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December is a busy time in the life of a nonprofit fund raiser. It starts with Giving Tuesday and continues with year-end appeals and gentle reminders for open 2024 pledges. Nonprofit leaders with fundraising responsibilities have a number in their heads: what do I need to raise to meet my year-end goal?

Written By: Kali Righter and Sarah Breece 

With nearly 31% of annual donations coming in December, crafting a strong appeal is essential for your nonprofit organization.

1. Step one is identifying the right story and writing impactful copy.
2. Step two is determining who you will be soliciting and how they will be asked.

Here are strategies to maximize the use of your donor database and wealth screening tools for this process.

The time between Thanksgiving and year-end offers a prime window for fundraising, as people often feel a heightened sense of generosity and motivation to support causes they care about. This season can be a tremendous opportunity to engage donors, share your mission’s impact, and inspire end-of-year contributions. Here are some practical fundraising strategies and tactics to maximize your campaign success during this season:

When the Giving USA 2022 report was released earlier this year, this key finding left many nonprofit professionals concerned: Total dollars given was down 10.5%* to $499.33 billion.

Whether we realize it or not, each of us has been applying data to decision-making processes since our youth. Remember that time you were selected to be the captain of the kickball team? The pressure of selecting the best team rested solely on YOUR shoulders. If you were like me, a million strategic thoughts went through your head as you tried to recruit the best team to ensure you won the game. The first step was evaluating the group of classmates staring back at me. What do I know about them? Are they a fast runner? A good kicker? A good fielder? My friend? After quickly assessing the answers to those questions, the selection process began.

Recently my family of four sat down to a "friendly" game of Monopoly.  My two competitive sons and husband were eager to gobble up any property that became available to dominate the game and thereby be proclaimed Monopoly champion.  

Recently, I met with a client to prepare for a feasibility study. We were reviewing a list of potential key community leaders to interview as part of the study. As we assessed each of the potential study participants (rating them based on their potential interest, access, influence and affluence), it became clear that each person identified was a big fan of the organization and most had also been recent donors. Great, right?

Often non-profit leaders get caught up in anxiously telling donors “everything.” They blurt out stats about programs and stories. They hasten to show impact and community need. As non-profit staff and volunteers, they have great pride in the mission so it’s easy for them to go on and on about what’s happening with the organization.

I’ll preface this blog by saying it’s a bit of a tough-love message. Learning about the “Anti-Decider” has been a hard lesson for me over the years. And I confess, I still occasionally give my most earnest advice on this subject…followed in some regrettable cases with the kind truth of, “I warned you.”