As we approach the end of the financial year, most (if not all) charities will have some sort of fundraising appeal in full swing.
Whether it’s direct mail, a digital campaign, or a community event (where permitted), this time of year is the final chance to encourage financial support and every charity should be taking it.
Regardless of how you’ve chosen to run your end of financial year appeal, here are eight of our top tips to boost results for the last fundraiser of the year.
2) Tell the story of your cause
Take the time to share the objectives of the appeal and how donations will be used. Make sure you share the impact of how financial gifts will make a difference to the wider community. Consider suggesting specific amounts the supporter can give and connecting their donation with tangible items.
3) Set realistic targets
To get the best results from a campaign, identify realistic monetary targets. Analyse previous appeals comparable by month or season and create a budget so the success of the appeal can be measured throughout.
4) Identify secondary goals
When writing fundraising appeal emails, consider adding a secondary goal (after donations) for the appeal. Do you want to move donors to a monthly giving program? Are you trying to siphon donors into a major giver program? Do you want to receive feedback on the experience with you by including a questionnaire?
Every secondary goal you work towards will help build relationships between the charity and the supporter and increase fundraising outcomes into the future.
5) Apply a multi-layered approach to communication
With so many platforms available, applying a multi-layered approach to a campaign will help you reach supporters you might not have done by sending just one piece of communication. Use social media to highlight key points of your appeal and send emails to let direct mail recipients know an email is on the way. The more contact you have with donors outside of ‘the ask’, the better the request for support will be received.
6) Say ‘thank you’
Sound fundraising practice states that a charity should thank a donor between five and seven times for each gift. Depending on the value of the gift, the first of those ‘thank yous’ should be within 48 hours in an email or letter. Make sure that official receipts are sent out for every single donation over $2. Not only so the donor knows you appreciate their support, but also as a record for their end of financial year accounts.
7) Create specific fundraising pages
Your website gives an overview of the organisation but a dedicated fundraising or landing page can be tailored to the specific campaign to avoid messaging being diluted with general news and content. If you don’t have the option to create specific pages on the charity website, SupporterHub provides the function to create fundraising pages that can be included in all appeal material making donating simple and straightforward.
8) Analyse data
Your appeal isn’t over once the last donation has been received. The appeal is only over once you have completed a thorough analysis of appeal data.
While the organisation can tailor the results they hope the appeal will achieve, the success of an appeal can generally be defined by a few factors including the value of donations received, ROI of the campaign, average donation and the number of new donors.
Detailed appeal analysis can help you assess the value of content and donor strategy so you can create more effective campaigns in the future.
Even the most loyal donors have a lot of choice on which charities to support so all charities must maximise every opportunity to encourage someone to say YES at appeal time!
SupporterHub is an integrated platform helping charities build better relationships with supporters to improve fundraising outcomes. To find out about our FREE trial (no credit card required) and learn how SupporterHub can help take your charity to the next level book a demo
