Fundraising tips for the last week of the year

Fundraising can be a lot of fun during the last week of the year.

It can also be stressful.

Here are a couple of tips that will make the last week less stressful, and hopefully add to your fundraising efforts.

First, remember that donating in the last week of the year is not your donor’s last chance to donate. Your mission work continues January 1st. Donors don’t think about giving in December as “year-end”.

Next, depending on what your head finance person decides, donations dated on or before 12.31 will be counted for that year. Have a conversation with them about a January cut-off date for what is counted for the year prior. Having all of this decided beforehand will be helpful.

Now the really fun part. Create a LYBUNT list. This is a list of folks who donated last year but have not yet donated this year. These are your donors you want to reach out to before the year end.

Note: I hope that you have connected with all of your donors before, in a way that shares your impact and not in a way of continually asking for more.

With this list I typically start with the highest donations and work myself down. Share the list with your team, if you have one. If your executive director or board president know your donors, they can help too. I prefer phone calls, then emails. If emailing or leaving a voice message, make sure you leave the link to donate.

In any email communication around a donation in the last week of the year, have a paragraph that reminds the donor that you would also be grateful for a donation of appreciated stock, from their Donor Advised Fund, or from their mandatory IRA distribution.

Lastly, make sure your donor has a way to connect with a person during that last week. Leave a phone number or email address for last-minute questions or support.

I wish you the best!

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