It’s mid-December. We hope your appeal efforts are on target. But, it’s always a bit anxiety-inducing until the 31^st comes around and you know if you have met or exceeded your goals. Consider doing a little extra push by employing these 3 tactics which means you can still impact your December appeal:

1. Email. Don’t overwhelm people and send out 4 emails in two weeks. Instead, send out one in the next couple of days and one on the 30^th or 31^st. If a prospect is considering a donation, you are offering them an easy way to support your nonprofit.

   Tips:Include imagery and make it brief. This is not the place to introduce your nonprofit to prospects – too much copy will only increase the number of immediate deletes. Instead, remind them why you are a good investment of their philanthropic dollars with something equivalent to an elevator pitch.

   Not sure about timing? There do not seem to be any lasting trends on timing that will encourage opens, but there are certain times that increase the chances that your email will end up in the trash. Think about how you open your email in the morning and find 40+ semi-junk emails. These are the companies that you sometimes buy from so you don’t unsubscribe, but clog up your email box so you just scroll through and hit delete, delete, delete. This also happens after lunch.   I like mid-morning on a weekday. There is no guarantee, but at least it may be noticed.

2. Social media. Don’t post donation requests every day in December. That shows a lack of focus. If you want to ramp up your Facebook or Twitter efforts, use an image to show someone who has benefited from your services with a link that allows a prospect to give easily and help others with a similar need or achieve the same goal. Or, provide one fact that proves that your organization makes an impact.Viewers may click on it and they may not, but it is free marketing in a time when it is hard to break free from the clutter. And, of course, it is a reminder of the amazing work you do.
3. Phonathon. Some people love them, some people hate them but either way they serve as a personal reminder to a previous donor. Prioritize by starting with LYBUNTs who gave in November or December of last year, followed by SYBUNTs from the previous fiscal year who did not give last year at all.

   Having trouble getting people to make the calls? Mix in thank you calls, sorting current year donors in decreasing dollar amounts (so that the highest donors are most likely to get the calls). It will help everyone feel good along the way and especially after that one unfortunate call when rudeness prevails.

Whatever you do, do it thoughtfully and strategically. And hope that the planning and preparation that you did in the previous 50 weeks of the year will pay off now.