Procrastinator’s Guide to Year-End Fundraising
It begins with a poem…
Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through the House,
Grownups were surfing and clicking their mouse.
The kids were asleep and the stockings were loaded,
With ipods and Wiis and things sugar-coated.
And now it was time to think of some others,
The poor, disenfranchised, sons, daughters and mothers.
Worthy cause emails came in by the scores,
Making the case for donations and more.
Which one to choose, and what to do then,
Join, donate, or give—oh how much and when?
But the sites were a mess and the forms were a tangle,
The wanna-be donors’ nerves came a-jangle.
It was too much confusion and they were so tired,
You’d think it would be easier to make charity wired.
Donate tomorrow, they said to themself,
Was enough work today to be Santa’s elf.
And so off to bed, the causes can wait,
If it had only been easier to give or donate.
A Procrastinator’s Guide to Year End Fundraising has excellent tips on how to make online giving a smooth and pleasant process for your donors and how to integrate it into your year-end solicitation plans. The guide covers 10 steps:
1. Inspire your donors every day
2. Blaze trails to your donate page
3. Optimize your donate form
4. Test drive your online donation process
5. Create a “Why Donate” page
6. Thank your donor at least three times
7. Provide for a warm welcome
8. Launch a two-pronged cultivation plan
9. Measure and Test
10. Avoid procrastinating next year!
Related Posts:
- Conducting a Major Gifts Campaign workshop April 8
- Slippery Olympic funding for culture
- Tip of the Week: United Way does it right
- Weathering the Storm: the state of nonprofits in BC
- New year, new fundraising realities
