Fundraising at Christmas

And now we are in the middle of collecting funds, fulfilling Christmas appeals and putting the last touches to events.

But Why is Christmas Fundraising so important?

• More than one-third (33.6%) of overall charitable giving happens in the last three months of the year;
• With the highest percentage (17.5%) coming in December. 

According to the Blackbaud charitable giving report 2013.

What can You do in the build up to Christmas?

• Be opportunistic: look out for any last minute chances to raise money and piggyback on any existing events and charitable giving.
• Use social media: to maximise awareness, get people involved and tell the stories of your cause.
• Support volunteers: make sure they feel valued as well as having all the fundraising materials they need.
• Say thank you: to your volunteers and your donors and be sure to acknowledge all donations – face to face, by phone or by letter.

Most of all be proud of yourself and the role you have played at Christmas and all year round in making a difference in your community and for your cause.

For some more last minute Christmas Fundraising Tips, have a look at the Institute of Fundraising Tips for Christmas

And what will 2015 bring?

January is a good month to review the previous fundraising calendar year, look at what worked and didn’t work and what areas of fundraising you should be focussing on in the financial year.

I am delivering a training session on Diversifying Your Funding Sources in January which will help you review existing fundraising techniques and identify new ways of generating income.  This will be of particular use in the current funding climate.

For more fundraising advice, support and encouragement follow me on twitter and facebook.