Preparing for a High-Impact Fall and Year-End Fundraising Season

Jeff Schreifels 

At this point in August, summer vacations are wrapping up and back to school season is here, which means it’s the time of year when we start taking a close look with our clients at their plans for the fall and year end. How do you usually feel heading into this season? Are you feeling prepared for the busy months to come? We all know how valuable this time of year is in your fundraising cycle, which is why it’s so important to focus on creating a strong, strategic plan for your donors. And that’s why I invited two special guests, Debi Dunham and Veritus Alumnus, Jarrod Williams, to share what steps they recommend to set yourself up for a successful year-end season. Thanks for tuning in.

Recorded 

Welcome to the Nothing But Major Gifts podcast from Veritus Group featuring Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels. Twice a month, we bring you the latest and best thinking about major gift fundraising, so you can develop authentic relationships with your major donors. Here are your hosts, Richard and Jeff.

Jeff Schreifels 

Welcome to the podcast today. I’m Jeff Schreifels, and today I’ve got two special guests with me to talk about some valuable tips and strategies to help you have an impactful fall fundraising season. I’ll have our guests introduce themselves in a moment, but I first wanted to speak about how important it is you start planning for your fall and year-end fundraising strategy as soon as possible. Back in my direct response days, we would start planning for the fall months way in advance. In fact, I’ll bet that you have your first fall fundraising direct mail piece going out any day, if it hasn’t already. Direct response agencies know they have to plan well in advance to have the greatest impact during the biggest fundraising season of the year. Yet, so often, fundraisers don’t get started quickly enough, or know what to focus on or when; it ends up feeling, they feel rushed and not strategic about what they’re doing. And that’s what we’re going to be helping you with today. And with that, I’d love for my guests, Debi and Jarrod, to introduce themselves. Debi, let’s start with you.

Debi Dunham 

Hi. I’m Debi Dunham, and I am a Client Experience Leader with the Veritus Group. And I’ve been with our company for 13 years now, almost. And I love this work. I’ve been in development 30 plus years. And to me, the best part is, you know, working with clients all over the country, and working with their fundraisers, helping with strategies and ideas; but the best part to me is when the fundraiser shares a passion of the donor’s, a program, and then that passion and program align, and that beautiful thing, magical thing, happens when the donor says, “Yes.”

Jeff Schreifels 

Awesome. Jarrod.

Jarrod Williams 

Hello, everybody. My name is Jarrod Williams. I’m the Director of Development and External Relations for the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, and a proud graduate of The Veritus Way. I’m focusing on major gifts here, individual giving, and in corporate giving, and foundations and leading our fundraising team and external relations team.

Jeff Schreifels 

Awesome.

Jarrod Williams 

I’m just very glad to be with you all today; looking forward to our conversation.

Jeff Schreifels 

Alright. Well, thank you both so much for being here. I want to separate today’s conversation into two pieces, I think. So fall fundraising and year-end fundraising, because where you focus your time and energy differs when it’s September or October versus November or December. So let’s start with what fundraisers can be doing right now, in the next few weeks, to make sure they’re set up for success. Debi, why don’t you start?

Debi Dunham 

Okay, I think the main thing you want to be doing is looking at your portfolio and each donor individually to see who typically gives in the fall, maybe who’s lapsed, who’s light in their giving. That type of thing. And then you want to get with marketing and find out what they’re going to be, like Jeff said, they’ve already planned months in advance, so they already know what they’re going to pitch or share with the donors. So you want to know that. I might get with program also, and ask if they have a recent story of a changed life or something that you know the donor’s money had accomplished. And then, of course, finance to get a budget for what that program will cost for the donors.

Debi Dunham 

So I think something that I’m always looking at with fundraisers is, if they have a fiscal year end of, say, September 30, we’re looking at, “Okay, who is behind from last year, lapsed? And then who is maybe,” then they haven’t given at all, or “Who’s light in their giving?” Maybe they typically give $5,000 and they’re only at $2,000. What can you do to kind of engage them again and to possibly give a gift that covers that loss or that attrition? We want to obviously lower attrition rates. So that’s something I often, you know, focus on as well. So we always look at that negative variance.

