Here in Canada, it’s Thanksgiving season! On top of all the turkey and gratitude, it’s also the unofficial start of Giving Season. That’s right: we Canadians have an extra month and a half on our southern neighbors to get into the giving spirit in the lead-up to the end of the year.
But for new charities, Giving Season can feel overwhelming. That’s because, in the world of philanthropy, the last three months of the year are a certifiable big deal. The vast majority of charitable donations are made in October, November, and especially December. CanadaHelps reports that it gets more than 5% of its annual donations on the last day of the year alone.
It’s also the season of Giving Tuesday, which in the past decade has become a critical milestone in the fundraising calendar. Keela reports that in 2021, charities worldwide raised more than $2.7 Billion (yes, with a ‘b’) through Giving Tuesday campaigns.
So yes: Giving Season is important. And if you’re just getting started as a charity, staring down your first end-of-the-year push can be intimidating. You may not have had a chance to build a robust email list. Perhaps you have limited impact stories since you just began running your programs. Maybe you’ve started researching tech tools and campaign plans and now your head is spinning.
First things first, take a moment to recognize that although you’re small, you’re not alone. According to the 2022 Giving Report, 78% of charities make less than $500,000 per year, and 90% have fewer than 10 staff members. Engaging with Giving Season is not just for the big guys with the big budgets.
Try to focus on what’s most important – sharing your mission and spreading gratitude – rather than on doing every single thing you could do and if you need some help getting started, here are five things you can do right now to give Giving Season a go.
Five steps new charities can take for their first giving season.
1. Decide what story you want to tell
Instead of continually trying to come up with new content, pick one story to drive all your communications throughout Giving Season. We recommend focusing on the story of an individual impacted by your work who can illuminate your cause to your donors.
If you’re a new charity, however, you may still be in the proof-of-concept stage, or just launching your first programs. If that’s the case, consider a different kind of story that can get people excited about your vision. Maybe you can bring people along on your origin story, helping them see the need your organization is planning to meet. Or you could introduce a key community member who exemplifies what’s possible once you’re up and running.
Whatever you choose, spend some time developing the story to make sure it helps donors (a) understand your mission and (b) see how they can be part of it.
2. Set your goals
Goals, particularly the S.M.A.R.T. kind, will help guide the choices you make about what and how often to communicate.
It’s good to have a fundraising goal, of course: Giving Season is tightly linked with donor dollars. But your goals don’t just have to be money-related. You could aim to double the amount of people on your email list, have a great conversation with two major gift prospects, or get a certain number of volunteers to share your story on their social media.
All of these things can help build the community of support you need to become a sustainable fundraiser in the years to come.
A side note on goals: If you’re in your first year, you may be tempted to keep your goals modest. And that’s fine – asking people for money is a learned behaviour. But remember that people have a tendency to rise to the challenge you set before them. Recently, I decided last minute to participate in Ride for Refuge, a cycling fundraiser for charities serving newcomers to Canada. A friend gave me a hard time about the small goal I set and encouraged me to double it. In the end, I exceeded even that goal, without much sweat at all (except for the bike-riding part).
Keela’s guide to goal setting can help get you started.
3. Plan a campaign – even if it’s a simple one
A campaign is any planned action with a goal and a set of strategic steps to reach that goal. For charities, an end of the year campaign might include a #GivingTuesday strategy, a direct mail strategy, an email campaign using specialty software, the release of an Annual Report, social ads, videos and more.
Campaigns really are a critical part of the annual fundraising cycle. Your first one doesn’t have to be elaborate.
- Consider a simple email campaign: send two emails a few weeks apart that share your story and include one simple call to action (donate today, send two friends a link to our story, etc).
- Recruit five people to post about your cause on Giving Tuesday, then thank them publicly for their support.
- Start a simple Facebook fundraiser. Secure two people to start the momentum with significant gifts. Recruit five others to share your fundraiser and ask their networks for gifts on your behalf.
4. Buy a big box of Thank You cards
One advantage of starting out: you are probably still small enough and agile enough to give volunteers and donors at all giving levels personalized treatment. So invest in a box of thank you cards and set aside one day in January to share your gratitude with hand-written notes for donors big and small.
5. Be prepared to collect new donor information
At this point, there is a tech solution for nearly every problem a charity might have. But if you’re going to invest in one tool to get the most out of your first Giving Season, make it a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM).
CRMs help you keep track of all the relationships you have as a charity. This includes donors, volunteers, and partners. It’s where you keep information for tax purposes, and how you can track donor trends, identify prospects, store email addresses, and more— all done securely. Many also sync with email marketing programs and donation portals.
Even if you’re not ready to commit to a CRM, make sure you have something – A spreadsheet! A colour-coded binder! Anything! – to track your relationships with donors throughout Giving Season. Otherwise, it will be difficult to follow up with new relationships, send thank you cards, and ensure everyone gets the tax receipt you promised them.
One more thing to consider: You can ask for help. The nonprofit ecosystem is home to many talented consultants, writers, marketers and more who are committed to helping charities of all sizes have a successful Giving Season. Hire a writer to develop your storytelling or a consultant to help you set goals.
Contact us for more information on finding reliable campaign consultants, writers, marketers, and more!
