Year-End has the potential for large returns, with 30% of annual charitable giving taking place in December alone – but what about the philanthropic challenges to contend with?

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The Challenge

Post-pandemic fatigue and economic uncertainty have caused a 10.5% dip in donations. Coupled with a saturated market, traditional approaches just aren’t cutting it anymore. The era of easy fundraising is over — it’s time to change the game, and we’ve got the Year-End and GivingTuesday playbook you need!

The Solution

Embrace the donor-centric revolution. As you work to capture hearts and wallets, you’ll need to focus on the donor experience and differentiate yourself from the crowd.

We’ve created a comprehensive Year-End & GivingTuesday Fundraising Toolkit so you can plan your Year-End and GivingTuesday journey from start to finish.

Our All New 2023 Year-End & GivingTuesday Fundraising Toolkit will help you:

• Stand out and get noticed.
• Define your unique mission and impact.
• Set campaign goals and objectives.
• Create a proven communications calendar.
• Get people excited to rally for your cause.
• Optimize your donation form to convert more donors.
• Customize first-draft appeals and emails with our communications templates.

Discover what’s inside…

The 3-Part Year-End & GivingTuesday Fundraising Toolkit

• The Comprehensive Year-End Fundraising Plan: Navigate the Year-End maze with expert insights and strategies that work. You’ll learn the importance of Year-End, get inspired with different campaign and marketing ideas, learn how to set goals, create a communications calendar, get donor matches, acquire more major donors, engage your community, create a donor experience that shines and more!
• The Comprehensive GivingTuesday Campaign Plan: Use this step-by-step roadmap to success. Craft a campaign that’s not just noticed but cherished by your donors. You’ll learn how to craft a compelling story, fundraise using our proven GivingTuesday timeline and gain inspiration with our GivingTuesday campaign examples!
• Free Marketing and Communications Templates: Start writing your Year-End and GivingTuesday appeals, emails, receipts and social media posts from a first draft, not from scratch! You can customize our communications templates and tailor them to your voice. Bonus: customizable social media graphics included!

Download the Fundraising Toolkit:

Our Generous Partners

This free guide is made possible through our partners listed here. Big thanks for their dedication in equipping nonprofits for successful Year-End and GivingTuesday fundraising. Check them out below!

But was this trend uniform across all donor categories? Do Gen Z, the digital natives, give the same way as the Baby Boomers? And what about those high-flyers with deeper pockets?

Dive into our 2023 CauseVox Giving Study to unveil the distinct giving behaviors of different generations and the habits of high-earning donors.

Download the CauseVox 2023 Giving Study Whitepaper:

In this free download you’ll gain insights into:

• Generational Giving Gaps: How does Gen Z’s giving behavior stack against the tried and true habits of Boomers?
• High-Earner Philanthropy: Discover what motivates the affluent to open their wallets and how you can tap into this.
• Digital Vs. Traditional: While Gen Z might prefer a mobile wallet, are Boomers still writing checks? Get the lowdown on the latest giving trends.
• Trust in Tales: Learn how storytelling, from real-life testimonials to impactful narratives, influences donor engagement across ages.
• Crafting Tailored Donor Experiences: Strategies to resonate with different demographics, combining efficiency and personal touch.
• Engaging Beyond Money: Why modern donors, regardless of age or income, crave a deeper connection with the causes they support.

The landscape of philanthropy is diverse and evolving. With shifts in economic climates and donor preferences, it’s imperative to understand and adapt. Download our whitepaper and equip yourself with the knowledge to appeal to every donor, from the Boomer to the Zoomer, and the high-earner in between.

Secure your copy now and set your nonprofit on a trajectory of success in this diverse era of giving!

Download the CauseVox 2023 Giving Study Whitepaper:

…did you raise your hand? 

We hope you did, but we get it if you didn’t. Let’s be real, events take a lot of work. Without a solid strategy in place, it might end up costing you more time and money than what you actually raise.

That’s why we’ve curated these tips and best practices just for you. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive guide that’ll help you crush your next event, making it both fun and effective.

In this guide, you’ll discover:

• The benefits of hosting a nonprofit fundraising event 
• A step-by-step guide to planning like a pro (so you don’t miss any details)
• Different types of fundraising events + ideas to get you started
• Ticketing strategies to maximize attendance
• Leveraging silent auctions for boosted fundraising
• Attracting sponsors to enhance your event’s impact
• Logistics made easy: from venue selection to smooth execution
• Creating a perfect event timeline to stay on track
• How to measure and evaluate your event’s success

Ready to host an unforgettable event that makes a real impact? Download our guide for nonprofit fundraising events today! We guarantee it will revolutionize your fundraising efforts.

