10 Final Tips Before Launching Your Year-End Fundraising Campaign

You’ve got your year-end fundraising strategy mixed, prepped, baked and ready to go. But before you take that delicious treat to your donors, take a moment to check those little details that can make or break your efforts. These final touches might seem small, but they’re the difference between a perfect batch and a flop. Here are 10 detail-oriented tips that are easily overlooked:

1. Test Every Link: A broken link is like forgetting the baking soda in your cookies—no matter how good the recipe is, it’s gonna be a gelatinous mess. Double-check every link on your donation page, emails, and social media posts. People can’t donate to you if the link won’t work. 

2. Proofread One Last Time: Just like missing a key ingredient, a typo can throw off the final taste. Get fresh eyes on your copy or use an online tool to ensure it’s polished.

3. Check Image File Sizes: Large images can slow down your website, just like adding too much flour makes a dough too dense. Compress your images so they load quickly without sacrificing quality.

4. Mobile Optimization: These days, your campaign absolutely must look great on phones! If your donation page isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of potential donors. Make sure everything looks perfect on the small screen. (Also, if there’s ANY way you can make sure ApplePay or GooglePay is available, your conversion rate will go up so much! I rarely want to pull out my credit card for anything these days...so if you want my money, especially when I’m on the go, you need to offer ApplePay.)

5. Test Donation Forms: Go through your donation process like a donor. Test the form on different browsers and devices, and ensure it's smooth from start to finish—like a well-mixed batter. Make sure the right auto-responder goes out and that it looks nice in your inbox.

6. Personalization Tags: If you’re personalizing emails, make sure those tags are working! An email starting with “Dear [First Name]” is like serving cupcakes with the wrong frosting—people will probably forgive you if it’s tasty enough, but it’s not a good look.

7. Email Subject Line Preview: That little preview text in your email inbox is like the baking cookie aroma coming from the oven—it draws people in! Make sure the first few lines are compelling, not cut off awkwardly.

8. Have a Backup Plan: No good baking puns here. Have contingency plans in case something goes wrong with your site or donation processor. Make sure someone on your staff is reachable if something goes wrong (especially on the biggest giving days of the year, Giving Tuesday and Dec. 31). Tech glitches happen—be ready. 

9. Donation Receipts: A timely “thank you” is the icing on the cake for your donors! (And I don’t mean auto-responders; I mean real thank yous–whether that’s calls, personal replies, or handwritten notes.) Have a system in place to get them out in a timely manner. If you don’t know how to do this efficiently, join my November Focus Session call and I’ll fill you in on my best tips to make sure this process doesn’t eat your life!

10. Time Zone Check: Don’t forget to account for time zones when scheduling emails or events if your audience spans more than one time zone. That early morning email directed at your California donors may not hit the same way if it’s delivered after lunch on the East Coast.

These fine-tuned details will help ensure your year-end campaign bakes up just right! You’ve done the hard work of mixing the ingredients—now, with a little extra attention to these final touches, your fundraising efforts will be a recipe for success.