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Overview

We're coming up on the final quarter of 2021, so let's ensure your year-end finale has a dang plan that builds incredible community (as well as dollars!) around your mission. Jon and Becky are breaking it all down in this Friday's episode: 10 Must Do's Before Year-End. And when you consider nearly 1/3 of annual giving happens in December plus 12% of all annual giving occurs in the last three days of December, we just want to ensure you have all the right tools in the toolbox.

“Nearly a third of all annual giving happens in December. We have to level up our game and make sure we have a solid plan that is going to diversify our revenue.”

— Becky Endicott, CFRE, Co-Founder and Chief Storyteller, We Are For Good

Episode Transcript

Download Full Episode Transcript Here

Episode Overview

Conversation tone setting (2:00)
Key elements to year end giving (3:00)
10 Steps to Revolutionize Your Year End Giving (3:15)
Free Website Workshop!
We Are For Good PRO

Powerful quotes

“We wanted to carve out a Friday to get really clear about what to do the next 3 months.” -Jon

“Nearly a third of all annual giving happens in December. We have to level up our game and make sure we have a solid plan that is going to diversify our revenue.” -Becky

“We’re talking community building, fundraising, aligning your marketing, and lots of ways your team can plug into the strategy.” -Jon

“Gone are the days of sending one direct mail letter out." -Becky

“The more that you can expand community, the effect will live well beyond year end.” -Becky

“Don’t just focus on all the grassroots efforts that you miss the opportunity to make a transformational ask.” -Jon

“One of the key strategies to lift your end of year campaign is to segment your donors.” -Jon

“You want your donor to feel like you are speaking directly to them. Re-focus your message, and adapt to the present moment.” -Becky

“I hope you see us as a partner to cheer and guide you through your year end giving.” -Jon

10 Things to Do to Get Ready for Year-End 👇

Did you steward last year’s donors? If not, begin immediately.
Look at last year’s data
- Analyze last year’s data (compare to previous years): how much was raised? who gave? what percentage upgraded?
- Quantify that impact. Find a story of impact to share.
Set goals - and not just financial goals.
- What’s our financial goal?
- What’s our engagement goal?
- volunteer activation goal?
- Consider: unique visits, opens, email address acquired, social media impressions, engagement points -
Time to build a dang plan 🤝
- Build timelines to follow tactics
  - set dates and sequence your communication
    1. Stewardship from last year’s appeal >Thanksgiving touchpoint > Giving Tuesday > Appeal launch > Email sequence > social media > year end
- Questions to answer:
  - What is our fundraising focus? Is it on a particular program, piece of equipment, fund, etc?
  - Why is it needed?
  - Why is it needed now?
  - Do we have a story to correlate? photo?
  - Outline
- PRO TIP: make it multichannel! 🎉
Have some courage - be strategic - and make some major gift requests before year-end.
- Engage with a donor who aligns with your funding goal
- Engage corporate or foundation partners
- Seek out a matching gift or two! Tier it to get to get unlocked when certain goals are reached.
Segment your audiences and determine appropriate platform/messages for each
- This basically means that you’re separating your audiences based on shared behaviors or traits
  - current, lapsed, prospects
  - giving size
  - passion areas
  - ages/ generation types
- You want your audience to feel like you’re speaking directly to them and their experience.
  - re-focus your message. Adapt to the now. Be honest and vulnerable.
- Who makes sense for each platform?
- Who to include?
- PRO TIP: for you brave souls - split your appeal into A/B messages and test which one does best 🎉
Is your back-of-shop ready for gifts AND stewardship
- Pledge forms, online giving pages, appeal codes set, website updated, mobile-friendly, etc.
- Is everything automated to go to the appropriate person?
- Do you have reports set up to be pulled easily and shared with the team weekly during year-end season
Embrace social media, and build an intentional engagement strategy to humanize and draw your followers into the story.
- Syndicate (break apart) your content on various channels.
- Pull out your phone and grab some video! Give a humanizing overview, interview a beneficiary, give a little tour, introduce them to special people connected to the mission.
- Cameron Bartlett, ep. 122- Creating a Digital Donor Journey?
Level up your Website
- Have five volunteers/staff/friends Mystery Shop your website.
- once your webpage/emails are ready, have your team walk through the process from start to finish.
- As they do, have them denote things they like, don’t like, confusion points, things that made them smile or cringe, etc.
- Benefits: identify issues or gaps and to action plans to resolve the problems.
- Free Website Workshop!
Turn up the volume on innovation and try stuff (pick one!)
1. find a matching donor
2. pull in corporate partners
3. mobile giving
4. crowd funding
5. PRO TIP: brand it, baby! Get a theme, tie your stewardship to the theme, reference it in key messages and stewardship.
BONUS! Personalize wherever you can! storytelling, photos, thank you notes, group stewardship (volunteers calling!), etc.
- PRO TIP: use variable data to help a donor feel seen! 🎉