Tips on inspiring year-round giving

Spring is (finally) in the air and with the blooming of spring comes the season for marquee nonprofit fundraising events. From grand galas to spring fling festivities, these cornerstone events are an important part of the fundraising mix, often raising significant funds.

While extra emphasis is rightfully put on these annual high-profile and revenue-producing events, don’t take your eye off the eight ball. Year-round giving is critical to your long-term viability and is the engine that drives your mission. Steady, recurring gifts add up and are foundational elements to your fundraising success.

The most successful nonprofit organizations integrate traditional fundraising activities such as annual galas with online giving options and ongoing donor communications. Electronic giving is an effective tool to not only facilitate donations, but also deepen donor engagement which results in increased year-round giving. When adding GiveCentral to their fundraising tool kit, our clients report a growth of up to 50 percent in total donations.

You can inspire year-round giving by deploying the latest fundraising technology and creating meaningful donor touch points throughout the year.

Try these proven GiveCentral tips:

• Add E-giving to your fundraising mix. Make sure donors can make contributions to your organization at any time, from anywhere on any device.
• Migrate the guest list of your traditional fundraising events to your donor database. Be sure to capture the email address and phone number of event guests and start communicating with them right away. Starting with a thank you gets you off on the right foot.
• Share your success stories – showcasing what donor dollars do – and issue clear calls to action for donors to sign up for recurring giving as well as special campaigns. Uniquely, GiveCentral’s communications feature empowers you to create customized communications to engage donors in a dialogue about your organization.
• Host online giving “sign up” drives throughout the year. Educate your supporters on the benefits of electronic giving – for them personally as well as your organization.

Year-round giving is the backbone of every organization, the bread and butter that feeds your mission. What are your trade secrets for inspiring year-round giving?  We’d love for you to share them here.