Everyone at the office is just about ready to shut down their laptops for some time off during the holidays. But you don’t want to leave your donors hanging. What if they have questions about sending in a last-minute year-end gift?

Now, this doesn’t mean you or your team members ought to be checking email several times a day while the office is closed. It’s important to take time to rest and recharge in such a busy season. So, how do you strike the right balance?

Make a Plan

Come up with a coverage plan with your team. Maybe everyone’s out-of-office note points people to the general inbox or voicemail for urgent questions, and a different person volunteers to check it each day to address any time-sensitive matters.

Share Contact Info for Time-Sensitive Matters

If you’re taking time off, for both your voicemail recording and OOO message, let your donors know how to reach out during the holidays so that someone will get back to them in a timely manner.

Include Helpful Resources

Your out-of-office message should include helpful resources for your donors, too – where to make an online gift, year-end giving deadlines for different types of charitable donations, stock transfer information, the organization’s mailing address, and other key operational information specific to your organization.

You might want to highlight that Friday December 29 is the last business day of the year, so any transactions requiring a bank must be completed by then.

Whatever common questions donors have at year-end, try to address those in your OOO message if your offices are closed for the holidays.

Here’s one example:

Show Your Personality

This is also an opportunity to have some fun and share your personality with donors. Here are some creative ideas for holiday out-of-office messages by the marketing team at Wild Fig.

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Feeling inspired? Go ahead and draft that OOO message right now! You can even schedule it in advance in most email systems, so it’s one less thing to do next week.

I hope this helps you enjoy your time off, knowing that your donors will have the information they need should they try to contact you while you’re skiing down the mountain, sipping eggnog, or warming your toes by the fire.

Wishing you a very happy holiday season!

Karen