Planning a Successful Year-End Campaign: Budgeting Tips for Nonprofits

For many nonprofits, the end of the year is when they receive a significant portion of their donations. It’s a time when companies and individuals review their financial situation over the past year and look for places to give.

It’s estimated that approximately 30% of annual giving occurs in December, with around 10% happening within the last three days of the month, according to the donation software company Donorbox. It also reports that 28% of nonprofits raise between 26% and 50% of their annual operating funds during their year-end fundraising. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is an especially popular time for donors, given the rise of the GivingTuesday movement.

Whether someone’s year-end giving is because they’re looking for a tax deduction or they’re inspired by the spirit of the holiday season, a successful year-end campaign can provide your nonprofit with the funds it needs to reduce financial stress and allow you to accomplish your goals in the coming year. That’s why we put together this year-end fundraising checklist and nonprofit budgeting tips for all our charitable partners in the Appalachian region.

Start With Last Year’s Data

Just as your potential donors look over their past performance in deciding what to give, charities should take the same approach. Consider which of your campaigns had the best return on investment. What was your most effective messaging? What did people respond to? Do your donors prefer to be reached by social media, email, snail mail, or a phone call? Did your fundraising fall short of or meet your expectations? How can you improve your fundraising message going forward?

These considerations can help you determine where to allocate your resources for an end-of-the-year campaign. You might reach out to some of your donors to see what approach works for them and what might work in approaching their friends.

 

 

Set Clear Financial Goals

Many charities set their donation targets based on past performance and current needs. While you might have a fundraising figure that you’d like to hit by the end of the year, try breaking down your goals into different categories and targets, such as donor retention, average gift size, and new donor acquisition.

You might launch separate campaigns targeting lapsed donors and convincing mid-level donors to increase their contribution levels. Of course, your fundraising budget must include marketing costs, materials, staff time, events, and advertising.

Prioritize Your Messaging Channels

After analyzing your previous campaigns and setting goals, it’s time to figure out which messaging channels work best for your organization. Email marketing? Social media? Giving Tuesday? A matched gift campaign? Of course, you’ll also need to figure out the best messaging type. Many charities use A/B testing for their fundraising messages to see if a particular subject line or content works better than others.

A multichannel messaging approach often works best, such as a direct mailing with a follow-up message sent by email, or an email message with a follow-up message sent by text. As you fine-tune your messaging approach, make sure you have a way to track the success of each marketing channel and message. This will make it much easier for you to gauge your success and improve your fundraising approach in the future.

Fine-Tune Your Messaging

Personalization and impact should be key parts of your messaging plan. This is especially true with past and current donors. Let them know that their contributions matter and have positively impacted their community. You might offer a specific example of an individual or a family you’ve helped. It’s easier for potential donors to identify with an individual rather than a data point, offering an emotional appeal that can be especially effective for year-end campaigns.

Address each donor by name, mention their past contributions, and their positive effect on helping your organization meet its goals. If the donor has dealt with a particular individual within your organization, it would help your appeal to sign that person’s name to the letter or email. Whether addressing current donors or searching for new ones, the subject line must offer a clear and compelling message that encourages people to open and read the email.

The same is true for the header atop any letters. The writing style within the message should have a conversational, upbeat tone that feels personal and establishes a relationship with the reader. Ensure the reader understands what your organization does, how their contribution would help your efforts, and how it would be used to have a tangible impact. Don’t forget to make your request as clear as possible. Offering suggested giving levels can increase your chance of securing a donation, although there should also be a blank space where people can choose their own level.

 

 

Create a Campaign Webpage

Simply relying on your regular contribution page on your website might be the more straightforward approach for a year-end campaign, but you’d be missing out on creating a message tailored to your end-of-year giving campaign. Your campaign webpage should be as clean and uncluttered as possible. While links for more information are helpful, too many of them can get in the way of your messaging efforts.

As with your other messaging channels, you’ll need a clear and straightforward headline that gives people a clear idea of the impact their contribution would have. To create urgency, you might include a countdown clock or calendar that counts down to the end of the year, as well as a progress bar or some indication of how close you are to meeting your goals.

Images can help create an emotional tug, with a caption explaining your organization's impact and how someone’s donation would be used. Avoid embedding a video on this page; it could turn people off. An image with a short caption is more likely to catch their eye and get your message across without wasting too much time.

Remember a clear call to action at the bottom that leads to your regular donation page. It might be tempting to put a “donate today” button at or near the top of the page, but this can turn donors off. You’ll need to create an emotional connection with a potential donor before you ask for funds.

 

Don’t Forget In-Kind and Volunteer Contributions

Volunteers are the backbone of many charitable organizations, so measure and account for the volunteer hours and in-kind donations. Accounting for the number of volunteer hours your organization receives and putting a dollar value on their time and in-kind contributions can help with your budgeting needs and your messaging appeal to potential donors. Make sure you also take the time to think about your volunteers, staff, and board members, to let them know their efforts are appreciated and are a vital part of your organization’s success. A card or handwritten note could go a long way towards maintaining that relationship.

Build in a Post-Campaign Debrief Budget

As you wind down the year, look at what worked and where you need to improve. Which expenses generated the highest return on donations? Is there a particular message or messaging channel that works better than others? You might reach out to new donors or those who increased their contribution to get feedback on what compelled them to donate. Doing this right after a campaign will probably give you a more accurate assessment. People’s memories can fade, and if you wait too long to ask, they might not remember which message convinced them to support you.

How PCB Can Support Nonprofits in West Virginia and Virginia

At PCB, we provide free nonprofit checking accounts with no monthly maintenance fees. We’re a team of local bankers who understand nonprofits' seasonal funding cycles and campaign timing. We also offer cash management and merchant services for online giving and donor events.

 

 

Budgeting for Impact, Not Just Survival

A well-planned budget is the backbone of a successful year-end campaign. With the right tools and partners, nonprofits can finish the year strong and start the next with confidence.

We’re Ready to Help You Meet Your Goals

Ready to strengthen your year-end strategy? Contact your local PCB banker to explore financial tools built for nonprofits and seasonal campaigns, or visit one of our locations in the Appalachian region to learn more about Virginia nonprofit banking and West Virginia nonprofit banking.