A new fundraising effort

We recently began a new fundraising effort and in the first month it has been very successful, so I wanted to share some of the strategies with you.

We want to raise $300,000 in six months for a specific project. We want to raise $50,000 per month.

It's important to have a clear goal right from the start of the campaign. It's also important to be able to express how exactly funds raised will be used. We covered these two items before we event started with the planning of the fundraising effort.

Similar to a capital campaign, I believe it's important, regardless of how much money you decide you want to raise, to have several people in mind to help support the campaign. As we were deciding when we would kick off this effort we created lists of who we would make personal asks to and who would be on the list for a direct mail piece. After going over ideas of how to present to major donors, we decided that one third of the revenue would come from major gifts. That would be our goal. That meant that in six months, $200,000 would need to come from all of our other donors and those who are donating for the first time. Every organization will be different in how this breaks down. The important thing is to have the conversations with your team and form a strategy.

We decided to begin on April 1st which as you know is also April Fools Day. It also would be the half-way mark of our fiscal year and give us exactly six months to fundraise.

"No joke - we need to raise $50,000 this month".

You get the idea. On April 1st we rocked it with social media and ensured our direct mail piece landed. We also did an email blast.

Everything we did connected back to the fact that we need to raise $300,000 in the next six months, that we wanted to raise $50,000 each month, and exactly what we were using the money for.

Everything was planned out before we began. We met several times as a team and even brought in some long-term donors. Our strategy was clear. We tried asks out on different people, including ones who knew very little about our organization or our mission.

It's working.

I'd like to add that this is one experience. Every non-profit has their own stories and strategies around fundraising campaigns and efforts. This is just ours.

I hope this benefits some of you!

Thanks for reading!

Why should I donate to YOUR non-profit?

At my day job, I'm in the end stages of planning my yearend appeal. I am thrilled so far. My plan is to have my first letter mail by mid-October.

I spoke with a fellow development person today who said they were a bit behind with their yearend campaign. They were hoping to get their letter out by Thanksgiving.

If you haven't begun your campaign yet, please note that it is getting late. And don't let that get in your way of rolling out a plan right now. I realize that many of my peers in fundraising also have a myriad of other responsibilities at their agencies. Some are a one person office. No time for regret in what is not done. Just do it. (have I heard that somewhere?)

What all donors are asking themselves is:

How much can I give before now and the end of the year?

Which group(s) do I want to support?

Which group(s) address what I am most passionate about?

Who treats me like a partner, not an ATM?

Where does my money have the strongest impact?

How does my gift directly affect the agency?

There are many other questions. These are some of my personal favorites. It's key to address these questions, and others, when reaching out to your donors and your community for a yearend gift.

I am answering these questions in many ways through our yearend campaign. The letters are just the start. Phone calls from board members. Facebook and Twitter posts keep the community at large updated. Our website is chock full of all the information our donors need, and we have a strategy to use our email list. I'm also considering a final postcard mailing in mid-December to all of those current donors yet to respond.

Are you doing anything different with your yearend appeal this year?

Thanks for reading!

Your yearend fundraising campaign

My what?

If this is your reaction to the title of this post I urge you to read on.

If you have already begun your campaign, I urge you to read on.

As I wrote in my last post, we began our yearend campaign about two weeks ago. This past Monday our first mailing went out. The first online donation was made on Wednesday. The first check arrived Thursday.

The second mailing goes out this week. Just to be clear, my yearend campaign's first set of mailings includes three mailings to three different categories of donors and potential donors.

I am ecstatic to be seeing results of the campaign before Halloween.

Knowing that many who read my blog are way understaffed, and indeed may be the only staffer, please know that it is not too late to start your yearend campaign. Just start it this week. Get started on an action plan that covers you from this week all the way through December 31st. What will happen this week? Who will do it? How much money needs to be raised? All important questions.

The key, if you haven't yet begun, is to not to fret. Take action now and everything will be just fine.

If you have already begun your yearend campaign, keep in mind that I like to always stay ahead of the game. That means a reminder email to anyone who is receiving the mailing. That means making sure all of my future mailings go out on time. It also means that the board becomes more and more involved.

My board is totally involved. I loved how so many of them came into the office before our first mailing went out and wrote personal notes on the letters about to go out. I'll keep in touch with them on who responds to the first mailing, and they will be totally involved with keeping in touch with those who have not responded to the first ask. Remember, big or small, an active board is key to any yearend campaign.

Finally, remember to ask for help from other fundraisers. There is plenty of money to go around and my hope is that everyones yearend campaign is beyond successful! I love talking strategy with other fundraisers.

Thanks for reading. I'll keep writing about our yearend campaign. I would love to hear how yours is going!