Fundraising Tip: A Wonderful Start to a New Year

January can be a perfect month for your fundraising efforts.

Depending on the nonprofit, some fundraising teams are enjoying their last day off after a week or so off for the holidays. Others may wake up on the first day of the new year thinking about calls they made yesterday in a last effort to raise funds before the end of the year.

We may be in different positions regarding our organizational budget. Many will be starting their new budget year today, while others are either one-fourth or halfway through their annual budget as of today.

I first learned how impactful January fundraising can be in my first job as a development director. We had the usual donations come in from December asks, ones we counted for the prior year.

Our finance person gave me a date for when we would stop counting donations for the prior year. It usually was a week or two into the new year. Unless of course a donation was dated on a date in the new year, then that was counted for January.

From a donor perspective, none of this matters. It may not even matter for large nonprofits. Fundraising dollars that come in during January can have an effect on smaller nonprofits and those who have cash flow issues this month.

January can be a slow month for fundraising. In my experience, it’s a close second after July.

Aside from receiving donations meant for the prior year-end fundraising time, I have found that our asking towards the end of the prior year brings more information to current donors and past donors. Some donors have been reminded how much they love your mission and how much it checks the box for how they want to make the world better.

Others decided to donate in January as the end of the year went by quickly, and before they knew it the new year was upon them. They love your mission. They just had too much going on to consider donating. This has happened to my husband and I. There are some nonprofits we donate to as individuals, and for those we donate to as a couple, we many times have missed giving in December, only to sit down and talk about a donation later in January.

This brings up something to consider when fundraising the last week or two of the year: Don’t share messaging to donors that includes language like “it’s not too late to support our mission”, or something like that. You may want them to donate before December 31st, and from a donor’s perspective, in most cases, their donation will have the same impact in January as it would in December.

The unhoused youth you serve will still need you. The survivors of domestic violence will still need you. Your mission will still need donations.

Reach out to donors who typically give in December but did not this time. Make sure that all donors who gave in December have been properly thanked. Remember that the auto-email thank you online doesn’t count.

There’s a lot to consider as you begin your new year of fundraising.

Does your donate page need some new life?

Are you paying attention to your monthly donors, and your monthly donor efforts?

Do you typically do a fundraising campaign around Valentine’s Day?

And what can you and your team do throughout this new year to ensure a successful year-end fundraising campaign?

January fundraising can be fun and impactful. Give it your best effort.

And just in case you are looking for a new position now, check out this post: https://altrui.org/nonprofit-tip-quick-tips-for-those-in-a-job-search/

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Take a risk. Be of service. Support your friends and colleagues. Be kind.