Your Quick-Start Year-End Fundraising Plan
If you haven’t started your year-end fundraising yet, don’t sweat it. You can still put together a campaign that will raise your organization funds if you start today. Follow my instructions below to get your year-end campaign going right now.
Get a Jump on Giving Tuesday
You haven’t started fundraising yet. That’s fine. Here’s what you need to do. Draft three emails to send out to your current donors. Select a story or accomplishment you are particularly proud of (for this example, we’re going to invent a nonprofit called “School Solutions” that helped a student obtain a scholarship to their dream college, where they just finished their first semester and are thriving).
Here’s the formula. (And for social media, you can take snippets of each email to post to whatever platforms your nonprofit is on, just to make your life easier.)
Send on Wednesday, November 23: A Gratitude Email
We’re going to send a first email to our donors to say thank you. That’s it! Nothing else. Introduce the story, and let the donors know that they were a part of your success (or more importantly, your client’s success).
Dear [first name] -
I want you to meet Samantha. Samantha’s family has struggled with homelessness for her entire school career, and she’s changed schools multiple times as her family has sought affordable and sustainable housing options.
When Samantha came to School Solutions her freshman year of high school, she was behind grade level. Worse, she was starting to lose interest in school and was thinking about dropping out. Thanks to generous donors like you, we paired Samantha with a peer mentor and got her into our after-school tutoring program. With a community of support, she got back on track. As she started to succeed, she began to enjoy her studies. She fell in love with math and science, and set her sights on North Carolina State University to study engineering.
[first name], you helped make Samantha’s dream come true. In January, she received early acceptance to NCSU’s engineering program—with a full scholarship! Without the support from generous donors like you, we can’t meet the needs of students like Samantha.
Thank you for making a difference for Samantha and the other 200 students we serve annually.
Regards,
Jane Doe
Executive Director
Send on Friday, November 25: A Priming Email
Then we’re going to send a priming email that pivots the thanks towards a soft ask.
Dear [first name] -
I wrote to you a few days ago about Samantha, and I want to tell you a little bit more.
Samantha just completed her first semester as a freshman in NCSU’s engineering program. She is thriving, loves her studies, and is already thinking ahead to summer internship programs (which we are helping her to secure).
But there are so many other young people out there like Samantha who need our support. Samantha’s family fell on hard times, and Samantha’s entire future was crumbling. That shouldn’t be allowed to happen. When a family falls on hard times, we need to be there to rally around them and give them support.
Here at School Solutions, we give that support to high school students that need extra support to get their grades back on track. We pair them with peer mentors who give them moral support as they face the tough world of high school. We provide tutoring services in the subjects they may be struggling with to get their grades up. We have trained college counselors that help our clients—many of whom will be the first in their family to even apply to college—navigate the admissions and financial aid process. And we support them through our alumni program as they go through college; we help pair them with paid internships, so they don’t have to choose between their future dreams and supporting their families, and other services to ensure college success.
You are a critical part of the community that surrounds these students. Giving Tuesday is on November 30, and I have a request for you. Can you make a gift to School Solutions on or before Giving Tuesday to help more students like Samantha?
We’re so grateful for your past support. I hope you’ll join us in supporting more students in the coming year.
With Gratitude,
Jane Doe
Executive Director
Send on Tuesday, November 29: Your Ask Email
Do a super short, punchy email on Giving Tuesday to remind your donors to give.
Dear [first name] -
I think we agree on something important: kids from families that have fallen on tough times should be supported and surrounded by a loving community that gives them a chance to thrive despite their circumstances.
Yes? Great. If you believe that young people deserve every chance to thrive, will you make a special gift to School Solutions today?
It’s Giving Tuesday. After celebrating and giving thanks for all we have, it’s our chance to give back. A gift of $100 can ensure a high school student has access to a semester’s worth of our tutoring services.
How many students can you help today?
Many thanks,
Jane Doe
Executive Director
Phew, we got through Giving Tuesday. What next?
Pick a theme or a story that you want to dive into with your donors. It might be another success story. It might be multiple success stories. It might be an overview of each of your programs. But pick 4 topics to write ask emails around. Model these emails after the Friday, November 26 example above. They should be short, but involve a story. They should have an EXPLICIT ask (“Will you donate now?”), and should have a really compelling subject line and opening line. For more on crafting awesome asks, check out this post.
Send them out:
The week of December 5
The week of December 12
The week of December 19
On December 27
Finally, on December 31, write another email similar to your Giving Tuesday (November 29) email. It needs to be short and high-impact. Make it as short as you possibly can while making the final pitch for your organization.
One of my favorites I’ve ever seen was three sentences, from a nonprofit working with terminally ill kids: “Cancer is relentless. So are we. Donate today.” With a photo of one of their clients, and a big donate button. It got me in the feels…I donated.
If you’ve had a tough year and haven’t had the results you’ve wanted or don’t have a success story you can share, that’s actually okay too. I think donors are more understanding today than ever before that unforeseen circumstances can hinder a nonprofit’s success. Check out my post on how to talk to your donors when times are tough and you’re not reporting the results you wish you were.
Okay, that’s it…go get started!
Need help with that? We’ve got you! Schedule a discovery call today to see if we can bake up a better fundraising recipe for your nonprofit so this year’s bake can rise to new heights!