Debi Dunham 

And then a big strategy that a lot of my clients are doing is just a touch-base phone call. A check-in saying, you know, “How was your summer? Are your kids back in school?” You know, just a simple check-in call. Matter of fact, one of my clients is doing a smile and dial campaign, and they are basically picking up the phone, smiling as they call, and just thanking the donor for their support. And I will say a lot of them are having success in number one, connecting with donors that they don’t have a deep relationship with; the donor’s like, “You’re just calling to check in?” Secondly, a lot of donors give a gift after that phone call is completed. And then third, you kind of get top of mind for those donors in anticipation of the year-end giving

Jeff Schreifels 

Awesome.

Debi Dunham 

Yes. I think too, you could do what we call a lapse light letter, and you know, just send it to a group of people that are in that category, where you say, “Last year you, you know, were so generous in giving us $4,000. Would you be open to considering a gift in the next couple weeks?” We don’t typically say our fiscal year is coming to an end. We have an urgent need. We’re behind. You don’t ever want to say that, but we definitely kind of give just a little kind reminder. And at that time, people either give or they write back and say, “You know what, our business is struggling. We can’t do it this year, but count on us for next year.” So you really get that connection, and you get to find out what a donor, where they’re at in their giving.

Jeff Schreifels 

What about, what are you doing with your managers at this point? If you’re a frontline fundraiser, how are you talking to your managers right now?

Jarrod Williams 

Well that’s a great point. I think that you got to remember around this time, depending on what your organization is in terms of your accounting, it’s already at the end of a quarter. Right? We’re already invested three months. So, you know, have a conversation with leadership about where you are in comparison to the plan that should have been designed previously, right? That’s important, because it’s all about making the adjustments if needed to be. That’s quite a bit of time to talk about, three months. So just making sure that people are being held accountable to the plans that they set and as well as the expectations, right? And already being mindful about what your end of the year communication is going to look like. I know we’re going to talk about that later on in the call, but already starting to design some strategies and some communication that’s going to funnel into that to really kind of make that a smooth transition. That is a busy time of the year, but it’s important that you are starting to be mindful about those things as you kind of reach the end of the year. But accountability and making sure that there’s clarity around what adjustments that need to be made within the year.

Jeff Schreifels 

That’s very good.

Debi Dunham 

I like that. I like that because you give your manager kind of a heads up. If a donor has told you, “I can’t give $100,000,” they’re then aware they need to make the adjustment. So, that’s really good.

Jeff Schreifels 

Yeah, never have a surprise, right?

Debi Dunham 

Right, right.

Jarrod Williams 

And I always like to use the analogy of you know like sports. You know, most sports are kind of broken down by quarters, and I think that we approach our work in the same way. You know, a coach will always kind of bring their players on the sideline at the end of every quarter, and say, “Hey, this is working. This is not working. This is what we really need to change; what we need to do, etc.”

Debi Dunham 

That’s good.

Jarrod Williams 

Same concept can kind of happen with us as fundraisers.

Debi Dunham 

That’s good.

Jeff Schreifels 

Yeah.

Debi Dunham 

I love that. I know another thing that some of my fundraisers do with their A donors that they’re more connected with is they send a story, once they ask about their summer, and I’m sure the donor will ask them, they then might send a photo of them at the beach or, you know, with their family, or something.

Jarrod Williams 

I love that.

Debi Dunham 

Yes, and that, yes and that just shares that you’re a real person and, you know, they care about you. And it’s kind of that two-way relationship which is a beautiful thing, when you’re that, you know, connected to donors.

Jarrod Williams 

That’s a really good point. And children or grandchildren, you know, this is kind of back to school time, right?

Debi Dunham 

Yes!

Jarrod Williams 

So that’s, if you, you know, are part of a non-profit that does a lot of work around education, this is probably a critical time to kind of tell a story about children, and them kind of investing in the children and they can change our world, things like that. So it is, this is a critical time. But I love everything that you said.

Debi Dunham 

Yes, thanks.

