If I asked you what’s the most important week for your ministry’s online giving, what would you say?
The week of Thanksgiving? Christmas? Maybe even #GivingTuesday? The largest giving week is the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
In fact, it’s not even a week. According to the Network for Good’s online study of over 66,000 nonprofits, 22% of all online donations that are made in the year happen on December 30th and 31st.
I’ll let you judge for yourself how accurate that statistic is for your organization, but the fact remains that your online giving is never more important than the last week of the year.
There is no particular motivation that causes donors to give during those last days of the year.
They may feel the continuation of the holiday spirit and finally have time to give now that Christmas is over. Or they may know the tax implications and give to receive a deduction in 2012. Or they may just know how much is left in the bank after all the expenses of the year are paid and have a better idea of what they can give.
Whatever the reason these donors are valuable:
If you’re like me you, the wheels are starting to turn. How are we messaging these donors differently? Do I have enough planned for my online marketing for the end of the year?
Here are a few points to consider:
Don’t forget to remind them with email –- a well-timed email just prior to the 30th expressing the needs of your ministry and reminding them to get their gifts in before the end of the year can go a long way toward increasing the number of gifts you receive.
Thank before asking –- spend the holiday season celebrating the holiday. Share what your organization is doing for Christmas and take time to say thanks and wish donors a Merry Christmas. This gives them one last impression from your organization when they fill out your donation form on the 31st.
The work you do the other 11 months out of the year matters –- year-end giving is not a spike like Giving Tuesday or like a disaster that causes people to give on the fly. The work you put in during the year building relationships with your donors, sharing through social media and having meaningful conversations with major donors all contributes to a wonderful year-end spike.
What about you? Are you a year-end giver? Do you see the same sort of lift in giving at the end of the year? Join the conversation, we love hearing what you think.
Lindsey Lind
Director of eCommunications, Oneicity
photo credit: Anders Sandberg
