Did you know that nonprofits receive an average of 30% of their yearly donations in December alone and 10% within the last three days of the year?!
Not to mention the billions of dollars donated every year on Giving Tuesday ($3.1 billion in 2023).
The end of the calendar year is a crucial time for nonprofits to harness the charitable giving energy to fund their nonprofit for the next year’s activities. There might be more nonprofits than ever fighting for a small pool of donors. It’s hard to cut through all the noise, but it is essential for you as a nonprofit to reach your fundraising goals!
To help out, we’ve compiled 5 tips on how to raise money for your nonprofit during the holiday season.
Why are there so many donations at the end of the year?
One reason is that many people donate to charities and nonprofit organizations as part of their holiday traditions in December.
Another is that the end of the year is a cutoff for annual donation goals and the last chance for a charitable tax deduction for that calendar year.
Whether for cultural, religious, tax, or personal reasons, the donations given to nonprofits during this time of year represent a significant portion of their annual fundraising goals.
Why You Need a Holiday Fundraising Plan
Despite the documented increase in donations during the holiday season, it’s still important to focus your fundraising energies to ensure your organization is at the forefront of people’s minds when they’re considering where to donate.
People are incredibly busy during this time of year. From family get-togethers and office parties to shopping and gift-wrapping, there is little free time for anything else. It’s important to make giving to your organization as easy as possible so it fits into your supporters’ schedules.
Creating a fundraising plan is key for end-of-year giving. While starting a fundraising plan months ahead is preferable, its never too late to roll up your sleeves and put a plan into action.
Creating a Fundraising Plan for Holiday Fundraising
Here’s a step by step guide for creating a year-end holiday fundraising plan for your nonprofit.
1. Review past fundraising data
Review your donation and fundraising data from last year. Look at what worked and what didn’t, and try to find any successful, actionable initiatives you can recreate. See how much you raised, and when. These data points can be a great starting point as you decide how to handle this year’s goals.
2. Consider your financial situation
Look at your nonprofit’s current financial situation. How much money do you need to meet your annual goal and keep up with planned activities? Having a good grasp of where you are compared to where you need to be will help determine the scope of your end-of-year giving strategy.
3. Decide on your fundraising marketing message
Catch the attention of potential donors with a strong message and image in your fundraising marketing materials. Do not be shy to show the necessity of your nonprofit’s work with strong visuals. Once you have your messaging set, be consistent with it across your philanthropic campaigns. Consider spreading the word in a variety of ways: billboards, flyers, social media advertising, and other marketing means.
4. Build a timeline for various steps of your year-end fundraisers
There are a few events on the calendar to be aware of for the end-of-year giving season, so be sure to plan ahead for each.
First of all is Giving Tuesday, which is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Giving Tuesday is a big day for charitable giving, with many nonprofits spreading awareness and launching matching donation campaigns.
Next, there is Christmas on December 25th and Channukah. These are religious holidays that can inspire charitable giving.
Finally there is the last few days of the year leading up to New Years Eve on December 31st. Many people will be looking to make charitable contributions before the year’s end.
Review periodically and adjust your approach if needed from the end of November to the end of December.
6. Choose the right payment processing software for collecting donations
When collecting donations at this crucial time of year, it’s even more important to choose a donation processing service that will provide the smoothest, most trustworthy, and easiest donation experience. You don’t want potential donors to be deterred from donating by a long donation form or a shady looking webpage.
Also, keep in mind the cost of each platform. You don’t want your nonprofit’s hard-earned donations to be eaten up by fees!
When you use Crowded as your online donation processor, enjoy a seamless year end fundraising experience. Crowded is a fully optimized donation platform that provides a clean and professional donation checkout process for your donors. Donors will feel comfortable putting in their payment information into a no-ads page to process their donation.
And the nonprofit can keep 100% of the donation (if the donors choose to cover the fee)!
7. Pick a fundraiser (the more the merrier!)
Now for the fun part! Pick one or more fundraisers to put on for the holiday season. We’ve compiled a list of ideas for your nonprofit to choose from.
The great thing about end-of-year fundraising is that it can be catered or themed to your organization, which makes the process even more meaningful for everyone involved. If it’s personal and fun, donors are more likely to engage. Tag us if you use one of these ideas as inspo! @crowdedbanking on Instagram
Holiday Fundraiser Ideas
Don’t let the importance of this time of year overshadow the fun you can have with fundraising. The additional holidays and traditions mean there are more ways to get donors excited about giving to your nonprofit.
Host a Raffle
Raffles are one of the most popular fundraising tools, and for good reason. They are versatile and relatively simple to organize, and donors really enjoy the process. Some raffle prize ideas include tickets to sporting events, weekend getaway packages, gift cards, electronics, and designer clothes.
There really are no limits on what you include in your fundraiser raffle. Cooking lessons, helicopter rides, or dinner with a local celebrity – get creative and reach out to as many people and businesses as possible to secure unique raffle items.
To collect raffle tickets with Crowded, all you need to do is create a specialized payment link, and share it with your audience (which takes under a minute!). The participants can buy multiple tickets in one transaction, letting you easily scale your raffle fundraiser.
Candy Grams or Bouquet Fundraiser
Depending on your target donors and your budget, candy grams and candy bouquets can be as simple or as fancy as you’d like. Your nonprofit may choose gourmet candies in impressive arrangements or childhood favorites sent with a fun message. Whatever you decide, your donors will be excited to see this perfect gift option for their sweet-toothed family and friends.
Organizing a candy grams fundraiser is a breeze with Crowded. Simply create a payment collection link for the fundraiser and share it with the participants. Get a clear list of those who purchased, and watch the dollars grow in your account!
Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser
Leverage your community’s networks with a peer-to peer fundraiser! Use a fundraising platform that supports peer-to-peer fundraising like Crowded, to assign each volunteer their own donation collection link. Each volunteer will share their unique link with their followers on social media, and you can track the success of each volunteer’s efforts with Crowded’s donation collection dashboard.
Don’t just take our word for it, peer-to-peer fundraising is a clear winner for increasing donations. Peer-to-peer fundraising initiatives have a 71% success rate, compared to 22% for direct gift appeals, according to a survey by Nonprofit Source.
Launch a Donor Reengagement campaign
Instead of always searching for new audiences, engage those who have chosen to contribute to your cause in the past, as they’re already familiar with your cause and were already convinced once to make a donation. On average, 44% of past donors are likely to donate again!
When you use a fundraising platform like Crowded, you have the complete database of your past donors with their names, emails, and phone numbers. Use this data to launch a re-engagement email or phone campaign to get more donations!