Debi Dunham 

You know, another thing mentioning, you know, share a story, if you last week, you were at your site, and you talked to a gentleman that you know, said, “Thank you so much for this, you know, that you’ve given me shelter.” You want to quickly send that off to your donors to say, “Hey, you made a difference in Joe’s life or Sally’s life. Thank you so much. I just talked to him, and he was so appreciative of the support.” So that’s always a nice, we call that a YMAD (You Made A Difference), and that’s really good.

Jeff Schreifels 

Yeah. I think it’s also good to celebrate donors, right? “You’ve given X gifts so far this year,” and it’s a good way to get connection with them and set them up for the year end. But yeah, so celebrating would be good. Um, and you’ve mentioned this before, but really looking, you mentioned this, Debi, really looking at your portfolio and really looking at those that, were not/have not been giving that you expected to give, those, as you say, are light in their giving. It’s really critical that you do that work right now, because you still have time to develop what you need to develop with the donor in order to obtain that gift.

Debi Dunham 

Yeah, that’s really good. I had one client that had a kind of a special project for back to school. And they went ahead and sent it to some of their light donors and some lapse, but the light bumped up, and then they sent it to their ones that were at their giving level or a little bit above, and they gave extra gifts. So it was like over and above what they typically give. And that was, you know, impactful for the donor to have that opportunity to be a part of a back to school program. It’s really good.

Jarrod Williams 

One thing that I really, really love and appreciate about The Veritus Way, right, it forces you to really analyze your portfolio and create a customized experience for each donor that you have, right? Because I think a lot of times it’s only like the guesswork: “Oh, we’re just trying to secure the gift. We’re not really fancy. You know, we didn’t interact before; we know we’re ready for the asks. We know we’re ready for the stewardship. But what about the process? Even free all of that, right? So I think The Veritus Way kind of forces you to have that 12-month plan, right? That really kind of makes you have that clear communication and true next steps of what it looks like with the donor relationship. So I just have a great appreciation for it. Again, I’m a proud graduate.

Jarrod Williams 

Thank you.

Debi Dunham 

You’re a scholar, yes. You’re a Veritus Scholar.

Jarrod Williams 

It is very, very, very effective. So.

Jeff Schreifels 

One of the things about having a plan is also that you can adjust those plans, especially if you have a number of donors that are behind or light, as Debi was talking about. So Debi, what are some of the things that you can do to adjust those communication plans of donors?

Debi Dunham 

Well, I think if you know, let’s say you make a phone call to the donor just to check in, and you know, it does turn to their giving, you could just maybe do an ask over the phone and say, “You know, last year you gave this. Are you open to helping us again?” You could do that. And I would, you know, obviously, adjust the touch point around that. But like you said, too, it’s important to try to get the donors to get up to their level or more they did last year. And you don’t want to miss those giving windows. Oftentimes, when we work with clients, we’re looking ahead a couple months and saying, “Okay, it’s August right now. These donors typically give in October. What can we do in September to get them engaged with you?” And that check in call does that. So then you, once again, get top of mind, and they’re going, “Oh yeah, year end is coming up. I need to figure out my finances, to talk with my family,” that kind of thing.

Jeff Schreifels 

Yeah. You had a story, Debi, about this, didn’t you? About one client that had like, 11 donors or something that…

Debi Dunham 

Oh yes, yes, yes. She had 11 donors that she had never asked for an increase. And I kind of dug a little deeper. And she said, “Well, they’ve always given this much every year. And, you know, one family is struggling with their business. Another family sent two kids to college.” I said, “Well, have you ever talked to them about, you know, making a greater impact?” And she said, “No.” And I said, “Well, let’s try it.” So she did. She called them first and asked if she could send some information. And they all said, “Yes.” She sent it to the 11, and then followed up with a phone call, which is critical. You can’t just send a letter and just let it slide. And of the 11, eight of them increased. Some as much as, you know, $5,000 to $10,000, increased their giving. And one couldn’t give at all, which, once again, she found out, and she was able to tell her manager, “Hey, this $10,000 isn’t coming because of XYZ.” And then the three retained. They stayed at the same level. So it was good, and she was a firm believer. We did, prior to this, we kind of role played those conversations, because she was a little nervous, because she had, and that’s not unusual. A lot of our fundraisers will say, “Well, they’ve been so generous giving $100,000. Isn’t it like greedy to ask for $150,000?” And I’m all “No, because you’re providing them an opportunity to get more joy in their giving and philanthropy and make a greater impact.”

