{"id":8491,"date":"2019-10-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=8491"},"modified":"2024-05-08T20:38:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T20:38:36","slug":"annual-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/annual-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Annual Giving Campaign Ideas & Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having worked at a nonprofit that raised a majority of our funds with an annual campaign, I know first-hand how powerful a strong<\/span> annual giving campaign can be.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve seen first-time donors become recurring donors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve noticed a positive response from donors after they see the difference their gift helps make in the community over the course of a year.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve known some donors who grew to major gift donors to board members because they felt invested in our cause based on their annual gift.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, despite all the benefits of an annual giving campaign, many of us in the nonprofit world tend to think of them as a traditional fundraising method reserved for larger organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, at<\/span> CauseVox<\/a>, we truly believe that any nonprofit or charity, regardless of size and budget, can successfully run an annual giving campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you\u2019re new to the concept of annual giving or if you\u2019re looking to grow your campaign, here are some ideas and best practices that can help you plan a successful annual giving campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Annual Giving?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most organizations use an annual giving campaign<\/a> to raise unrestricted funds for basic operations and programming. In general, annual campaign funds aren\u2019t used to carry out specific projects, but to promote and ensure that the organization\u2019s mission is met.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an example, let\u2019s think of a nonprofit that works with at-risk youth. You\u2019d use a traditional fundraiser for to raise money to help sponsor a child in one of your programs (meaning the food, shelter, clothing, education, etc. needed), but you\u2019d use annual giving campaign funds to cover all operational expenses (staffing, transportation, paperwork).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are The Benefits To An Annual Giving Campaign?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a number of benefits to running an annual giving campaign. These benefits include:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Consistency: An annual campaign occurs year after year, meaning it is not only a consistent source of income for your organization, it\u2019s also a consistent place for your donors to give.<\/span><\/li>
  2. Donor Retention<\/a>: Following the donor engagement and retention cycle is key to keep your donors involved and active in your organization. With an annual giving campaign, you can guide your donors through this cycle in a systematic, organized fashion.<\/span><\/li>
  3. Flexibility: After years of running an annual campaign, your nonprofit should have a good idea how much in unrestricted funds will come in year after year, which allows you to shift resources to develop programs that are working<\/span>.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Above all, your nonprofit has the ability to customize your annual giving campaign to meet the needs of your organization. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can focus on reaching your supporters through direct mail, email, or even social media. Or, run your annual giving campaign completely online like thousands of other nonprofits and charities using<\/span> crowdfunding software<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Take a look at these 7 annual giving campaign ideas and best practices to begin planning for your annual giving campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Start With Your Nonprofit’s Friends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Best Practice: Use the power of your connections to develop a plan and begin fundraising<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As with all fundraising, it\u2019s best to start with who you know. After you develop a campaign theme, discuss the project and get the input of your<\/span> <\/a>board of directors<\/a> and other key supporters. They\u2019ll likely have some great ideas about campaign sponsors, pools of prospective donors, and how they\u2019d like to see the campaign run (for example, online annual fundraiser vs. direct mail based).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And don\u2019t just stop at input, ask for a financial commitment to help kickstart the campaign. If you\u2019re running an online campaign, then this is the time to recruit your closest supporters to become personal fundraisers for a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your closest supporters will have the greatest insight into what makes your message compelling. The more you can involve these people in your outreach, the more powerful your messaging will become. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Carlisle Family YMCA has been using personal and team fundraising to boost their annual campaign for years. The team at Carlisle Family YMCA knew that by just engaging their board to fundraise for their annual campaign, they\u2019d be able to get a head start. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"carlisle-family-ymca-annual-giving-campaign\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    They encouraged their board members to make the first donation to the campaign to help them get the campaign off the ground and then asked that they then share their pages with their networks.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Plus, they were able to use the same message they\u2019ve been using for years in their traditional annual giving campaign to promote their online campaign. So far, they\u2019ve raised over $72,000 for their annual campaign, while adding new donors and raising more funds than in the previous year using team and<\/span> individual fundraising.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At CauseVox, we believe that incorporating peer-to-peer fundraising<\/a> into your annual campaign can help you reach more donors. When you use your supporters as the backbone of your fundraising campaign, you\u2019re empowering them to take ownership of your organization\u2019s future.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Kickoff The Campaign Right <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Best Practice: Consider launching your annual giving campaign on #GivingTuesday<\/em> or an awareness day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, once you’ve got your first round of donations reflected on the online campaign site, you’re ready to get started with the wider launch of your campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of course, you’re going to want to make a big splash the day of your annual giving campaign launch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If your annual giving campaign falls at the end of the calendar year, consider using GivingTuesday as the launchpad for your larger year-end fundraising campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For GivingTuesday itself, you can launch your campaign with a clear fundraising goal for the day, but use language on the page to pitch how this initial push figures into your larger annual giving goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If your annual giving campaign falls at another time, try finding a related awareness day to launch on, or simply hype up your launch date ahead of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Make it clear that while the first step is definitely launching your fundraising rocket, your goal is to get it to the moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip: One way to make your launch extra special is by <\/em>securing a matching gift <\/em><\/a>for your launch date.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Run Your Annual Giving Campaign Online And Use Peer-to-Peer Fundraising <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Best Practice: When running an online campaign, you\u2019ll need donors to either act as personal fundraisers or be willing to share your crowdfunding campaign with their networks.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fundraising has always been about connecting with people and building relationships, which is why peer-to-peer fundraising<\/a> is a great technique to incorporate into an annual giving campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Faith in Action is a great example. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    This faith-based organization ran their annual campaign as a<\/span> peer-to-peer fundraising campaign through CauseVox. They engaged 92 people to fundraise on behalf of the organization, asking friends and family to make gifts.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Faith in Action invested in their community by providing weekly email and a fundraising toolkit to help guide them on how to best fundraise within their communities. They encouraged each person to share a personal story about why they\u2019re fundraising for the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"annual-giving-campaign-peer-to-peer-fundraising\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    One of their supporters, J.D. Klippenstein, told a personal story about two friend who were experiencing homelessness who tragically died one cold winter. His own powerful story related to the cause moved his friends and family to donate $4400 to Faith in Action.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your supporters have their own powerful stories to draw from. By giving them the opportunity to share their own stories connected to your cause, you\u2019re empowering your network to feel closer to your organization and become a fundraising powerhouse for you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    An online annual giving campaign<\/a> is a perfect way to engage your current supporters (board members, volunteers, donors, staff) by having them share your campaign and serve as personal fundraisers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And at CauseVox, we give you the tools you need to develop an easy-to-use, shareable campaign so your supporters don\u2019t have to worry about sending out receipts or troubleshooting IT issues. Instead, they can focus on what they do best \u2014 connecting with others.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Take A Multichannel Approach <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Best Practice: Engage your audience both online and offline to maximize results. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You’re probably used to writing up your annual appeal letter, getting your year-end brochure printed, and getting the mailers sent out to your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And that’s fantastic. Keep doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While having an online fundraising campaign to make it easy for your supporters to fundraise for you and for people to donate, it’s great to approach your annual giving campaign promotion through multiple channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To optimize your fundraising, consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n