Development Booster Shots - Things You Should Do Before December 31

We’re in the midst of flu season and hopefully you’ve make the trek to Walgreens or the doctor’s office for your flu shots.  Hopefully you’ve also given some thought to how to be proactive in treating your organization’s financial well-being during this season.  The end of the year is the most fruitful time of the year for donations to your organization as people seek to maximize their charitable giving for the current tax year.  Here are some fundraising booster shots that could help you increase the productivity and health of your organization this winter.

•Holiday Greetings
Leadership in the organization should take a list of the names and phone numbers of significant donors and volunteers home over the holidays.  On Thanksgiving morning and Christmas Eve take a few minutes to call some of the good people who support your organization.  Make the phone call brief and sincere as you wish them a joyful holiday and thank them for all they do to support your mission. You’ll be surprised how much this phone call will mean to your donors. 

•A New Year’s Blitz
You are likely working on your year-end direct mail. The best time for those mailings to arrive at someone’s home is the week after Thanksgiving, before people are inundated with Christmas cards, letters and appeals from so many organizations.  What you may not realize is that the most effective follow up to your year-end giving solicitations should be done through email and online giving.  On Thursday morning, December 30th, send an email out to all of those donors who haven’t responded to your direct mail appeals.  Remind them that this is their last chance to make a tax deductible gift for the 2010 calendar year and how much of an impact it could have on the organization.  In order to make the most significant impact you should be equipped to receive an online gift (through services such as PayPal, Parish Pay and others). Always make it easy for your donors to give and keep in mind that online giving is quickly becoming the preferred way for many donors to make a gift. 

•Organize a Student Matching Gift
Ask a generous donor to consider matching student gifts during a Student Holiday Giving Campaign.  This year end campaign will complement your mission to teach students about generosity and philanthropy. Matching gifts are excellent incentives for students to make a gift. Ask students to be generous in giving back during the holiday season by making a Christmas gift to your organization before they go back home for winter break.  You can publicly display the names of student donors on a temporary display board in your lounge as well as posting an honor roll of student donors on your website as well.  Publicize the match through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and e-newsletters and encourage an online gift. 

•Lift a Glass in Thanksgiving
Organize a simple but elegant holiday cultivation event for your top donors that could coincide with a holiday event in your church, university or town.  One of my favorite events has been to organize a reception one hour before our parish Christmas concert.  We decorate a room with candlelight and poinsettias and serve wine and hors d’oeuvres to about 30-40 donors and key volunteers at this private reception. You can ask a student musician to play instrumental guitar, violin or piano as background music.  The Director should spend a few minutes talking about the highlights of the fall semester and a student should get up and thank everyone for their support.  The rest of the time is simply mingling and good conversations.  At the end of the hour we hand everyone a ticket for the Christmas concert and walk over to the event together.  Planning a thoughtful event doesn’t need to cost a lot a money or take a lot of time.  The key is to schedule it in tandem with another holiday event that donors would enjoy attending.

Take a few minutes to determine how to make these upcoming holiday months a season for giving and thanking.  A few winter booster shots for your development program can go a long way in ensuring your fiscal health.