December’s Online Fundraising Blizzard
Online fundraisers lose all restraint when it comes to the month of December, participating en masse in the year-end feeding frenzy.
This extravaganza has become part of the ingrained biological clock of nonprofits and their fundraisers … like whales gathering off South Africa each season for krill. [Video here drives home the point!]
No one does a better job of reviewing this annual ‘natural history of fundraising’ phenomenon than online biologist Steve MacLaughlin of National Geographic Blackbaud, the David Attenborough of online fundraising.
Here’s his analysis (he’s done this annually going back to 2011) of the 456 email mails he received between December 1st and 31st, 2015.
This year, December included #Giving Tuesday (Dec 1st) and Steve received 70 emails from 41 different nonprofits that day alone. Here’s his distribution chart for the entire month:
I don’t want to steal Steve’s thunder; you should read his entire review to soak up his insights on timing, frequency (was the median 4 emails or 6, Steve?) and subject lines.
Steve’s favorite subject line came from Oxfam America. It’s one of the ‘top dozen’ I’ve chosen here (in no particular order) from his 456 candidates (he lists them all — a blizzard of mostly countdown clocks and matching offers):
- You Can Make More Moments Like This Possible
- Come to the Cabaret! Stork Club: One Night Only
- Fwd: Seismic Blasts
- I believe in Amnesty: Here’s why
- Imagine being told you wouldn’t make it to your 18th birthday
- SeaWorld did WHAT to PETA?
- Where my love of art began
- The power of oysters
- Victory for Lions
- Bad fruitcake news, Steve.
- Giving feels good. Pass it on.
- Popcorn’s Deadly Secret
You can tell I’ve gravitated to the more intriguing. When you look at these against the background of about 400 versions of “Your gift will be matched”, you’ll understand immediately what the December online challenge is!
Other winners in Steve’s various categories were Environmental Defense Fund, Lifeline Children’s Services, Museum of Modern Art, charity:water, Humane Society of the US, and The Nature Conservancy.
Again, I urge you to check out Steve’s full review.
Tom
4 responses to “December’s Online Fundraising Blizzard”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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Steve is the master of data presentation! Super job of making something interesting and informative out of the blizzard of messages in December.
Although Tom did not think so, Steve deserves a 25% raise from whatever organization he works for!
We even had a blizzard here in the South. Between Christmas and New Year, I received 4 emails from the same organization asking for a year-end gift.
I, too, collected email subject lines during Dec., though idly, not in the name of science. Since I have to write the stuff, I thought I better take a reading. Most seem to have missed the article about the Obama campaign’s top moneymaking subject lines, but a couple caught my eye:
ARL’s Top 7 Animal Rescues of 2015! [Animal Rescue League of Boston]
12 grapes of luck and a Happy New Year [PUENTE]
I didn’t collect, but I did notice some were horribly relentless. I think I started getting upwards of 6 a day from Unicef. None of which I bothered to open by the end of the year.
Which brings up another question: are organizations paying attention to those who regularly don’t open? Cleaning up their lists? Attempting to engage one last time?