To give your holiday campaign a fighting chance against the onslaught of e-appeals soon to arrive, you need to go the extra mile and demonstrate to your supporters how much you value their loyalty and opinions.  

Begin by showing them that you don’t take them for granted. Before sending your first appeal, email a special thank you message a few weeks in advance. Tell volunteers who have not yet donated how much you appreciate their giving up valuable time to support your cause. Thank donors for their generosity and provide a summary of accomplishments made possible by their donation. Most importantly, do not to ask for a donation at this point.

In early December, send your first e-appeal and then one per week up until Christmas. Make sure to provide multiple giving options. For example, in addition to a standard donation request provide an organizational wish list. Using Salsa’s storefront package, the list can resemble an online market place where supporters add items to their shopping cart. This once again puts them in a decision making role and tells them exactly how their money will be spent. Just make sure to disable the shipping feature so it’s clear that the items are going back to the organization. Also, don’t forget to ask for an in-honor-of donation again as well.

Use dynamic content when sending a donation appeal. The gift amount will change based on their last donation.

This is how it looks in a step 2 of building an email:

For every donation, use Salsa’s trigger email to send a custom thank you message with their donation receipt. You may also want to encourage high-end donors to raise money for the organization. Salsa’s Peer to Peer fundraising page will do the trick.  Finally, don’t forget to thank your supporters again several days after the campaign. In your email give them an update on the total amount raised and what can be accomplished as a result.

If you’re wondering if this extra effort is worth it, just remember:  it’s much easier to secure donations from your current supporters than to acquire new ones. Make them feel valued and they’ll keep coming back for more.

Holiday Fundraising Resources:

Holiday Fundraising (slideshow). View here >
Sample End-Year Communication Timeline. View here >
Over Achievers Guide to End-Year Fundraising. View here >

Brett Gerstein is a Washington, D.C. based independent consultant who helps organizations leverage their online visibility and connect with their target audience. (bgerstein@communications-on-line.com, www.communications-on-line.com)