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.
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