6 Quick Tactics That Will Super Charge Your Annual Campaign

6 Quick Tactics That Will Super Charge Your Annual Campaign 

As you and your colleagues rush to wrap up projects and begin new ones, nonprofit teams who participate have only one concentration: increasing campaign financial results.

Fundraising campaigns are a necessity to non-governmental charities who provide food, shelter, mental health, immigration services and so much more to our community members in need.

While it’s important to keep your head in the game while fundraising, it’s perilous when it comes to your strategic fundraising efforts. Annual campaigns typically take place during a few powerful fundraising months, but a good portion of all donations comes in during the last three days of the year.

So, while you’ve been promoting your campaign continuously up to this point, within the next 12 months it’s time to super charge your campaign results. Here are six steps you can take to power through your campaign.

1.     Say Thanks (With a Soft Ask)

You’ve been sending out innovative and targeted emails and making follow up phone calls, but at this point, you worry you might fatigue your donors and prospects. Then again, you still must lock in those cruicial gifts.

Try a soft-ask. To give your donors some breathing room between your hard asks, send an email at the start of the week that includes a delicate or “soft” ask. The emphasis of your email should be on thanking your donors or sharing impact stories, but then you can hyperlink to your donate page or include a donate button in the footer.

2.     Whip Up a Quick eCard

An eCard (electronic card) allows a donor to share the goodwill they experience when donating. Rather than receiving a note that a donation was made in their honor, the dedicatee gets a personalized, stylized eCard for a much more meaningful and delightful experience.

3. Emphasize Any Matching Campaigns

If there’s one thing donors like more than making an impact, it’s the ability to double it. Now’s the time to promote your donation matching campaigns at full throttle. Announce them in your email campaigns and on social media.

4. Maximize Last-Minute Email Appeals

Your targeted email appeals are some of the most critical messages in your entire campaign. You want to amplify the sense of urgency as the crusade draws to a close.

To creatively ramp up the sense of urgency, you can even include a graphic or GIF that counts down the remaining time to contribute.

5. Reach Out to Your Campaigners

If you’re leveraging peer-to-peer fundraising this season, reach out one last time to your fundraisers. Send an email thanking and celebrating supporters for their efforts up to this point, and then inform them that this is the final stretch; the heightened sense of urgency will motivate people to boost their efforts. If you have the resources, take the time to call your power fundraisers to share your goal progress. This individualized outreach can refresh their enthusiasm to help close out a solid year.

Invite your heavy-hitters to help give your campaign one final push. To make it easier for them, send them tailored communications. Include any emotional invoking stories, photos, or videos that will help motivate prospect donors to give.

Also, remind fundraisers that if they haven’t done so already, they can kick off some campaign momentum by making their pledge first.

6.  Wrapping up the Year-End Campaign

These final month, days, and hours are potentially the most important of the entire campaign.

Make sure you plan your final strategy. What emails are you sending out, and when? Are you focusing on engagement on social media? Are you making any phone calls, and if so, when? These are just a few of the questions to ask yourself as you lock down your game plan for the next week. It’s time to cross the finish line strong.

It’s important to always push your fundraising campaigns to a strong finish, but it’s crucial when dealing with a year-end campaign. This is a time of year when people are most apt to donate, and a large percentage of your annual donations will come in during the final hours and via paper pledges.

As always, if you are looking for service, have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us.

Written by DeAnn M. Cox
Original Date Posted:  January 14, 2019
Cox Consultant and Management Firm - All Rights Reserved.