The holiday season is a time of joy, reflection, and giving. For nonprofits, it is also one of the most pivotal fundraising periods. But with so many organizations vying for attention and donations, how can your nonprofit ensure its message doesn’t get lost in the holiday shuffle? Crafting compelling stories, utilizing unique channels, and offering special incentives for giving are a few strategies to consider. Let’s delve deeper into each of these and more.
1. Crafting Compelling Nonprofit Stories for Holiday Fundraising
At the heart of every successful nonprofit fundraising appeal lies a story. Not just any story, but one that tugs at heartstrings, evokes emotions and compels the reader to take action.
Humanize Your Impact: Instead of saying, “We helped 1,000 people this year,” share a narrative of one or two people whose lives were transformed because of the donor’s generosity. And the same goes for animals. Personal testimonials, paired with impactful visuals, can create a memorable connection.
Show, Don’t Just Tell: That old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words” still holds true, but an updated version would include that a video is worth even more. Utilize videos, infographics, and photos. A compelling video showcasing the journey of an individual you’ve helped can resonate far more than text alone. Sharing a compelling video of a family or a puppy and their story can compel supporters to take action.
Share Across Channels: Thread your story across your marketing and communications, including your website, campaigns, emails, SMS text messages, and social media. When you take the time to create a compelling piece of visual content, don’t just use it once and forget about it. Instead, share it across all appropriate channels.
2. Utilizing Unique Communication Channels in Nonprofit Messaging
While traditional channels like emails and direct mail are essential, diversifying your outreach can help your message stand out.
Social Media Takeovers: Collaborate with influencers or volunteers who align with your cause. A day-long takeover on platforms like Instagram or TikTok can reach a broader and potentially younger audience. Influencers don’t need to have millions of followers. Instead, look for those who have engaged followers whether that’s a couple of hundred, a couple of thousands, or a couple of millions. Influencers and volunteers can share links to campaigns for easy online giving in their bio, post, or story. Each social media platform has its own nuances when it comes to where and who can share links.
Interactive Webinars: Instead of or in addition to the usual appeal letters, invite donors to an interactive webinar or online event. Use this opportunity to showcase the work you’ve done, engage them in live Q&A sessions, and make real-time appeals. Consider including an easy way for your supporters to contribute in real-time, such as sharing a link to your campaign donation page in the chat or in platform widgets. Additionally, be sure to take the content you just created and repurpose it. Utilize sound bites in your follow-up communications, on your website, and across social media.
Podcasts & Audio Platforms: With the rise of audio platforms, consider hosting a series of podcasts highlighting stories from the field, interviews with beneficiaries, or discussions with experts in your domain. The primary goal of podcasts should be awareness, connection, and understanding. These are three things that help you raise money in time. Don’t have the expectation that it will lead to immediate fundraising. When people understand and believe in your mission, they typically want to be a part of it. Your nonprofit podcast should be a fundraising support tool versus a fundraising tool itself.
3. Offering Special Incentives for Holiday Season Giving
Incentives can act as added motivation for potential donors, encouraging them to give or even increase their donation amount.
Matching Gift Campaigns: Collaborate with corporate partners to offer matching gift campaigns where every dollar donated by individuals is matched, doubling the impact. Additionally, corporations across the US match donations given by their employees. Unfortunately, many employees aren’t aware that their employer participates in such programs. To make it easy, Giveffect and Double the Donation integrate to start the matching process right on your donation checkout form. As a donor gives, they can quickly check to see if their employer has a matching gift program and be met with actionable next steps after they’ve submitted their donation.
Exclusive Updates: Create giving societies and offer donors at different tiers access to a monthly ‘insider’ newsletter, exclusive event invitations, behind-the-scene tours, special communications, or meetings with key staff or board members. By offering increased updates, access, and benefits at higher giving levels, giving societies can motivate donors to increase their contributions over time.
Gifts and Merchandise: Create branded merchandise like t-shirts or mugs. These items not only act as tokens of appreciation but can also be tools for awareness when used by donors and as a fundraiser. Wearing a nonprofit t-shirt together with others fosters a sense of identity and unity among supporters, acting as a visual representation of shared purpose and commitment. It serves as a conversation starter, increasing awareness and drawing more individuals into the community. Branded merchandise can be a fundraiser itself. By selling branded merchandise as part of your campaign, as you can do with Giveffect, you’re creating a virtual storefront for easy shopping and support.
4. Tailor Your Nonprofit Appeals for Maximum Impact
A one-size-fits-all approach typically doesn’t resonate. Instead, segment your donor base and tailor your appeals based on personalized data points such as their interests, previous donation amounts, and engagement history.
Automate Personalization: There’s no reason to segment your donors manually. Instead leverage tools, such as Giveffect, to help you group donors using automation. Once donors are segmented, personalize your appeals at scale using automation, dynamic variables fields, and dynamic donation buttons to ensure that asks are aligned with donor giving history, giving capacity, interests, and preferences. You wouldn’t want to ask a donor who typically gives $1,000 for only $100. They might just give you only what you ask for. That would be a big loss.
Localized Stories for Local Donors: If a portion of your donors are from a specific region, highlight stories of impact from that area. Refer back to the section above, “Crafting Compelling Stories,” and apply this strategy through a local lens. Highlight specific individuals your organization helped or feature generous donors from the area and the impact the support had made on the area.
Engage First-time Donors Differently: Recognize and welcome them. Illustrate the potential long-term impact of their continued support. Once a supporter becomes a donor, schedule workflows, such as with Giveffect and our proprietary Smart Automation technology, to stay in touch with them and to keep them updated and engaged in your organization.
5. Engage in Timely Holiday Season Communication
The holiday season is bustling, and timing your communication right is crucial.
Early Bird Appeals: Start your appeals well before the holiday rush. Early communication can ensure your message gets the attention it deserves. There will be less clutter that your message must cut through to be heard or read. Early bird appeals may also signal to your donors that it’s time to think about end-of-year expenses and allocate funds to support the cause(s) that are important to them.
Reminder Campaigns: Send reminders as the year-end approaches. Use different channels to avoid saturation. Consider what types of new information or updates you can provide with each reminder to keep your organization top of mind or grab their attention. While the number of touchpoints or reminders needed may vary based on the donor’s awareness and commitment to your organization, donors may require about seven touchpoints (similar to a for-profit sales process).
6. Providing Donor Feedback and Expressing Nonprofit Gratitude
Always acknowledge the contributions of your donors. But go beyond the simple ‘Thank You’ emails.
Impact Reports: Send personalized impact reports showcasing how their donation was utilized and the difference it made.
Donor Spotlights: With permission, highlight a few donors in your newsletters or on social media platforms, appreciating their generosity. Not only will this show your appreciation for that donor, but this type of content may inspire and compel others to donate too. There’s a marketing strategy shared by marketing guru Seth Godin, which he terms “People like us do things like this.”
The holiday season, with its spirit of giving, offers a unique opportunity for nonprofits. However, the sheer number of appeals can make it challenging to get noticed. By crafting stories that resonate, diversifying outreach channels, offering enticing incentives, and ensuring timely and tailored communication, your nonprofit can not only stand out but also inspire action.
Remember, it’s not about shouting the loudest but about connecting the deepest. Make every message count, and here’s to a successful fundraising season ahead!
To learn more about how Giveffect can help make your nonprofit messaging stand out this holiday season, schedule your demo today!