Setting Yourself Up for Success in the New Year - Part Two
In Part One of this blog series, we discussed why January is a great time to show your donors gratitude for their support over the past year. Donors want to feel good about giving to your mission. Take every opportunity to let them know that they are truly making a difference.
The new year is also a great time for some key housekeeping tasks.
3 Ways to Clean House in the New Year
CRM data clean up
Because of the number of year end communication pieces you likely sent out, you should have some new information about your donors. Based on any returned mail, you may be able to update addresses in your database. You can also look at your email platform to review any bounced email addresses and donors that unsubscribed from your email list (helpful in determining which communications are resonating with donors and which are not). All of this information is helpful in keeping your database healthy and up-to-date.
Evaluate and update any templates and automated communications
It is time to refresh all of your templated communications. Does your donation processor have an automated thank you email that goes out to donors once they give a gift? Do you have a template for a gift receipt that is printed and mailed to donors following a donation? Now is the perfect time to update them with new content and messaging.
Analyze last year’s giving
One of the most important housekeeping activities you can do in January is to analyze the giving patterns from your donors last year. It will not only give you a snapshot of strengths and weaknesses from the past 12 months but will also provide some great insight to inform your projected success for the next 12 months. As you are strategizing and planning for the new year, this analysis will show you where you should focus your energy and provide information to develop realistic goals.
Recommended reports to review:
Total revenue
Number of donors
Number of new donors
Number of gifts
Donors with multiple gifts through the year
Largest gift size
Average gift size
Number of lapsed donors
Number of re-engaged donors
Wealth Screening of all previous year donors
Annual Planning
Now that you have been able to thank your donors well and assess the success of last year’s fundraising efforts, it is time to look forward to this year.
Creating an Annual Plan is like creating your North Star for the year – it not only keeps you and your team organized, but also gives you clear direction. Spend time establishing your goals and think about the development activities that will contribute to accomplishing those goals. Utilize a project management tool to create a comprehensive plan/calendar to keep you on task. You will want to include: appeals, events, stewardship touchpoints, etc. For best results, set due dates and assign staff members to each task.
While it is tempting to jump right into your fundraising efforts to get a head start in January, focusing your energy in these key areas at the beginning of the year will give you a sense of preparedness and confidence to tackle your goals.