The holiday season is important for charities – as we all know ‘Giving Season’ is when the largest volume of donations happens all year. But if your organization is always involved in fundraising campaigns, both online and offline, Giving Season might feel repetitive, or even redundant. How can you approach these campaigns in a way that will set them apart from the rest of the year’s activities?
Let’s find out! Here’s some examples of language and strategies to make sure your Year End Giving campaigns are fun, seasonal, and successful.
Grab Attention with a Seasonal Headline
Campaign headlines are the first words a potential donor will see, so you’ll want to make sure they know what they’re looking at and what to expect. Here’s some examples that you can adapt to your nonprofit’s unique mission and goals:
Give the Gift of Shelter this Christmas
This Year, Donate to Share the Holiday Cheer!
Give a Child a Warm Meal this Holiday Season
Give us a Gift – Starting 2020 Strong!
It’s Winter – Help Keep our Animals Warm
Pay it Forward with a Gift this Holiday Season
Help Get our Kids a New School Bus Before 2020!
Your Giving Season Ask
This is your chance to tell the reader a compelling story, sharing what your mission is and how their donation will help you accomplish it. It’s the main text of your campaign that will be read after your headline grabs the reader’s attention. Here’s a template you can adapt your needs:
“We’ve got big plans this holiday season. We need your help to keep ALL our shelter animals safe and warm so we can go into 2020 on a high note!
Your donation will buy us essential supplies like dog food, medicine, and comfy beds and blankets so that all our precious puppies can have a happy, cozy Christmas this year. This time of year is often the hardest for shelters, so your generosity will go a long way towards saving animals’ lives and ensuring we can keep taking care of vulnerable pets for many years to come.”
An ask like this is specific, clear, and timely. It communicates impact and makes sure your donors understand not only why their donation is important, but why it’s important right now.
Thank Your Donors!
Give your donors back some holiday cheer by reaching out over email to thank them for their generosity. Keep the spirit going and communicate the impact of their gift to make sure they remain part of your community long after the holidays have come and gone.
Here’s a template you can use and adapt, following the animal shelter example we shared above. This sample includes lots of specifics that you can tailor to your organization in order to show donors everything you’ve accomplished.
“Dear [Name],
Thank you so much for helping us this holiday season. Your gift meant that this year, we were able to keep 100 dogs off the streets of our city – that’s more animals we’ve had in our care from ever before! Thanks to your generosity, these vulnerable dogs were able to spend Christmas feeling safe and loved – and now, they’re closer than ever to finding their forever homes.
Supporters like you are the only reason we can keep working on our mission year after year, ensuring that animals are never left alone and unloved without a home. And thanks to our community of donors like you we’ve been able to save over 3,000 animals from life as strays over the last 7 years.
Your support means the world to us, and it doesn’t end here. We hope you’ll stay in touch throughout 2020 and beyond as we keep sharing stories of animals we care for and our work to save their lives.
Thank you,
[Charity Name]”
Share Your Results
Your donors helped you make amazing things happen this year, so share that with them! In addition to thanking your donors personally, share a comprehensive update of all you accomplished in 2019 – and what’s coming up in 2020 with their help!
Here’s another sample of year end results messaging for our fictional animal shelter. Be sure to replace pertinent information and use it for your nonprofit!
“With 2019 drawing to a close, we’re so excited to share with you all the amazing things we’ve accomplished – and what we’re looking forward to in 2020.
This year, [Charity Name] was able to give shelter to more abandoned animals than ever before! We brought in over 100 dogs, keeping them safe, warm and dry from the harsh winter. We were able to care for all these deserving animals because we welcomed 11 new volunteers to our dedicated team!
As our team keeps growing, we are looking forward to providing even more animals with care, shelter and safety. In 2020, we have an ambitious goal – to expand our shelter location so that we can take care of 50% more animals. This year, we took in 100 dogs not because they were the only needy animals, but because we could not fit any more into our space.
With our shelter at capacity, we are excited to evolve so that we can continue helping the animals who need us most – and we hope you’ll come along for the ride. Stay tuned for updates on our biggest year ever!”
Use your Wishlist as Gifts
One of FundRazr’s features is perfect for the holiday season – Wishlists! With this handy feature, you can make the donation process much more personal, interactive, and rewarding. Instead of just gifting a dollar amount, your donors can choose from actual things you need – for example, the animal shelter we’ve used as an example could include $150 for a jumbo bag of dog food, or $50 for a cozy bed.
Then, build the wishlist into your holiday giving campaign, so that you’re not merely asking donors for an abstract, monetary gift, but for an actual needed item that they can feel good about providing to you. It’s a natural way to approach donations for the holiday season!
You Can Do This!
With these holiday fundraising tips, you can make Year End Giving the most important time of the fundraising year. If you have questions, or want some help taking your Year End campaign to the next level, get in touch with our fundraising strategists. We’re here to help you will all your fundraising needs.
