Some Year-End Fundraising Links

As hard as it is to believe, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and before you know it, the holiday season will be upon us. By now, every fundraiser should be well underway with his or her year-end fundraising campaigns, but it's still not too late to look for ways to beef up your appeals during the holiday season.

That's especially true considering that donors are upbeat about end-of-year giving. Here are some helpful links to check out regarding your end-of-year fundraising campaigns.

• Jeff Brooks passes along a cautionary podcast, "How to Destroy Your Year-End Letter," available for download.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy shares a year-end fundraising app for your website.
• Katya Andresen says the holidays are a time perfect to ask for volunteers, not just money.
• Katya's organization, Network for Good, provides seven steps for your year-end campaign planning:

1. Figure out what you're trying to accomplish.
2. Determine how you're going to accomplish your goals (tell a great story).
3. Determine which communications channels you'll use.
4. Decide which resources you need to get the job done.
5. Determine who will execute your campaign steps.
6. Lay out how you will measure your success.
7. Set your timeline and benchmarks.

• Network for Good also shared five resources to help you get ready for December in its weekly newsletter:

1. On last week's Nonprofit 911 webinar, "Seven Incredible Hours in December: How to Make the Most of Year-End Fundraising," trends in year-end giving were revealed as were tips to make sure you're doing all you can to engage your supporters in December (hint: send three e-mails the last week of the year).
2. Next week's special Thursday Nonprofit 911 webinar will feature best-selling author Clay Shirky talking about how good design can encourage donors to give.
3. Network for Good is hosting its first Year-End Fundraising Challenge to give DonateNow and EmailNow users (new and existing) 1,200 more reasons to meet — and exceed — their fundraising goals this season.
4. "The Big Event: 5 Tips to Make Every Event a Great Success."
5. Webinar: "The Final Word on Year-End Fundraising: 5 Things You Can Still do to Boost Your December Income."

• And finally, to help inspire new, creative ideas, read about the Seven Christmas Trees.