Did you know nonprofit organizations drive 29% of their annual donation revenue between the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and the end of the year? This means that an expertly executed year-end fundraising campaign can make all the difference between a good year and a great year.
As a direct channel to your supporters, text messaging can play an important role in engaging your donor list in December and ensuring that you finish off the year on a high note. Here are a few things to consider as you craft your year-end push for donations.
1) Craft a compelling message.
Whether you invoke the urgency of your cause, show how your donations are put to use, or share examples of the work your organization has done this year, make sure your text messages give your audience a reason to donate. You can also strengthen your message by using MMS messages to show, rather than just tell, supporters how their money is put to use.
2) Personalize your message.
To truly connect with your text messaging audience, it helps to get personal. Personalize your text messages with user data, such as your subscribers’ first name or the amount they previously donated.
You can also add a personal touch to your messages by including your own name (or the name of somebody else in your organization) in your messaging. The World Wildlife Fund has found that sending text messages “from” a real person increased response rates by 250%.
3) Segment your text messaging list.
While your supporters share an interest in your organization, they may not all share the same priorities. With segmentation, you can send different fundraising asks to different members of your audience, ensuring that subscribers receive the most relevant messaging.
For instance, has a subscriber expressed interest in a certain issue? Send a text that emphasizes the work you do for that particular issue. If you have geographical data for your donors, you can also segment them by location to send messaging that resonates with supporters in different regions.
4) Remove friction from the donation process.
Your supporters are generous enough to donate to your cause; it’s only fair that you make their experience as seamless as possible. If you direct your subscribers to a landing page to donate, make sure that your page is mobile responsive and your forms are optimized for smaller screens. To maximize conversions, limit the number of form fields that donors must fill out.
5) Promote your year-end campaign on social media.
To maximize your fundraising success, you need to reach as many potential donors as possible, and social media is a great way to expand your reach. By sharing your mobile CTAs on social media, you can reach donors who may not even be aware of your organization – yet.
Create a post that demonstrates the importance of donating to your organization, then share it across your social media channels. Not only will this help spread the word about your end-of-year efforts, it can also help you add new donors to your mobile list for future campaigns.
6) Thank your donors.
Once a supporter donates to your cause, be sure to follow-up with a thank-you message. A thank-you text adds a personal touch to your campaign, provides confirmation that the donation was successful, and provides additional space for you to keep your audience engaged.
In your thank-you message, you can provide a link to information about how your organization puts donations to use. You might also ask donors to share your message with a few friends, further expanding your potential donor audience.
7) Provide other ways to participate.
If your supporters can’t donate or if they wish to express their support in other ways, let them know how they can help too. Use your text messaging channel to spotlight volunteer opportunities, ways to share your information with a friend, or other ways to get involved in their communities.
For more ways to raise funds in the final weeks of the year, download our new A-to-Z guide for end-of-year mobile messaging campaigns.