The holidays can be a busy and exciting time for fundraising professionals. While most people are winding down and getting ready for a nice long winter’s nap, nonprofits are working like caffeinated elves to get donors’ attention before January 1st. To paraphrase an old saying: ‘Tis the season for sleep deprivation and in-laws criticizing your guest bathroom’s backsplash.

To build out your year-end fundraising strategy, here are a few considerations to take into account:

1. Centralize your efforts around a compelling story.
2. Get the word out!
3. Personalize your messaging for one-time vs. recurring donors.
4. Follow up on your appeals.
5. Optimize your website’s donation forms.

Before you continue reading this article: just stop. Take a breath. Even if just for a minute. So many of us are spinning around in circles — trying to chase future successes and avoiding previous mishaps — that we’re only making the problem worse. So, stop thinking about what you could have done differently, and let’s move forward.

1. Centralize your efforts around a compelling story.

Start thinking about all the people your organization helped this year and all the people you intend to help next year. The nonprofit sector has no shortage of feel-good stories and continuous impact; your organization certainly can’t be an exception to this.

Here’s a good exercise to get your team involved. The whole process could take 1-2 hours, but it’s worth every second. Feel free to include trusted volunteers who work directly with your beneficiaries:

1. Gather all participants in a room and provide them with a pen and a notepad.
2. For the next 10-15 minutes, have everyone brainstorm a list of people who were (or will be) impacted by your nonprofit’s work. For example, this could be a family who directly benefitted from your efforts or a new volunteer who made more than a few new friends through his or her involvement.
3. Take another five minutes for each participant to select one or two of their very best stories and ideas. Go around the room and have everyone read aloud their story ideas. Jot each story down on a whiteboard or somewhere else that everyone can see.
4. After each story, take a minute to provide feedback. Here’s the catch: The feedback has to be positive. If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything.
5. Once everyone has a chance to be heard, put these great stories to a vote. Let each participant vote for the story that impacted them most. Once everyone has voted, tally up the votes and have everyone finally discuss why they voted the way they did.

The stories you hone in on, whether they arise from this exercise, another brainstorming session, or a lightbulb moment in your brain, will directly influence your year-end campaign strategies. Think of these stories as characters in your nonprofit’s novel, and your marketing strategies as the novel’s chapters.

Whether you’re reaching out to recurring donors via email or engaging followers on social media platforms, your nonprofit’s stories should be the central focus in persuading your audience to give to your cause this holiday season.

2. Get the word out!

This seems fairly obvious, but an announcement’s timing is truly crucial. What’s surprising is how often campaign launches fail because of poor timing, broken lines of communication, and missed deadlines.

Your fundraising efforts do not happen in a vacuum. Don’t expect people to magically realize your website is spruced up or know what projects you’re planning for the next year. Even recurring donors need to be reminded that it’s that time of year to give again.

To set your nonprofit’s year-end fundraising up for success, consider these tips:

• Keep your messaging consistent across platforms. Your supporters have varying preferences when it comes to how they’d like to come into contact with your nonprofit. Whether you’re sending out messages through email, social media, or direct mail, keep your voice and branding consistent so that donors know that they’re hearing directly from you.
• Promote awareness about matching gifts. Year-end is an ideal time to tap into corporate giving programs. Consider creating a page on your website with key information about matching gifts so that more supporters can become aware of the opportunity to amplify their donations’ impact. Encourage donors to check whether their employers will match their contributions at a 1:1 ratio or higher.
• Focus on the impact of donations. 30% of all annual giving occurs in December. While generosity is high, inspire people to give by emphasizing how donations will make a real difference in the lives of those you serve.
• Encourage supporters to spread the word. Enlist your nonprofit’s loyal donors to reach out to others in their personal networks and share their connections to your cause. This allows you to expand your reach and get in front of new potential supporters.

Remember to set a hard date to announce your fundraising campaign. Every digital messaging platform your nonprofit uses — be it email, social media, or your website — needs to be ready to go live with the announcement on this date.

