Three Simple Steps to Maximize Year End Giving

There are certain stats that once you hear them, you can’t forget them. “30% of giving takes place in December and 10% in the last 72 hours”* was that statistic for me. The Development team works hard all year long, and year end is the harvest. The concept that nearly a third of your annual fundraising could happen in one month is a “stop and think”.

Make the Most of the Year-End Opportunity

So how do we maximize this opportunity?

Here are three simple steps:

1. Draft a Year End Giving Calendar – Download template – Focus in October and November on stewarding your donors, reminding them of the impact of their gift, and expressing gratitude. Use November and December to ASK. And don’t forget to “put the cookies on the low shelf” and make it easy for donors to support your organization. Plan fun email appeals with a “give now” button for the final days of December -- Dec 29^th, 30^th and 31^st.
   
   
2. Messaging – Download template –  Ideally, your school would have just come off a comprehensive Strategic Planning process, and you could share top funding priorities. If that is not the case, we are big fans of a simple 3-3-3 appeal: 
   
   
   1. What are three things your school is celebrating as we approach the end of the year?
   2. Three things your school needs right now (operational support, a specific initiative, a mission you partner with, etc.)
   3. What are three things you would like prayer for?
      
      
3. Ask – Make that call to action! Over the year end, you can ask at least nine times, so get creative and make a fun plan for nine asks:

1. 1. A Thanksgiving ask, a Giving Tuesday ask, an early December ask and a Christmas ask are starting points
   2. Direct mail is not dead – if you are going to invest in snail mail, consider a late November or early December direct mail appeal
   3. Optimize your donation page set up – ensure your donors will have a streamlined giving experience

What One School Had Overlooked

Recently, the Development Director of a Christian School thanked me for encouraging them to maximize their year-end giving opportunity in recent years. Their school had been focused on on-boarding new families to their school in August and September, rolling out their fall annual fund appeal in September and October, and hosting their big fall event. November and December “asks” of their entire database had been overlooked. They now have a robust year end giving plan that sweeps everyone in their community into funding important initiatives. Their increase in revenue and the enhancement of mission has been inspiring!

The moral of the story: don’t miss the opportunity to make your year end giving priorities known. Don’t miss the opportunity to steward your donors well, and to ask them to pray over your school’s priorities.

Start with Three Simple Steps

Don’t be overwhelmed by Year End Giving. Simply follow the three steps we've shared: draft your calendar, focus your messaging, and ASK!

As you download and customize the resources we've linked in this article, it’s helpful to walk through them with a live human. Please feel free to reach out to Generis to get connected with one of our Advancement Consultants. We would be delighted to help you maximize your Year End Giving opportunity!

Keep Stewardship Going in January

P.S. Don’t forget to steward your donors well! Download this sample January email you can use to share charitable tax receipts with donors and to also share the impact of their giving. Donors love to know that their gifts are changing lives and having an impact – so share the inspiring stories!

Feeling stuck on your year-end giving plan, or want to talk through the possibilities? Schedule a free discovery call with a Generis Advancement Consultant. We’d be glad to hear where you are, explore your questions, and help you identify practical next steps to make the most of your year-end opportunity.

* Research from Network for Good Digital Giving Index – an influential industry benchmark that has tracked millions of giving data points and consistently showed that approximately one-third of annual digital donations funnel into the year’s final month. The ultimate spokes during the final 72 hours (Dec 29, 30 and 31) are largely driven by individuals seeking to finalize tax-deductible contributions before the Dec 31^st midnight deadline.