"The end of the fiscal year is one of the most crucial times for every nonprofit organization." Sound familiar?
There's a huge focus on year-end giving programs across the nonprofit sector, including alumni fundraising and advancement offices, and for good reason. However, many organizations are too reliant on the big end-of-year fundraising push and don’t put enough effort into a more integrated year-round strategy for collecting donations.
It’s a bit like the tortoise and the hare. While the pay-off from a successful alumni event year-end giving campaign can be significant, a more sustained and measured effort throughout the year can yield even better results.
The Downside of Year-End Giving Campaigns
As any nonprofit professional can tell you, fundraising is cyclical. Organizations often plan their alumni event campaigns and fundraising strategies around events or seasons they hope are meaningful to their constituents. Anchoring your campaign to a particular timeframe or event can help shape your message and give you a reason to convey a sense of imminent necessity.
The end-of-year appeal is attractive to nonprofits because it centers on the holidays when people are more motivated to give. For extra leverage, the December 31st deadline for tax-deductible gifts provides an added sense of urgency that people can readily grasp.
But year-end campaigns can also fall flat.
Too Much Noise in Year-End Fundraising
While it may be true that people are more inclined to give money in the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, it's also true that competition for their attention (and their dollars) is higher than ever during that time. Email marketing, direct mail appeals, fundraising letters, social media channels — it often feels like every nonprofit is using a proverbial bullhorn to reach the same audience.
So even if you have a compelling message and a strong multi-channel strategy for your campaign, you still need to find ways to stand out from the crowd when you make your ask during the holiday season. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to get lost in the noise.
Risky Business of Over-Reliance on Year-End Giving
Depending on the success of a single year-end campaign, almost half of your organization’s revenue adds up to a lot of risk.
It’s challenging enough to budget for day-to-day operations when you’re dealing with peaks and troughs in your cash flow. A predictable revenue stream smooths out the fluctuations in funds that can arise when money only arrives in bursts.
But what if your year-end giving campaign doesn’t perform as well as you’d hoped?
By relying on a big push at year-end to fund a significant portion of your budget, you could be placing your long-term goals and activities in jeopardy. While you may run an excellent campaign, the level of commitment and generosity from your donors is ultimately beyond your control.
The fewer fundraising appeals you make throughout the year, the higher the stakes.
The Benefits of a Year-Round Approach
The worst thing an advancement office can do is pop up once a year and ask a donor for more money.
Not only does it put the burden of funding your operations on one (albeit large) campaign, it ignores the fact that donors need to feel attached to your cause to make a significant contribution. The problem with showing up once a year is that you're operating on minimal trust. If your prospect doesn’t have a relationship with you, or feel connected to your mission in some way, chances are they’ll ignore your appeal.
Taking a Year-Round Approach
Taking a year-round — instead of year-end — approach to your fundraising strategy has deeper benefits than a one-time push that has you bombarding your prospects with requests for donations.
More Predictability, Less Competition
Spreading your alumni fundraising efforts more evenly over the year reduces your overall risk and leads to a more predictable revenue stream. It also gives you more than one chance to recover if any one of your smaller alumni fundraising campaigns doesn't go as planned.
Even though many people tend to make larger gifts at the end of the year, their reasons for giving are not dependent on the calendar. Often, impact and results are big factors in their decision to make a gift.
That means that as long as you have a compelling message and can demonstrate outcomes, people will be willing to support the cause at any time of the year.
Dismissing Donor Fatigue
Donor fatigue is a myth. Many nonprofit professionals understandably worry about asking for donations too much, too often. But as long as you can make your prospects feel good about donating, they’ll be happy to make a gift.
In an experiment where subjects were offered the opportunity to donate $100 to charity, neuroscientists at the National Institutes of Health used fMRI technology to determine that generosity activates the brain’s pleasure centers.
A strategy of more frequent approaches over the year is not as off-putting to donors as you might think.
Building Lasting Relationships
At Advancement Form, we're big believers in building relationships with your donors for the long term. That takes a sustained effort year after year.
Developing a fundraising and alumni engagement strategy that spans the entire year lets you build a larger narrative over a longer period, without inundating your prospects with targeted communications within a defined campaign window.
Advancement professionals have an inherent advantage when it comes to building relationships with your donors: Your constituents (including alumni and parents of current students) already have a connection to your school.
If you reduce your ongoing communication with them to a once-or-twice-a-year ask, that connection will fray pretty quickly. As much as you try to personalize your solicitations, the sheer infrequency will make them impersonal.
Relationships are built over time and sustained interaction. Good relationships build trust, and trust is what donors need to believe you’ll put their money to good use.
The Role of Alumni Engagement in Year-Round Giving
Alumni form a crucial part of any educational institution's donor base. Alumni engagement goes beyond mere participation in year-end giving campaigns. Establishing and maintaining connections with former students should be a continuous effort throughout the year. This involves hosting various alumni events and fundraisers that provide platforms for networking, sharing experiences, and showcasing the impact of alumni donations on current students.
By fostering a sense of community and involvement, educational institutions can create a lasting relationship with their alumni. This connection, when nurtured consistently, not only encourages regular donations but also increases the likelihood of major donations in the long run.
Leveraging Corporate Matching Gifts for Year-Round Impact
In the realm of fundraising strategies, tapping into corporate matching gifts can significantly boost your fundraising efforts throughout the year. Encourage your donors, including alumni and supporters, to explore their employer's matching gift program. Creating awareness about matching gift eligibility and providing information about the process can motivate donors to maximize the impact of their contributions.
Maintaining a comprehensive matching gifts database ensures that your organization is well-informed about potential opportunities. University fundraisers should actively promote corporate matching gifts as part of their regular communication channels, emphasizing how these programs can multiply the effect of each donation.
Maximizing Social Media Platforms for Ongoing Outreach
In the digital age, social media platforms are powerful tools for maintaining continuous engagement with donors. Beyond sporadic posts during year-end campaigns, organizations should leverage these platforms for ongoing outreach. Share success stories, highlight the impact of donations, and keep your audience informed about upcoming events throughout the year.
Creating a content calendar that strategically incorporates updates, donor spotlights, and glimpses into the organization's activities can keep your cause consistently in the minds of your supporters. A solid presence on social media platforms contributes to a more dynamic and sustained relationship with donors, encouraging them to contribute regularly.
The Importance of Prospect Research in Year-Round Fundraising
For educational institutions looking to secure major donations, continuous prospect research is essential. Identifying and understanding potential major donors should be an ongoing process rather than a sporadic one limited to certain campaigns. By regularly assessing the giving capacity of individuals and tailoring your outreach accordingly, you can build a pipeline of prospective donors who are likely to contribute significantly.
Investing in prospect research tools and incorporating them into your overall fundraising strategy is a solid idea for future reference. This approach helps keep the ball rolling, ensuring that your organization is well-prepared to approach major donors with personalized and compelling appeals throughout the year.
Building Stability with Recurring Gifts
Emphasizing recurring donations as a key component of your fundraising strategy adds a layer of financial stability to your organization. Encourage donors to opt for recurring gifts, providing them with multiple options such as monthly, quarterly, or annually. This approach not only ensures a steady income stream but also reduces the reliance on sporadic, large donations.
Promote the idea that small, consistent contributions can accumulate to make a significant impact over time. This strategy appeals to a broader audience, including both older generations and current students, fostering a culture of giving that extends beyond the confines of specific fundraising campaigns.
Looking Ahead: Diversifying Fundraising Efforts for Long-Term Success
To increase donations consistently, it's imperative to diversify fundraising efforts beyond year-end campaigns. Explore additional resources, such as planned giving and corporate partnerships, to secure a more stable financial future for your organization. Initiating capital campaigns for specific projects or new buildings can also attract major donors who are passionate about contributing to tangible developments.
Many universities and organizations have witnessed success by starting early and implementing diverse fundraising strategies. By engaging different alumni, donors, and stakeholders, you can tap into a greater capacity for financial support, ensuring that your institution thrives for years to come.
Take the Long View
For many nonprofits and educational institutions, the end of the year is peak fundraising season. While year-end giving campaigns and alumni fundraisers certainly have their place, too many organizations put all their eggs in that one basket.
Structuring your fundraising activities around a principle of year-round giving recognizes the unique position of your mission. Supporting your institution may not be “urgent” but it’s also not a one-off thing — it’s a long-term commitment, with tangible impacts and outcomes. It’s built for relationships.
When you base your fundraising strategy on a view that takes the entire year into account, you can build your campaigns and systems around donors, instead of just dollars. And since your donors are at the very heart of your operations, this approach is your best bet for ensuring a sustainable future for your operations and your long-term goals.