The Big Squeeze
The Big Squeeze has begun, fittingly with a December 1st ‘Giving Tuesday’. December is the month when all ‘good’ fundraisers try to squeeze every last bit of coin they can from current donors, using the most intensive, intrusive and organization-centric techniques possible.
December has nothing whatsoever to do with building donor relationships. Rather it’s scorched earth time. Last chance to make the numbers … and in January the numbers will once again show the huge percentage of giving that occurs in December (online in particular, up to 50% of dollars raised online for some nonprofits).
But as I began, this year-end process is all about squeezing out more ‘gifts’. It’s about meeting organisational goals, including a ‘bigger than ever’ Giving Tuesday, not about helping donors make the difference they want to make. In some hands, it’s fundraising at its worst. Last year, Roger and I lamented, Is It A Crisis? No, It’s A Year-End Appeal.
Will any fundraisers be worrying about donor retention in December? I doubt it. Indeed, I wonder if December isn’t the month when nonprofits lose the most donors, even as they raise the most money!
Tomorrow Roger is publishing a post titled Don’t Ask. Don’t Thank. It raises very important questions: Is fundraising really about getting gifts? Gifts to whom? Do you really think donors are motivated by wanting to give gifts to you and your organization?
It’s a really important post. Watch for it.
Tom
P.S. Some are not sold on the year-end giving tsunami. If you are dubious, read Roger’s The Year-end Giving Bonanza Is A Myth.
4 responses to “The Big Squeeze”
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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Thanks for the reminder. Even those of us who try and be relentlessly donor centric get caught up in the big squeeze.
We acquire a lot of donors at this time of year because between the holidays and the bad weather, homelessness moves to the top of many people’s minds.
We know retention starts at the first gift, so this year we’ve assigned one staff person to be responsible for getting out all first time donor TY letters & Welcome Packs from all channels. He makes sure every new donor gets a hand signed TY letter. He makes sure their donor pledge is personalised and he makes sure the appropriate donors get handed off to another team member for TY calls. He will personally produce and physically touch(this is important fundraising mojo) a couple thousand TY letters and Welcome Packs.
We’re hoping this ensures a better first time experience during our busiest time of year. We noticed over the last few years that, because of the huge volume, our first time donors were getting a much diminished experience at year end.
I’d love to hear strategies any other teams are using to make sure the donor experience isn’t drowned in the tidal wave of year end donations.
Happy Holidays fellow Agitators… we will sleep in January!
I am so thankful for this post because… Pow! You said it! THANK YOU!
I even posted it as a discussion in the Major and Planned Gift Marketers Group on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8298143
Let’s see what that tribe thinks. I hope they agree.
Yes! So true!
It’s always good for us to step back a second and focus on what the point of it is. I hear from people (not fundraising people, not nonprofit people even) and they always feel barraged and guilty. Wouldn’t we rather have them feeling warm and glowy?
And is it the most lucrative time of year because we ask so much, or do we ask so much because we’re told it’s the most lucrative time of year?
Mary – Our year end response rates are 3 times higher than the rest of the year and we only send 1 extra ask – to our higher segments.
So yes, it is most definately the time of year. Christmas in Ireland is off the charts by American standards so there is a cultural element to the equation. I think there are a few elements that determine how lucrative Christmas is for a particular non-profit.
1 – Your type of non-profit. Children, animals, homelessness and hunger etc., all do well during the holidays for obvious emotional reasons.
2 – Local & regional Holiday traditions. Different regions of the US/World celebrate in different ways and to different degrees.
3 – Tax benefit. This can drive a lot of year end donations depending on the demographics of your donor base. (the tax payer accrues no benefit in Ireland)