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As Giving Season Approaches, Build a Strong Fundraising Plan

LinkedIn for Nonprofits Team

LinkedIn for Nonprofits Team

For organizations that depend on donations and volunteers to advance their cause, giving season can be the most crucial stretch on the calendar. During this period, which spans the final weeks of the year from late November through the end of December, there tends to be a significant rise in charitable activities from both businesses and individuals, creating key opportunities for nonprofits to finish strong and exceed their annual goals.

Getting the most out of this moment requires a thoughtful fundraising plan that sets your organization up for maximum impact. This is true for both large nonprofits and smaller teams that need to do more with less. By taking the time to set clear goals, organize your content calendar, craft tailored messaging, and optimize digital giving touchpoints, you can prime your organization for a giving season to remember.

Fortify your nonprofit fundraising plan for giving season

It’s never too early to start thinking about giving season. Taking a proactive approach, while still leaving room for flexibility, can help make this busy time of year feel more manageable. Here are a few steps to check off your list today as your team starts building its year-end plan.

Set specific goals and targets.

Goal-setting might sound easy, but it’s one of the most critical aspects of any planning process. Without clear targets and goals to work toward, it’s impossible to accurately measure your success and optimize your strategy over time.

Aim to set goals that are SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely — to create a clear vision of what success will look like. Here’s an example of what SMART goal-setting for a giving season fundraising plan might look like:

  • Specific: Raise $100,000 by the end of the giving season (November through December) through individual donations.

  • Measurable: Track donations daily, aiming for an average of $1,666 per day over 60 days.

  • Achievable: Based on last year's giving season results of $80,000, this 25% increase is realistic with our updated campaign targeting and new donor engagement strategies.

  • Relevant: This goal directly supports our organization's mission of expanding community outreach programs in the upcoming year.

  • Time-bound: Achieve this goal by December 31st.

Tailor your content calendar to the season.

Creating and sharing relevant, engaging, and tailored content is a proven fundraising method. Leverage these four techniques to maximize the impact of your fundraising content during giving season:

  • Post content that resonates: Demonstrate and celebrate the power of giving during a period of time when the subject is top of mind for many.

  • Be mindful of your posting cadence: Develop a consistent, focused presence by developing a content calendar for the season. Aim to share a mix of inspiration, information, and calls to ask to avoid bombaring your audience with back-to-back donation requests.

  • Show appreciation for existing donors: Giving season is a great time to recognize those who’ve donated to your cause all year. Doing so may help inspire new donors, while also building greater engagement and loyalty among your existing donor base.

  • Make the most of LinkedIn: Nearly two-thirds of nonprofit professionals agree that the people they want to connect with to raise money for their organization are on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn members are more likely than the average internet user to donate to nonprofits (87% vs. 75%). During giving season, professionals on LinkedIn may be even more inclined to take action, so don't overlook this key channel.

Make it easy for your audience to engage and take action.

At a time when donation activity is heightened, it’s important to make it as easy as possible for people to act on their inclination to give. As giving season approaches, spend some effort reviewing your conversion-focused web pages and other digital touchpoints to ensure the user journey is seamless. 

For example, is your primary donation page easy to navigate on mobile devices? Are you minimizing the number of clicks required between seeing a social media post and completing a donation? And if you’re launching a Giving Tuesday crowdfunding campaign that allows supporters to create their own pages and fundraise on your behalf, is all the information they need readily accessible and easy to read?

Consider sponsoring your message to amplify its reach and impact.

As nonprofits push to reach their year-end goals, competition for your target audiences’ attention may be high. If you have budget remaining for the year, consider boosting your content with paid advertising to ensure your message is reaching the right people at the right moment.

There are a number of places your nonprofit can run paid campaigns, including search and social networks. Linkedin offers extensive targeting tools and dedicated support for nonprofit customers to help you reach the members who are most likely to be receptive to your message.

Find more resources to inform your nonprofit fundraising plan

As the year marches toward its end, your nonprofit’s fundraising journey is only just beginning. Once you’ve solidified your plan for giving season, you can turn your attention toward channeling the momentum you build into the year ahead. 

Check out the resources below for more guidance on maximizing your digital fundraising impact on LinkedIn and beyond:

And to help your team save time and make its resources go further during this busy period, check out our webinar “AI for nonprofits: Reimagining productivity with AI.”