View and download the guide for free:

When it comes to nonprofits, ChatGPT can do this by helping with things like copywriting, research, data analysis, and more. 

And get this: all you have to do to take advantage of this exciting technology is to tell it what you want it to do for you!

However, there is a bit of an art to inputting effective prompts so ChatGPT can give you the results you want. 

That’s why in this guide, we’ve taken the guesswork out of using ChatGPT for nonprofit fundraising and marketing, so you can know both what to ask ChatGPT to do and how to ask it. 

From this guide you’ll walk away with:

• Knowledge about what ChatGPT is and how it can be used for fundraising
• Best practices for writing ChatGPT prompts
• Practical examples of ChatGPT being put to use for donation appeals, social media posts, peer-to-peer fundraising, and more 
• A big list of ChatGPT prompts you can try yourself!

Whether you’ve been on the AI train for a while or are just now warming up to the idea, this guide will have you directing ChatGPT to do exactly what you want in no time. 

View and download the guide for free:

While that sounds fantastic, this type of fundraising can get fairly time-consuming. 

Luckily, ChatGPT is here to help.

What is ChatGPT?

As a new model for conversational AI, ChatGPT has the ability to generate content that sounds remarkably human. From writing code to doing your homework, it’s like having a personal assistant right at your fingertips.

This guide explores the potential of ChatGPT in supporting peer-to-peer fundraising efforts. We’ll cover topics such as crafting effective appeals, social media posts, and storytelling using ChatGPT, as well as creating peer-to-peer fundraising toolkits and participant outreach. In addition, this guide also highlights best practices and limitations to help nonprofits maximize the potential of their peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns.

Ready to start leveraging ChatGPT in your next peer-to-peer fundraiser?

View and download the guide for free:

Autumn definitely means “go time” in the life of a fundraiser, often because it signals the start of year-end, a period of time you may get upwards of 60% or more of your annual donations.

Even if you don’t follow a definitive fundraising calendar, it’s still vital to come up with a year-end fundraising plan—and stick to it. To get started preparing for the most wonderful time of the year for nonprofits and charities, ensure you’ve covered your year-end fundraising basics with this year-end fundraising campaign timeline.

View and download our Year-End Fundraising Sample Plan + Calendar by inputting your email address below:

Here are some key dates to keep in mind as you plan your year-end fundraising calendar:

• November 1: Set Goals And Make A Plan
• Suggestion: Pre-Thanksgiving Thank You Campaign
• November 15: Soft Launch Your Year-End Campaign
• November 28: GivingTuesday – Big Fundraising Kickoff
• December 15: Build Urgency
• December 31: Final Year-End Push
• January + February: Thank Yous

For more on year-end planning, get your free ticket to the Year-End Fundraising Fair on 11/4!

By November 1st: Set Goals And Make A Plan

Set a Goal: Hopefully, your nonprofit or charity has a clear, board-approved budget that you follow. If this is the case, then you should have a clear idea about how much you need to raise for the next fiscal year. Don’t hesitate to use this budget as a guide for your year-end fundraising efforts.

Use the SMART Goal setting strategy to craft your fundraising goal. SMART goals help you streamline a reasonable goal for any situation.

• Specific: Have a set number or level you want to reach, such as dollars raised, volunteers mobilized, etc.
• Measurable: Ensure it’s trackable and measurable
• Attainable: The goal must be achieved through reasonable effort
• Relevant: The goal should match the needs of your cause
• Time-bound: Set a start and end date

Here’s an example of a SMART year-end fundraising goal: We have a goal of raising $15,000 from GivingTuesday through December 31st through a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign and an email campaign.

Have a Plan: What types of fundraising activities are you planning to use? What are the methods do your supporters respond to? These are the questions that must shape your fundraising plans. Take into account your staff and volunteer time, fundraising budget, and your donor’s normal year-end giving habits when formulating a fundraising plan. Here are some ways you can fundraise during year-end:

• Email “asks”
• A phone-a-thon
• Online crowdfunding campaign
• Peer-to-peer fundraising
• Direct mail pledges
• A one-day giving blitz such as GivingTuesday
• Virtual events
• Incorporate a matching grant

Delegate Tasks: Once you set your goal and plan, it’s time to delegate. Before the start of November, give everyone involved with the fundraising process their “to-do” list. Make sure that you have strong communication plans set up for the last two months of the year. Spreadsheets and shared files (such as on Google Docs or Dropbox) are phenomenal ways to keep everyone on the same page.