3. Personalize your messaging for one-time vs. recurring donors.

Would you talk to your best friend the same way you talk to an acquaintance at a networking cocktail hour? Someone who has already given to your nonprofit has a completely different set of questions and goals than a first-time donor.

Maintain and segment your email and direct mail marketing lists to separate previous one-time contributors from those who give regularly. While you might try to convince a one-time donor to contribute monthly, you should still count it a success if they simply make another one-time donation. On the other hand, a thank-you message or a hard ask to recurring donors may entice them to increase their periodic contributions.

4. Follow up on your appeals.

Direct mail is not dead! While slightly more costly than your digital alternative, direct mail is surprisingly still engaging and converting many prospects into donors.

The direct mail market is expected to grow to $84.72 billion in 2027, thanks to its high return on investment (ROI). Furthermore, direct mail has an average response rate of 2.7% to 4.4%, while the average response rate of email is only 0.6%.

Those statistics don’t even take into account the notion that direct mail impacts the payment behaviors of online donors.

The takeaway: Email might be a cheaper alternative, but there’s truly something unique about getting something physical in your mailbox. You don’t want to overdo it and render your organization’s efforts to the recycling bin, but one or two sends at the end of the year should be a clear reminder.

While you may decide to launch your year-end campaign via email and other digital platforms, a well-executed and story-driven direct mail campaign can easily make its impact heard as an avenue for reaching and converting previous donors.

And, as always, thank them!

5. Optimize your website’s donation forms.

Every ask you make should redirect every potential donor to a central place to take action. This will likely be your website’s donation page. And if you haven’t taken a look at it recently, now would be a good time to do so. Before that massive influx of traffic rolls in around December, test out the online donation process on your website. Jot down some of your notes for feedback. Ask yourself some of the following questions:

• Can your audience readily look at your donation page and determine what your nonprofit does?
• Is your nonprofit’s branding up-to-date?
• Are the images compelling? How about the copy?
• What are the default donation values on the form? Compared to the average online donation, are they too high or too low?
• Can your form readily accept corporate matching gifts?
• Do you receive an email confirmation receipt upon completion? If so, how long does it take to enter your inbox?
• From accessing the form to payment confirmation, how long does the entire process take? Is it too complicated? How could the process be made easier?

There are some truly complex, convoluted, and downright ugly donation pages out there on the Web. Optimizing your online forms to make the process streamlined and enjoyable might even mean the difference between converting a one-time donor to recurring or losing them on the bottom line.

Bonus: Explore engaging seasonal fundraising ideas.

As mentioned above, the holiday season can certainly be stressful, but don’t lose sight of how fun it can be. The end of the year is a time to celebrate your organization’s accomplishments and show gratitude to the supporters and staff who contributed to your success. Emphasize this spirit of appreciation and celebration by choosing festive year-end fundraising ideas that help spread good cheer. 

A few exciting year-end campaign and event ideas include:

• A Christmas eCard campaign
• Holiday candy grams
• A gingerbread decorating contest
• A holiday recipe book sale
• A gift-wrapping event
• A polar plunge event
• A hot-chocolate-themed 5K
• An ice skating event
• Holiday bingo
• A winter gala

Don’t be afraid to ask your supporters for their input on your fundraising ideas. You could present a list of event or campaign ideas and ask supporters to vote on their favorite option. When supporters feel excited about and involved in your year-end campaign planning, they’ll be much more likely to donate to your campaign. 

A successful year-end campaign calls for major strategic planning, cool heads, and powerful stories. But at a time of year when so many of us are reminded of what we are thankful for, let love — and not fear of failure — drive your efforts.

Matt Sutherland is the Communications Director for Click & Pledge, an all-in-one online fundraising platform for nonprofits. Matt’s favorite activities include playing pickup lacrosse games and turning his guitar amp up to 11. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.