End-Of-Year Giving: 5 Tips For Driving More Donations

It’s already December, which means end of year giving is kicking into full swing. 

The last month of the year is when many organizations get the majority of their donations. With that in mind, here are five tips we recommend at Lúgh Studio to drive more donations. 

Think about which ones are most realistic for your organization, reflect on our advice for implementing them correctly – and then get to work!

5 Tips For Driving More Donations

1) Do live feeds to appeal to people

Video is only increasing in importance. In fact, in the next few years, the percentage of people that consume most of their content in video format will only go up.

The implication is simple: if you aren’t doing video, you are missing out. This is especially true when asking people to donate their hard-earned money. They want to feel connected to a cause before pulling out their wallets, and live video feeds are one of the best ways to do that.

There are many different ways you can make this happen. When it comes to love feeds, you are only limited by your own ideas. Here are just a few options you might consider:

• Your organization’s founder making an appeal for more donations
• One of your biggest donor sharing why they chose to donate
• A direct beneficiary detailing what they have been able to achieve with the funds  

No matter which platform you pick, the most important thing is that you simply do it. People love the engagement that live feeds bring, so be sure to check out some of the best practices you need,

2) Share emotionally charged pictures

A big part of driving more donations is appealing to peoples’ emotions. While solid copywriting can do this quite effectively, pictures are hard to beat. This is especially true if the pictures are emotionally charged” in some way.

So what are some options? Well, if you are an organization that helps people in some capacity, it’s always a good idea to share pictures of the ones that you help. This depends completely on what your organization’s mission is, but there’s a good chance you help people in some capacity. So be sure to get pictures of your main beneficiaries.

While these pictures can be reused from previous years / campaigns, it’s best to use pictures your audience has never seen before. This is relatively easy to do, as long as you make the time for it. Remember this: your pictures don’t have to be the highest quality out there. What they do need to be, however, is honest. The rest will take care of itself.

3) Alert your donors about fundraisers

Driving more donations, in a large part, is about letting your audience know that fundraisers are taking place. It’s been shown numerous times that people have a tendency to feel more giving and generous during the holiday season. This means that simply alerting people about your various campaigns you have going on can be quite effective at driving more donations.

You can approach this communication in a number of ways. Here are a few options:

• Email campaigns. Check out our ultimate guide to email marketing for more specific tips here.
• Your organization’s social media pages. Much of your audience hangs out on various social media platforms – great for sharing pictures of your work.
• Phone calls. For the best results, focus on donors that have a proven track record of interest in your organization’s cause.
• Paid ads. More costly, but potentially worth it. Give our guide to PPC advertising a read for an in-depth background on making ads work for you.

Of course, it’s important which platforms you decide to utilize the most. Where do your donors spend most of their time? This is the platform you should be dedicating most of your time to for alerts. 

For example, if your audience typically doesn’t spend so much time on Facebook – it’s likely a waste of time and money to advertise on Facebook!

4) Implement crowdfunding campaigns 

People are more likely to take action if they see that others have already acted. The great thing with crowdfunding it has a built in “social proof” element to it. People commenting on your posts, liking it or sharing it with their friends is more likely to drive an increase in interest.

You want your campaigns to be seen by as many people as possible, and crowdfunding can be a great strategy. As for how to make it work for the nonprofit industry? Check out this list of the best crowdfunding websites you can consider.

5) Reach out to your biggest donors

Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? It basically states that 80 percent of your outcome will come from about 20 percent of your efforts. This is true in multiple areas of life – the nonprofit industry included.

Most likely, approximately 80 percent of your total donations comes from about 20 percent of your donors. That means if you want to start driving more donations, there are a few specific donors you should dedicate most of your time to. Dedicate your time here and you can’t go wrong!