Download this Sample Year-End Fundraising Goals Spreadsheet:

You’ll see this fundraising goal sheet is broken up into 2 parts: A donor thank-you campaign from 11/2-11/13 and a fundraising campaign from 11/14-12/31.

Suggestion: Pre-Year End Fundraising Thank You Campaign 

Give Thanks: Thanksgiving is a key date for your nonprofit or charity and it is a wonderful time to remind your donors that they can build community with friends and family by supporting an organization they love.

It’s also a perfect time to tell your donors thank you. They’ve been here for you through a lot this year. This is absolutely the time to let them know that you appreciate it. There are a number of ways you can tell your supporters “Thanks” on Thanksgiving, including:

• Social Media
• Email blast
• Direct mail

The goal of this engagement touchpoint is to show your donors, volunteers, board members, and other stakeholders how vital they are to your organization and equate their commitment with impact.

Remember, it’s always a good idea to simply say “thank you” without any strings attached. For more ideas on giving thanks, read our post: 21 Unique Donor Thank You Ideas.

Prepare Your Supporters for GivingTuesday: If your nonprofit or charity is one of the hundreds of thousands of organizations set to participate in GivingTuesday fundraising efforts, then the preparations for the campaign should begin well in advance.

To guarantee you cover all your bases, we suggest following our GivingTuesday Planning Guide. After the ball starts rolling, prepare your potential donors for the campaign through targeted outreach.

It is important to get your donation page setup in advance, or to send a GivingTuesday email to build momentum leading up to the launch of your campaign. Innovators Who Care did exactly that in the example below. They created a page with details on what their organization does, why they are celebrating, a powerful story AND how your donation makes a difference, including a detailed and transparent list of where the money will go.

By November 15: Soft Launch Your Year-End Campaign

As we head into November, it’s time to start thinking about sending your first solicitation. “That’s so early!” I hear you all yelling at your computers. Ah, but it’s not. This is the perfect time to start introducing your year-end campaign to your supporters, and you definitely want to put your nonprofit into their minds before November 28.

This 2022 campaign from Associate Alumnae of Douglass College prepared donors for GivingTuesday by sharing a window of time from November 5th to GivingTuesday, the big day! This can be helpful for donors who want to get started giving early, and also to beat the noise of GivingTuesday by launching your campaign a few weeks in advance.  

You can start with a soft ask, or if you’re feeling ready, dive right into full solicitation. If you’re interested in the soft ask, you can check out our post on soft launches to learn how to start your campaign before you really start it. 

Whatever you do, make sure that your supporters are thinking about your name in connection with holiday giving.

Year-End Fundraising Campaign Goals

Here’s an example of what a year-end fundraising communications calendar can look like before Dec 1:

Want this template to create your own year-end fundraising plan? Download yours when you enter your email here:

By #GivingTuesday (November 28th, 2023): Big Fundraising Kickoff

Engage in a GivingTuesday Fundraiser or Friendraiser: while you build your general plan, you should definitely take GivingTuesday into consideration. This day can have a big pay-off if you put together a clear plan.

Even if you decided not to run a full-blown fundraising campaign on this International day of giving, it’s vital you work to keep your organization top of mind. After all, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of causes vying for your donor’s attention. If you don’t reach out now, you’ll be missing out. Make sure your donors know how they can give to you on this day, regardless of your other plans.

Try one or more of these strategies to engage your supporters on GivingTuesday:

• Run a 24-hour online fundraiser
• Engage supporters in a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign
• Ask your audience to share your org’s posts regarding impact on social media and via email
• Call all donors just to say “Thank You”

Here’s some GivingTuesday 2023 Ideas and Best Practices to help you raise more this year. Plus, here are GivingTuesday Email Templates to inspire your communications.

By December 15th: Build Urgency Through Communications

Build Urgency: By December 15th, New Year’s Eve is just a few short weeks away. Whether you’re near your year-end fundraising goal or are still struggling to meet your goals, use this date to build urgency in your communications with donors.

Let them know, politely and pleasantly, that the end of the year is nearing. If you’re comfortable doing so, let them know how far you are away from your goal.

Last year, The Cancer Support Community of San Gabriel Valley set and met their goal to raise $3,750,000 by December 31st. Their progress bar highlighted to their nearly 300 donors how close they were to reaching their goal, and together, they did it! 

Encourage Supporter Participation: Social media and social sharing, in particular, have completely transformed the donor to nonprofit relationship. Today, your organization’s visibility and credibility are tightly linked with the fervor of your online and offline audience.