Jeff Schreifels 

Yeah. I love that. Okay. So let’s look at year end now, and what are some of the things to focus on in late November and December. Debi, why don’t you start?

Debi Dunham 

In late November? Well, can we back up a little bit and talk more about October, November? Okay? Because I really think it’s important to do some, you know, like I said, the calling. And if you need to see a donor in December, by October, you want to be sending them something related to what you’re going to ask them for: a project that they care about, that you hopefully by now know what they care about and they’re interested in. So I would do that as a YMAD touch point related to something you’re going to ask for.

Debi Dunham 

And then in November, and this is something not a lot of non-profits do, is we send Thanksgiving cards. A simple, you know, thankful for you and your partnership, and then a nice note on the inside. Because we all do holiday cards, and some from the CEO, some from the President, the ED, and then you do a personal one. But there’s not a lot of organizations that do a handwritten, hand addressed, real stamped, Thanksgiving card. And I’ve even had clients tell me that the people call them and thank them for the Thanksgiving card. And you know, you could put it on your letterhead, you can do a note card, or you can create, design them. You know, doesn’t have to be hokey, but you can find them on Amazon, and one of my clients sent me a link to them. So it’s really a nice touch to just say we’re grateful for you and your support.

Jeff Schreifels 

Yup.

Jarrod Williams 

And I think that’s a good one to really push yourself to be really donor-centered, you know, something that I do at the year-end and around that time. I really try to reflect on my experiences and find relationships that I have with each individual donor, right? And that’s an opportunity for me to really, genuinely share my value and appreciation for what they do for the organization, and, most importantly, what they do for the community. But also what they do for me as well, you know, right? Because you want to be authentic and pure, kind of in that relationship. So I make sure that I write pretty extensive, personalized notes, even if it takes me, you know, a week. I mean serisouly, I’ve had a portfolio from 120-130, you know, folks, right? So you gotta be really, really intentional about your time. But it makes a substantial difference. I think that when you really do that, and then put the donor first and really show that value.

Debi Dunham 

That’s good. That’s good. I think, too, then, you know, October, you do the touch point. November, Thanksgiving card. But in November, you’re calling them to set up the solicitation meeting in December. Now, one thing you need to pay attention to is that you’re focused on those donors that give the most at year end and start, if you prioritizing, I mean, you want to get them all, but you want to focus on the largest givers first, so you can set kind of those anchor visits. So sometimes you have donors that you are really comfortable with, and you think, “Oh, they’ll for sure see me. I’m going to get that appointment set on the calendar right away,” and that’s okay. But you also have to be aware of these other donors that maybe you’re not as connected to, but they want to know what you’re doing to make a difference. So why not, you know, really work on getting appointments with those higher value, less connected donors.

Debi Dunham 

And I had one client that that said, “Oh, I’ve got six appointments set up already.” And I said, “Okay, well, who are they?” And they were kind of Bs and C donors, which is not bad. It’s not about the money, it’s about relationship. But I said, “Well, what about these?” “Well, I’m kind of nervous, you know, do you think they’ll want to see me?” And so we kind of talked through some of her fears, and I, once again, kind of role played and gave her some verbiage, and she had success, and now she sees them, you know, each year. So I think that’s important to really kind of face your fears and keep in mind that donors want to give more than you can ask, I think. And you know, I think it’s important to give them an opportunity to meet with you in person,

Jarrod Williams 

And I think it’s important also, too to be flexible around this time of year, too, because most donors are traveling and they want to see family and just kind of things like that. So I think it really pushes you as a frontline fundraiser, is that you’ll be making solicitations, but they may look different than they have in the past, right? You may not be able to get an appointment, but you may be able to get a phone call, you may be able to get an email.

Debi Dunham 

That’s true.

