Times are tough now and there’s so much uncertainty. Everyone is feeling it. I’m sure your nonprofit organization has been dealing with many challenges over the last several months.

Even though it’s hard, you need to keep going. If you haven’t been fundraising or have done very little of it, you’ll need to unless you have a good amount of reserve funding, which many organizations don’t.

If you’re wondering whether or not you should run your fall fundraising campaign, here are a couple of things to keep in mind. You can’t raise money if you don’t ask. Also, what would happen if your organization didn’t exist?  

The need your clients/community face is still there and has most likely increased. And while social and human service organizations are vital, arts and culture organizations are also important for the community. 

We need our nonprofit organizations to succeed.

You can do this! Just do the best that you can and that may mean going smaller in some instances. 

Quality counts

You want to get started on your year-end campaign as soon as possible. Now would be good. One of the first things you should do is figure out what worked and what didn’t from past campaigns. 

I wrote about getting ready for your year-end campaign in a previous post. You want to produce quality fundraising appeals and thank you letters. Don’t use the same templates you’ve used in the past. You must address the current situations. I’ll have more on this in future posts.

It’s worth the time and effort to craft a stellar appeal because it should help you raise more money.

Segment your donors

One aspect of a good appeal letter is personalization. You must segment your donors as much as you can. At the very least, segment them by current donors, monthly donors, and people who haven’t donated before.

You’ll have the best luck with people who’ve donated before and they’re going to want to see a letter that thanks them for their past support.

Monthly donors are the backbone of many nonprofit organizations and have a retention rate of 90%. Any time you communicate with them you must recognize them as monthly donors. You can ask your monthly donors to upgrade or give an additional donation.

Donors who have supported you before deserve a great appeal letter, and thank you letter too!

Mail your letters if you can

You should try to mail your appeal letters if you can. This is a proven way to raise money. I know mail can be expensive and who knows what’s going on with the post office. Everyone may have to work remotely again later this fall. I hope that’s not the case. Do your part to keep COVID at bay.

If cost is an issue, you could just mail letters to current donors and monthly donors and send email to other donor groups. Think segmentation! 

This is a good opportunity to look at your previous fundraising campaigns. If you have people on your mailing list who have never given or haven’t given for a while, it’s probably in your best interest not to mail them a letter. For lapsed donors who haven’t given for more than three years, you could send them a targeted letter or email telling them you miss them and want them back. If that doesn’t produce results, consider moving them to an inactive file. 

Focus on donors who will be more likely to give.

An electronic campaign can work

If it’s impossible to mail your appeals, run a high-quality email campaign with lots of reminders, but not so many that you overwhelm your donors. Think quality, not quantity. Don’t make it like the onslaught of political emails I’m getting now.

Use enticing subject lines and the amazing appeal you’re going to create. Many organizations ran successful electronic campaigns in the spring when the pandemic broke out so this is something that can work. 

These organizations were able to access their CRM/database remotely and you want to make sure you can do that.

If you can only do electronic thank yous right now, make them sparkle. You could make a thank you video, photo, or word cloud. And remember, thanking your donors isn’t a one and done deal. Keep thanking them throughout the year. 

Use this opportunity to see what channels your donors are using. Maybe social media makes sense for you, maybe it doesn’t. Also, consider calling some of your longer-term donors, especially if they don’t use email.

Focus on retention 

Donor retention should always be one of your top priorities – before, during, and after your appeal. Remember, your best bet for donations are your current donors.

Focusing on retention will help during the economic downturn. Some donors may not be able to give this year, but maybe they’ll be able to in the future. Keep engaging with them.

Retention: Still Your Best Strategy

Make time for what’s important and take care of yourself

I know there’s a lot going on both at your organization and in the world. Make time for what’s important, take care of yourself, and do the best that you can.