To tap into the power of a good recommendation, it’s a good time to ask your supporters to “vouch” for your cause. Some ways they can do this include:

• Sharing your post
• Using a special, organization/campaign-specific hashtag
• Becoming a personal fundraiser for your year-end campaign
• Posting about your organization on their own page

By December 31st: Final Year-End Fundraising Push

Create a Final Push: As time winds down, a final push may be necessary to capture those last-minute donations. The last few days of December are the highest giving days of the year: be sure you have communications going out on December 29, 30, and 31st to drive donations.

Before December 31st, you also want to follow up with any donor (major or minor) that hasn’t renewed their gift using their preferred communication method.

You can use whatever language suits your organization best, but it is nice to include some highlights from this year as well as program goals for 2024.

Remind donors how much they mean to your organization, and how they are the true heroes that make your important work possible. The Irish Immigration Pastoral Center exemplifies this well on their campaign page below. 

They clearly share the impact they have had in the community for the previous year, and appeal to their donors to help them continue and expand these programs for the coming year. Donors love to see impact, so share all the amazing work you are doing proudly. 

Ready to get started building your own year-end fundraising calendar? Access the free Year-End Fundraising Sample Plan + Calendar Template below:

January and February: Thank Yous, Impact Reporting, and Further Engagement Planning.

Thank Your Donors: Immediately following the end of your year-end campaign, don’t hesitate to thank your donors. Yes, this post may sound like a broken record but this step can’t be stressed enough. 

To cover your bases consider doing a 2-part thank you. Start with a blanket “Thanks” through social media and email to let your donors know their efforts will make a difference. Be sure this comes out on or around New Year’s Day.

Follow that up with a personal thank you to each donor. This is also a wonderful place to start letting your supporters know what you’re thinking about for 2024.

Compile Impact and Results: Gather all the information you need to report the results of the campaign. Tally the number of donors, dollars raised, volunteers/fundraisers mobilized, and even the number of social shares. Use this information to build on your next campaign.

When the time comes, report those findings on your website and/or annual report.

Plan Next Engagement Opportunity: In 2022 we saw charitable giving take a dip. In 2023, we experienced a year of climate crisis and global unrest; however inflation slowed and the economy began to gradually improve. With that, we anticipate annual giving this year to improve and our giving study found that 81% of respondents planned to maintain or increase their giving this year! Looking forward to 2024, it’s time to emphasize thoughtful planning to be prepared for whatever lies ahead. Start considering how to maintain donors, measure the success of your events, campaigns, and fundraisers as well as how to appeal to the younger audiences. 

Use the donor engagement cycle as a guide to keep your donors as active participants in your organization.

There’s no doubt about it, you’re going to be busy these next few months. Help ease the burden by preparing ahead of time and following this timeline to a T. Once you ace your year-end fundraising efforts this year, you can build and grow annually.

CauseVox offers a multitude of resources on year-end and GivingTuesday campaigns. Here are a few of our favorites:

• 2023 Comprehensive Year-End and GivingTuesday Toolkit
• How to Plan for a Successful GivingTuesday Campaign
• Fundraising Planning Guide, Calendar, Template & Goals Worksheet
• How to Incorporate GivingTuesday Into Your Year-End Fundraising Campaign

Ready To Make Your Year-End Fundraising Fantastic?

Are you ready to build out a digital fundraising campaign for all your year-end fundraising needs?

CauseVox makes it easy for you to set up and launch a digital fundraising campaign site that helps you raise more with less effort.

With optimized forms that make it easy for your supporters to give + top-notch support to help you launch your digital fundraiser in no time, you’ll be equipped to raise more than ever before.

Get Started with your Year-End Fundraising on CauseVox.

As the end of the year nears, the “fun” part of a fundraiser’s job begins to rear its head. As we all know, our jobs as fundraisers are never done. But as soon as pumpkins start gracing our doorsteps, most nonprofits are just beginning to ramp up their fundraising.

Why is the end of the year the most popular time for fundraising?

Because people give more during November and December than they do the rest of the year. In fact, people are both thinking AND acting charitably. 

In 2022, charitable giving reached $499.33 billion, and although this was down 3.4% from 2021, CauseVox’s 2023 Giving Study found that despite current economic pressures, an overwhelming 81% of respondents intend to sustain or even boost their charitable activities this year. Plus, over 30% of total annual giving occurs in December (with a whopping 12% happening during the last 3 days of the year!)

