It’s harvest time in many parts of the country. Farmers and backyard gardeners are reaping the fruits of their labor.
Planning for harvest time starts months in advance, followed by long days of preparing the soil, planting the seeds, and tending the plants. If the weather has cooperated, all that time and effort is rewarded with a plentiful yield.
The fourth quarter of the year is much like “harvest time” for many nonprofits. The holiday giving spirit and tax benefits are great motivators for individual donors. According to Charity Navigator, on average, charities receive 41% of their annual contributions in the last few weeks of the year. Making the most of the holiday season of giving needs to be a part of every nonprofit’s 12-month financial development plan.
There’s still time to learn from successful farmers and gardeners who don’t leave their harvest yield up to chance.
PLAN
- Segment your prospect list and develop a customized plan for each group.
- Pay special attention to donors who made a contribution last year and haven’t given yet this year. On average, nonprofits have a 47% donor retention rate. Continually having to acquire new donors will make it harder to achieve your goals.
PREPARE THE SOIL
- Saying thank you to last year’s donors is an important step in preparing a donor to make another gift in the future. Review your stewardship plan and make sure you’ve prepared your past donors for a future ask. Research indicates that donors are more likely to contribute again to nonprofits that thank them for their gift and keep them informed about how their gift made a difference.
PLANT THE SEEDS
- Plant seeds with new donor prospects by communicating with them prior to making a year-end ask. That communication may be a newsletter, an informational video, an update to your website, or one-on-one visits.
CULTIVATE
- Make sure your end of the year plea will land on fertile soil by nurturing the environment around your donors. Communicate with your donors in a way that isn’t simply asking them for money.
- Donors tend to stay connected with organizations that engage their minds, hearts and bodies in addition to their wallets. Ask your donors to volunteer, to serve on committees, to join your board.
HARVEST
- A farmer carefully studies her crops to know when they are ready for harvesting. A nonprofit leader needs to judge whether a relationship is ripe for asking. That may include asking for permission to ask.
- Along with individual asks, broader tools like direct mail or e-blasts are a way to engage potential donors.
In the end, “harvest time” isn’t really about you or your donors of course. It’s about what that harvest will do to help the people you serve. It will feed your mission and energize your community to be stronger both today, and in the year to come.