Jarrod Williams 

Have the ability to kind of meet  the donor in a different type of way. But back to what we were talking about, that’s why it’s important for the pre-communication, you know, back in October and things like that, that is important, right? So you can already tee the donor up.

Debi Dunham 

Yeah, that’s good. That’s good. I think too you can also look at your portfolio and say, “Okay, I have, you know, I have almost a full caseload, but I still have about 10 donors to try to qualify.” And a lot of times, year end is a good time to do that, because most donors know they’re going to hear from non-profits, so they may respond to your intro letter. So we really suggest you know, if you’re in that or you need to kind of re-up your intro process, go ahead and try to do that. I don’t recommend doing, you know, four or five batches in December, because it gets lost in a lot of the, you know, other mail that donors are receiving. But I do think if there’s a select group, I’m going to really try to get this $30,000 a year donor, I think they’re more apt to respond to you.

Jeff Schreifels 

Yeah. Oh, Debi, you have this strategy for between Christmas and New Year. Why don’t you talk about that a little bit?

Debi Dunham 

Okay, well, let’s say you’ve, you know, you’ve gone through, December 15 is typically when most people kind of check out and say, “I don’t want to talk to anyone.” But there’s donors that you haven’t been able to connect with and you, you know, put together a proposal and send it to them, and they don’t respond. You put a response envelope in there, and you haven’t heard from them. I like to create just what I call an echo ask, and it’s a letter, short, one page, a couple paragraphs, that kind of recaps what they received. And just say, you know, “Hope you had a lovely Christmas or holiday, and you’re enjoying time with your family. And you may have seen this note, but there’s still time to give. We have a week left.” And then, drop it, typically the day before, like maybe the 23rd, so that the day after the 25th they’re getting this letter when they’re sitting around looking at their Christmas cards and family and stuff. And so then, the next step is call that week; the week after Christmas. Because I, when I was a fundraiser, frontline fundraiser, I used to raise a bunch of money. They go, “Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you called. Here’s my credit card, or I’m putting the check in the mail today. Will you call me when you receive it? Will it go in by December 31st?”  So I think it’s important. Even if some of our clients have time off, but they keep their cell phone on, and the donors have it, and they will take the calls from the donors. So that’s been a real, effective strategy.

Jarrod Williams 

More about that. I mean, I’ve even been in position where, you know, I’ve even had calls from donors, and donors have asked if I could come pick up the check from their home.

Debi Dunham 

Oh, that’s good.

Jarrod Williams 

They gift cash and make sure they can get their taxable donation by the end of the year. So it’s kind of that flexibility, right? I know that Veritus promotes work life balance, which is great, absolutely, but there is a significant opportunity that lives in that particular period of time. So just going back to that flexibility and really capturing some opportunities that live in times that you think that they don’t.

Debi Dunham 

Another thing, too, is a lot of your non-profits have holiday events. So I know you’re inviting donors to those events, and it’s important to make the connection. But also, if you haven’t had a chance to do a one on one meeting with them, call them within 24 to 48 hours after the event, and just say, “Hey, you know, what do you think of it? And can I ask, did you learn anything new about our organization.” And a lot of times that prompts them to go, “Oh, I didn’t know you did this and this.” “Oh, well, you know, we have this new project. Are you open to hearing more about it? Can I send you something or you want to meet for coffee?” So it gives you another opportunity to connect with them, find out what they thought of it, thank them for coming, and, you know, wish them happy holidays.

Jeff Schreifels 

Yep, awesome. Whoo, that was a lot of stuff. Lot of tips. I really appreciate it. Thanks for joining me, and we hope this has helped provide you focus and actionable takeaways so that you can have an impactful fall and year-end fundraising season. If you’re looking for more on this topic, we’ve also created a planning guide that you can download from the link in the show notes or in the White Paper section of our website. I hope you’ll grab a copy. Well, thank you, and we’ll see you next time!

Recorded 

Thank you for joining us for the Nothing But Major Gifts podcast from Veritus Group. Richard and Jeff also write an ongoing blog that you can subscribe to for free at veritusgroup.net. Please join us again next time.