How many emails is too many (or not enough)?\u00a0<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
Between DonorPerfect\u2019s data and other nonprofit industry leaders\u2019 research, the general consensus is that it\u2019s worth your while to send between three and five emails between 12\/27-12\/31. However, if too many of your emails go unopened, you run the risk of landing in your supporters\u2019 spam folders, so aim for quality over quantity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, every audience is different, so this is where your data will come in handy. Check your email open and click rates<\/a> to see when your supporters tend to respond to your e-appeals and when they don\u2019t. Are there any patterns?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You don\u2019t want to leave gifts on the table, and if you only send one year-end fundraising email, you\u2019ll risk missing out on donations from supporters who either don\u2019t see it or intend to come back later to give but forget to do so.<\/p>\n Luckily, you can strategically pull email lists or use a service like Constant Contact to create dynamic email lists to exclude donors who have already responded to your appeal. As an extra safety measure, you can always include a quick message of thanks in your email appeals to any donors who already gave, but still receive your fundraising emails: \u201cIf you\u2019ve already made your gift this year, thank you! We\u2019re truly grateful for your support.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Create beautiful and effective email campaigns with Constant Contact<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Urgency is the name of the game! Your donors have until 11:59 PM local time to get their charitable tax incentive for the year. Make your email short and eye-catching, and make it as simple as possible for your donors to give.<\/p>\n Your subject line might include the tax deadline, letting readers know they only have a few hours left to make a difference this year. Include a giving button that links to your online donation form<\/a>, and a couple additional links throughout your email to give your supporters multiple opportunities to give.\u00a0<\/p>\n Get templates and samples you can use from our blog! Email Appeals for Last-Minute Donors<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Your current loyal supporters could jump at the chance to inspire others to give to your mission! If you have a donor who gives reliably every year, you can ask them if you can use their gift as a match to motivate the rest of your community. Other candidates might include supporters who have been positively impacted by your mission and would like to share their story, or area businesses that share your values and would appreciate the extra good will and publicity.<\/p>\n You also don\u2019t have to have just one matching donor! Small groups of donors, especially your board of directors, can pool their gifts together to create an inspiring matching gift opportunity.<\/p>\n Take advantage of employee matching with Double the Donation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n It takes guts to set a truly ambitious goal \u2013 if you were guaranteed to hit every goal every time, you\u2019d be setting the bar far too low. Goal-setting always includes an element of risk, and missing the mark is not correlated to your hard work or dedication to your mission.<\/p>\n For your social media posts or other communications to donors, you don\u2019t need to hide the fact that you didn\u2019t hit your goal, but make sure to celebrate your wins and end on an uplifting note. Here\u2019s a sample message you can use as a template:\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/section>\n We\u2019re so proud of how our community came together to support [our mission]. We raised $X this year, and while we didn\u2019t quite hit our goal, here\u2019s what we\u2019ll still be able to accomplish in the coming months:<\/p>\n We are so grateful for you and our entire community of supporters. Thank you for making a difference for [our mission] this year!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With multichannel fundraising, you\u2019re reaching your supporters through a variety of media to inspire them to give in whatever way they can. This can include direct mail, email, social media, in-person meetings, and more.<\/p>\n In your DonorPerfect system, you can use solicitation<\/a> and sub-solicitation<\/a> codes to track your overall year-end campaign results, and dive deeper into each branch. If you want to compare your appeal letters between years, or see if your audience gave more digitally or by mail this year, you can use the Solicitation Analysis Report <\/a>to see the full picture of your campaign, learn from your experience this year, and celebrate your successes.<\/p>\n The DonorPerfect team is cheering you on toward a fantastic year-end fundraising campaign! We\u2019re here and ready to help. Check out the Year-End Fundraising Cheat Sheet<\/a>, which has everything you need for a successful year-end giving season!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\nWill sending multiple fundraising emails annoy donors who have already given this year?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
![\"Mock](\"https:\/\/uploads.donorperfect.com\/images\/sites\/2\/email-editor-readers.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\nWhat does a successful fundraising email on 12\/31 look like?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uploads.donorperfect.com\/images\/sites\/2\/eoy-segmentation-blog-image-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\nHow do I find a matching gift?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uploads.donorperfect.com\/images\/sites\/2\/woc-image-1-double-donation.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\nWhat if I don\u2019t make my publicly-announced goal?\u00a0<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
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![\"Mock](\"https:\/\/uploads.donorperfect.com\/images\/sites\/2\/eoy-segmentation-blog-image-3-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\nWhat steps can I take now so I can properly analyze my campaign efforts later?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
Get your Year-End Fundraising Cheat Sheet!<\/h2>\n