Fundraising Ideas for an End of Year Boost

For many nonprofit organizations, the fiscal year-end is June 30 and the busy giving season in December marks the end of the financial year for donors. Below are some quick fundraising ideas to help boost your bottom line and year end initiatives.

Skip that direct mail campaign and start working on your email appeal and building your online donation page. An exclusively online campaign can be executed much faster than a traditional direct mail campaign.

Here’s what you need to get going:

• A compelling story to feature in your appeal. The story of one person you’ve helped is more powerful than a long list of data points. For more on writing a winning appeal, download this eGuide.
• The right list of donors to target. Don’t send an appeal to a donor who recently gave or who has yet to receive a thank you message for their last gift. And remember to segment your list so the message you send is relevant and doesn’t confuse your donors.
• A branded donation page that reflects the same message featured in your appeal.

A Peer-to-Peer Campaign 

A peer-to-peer campaign leverages your network of loyal donors, supporters, staff, and board and empowers them to fundraise on your behalf.  Not sure if a peer-to-peer campaign is right for you? Learn more about:

• The essentials of peer-to-peer fundraising.
• How to engage your peer fundraisers.
• How the East Oakland Youth Development Center launched their very first (and very successful) peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.
• Network for Good’s peer-to-peer fundraising software.

A Lapsed Donor Campaign 

When was the last time you reached out to the segment of donors who haven’t given a gift in the past 12 months? Use your donor management system to create a list of these donors, then look into their giving history. You can then draft an email appeal that will connect lapsed donors to the programs they have supported in the past.

You can execute this campaign just as you would an online giving campaign with the added layer of segmentation: specifically reaching out to lapsed donors with an appeal message that relates to their past giving history and interest in your organization. 

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