It’s the middle of December, and you still haven’t sent out your end-of-year (EOY) fundraising appeal?

Don’t hang your head.

Don’t throw your hands up.

Don’t despair! In my time working with small- and medium-sized nonprofit organizations, I have seen many who delayed until December–for good reasons and bad–and still managed to get lots of donations from December into January.

It’s not too late! Here’s a step-by-step approach to sending out an EOY appeal that gets results.

EOY Fundraising, Step One: Thank Your Donors

Before you can ask, you will need to put your donors in a welcoming state of mind. They need to know that you haven’t forgotten about them since the last time they clicked Donate or pulled out their checkbook. They need to know they matter.

So, if you are not sure you actually thanked them for the last donation, send out the ideal thank-you now. And if you did thank them, do it again, creatively.

EOY Fundraising, Step Two: Report Back

On your social media and in your email, send out messages that show donors how they made a difference. That could be an actual impact report if you have one on hand, or it could be telling success stories from your programs. The point is to bathe your donors in a warm glow of happiness about their last donation before you ask for the next!

EOY Fundraising, Step Three: Ask!

If you can get it into the mail this week, it’s still worthwhile writing the ideal appeal letter, sticking it in an envelope, and taking it to the post office. Direct mail performs better than any other kind of fundraising. (Yes, still!)

But if the process of getting a letter in the mail is just too much right now, or if the mail delivery where you live has gotten wonky during the pandemic, your next best bet is email. Here are 10 tips for writing an email that actually raises money.

EOY Fundraising, Step Four: Remind

Many people make their EOY donations in the last few days of the year. Or on December 31. Or on New Year’s Eve itself. Make sure they remember your appeal by sending a nice wish for the new year on Thursday, December 30, or Friday, December 31, with a gentle reminder…and a link to your donation page.

The ticket to success in direct mail fundraising is letting your donors know what a difference they can make.

Not what a good organization you are.

Not what fine work you do.

Not the nice things that other people say about you.

There are other times to tell them that, and you should.

All year, throughout your communications calendar, there are plenty of opportunities for you to share success stories and testimonials. Your newsletter, blog, email, social media…all those are good platforms for convincing people that when they gave to you before, they did the right thing.

If you’ve waited until you’re asking for money again, it’s too late!

When you send out an appeal letter to your current donors, they should already have the best impression of you in mind.

Now, it’s time to answer one simple question: “If I donate now, what will happen?”

Make the Impact of the Gift Feel Real

Partners in Health knows  from their donor database that I typically donate $50/year. So, when they asked me to renew, they told me that my gift of $50 can

help provide lifesaving, ready-to-use therapeutic food to start malnutrition treatment for a child in need.

But they didn’t just tell me. They made the impact feel real.

Along with a well-written appeal letter, in the envelope, PIH enclosed four “Treatment Delivery Tickets.” Each one looked like this:

This is a little different from the usual reply card!

For one thing, it asks for my signature, which makes it feel more like I made a personal decision and a commitment.

For another thing, PIH nudged me toward giving 2-4X my usual amount.

They avoided giving me a range of amounts to give (50, 100, 150, 200, other), which is what everyone does. Instead, they made me handle each card and decide how many of them to put in with my check…and how many to throw away.

Throwing away a “treatment delivery ticket” feels awful. It makes me picture a child who doesn’t get food unless I help.

On the other hand, signing four cards and putting them all in the envelope with my check makes me feel like a hero. (Even if I go online to make my donation, I will linger over those cards, and they will stay in my mind for a long time afterwards.)

Has your organization put anything like these tickets into your donors’ hands? If the answer is “Not yet,” then what can you do to make the impact of their donation real to them?

Labor Day is past. Autumn has not yet begun. But for nonprofit organizations like yours, it’s end-of-year appeal season.

Getting your end-of-year appeal right matters greatly. Most nonprofits receive 30% of their donations in the month of December alone.

Especially in 2020, when incomes are down and the need for your services is up, your end-of-year appeal could determine whether your organization closes in 2021…or sails into the new year, ready to serve the people who need you most.

So, what do you do now, today, this moment, to ensure a happy December?

Here are a dozen steps you can and must take, beginning right now, to make sure donors give generously when they receive your end-of-year appeal. Share on X

Think about your audience.

Starting now, know the people you are writing to. What do they care about, and what matters to them? I suggest you print out a photo of the donor whose heart you want to touch and keep it in front of you for the next few months.

Decide what story you’re telling.

Do you already have a story bank, with the names and narratives of real people you’re trying to help? Then you can find what you’re looking for there. If not, there’s not a moment to lose in asking staff and volunteers to put you in touch with a client whose stories you can tell. (With their permission, of course!)

Pick photos.

Again, you may have these in your story bank, or you may need to go out and take photos–again, with the client’s permission. Aim for action photos that tell the story all by themselves. Avoid head shots and group photos.

Why will the donor open the envelope?

The envelope is the first thing the donor sees, and it has to be inviting–or it will end up in the recycling bin, unread. Figure out whether you can put a tag line, a photo, or even just a name people know and trust on the outside of the envelope.

Dear “who”?

The first thing the donor will look for is whether or not you got their name right. If you don’t know what they like to be called, now–today–is the time to ask them. (And if you do know, make sure it’s in your database, so the correct name ends up in the salutation of your letter.)

The postscript comes first.

After their name, the first thing most donors look at is the P.S. Choose whether you want to use it to repeat the main theme of the letter, to offer a chance to have their donation matched, or to make the message more urgent. Write the postscript first and then work the letter in its direction.

Ask. Ask. Ask.

Your donors are generous people, but they like to be asked. Especially this year, a lot of other organizations are bidding for their charitable donations. You must ask them to give, directly, and repeatedly. I suggest coming up with three “ask” sentences to space throughout your letter before you even start writing.

Once upon a time….

If you have a story, tell it like a story. Focus on one individual or family. Show how life was going for them before some danger appeared: getting sick, losing their job, or getting targeted by terrible government policies. Make the peril imminent.

Make the donor the hero of the story.

Donors don’t give to your organization: they give through your organization. They want to help that person in trouble. So, tell success stories throughout the year, but when you’re asking for money–especially in your end-of-year appeal–leave the client in peril and urge the donor to help.

Make it easy for donors to donate by mail.

Include a reply slip with the name and address of the donor and the name and address of your organization. It should say, “Yes! I want to help [name of client in the story] and people like her to [get out of the trouble you’ve described in the letter].” It must include the option to give by credit card–or you will lose money.

Make it easy for donors to donate online.

Many people on your mailing list will give because you sent them an end-of-year appeal letter in the mail, but they will go to your website to do it. Make sure the website address, or URL, is prominent in your letter and/or on your reply slip.

Make sure donors get a REAL thank-you.

The acknowledgment from your online donation page is not a real thank-you all by itself. The receipt you send in the mail, for tax purposes, is not a real thank-you either. Plan to send the ideal thank-you letter within 48 hours of receiving the gift. Then, create a TY calendar, so that you are finding ways to make donors glad they gave, all the way until the next December.