There are plenty of ideas for end-of-year fundraising campaigns floating around. The problem is you’ve probably heard them all before. Freshen up your year-end campaign with some of these new ideas that will capture the imagination and attention of your supporters:
1. “Thank You” Video Campaign
Saying thanks is expected this time of year, but here’s a refreshing new way to say it. With a camera phone, shoot a series of 30-second videos of those who benefited from donations this year on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Have them say thank you and tell exactly how they were helped. This puts a human face on your organization and shows how donors made a difference. Promote this heavily through email and social media to drive more views and make sure you link back to your donation page.
2. “Just Say Thanks” Campaign
If your organization has traditionally set up your donors with a strong, end-of-the-year ask, throw them a curve. Set up an email campaign and landing page that tells your supporters that you really just want to say thank you, that’s it. Then subtly note at the end that it’s not too late for those who still want to help to make a difference. Link them to a second page that invites them to donate or helps them set up personal campaigns and community events. You may be surprised at how generous your supporters can be when you just give them the opportunity and leave the fundraising up to them.
3. Name Your December
There’s no reason why you can’t own the month of December for fundraising. There’s Movember, so why not come up with your own name for December? If it catches on this year you can make it an annual campaign. The more effectively you brand it, the bigger it will be.
4. Silent Night
As everyone is so busy during the month of December, give your supporters a break by giving them the night off. Don’t hold a gala and then sell admission tickets not to come. Send out invitations and play off all those gala cliches: “Your presence is not requested.”, “We hope we don’t see you there.” “You’re invited...to stay at home.” Make sure they invite their friends to buy a ticket and not come either.
5. Join Forces for a Virtual Community Fundraiser
One way to make your community more aware of a giving campaign is to band together with other local nonprofits. Create one big campaign that allows the donor many choices of where to direct their donations. Your fundraising software hopefully will allow you to build a landing page with your donation button as well buttons that link to other participating organizations, like DonorDrive does. The more nonprofits you involve, the more attention the campaign will get. Local media may get behind it to make it a bigger success, plus you may meet some new supporters along the way. And #GivingTuesday is a great day to launch it.
For DonorDrive Clients
Many nonprofits are finding that Personal Campaigns turn their supporters’ creativity loose. And while supporters are busy during the season of giving, when you point out to them how easy personal campaigns are to create, they find them a great way to contribute to your organization as well as introduce you to their networks. Log in to the Knowledge Base to see how easy it is to set up Personal Campaigns. And building that landing page in DonorDrive? Piece of cake.
