The relaxed pace of summer offers a breather from the usual hustle. While we absolutely believe in taking a break, it’s also a good idea to start thinking about the fast-approaching fall fundraising rush.
Help get your organization ready for when the air starts getting crisp with these four steps.
Four Essential Steps for A Great Fall Fundraising Season
1. GivingTuesday prep
In 2022, GivingTuesday donors in the U.S. gave $3.1 billion. That’s 15% more than in 2021, but money wasn’t the only thing raised by last year’s event. According to the GivingTuesday Impact Report, volunteering and participation—giving time—was up, too. In the United States, 10 million people volunteered (up 3%), 11 million donated goods (up 8%), and 15 million gave voice (up 11%). Now is a great time to start nudging your ducks toward some semblance of a row. Start working on:
- Organizing tech. If you don’t have a fundraising platform that can support crowdfunding campaigns, now’s the time to check out all your options. If you’ve never set up this kind of fundraiser, here’s an article on how to create a crowdfunding page for GivingTuesday.
- Analyzing social media. Take a look at your various social media platform analytics. Then, ask yourself what sort of content seems to work best and what audience segment uses which platform the most. For example, according to Pew Research, 77% of 30–49-year-olds use Facebook, and 48% of them use Instagram. Meanwhile, 22% of that same age group uses Snapchat, while 48% of people ages 18-29 are all about Tik Tok. Start researching hashtags and developing messaging specific to your organization’s audience segments. For bonus points, start preparing images and content.
2. Plan a Halloween Fundraising Event
Whether or not your nonprofit focuses on children, Halloween is an opportunity to connect with your community and raise awareness about your cause. Get your creative juices flowing with these easy Halloween fundraising ideas:
- A virtual and in-person pet Halloween costume contest and parade. Invite your audience to tag your organization on social media posts or photos showing their pets dressed up for trick-or-treating, and share those images on your own platforms. It’s an easy (and adorable) way to spread awareness of your organization. In tandem with that push, you could host a dog costume pet parade (do not underestimate the draw of these!) at which you can host a fun raffle. Livestream the parade, invite participants to vote for their favorite costumes, and offer a link to your raffle site so everyone can bid.
- A virtual and IRL pumpkin carving contest. Participants could carve pumpkins at home and submit photos or videos of their creations—bonus points if they also show how they re-used the pumpkin seeds or interior to make snacks or dinner! For in-person participants, you can host a live event where people can come and carve their pumpkins. Choose winners from several categories and announce them online.
Want more Halloween fundraiser inspiration? Check out History.com’s article The History of Halloween and our tips on How to Scare up a Great Halloween Fundraiser.
3. Review the intel to make informed fundraising decisions
The articles and links below will provide valuable insights, offer perspective, and maybe help your organization make some adjustments to help it thrive.
- The game has changed, thanks to ChatGPT and AI. Read about the ethics of using AI for nonprofits in Candid’s article Is your nonprofit thinking about using ChatGPT? Your first step is to do no harm. For ideas about how other nonprofits are using ChatGPT to improve their fundraising efforts, Philanthopy’s piece offers insights. If you’re looking for ways ChatGPT can help with your org’s writing tasks, we’ve got prompts to try!
- HubSpot’s 25 Nonprofit Marketing Statistics for 2023 has some great information, including which social media channels generate the best results. If you want even more data, the Nonprofit Tech for Good 2023 report has tons about how nonprofit organizations are using technology.
- Wondering how your nonprofit can connect with young people? Check out the Forbes article How Nonprofits Can Attract And Retain Younger Donors. Candid also has some helpful tips on how to reach Gen Z on social media.
- If you need a little help with your Instagram game, check out Nonprofit Tech For Good’s 10 Instagram Best Practices for Nonprofits.
- For a really great fundraising page (like the one you’re planning for GivingTuesday), you need to connect with visitors. Anne Green’s 4 Storytelling Tips for Your Donation Page has some really terrific advice.
4. Prioritize Mental Health
Preparing for the fall fundraising season also means taking care of your mental health. Current times are stressful (here’s an interesting piece on the climate crisis and mental health)! Emotional and mental well-being is something we all need to focus on. So, take some time off, indulge in self-care, and establish new habits that support your mental health. For ideas on how to look after those on your organization’s team, The Council of Nonprofits offers advice.
Dive Into Fall!
Enjoy the rest of summer, take care of yourself, and let’s make this autumn fundraising season one of a kind!
For more helpful information that’ll prepare you for fall fundraising, check out our blog. We’ve got articles about how to boost your A-thon’s engagement, community engagement strategies, and everything you need to know about peer-to-peer fundraising.
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