At CauseVox, we definitely notice an uptick in campaigns across all sectors in September and October as nonprofits begin to ramp up their fundraising efforts. We understand that this is a stressful time for many organizations and we’re dedicated to making the year-end fundraising season as easy as possible for you. 

How To Use This Plan

Use the plan outlined here to formulate a year-end fundraising plan specific to your nonprofit or charity. After reviewing the guide, use the included checklist and communications plan to get started planning for your nonprofit’s 60-day fundraising push.

This plan features a step-by-step guide on how to:

• Set year-end fundraising goals
• Determine what fundraiser to run for year-end
• Craft a compelling fundraising appeal
• Find your audience for your campaign
• Formulate a communications plan via email marketing & social media
• plus a 60 day checklist!

Download your 60-Day Year-End Fundraising Plan Below

What are pledge forms?

A pledge form is a physical or digital pre-formatted document that an organization uses to simplify the donation process. In addition to capturing the donor’s contact and payment information, pledge forms allow donors to commit to donating a certain amount across a defined period of time. Pledge forms can even be considered good faith contracts, though in most states they are legally binding.

Pledges vs. Donations

The words pledge and donate may be used synonymously, but it’s important to understand the difference. A pledge is the intention to donate, while a donation is the actual gift given to the organization.

When to use pledge forms

The most important part of leveraging pledge forms is knowing when to use them.

Fundraising Campaigns

Pledge forms can be especially useful when fundraising for a certain event or program. Generally, donors like to know where their money will be going and how their gift will impact the organization.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Pledge forms can be easily distributed to the community through peer-to-peer fundraising. Though most peer-to-peer fundraising is done online, there are some people who prefer a physical form. Peer fundraisers can give pledge forms to people in their network in order to encourage recurring donations.

Donor Engagement

Pledge forms are a great way to continuously engage long time supporters. Making a pledge ensures that they will continue to impact the work at your organization.

Ready to have your own customized pledge form?

Download our free customizable pledge form templates below:

In your download, you will see there are 9 templates for you to choose from. Feel free to edit and run with them any way you like and use your customized forms to collect pledges from donors at meetings and events!

Let’s say that you have already enlisted supporters eager to fundraise for your cause. While that’s great, it’s only the first step. A common challenge you might face is that your supporters may not have years of fundraising knowledge and skills to reach their goal. Moreover, for those who are new to peer-to-peer campaigns, fundraising can seem like a daunting task. To help alleviate some anxiety and set your fundraisers up for success, you’ll want to equip them with the right tools. 

Why A Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Toolkit Matters

From the thousands of peer-to-peer campaigns we’ve seen succeed on CauseVox, the vast majority have one thing in common – they’ve leveraged a campaign toolkit. Peer-to-peer fundraising toolkits provide participants with all the need-to-know information about your campaign including helpful resources and tips to crush their fundraising goals. 

If you don’t have the capacity to do a 1:1 crash course with every individual, a toolkit is an efficient way to get your supporters up to speed before they even start fundraising. It’s also a resource they can refer to again and again throughout the duration of the campaign.

Before you start trying to whip together the world’s best toolkit, you’ll want to have the foundation of your campaign laid out. It’s always best practice to think through and have a solid:

• Fundraising goal of how much you want to raise
• Clear timeline of when to do what
• Thoughtful and compelling appeal to motivate people to donate
• Branding guideline to ensure that the integrity and identity of your nonprofit brand is maintained
• Plan to thank your donors

Customize Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Toolkit

Of course, with peer-to-peer fundraising toolkits, you don’t have to start from scratch. 

Download your customizable peer-to-peer fundraising toolkit template below:

This fundraising toolkit features:

• Tips to create successful and engaging fundraising pages
• Plug-and-play communication templates
• Dedicated placeholders for you to insert your organization’s graphics, videos, hashtags, and social media links
• Dos and don’ts for peer-to-peer campaigns
• And so much more!

Feel free to edit and run with it any way you like, and check out these tips and real-life examples for more inspiration. When your supporters register for your campaign, have your completed toolkit ready to send (or have it stored on an accessible drive) and they’ll be ready to start fundraising for your organization in no time!

At CauseVox, we’re all about helping nonprofits reach their goals, which is why we’ve compiled a complete guide to building a donation page to raise the money you need to advance your mission. We’re here to walk you through every step!

In this guide, you’ll come away with:

• A summary of different types of donation pages
• Tips on optimizing a donate button
• A crash course on the core functionality of a donation page 
• Donation page best practices
• And much more!
  

View and download the guide for free: