There’s something about this time of year that just puts people in a charitable mood. It could be the holidays, it could be the general spirit of the season, but for whatever reason, 30% of all annual giving happens in December and 50% of nonprofits receive the majority of their annual donations in the last quarter of the year, which includes the holidays.
It is a great time of year for charity, and a great time to give. So if you’re thinking about running an End of Year Donation campaign through your company, here are some ways to make sure it goes well!
Why Make an End of Year Donation in the First Place?
Year-end donation campaigns are a great way to capitalize on the general good will of those that want to give, as people are more likely to be charitable during this time of the year than at others.
On top of that, food insecurity is an issue that never rests, and this is a great time of year to help those that are struggling to make ends meet. No one should go hungry at any time of year, but least of all around the holidays.
So let’s talk about some strategies and techniques to improve your End of Year Donation campaign’s reach and impact.
Making the Biggest Impact
If you’re thinking about running an End of Year Donation campaign through work, here are some ways to make sure it goes successfully – and some of these pointers will help ensure you get larger contributions.
1.Plan early
It seems simple but this is probably the single most important thing you can do to make sure your End of Year Donation campaign goes well is to start planning as early as possible. The year before – right after you finish the previous year’s campaign – is a good time to get started.
But we realize that this is not always possible, and any initiative, charitable or otherwise, is always better taken late than never.
So, right now’s high time! If you haven’t started yet, get to it.
2.Enlist support from other coworkers/employees and delegate
A well-run, successful End of Year Donation campaign is realistically not something that one person can do on his or her own. Even if you’re spearheading it, you’re going to need help from your coworkers and staff.
Delegate and conquer. Give one person (or a team) responsibility for creatives, as well as for distributing them. If you will run a drive on a specific day, make sure you get someone assigned to securing the venue and running the project.
And, if the day comes that you will need multiple staffers to run the event, make sure you have them signed up several weeks in advance. The more help you have, the better.
3.Create a donation page for your website
In the modern era, you need to go digital to compete effectively. Digital communications are also the best way to get attention and participation, most resource-effectively, from the widest pool of contributors.
Assign someone to make a donation page for your company website where interested employees (or even outsiders) can learn more about the drive, what problems it aims to solve, and how they can make an impact – as well as how to give.
4.Set fundraising goals
How much do you want to raise? How many contributors do you want to get involved in the campaign? Are there other ways you want to measure your impact and reach besides the dollar value of contributions? Consider what percentage of the company you’d like to make a donation. In some ways, a small donation from everyone at the company can be seen as an impact as big as a single, larger lump sum, especially if you can secure participation year after year.
5.Raise awareness/distribute materials
After you’ve selected an issue to address and a date and time (if there will be a single event) or at least a deadline for when contributions will need to be made by, you need to get the word out.
Leverage everything you have. Distribute pamphlets in break rooms, make announcements over PA systems, put fliers on communal bulletin boards, tell your friends at work.
And, of course, use social media and email. Send out a blast with information about how and why to contribute to everyone at the company and solicit donations from friends and family as well – and raise awareness through the company’s social media accounts, too, if applicable.
6.Make it easy for contributors to donate
Those who are charitable at heart might not be persuaded to donate if the process is too involved. Whether you’re taking donations in the form of food, cash, checks, or some other way, you want it to be as pain-free as possible for contributors.
7.Make sure you show appreciation for donors
Once you’re done with the End of Year Donation campaign, make sure you let contributors know how much you’ve appreciated their charity, and show your thanks individually if possible. Remember, this is a team effort, and no single person can end food insecurity alone.
8.Reflect and improve your fundraising efforts
After you’ve completed the campaign/drive, take some time to look over your figures, in terms of reach, how much it cost you, and how much you ultimately raised. Your goal for next year should be to find creative ways to maximize both reach and contributions. You might also want to adjust the messaging of your fundraising appeals or use the channels that seemed to turn around the most interest. For example, if you know you got a lot of contributions through email, lean more heavily on that for the next year end campaign.
Thinking About Making an Individual End of Year Donation?
In the event you’re here not looking for advice on how to run a company wide effort, but how to make an individual end of year donation, you can learn more at the previous page, where you can find information on recent challenges those in our community are facing, as well as how you can make a contribution.
