• Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Contact us
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • 0Shopping Cart
DCS Robin L. Cabral, MA, CFRE | Development Consulting Solutions
  • About Robin
  • Products
    • Webinars
    • Board Development Group Mastermind Coaching
    • Templates
  • Resources
    • Blog
      • Board development
      • Campaigns
      • Donor relations
      • Grant Writing
      • Individual Giving
      • Major gifts
      • Online
      • Planning
      • Small shop fundraising
    • Subscribe to Newsletter
    • Videos
  • Speaking
    • Topics
    • Schedule
    • Testimonials
  • Community
  • Services
    • Coaching with Robin L. Cabral, MA CFRE, MFIA
    • Consulting
    • Speaking topics
    • Clients
    • Testimonials
  • Australia Office Services
    • Visit our Australian website
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Blog, Campaigns, Direct mail, Donor Acquisition, Donor relations, Individual Giving, Online, Planning, Resources for the professional, Small shop fundraising, Stewardship

How to ensure a successful new nonprofit fundraising year

Now that it is January, you may think that it is time to relax a bit after that hectic holiday season. However, now is the time to ensure that you have strong follow-up to your calendar year-end appeal. 

If you have closed out one fundraising year completely by doing the needed follow-up, you have established a strong base and set your organization up well for success in the upcoming calendar year’s fundraising efforts. As they say, it is not over until it is over! And so, I have outlined several steps below that you can take this month to ensure that you have appropriate follow-up to maximize your calendar year-end efforts.

  1. Examine your largest donors who gave in 2018 and ensure that they made their gift by calendar year-end. If they have not yet made their gift, then it is time to contact them. You do not want your largest donors to lapse, as this will significantly impact the results of your campaign. Time to pick up the telephone or visit in person.
  2. Consider sending out a follow-up mail and/or email to those who did not respond to the year-end appeal. You should send this appeal out no later than late January. Perhaps your direct mail appeal got lost in all the holiday mail or in the flurry of appeals that were sent in. Now, as things have quieted down, is the time to send out one last appeal. Be sure to segment out all those who did give, whether doing mail or email or even both.
  3. Be sure that you send out all of your acknowledgements. Ensure that these acknowledgements are donor-centric and include the necessary updates and impact statements to demonstrate the impact a donor has had through their giving. Please do not mention that they helped you to reach your fundraising goal. This kind of wording will not inspire donors to give!
  4. Begin to assemble a late winter/early spring edition of your newsletter. As we all know, fundraising cannot be all about asking. We must share important updates, especially on the impact that a donor’s gift has made. Now is the time to get this newsletter ready. I urge that you send out both a print and online version. Many donors still read print!
  5. Prepare a Valentine’s or other such stewardship greeting to be sent sometime between now and the next appeal. Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to send a simple greeting of thanks “from the heart” to all of your donors, letting them know what they have made possible. This is a great way to engage clients in creating messaging for donors, whether it is through video, handmade cards, or notes. Use your creativity and be sure to connect messaging to your mission.
  6. Consider holding a phone bank around Valentine’s Day to call donors who have given to your calendar year-end appeal to thank them for their support. Again, “major” holidays are important stewardship times that you can use to have a significant stewardship impact.

So, while your thoughts may be on the new year ahead, let’s not forget the importance of doing a thorough clean-up job on last year’s appeal efforts. Now is the time, when mailboxes have “cooled down” and donors are back from their holidays, to ensure that you have maximized your efforts. Follow these steps above and you will set your organization’s development up for success in the coming year.

For a free, 30-minute consultation, or to learn more about our “Survive and Thrive” professional coaching services, visit us here at www.hireacfre.com or book your fundraising coaching session at http://calendly.com/robincabral.

Join my new nonprofit “tribe” who are surviving and thriving! Click HERE to join my private Facebook group: Nonprofit Survive and Thrive Mastermind and receive support and inspiration to drive your results.

January 10, 2019/0 Comments/by hireacfre
Tags: annual giving, board contributions, board of directors, capital campaigns, consultant, Direct mail appeal, donor cultivation, fund development, individual giving, new bedford, New england, nonprofit, nonprofit boards, nonprofit fundraising, One shop fundraising
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
You might also like
OORAH – What the Marines taught me about fundraising
Fundraising in the trenches, getting out of your funk!
Is scarcity stopping you from asking for a major gift?
How to find new donors for your nonprofit organization
Is it time to close our nonprofit doors?
Ask your donors key questions, and fundraising becomes simple!
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Contact

Development Consulting Solutions
New Bedford, MA
(508) 685-8899
rcabral@developmentconsultingsolutions.com
Join Our Community

Schedule Free Session

Schedule your first 30-minute complimentary session to see if we are a great fit!

Book Now

Quick Links

  • Visit us on Facebook
  • Visit us on Twitter
  • Visit us on LinkedIn

Join our Newsletter

Fill out this form to sign up for our email newsletter

© Copyright - Development Consulting Solutions | Privacy Policy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
How to create a manual that ensures your database stays clean and up to dat... How to get your fundraising “Mojo” back through finding your ideal...
Scroll to top

Get my FREE Ebook on the Building Blocks for a Successful Case for Support

Sign up to get FREE instant access to this Ebook now.

Fill out this form to sign up for our email newsletter.