’Tis the season! Even though it feels like summer in most of the country, the elves experts at Sharpe Group have been busy looking ahead to fall to create tools and strategies that can help our clients plan for a successful year-end. We are sharing a few to add to your “to-do” list:
1. Review your planned giving website from an outsider’s perspective. Is it easy to make a gift from your homepage or navigate to your planned giving page? Does it include information about making gifts of securities and additional ways to give beyond cash? Remember, many older donors have reservations about making gifts or conducting other financial transactions online, so be sure your mailing address and phone number are prominent as well.
2. Rethink your digital year-end giving strategy. Begin your year-end appeals early enough to allow donors to complete their gifts in a timely manner and to work with donors who are planning noncash gifts that may require additional time. After #GivingTuesday, adjust your messaging, providing links to allow donors to give easily for the remaining weeks of the year.
3. Carefully coordinate digital and print appeals. It has been proven that multiple appeals generate more gifts. Be sure you time them carefully so your donors don’t feel overwhelmed. With the election this fall, your donors’ mailboxes and inboxes will be full of campaign materials.
4. Appeal to special people. Send a year-end brochure to your entire mailing list and a special appeal to a targeted group of your most loyal and/or high-net-worth supporters. Given the rise in stock market values, many donors may consider making noncash gifts this fall, especially if you remind them of the added benefit of bypassing capital gain taxes. Click here for some additional suggestions on creating targeted appeals.
