You never want to hear the words “prepare for impact” when you’re in a moving vehicle or airplane. But in our world of major gift fundraising, this is a warning I’m putting out. We’re hearing stories from MGOs in the field that their non-profit’s communication team is too busy with the holiday season to help with impact reports.

This means that many MGOs have been left without a proper way to report to donors how their gifts made a difference.

And this is a big problem because donors that gave in the fall are wondering what you are doing with their gifts. If you can’t send them an update, it’s going to make it very tough to ask for another gift before the end of the year.

These MGOs made a mistake. They didn’t properly prepare for donor impact reports when they were putting together their strategic plans for the year. They neglected to sit down with the program, finance, and communication teams to map out a plan for reporting to donors, even during the busy holiday season.

If this situation is something you are struggling with right now, here is a workaround. This is something you can put together on your own next week as you wait for a more formal report.

1. Quickly create a list of the donors you were going to solicit between now and the end of the year. Figure out what their gifts were directed toward. See if you can come up with three to four general areas of focus.
2. Go directly to the program directors. Get updates on those programs. Take photos or videos if you can. Or, obtain them from program. Gather statistics.
3. Put together an email or text message that you send to those donors on your list to let them know how their gifts are being put into action right now. And let them know they will be receiving a larger impact report in 2024, but “you had to get them an update now.”

To avoid repeating this situation next year, we strongly recommend you sit down with program, finance, and the communications team. Together, brainstorm how you can collaborate on donor impact reports so that they are part of everyone’s plan. This will allow the reports to be an effective part of your donor cultivation and stewardship throughout the year.

You don’t want to be caught unprepared again in December 2024. Make sure to schedule time to have these conversations as soon as possible to get in alignment with the rest of your team.

Jeff

This post originally appeared on the Passionate Giving Blog on December 10, 2021.