020)

Wow. That is wild. 

What Does This Mean?

The fact that giving increased 7.5% over 2019’s first half is a huge indicator that donors are motivated and feeling generous. The giving climate for the 2020 year-end giving season is projected to be robust. 

All of the signals indicate that giving is still quite solid as we move into autumn. And even with all the noise surrounding the election and the pandemic, loyal donors are stepping up for the nonprofits they support. 

This is certainly a great time to be out there, in front of your donors. Remind them about the impact your organization creates, and invite them to contribute. 

Why are we seeing so much generosity now?

For some time, we’ve thought that donors are simply more motivated these days, especially as we watch new gifts flowing into the capital campaigns we counsel. 

Our interviews and focus groups with donors have solidified this thought, and it seems data is now showing this trend as well.

1. Donors want to do something positive

With all the disruption of 2020, not least of all the pandemic, donors want to take action and do something positive for their community, and the world. 

They are motivated to bring forward kindness and compassion. When they are aware of the needs, especially regarding causes they care about – they want to respond.

While many have been terribly impacted, both physically and financially, many other major and mid-level donors were less affected and are still quite well-off financially. For many, they want to reach out and help others who have been less fortunate, through supporting nonprofits. 

2. The stock market is up, which is good for year-end

The US stock market took a hit, but now it continues to soar. Donors with investment portfolios are feeling flush. In our opinion, when donors feel financially secure, they tend to be more generous. TIP: remind your donors they can donate appreciated stocks! 

Even when the stock market was low, many major donors did not feel the hit and were still donating. On top of that – major donors may have more to donate in 2020 because any  traveling or larger outings were most likely cancelled. 

Bottom Line: 2020 has Shown To Be an Enormous Opportunity for Fundraising – Backed by Data

I hope you have been making the most of this generosity this year. And if you haven’t, it’s not too late to start!

 

As always, it is a pleasure to share our weekly news and insights with you. 

If you are planning a capital campaign and would like to learn about our unique Capital Campaigns by the Numbers approach, let us know. You can also join our INSIDERS community for more fundraising training and content. We would love to have you! 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

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