December 31 Online Giving by Hour

Tax Deductible Deadline

Thought this was a really tasteful way to send out an email campaign requesting end of the year donations/reminding people of the tax deductible donation deadline.  It's short and sweet - straight to the point.  Good colors, images, and wording.

Although 2/3rds of all nonprofit donations take place in the month of December, I strongly feel that nonprofits have to be very careful about how they word their end of the year campaigns.  I don't like the assumption that all of your constituents want to donate at the end of the year (especially after a potentially expensive holiday season), yet I do think it's important to remind certain individuals of the tax deductible deadline because some people want to donate X amount each year in order to get a specific tax deduction.

Well done, ACS.

You still have time to help people stay well and get well all throughout the coming year, but don’t delay your donation any longer! Today is your final chance to make a tax-deductible gift for 2011. Your generous gift will help support year-round cancer research, patient assistance programs, and advocacy outreach. Thanks in part to our efforts, nearly 12 million cancer survivors will celebrate another birthday this coming year. Act now ‐ you only have a few hours left to make a tax-deductible donation for the 2011 tax year. Please don't miss this opportunity to give a special gift ‐ another birthday. The American Cancer Society is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. No goods or services were provided for this gift. Please consult your tax advisor regarding specific questions about your deductions. You can always contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit us online at http://www.cancer.org/contactus. This email was sent to katie.schuldt@gmail.com. If this email was an inconvenience to you, we apologize. If you would like to opt out of Online Engagement emails in the future, click here. Please note, you will continue to receive other American Cancer Society communications. Legal & Privacy Information | State Fundraising Notices The American Cancer Society | 250 Williams Street NW | Atlanta GA 30303-1002

Year in Review

So impressed with this marketing team.  I think this is going to be the future of nonprofits.  If they are going to want to stay in the game, they are going to need to start doing more things like this - year in reviews.  It allows the donors/volunteers to feel more informed and connected.  So smart, I would love to know how long it takes for this nonprofit to create this video vs. how many donations it brings in (especially at the end of the year)!

How Americans Feel Going into the Holidays

The American Red Cross put this infographic together to demonstrate how Americans feel going into the giving season.  Some really interesting stats, I particularly find the differences in gender giving very interesting as well as the percentage of Americans who consider giving to the less fortunate part of their holiday tradition.  

Challenge: Consider giving a donation to a nonprofit in someone's honor instead of getting them another pair of socks this holiday season.  Still want to give them something to open?  Nowdays, many nonprofits have little merchandise stores where you can by apparel, water bottles, posters and more.  Two examples include the American Cancer Society's Giftshop and LiveStrong's Store.

  Click here to see a larger image of this infographic.

Happy Holidays from Operation Smile

Another one from Operation Smile...

Whoever works in their marketing department is a genius.  I don't know how you could not want to donate after watching this video.  I find it very impressive that they thought far enough in advance to have doctors, nurses, and volunteers say happy holidays on camera during various international missions.  It shows that they really do care about their donors and frankly, it shows that they are smart and know what they are doing.  It couldn't have cost too much to put this video together and I'm sure it will bring in a decent amount of money.  It's put together very professionally and is a perfect length of time.  Clearly, I'm impressed.  What do you think?

Gifts for Donations?

What do you think about offering gifts for a donation?  Operation Smile (one of my favorite nonprofits) is now offering gifts with minimum donations.  What do you think?  Smart idea or just taking $$ away from the mission?

Just two days left to get free gifts in time for Christmas.

Home Prepare kids for surgery Give a surgery Provide medicines & supplies Stock an operating room Comfort after surgery All items Watch video

FREE GIFTS with minimum donation — order by December 15.

Free Beautiful Silk Scarf from India with minimum order of $240 Free Tote with minimum order of $50 Feeding Bottles for five babies $25

Free Card with every item, to announce your gift

52x52

I like to draw attention to fundraisers that catch my eyes.

This time of year, the fundraising campaigns are out full force.  Rightfully so, December is the highest giving month of them all.

But what about the other 11 months of the year?

Check out this new campaign that strives to get donors to donate year round... not just at the end of the year.

http://52x52.org/

Get Your Holiday Appeal Opened

Let’s face it, your constituents are very likely going to be receiving end of year appeals from organizations other than your own.  Maybe some they are those less involved with, and others they are more involved with.  Amongst all of the clutter we know to be in our inboxes it is important to think about how to stand out in the crowd.  Your heart-warming story that you have spent hours developing and integrating with other messaging will only get read if your e-appeal is opened.

That being said, if you have already written your subject lines, I’d like to urge you to test them against these tips.  If you haven’t written them yet, then it’s time to get started. When writing your subject lines, keep these four things in mind:

1. Be clear about the substance of your message.  Does your subject line accurately portray the content of your email? It is important that you keep the trust between you and your constituents, so do not be misleading.


2. Keep it short. Keep it simple.  There are a lot of very long, drawn out subject lines toppling over each other in our inboxes.  They end up looking a little jumbled together, don’t they?  Break it up with a short and compelling subject line.  Among all of the long subject lines, a short one will make your message stand out.  It will also be read easier on mobile devices.


3. Consider who you are sending “from”.  Think about this as your return address if you were to send something in the mail to a friend.  Who is it from?  When I’m a possible donor and I see “from” x, will I know who that is? For this, be consistent with the messages that you have already been regularly sending to your constituents.  End of year is not the time to change it up and try something new.


4. If it sounds like it could be spam, it could be spam.  Avoid words that you commonly see in spam emails. The most common words in spam emails are:
1. shipping!
2. today!
3. here!
4. available
5. fingertips!
6. online!

Be sure to avoid things like punctuation marks, as those can often set off spam filters.  I know the holiday season is exciting, but refrain from using exclamation points.

If you have the opportunity to run a test of subject lines with a small group of constituents, that is fantastic.  If your email marketing tools allow for split testing, then select a small audience, split it in half and test two subject lines with this group.  You can see what performs better with your constituency and then send your message(s) out to the rest of your audience with the tried and true subject line.  If you’d like to download a full article on this topic, click here.

How to get your holiday appeals opened

by Taylor Shankin, Connection Cafe

33%

According to Network for Good’s Online Giving Study, 33% of all online donations occur in the month of December.

What do you have in store for your year-end fundraising campaign?