9 steps to employ now to ramp up end-of-year online donations

By Philip King

6. Get to know your supporters
You have lots of information about your supporters — now you need to take a little time to use it. Something as simple as personalizing your e-mail thank-you with “Dear Philip” shouldn’t be underestimated. It amazes me how many organizations are still sending “Dear Donor” e-mails.

Of course, you can go even further with very little effort. Send a different e-mail to donors who gave above a certain amount or supported a specific cause. If all you can do is send one "blast" thank-you e-mail to your online donors, it’s better than nothing, but taking a little more time to personalize can go a long way.

7. Grow your list and welcome newcomers warmly
There are still many weeks before the holiday rush to grow your e-mail list. The larger your e-mail list going into the December giving season, the better your chances are of generating online donations. If you feel you’ve done all you can on your own, you can engage third-party services such as Care2 that will build a list for you on a cost-per-click or cost-per-e-mail basis.

8. Tell your story
You have inspiring stories to tell about people you’ve helped, animals you’ve rescued and/or forests you’ve protected. The online donation experience often suffers from an overly transactional feel. Visitors making gifts to you aren’t purchasing a new song on iTunes or a book from Amazon. Make sure they feel it!

9. Write down a plan
Something empowering happens when you commit thoughts to paper. An online holiday plan doesn’t have to be overly complex, and any plan is better than no plan at all. If you can access your data from last December, you’ll have a good baseline. If not, don’t worry. The key is to take a few simple actions now to prepare for the largest online donation month of the year.