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3 Steps to Create an Impactful Year-End Fundraising Campaign with Groundswell

A group of employees celebrate the new year together and throw golden confetti in the air

Whether you’re donating as an individual or as part of a corporate social responsibility and impact campaign, if you’re giving to charitable causes, it’s likely during the end-of-year period. As the clock ticks down, the time corporate organizations have left to send gifts dwindles, too. Fortunately, Groundswell is designed to help businesses launch timely year-end fundraising campaigns that boost engagement and deliver a profound impact. Let’s take a closer look.

Table of Contents

Why Does Year-End Giving Matter?
Embrace the Season of Giving with a Year-End Fundraising Campaign
Plan Impactful Year-End Fundraising Campaigns in 3 Steps with Groundswell
   Step 1: Name Your Program + Rules
   Step 2: Choose Recipients
   Step 3: Establish Matching Amounts
Bigger Impacts, Fewer Admin Tasks: Groundswell's Promise
   

Why Does Year-End Giving Matter?

As each calendar year comes to a close, nonprofit organizations worldwide are far from finished with their outreach efforts. That’s because the year-end fundraising season is one of the most profitable and significant for many nonprofits. 

The period between October and the end of December tends to bring a spike in new donations, which also means it’s a key time to launch a fundraising campaign within your business. 

This is particularly true for businesses and organizations that leverage digital or online fundraising campaigns to give back. According to the 2023 M+R Benchmarks Report, a comprehensive study analyzing trends in the nonprofit sphere, charitable giving that happened during December made up 26% of all online donation revenue. 

As the end of December comes around, the trend only continues – donors are faced with their last opportunity to make a gift to the causes they care about. The Benchmarks Report also notes that donations made on December 31 accounted for a whopping 5% of 2023 revenue for nonprofits!

The Reason Behind the Season

There are a few reasons that this phenomenon might occur. For one thing, the end of the year brings, for many, the holiday season. The spirit of camaraderie, togetherness, and uplifting others that accompanies this time of year can naturally encourage more selflessness and gift-giving. 

Another important factor is the tax deductions that can come with charitable donations. In order to apply deductions to the current tax year, donors have to ensure they give their gifts before midnight on December 31 (thus the surge in revenue on this date).

All of this is to say that the end of each year is the prime time to think about your fundraising goals. It’s also an ideal opportunity to launch an impactful campaign that both engages your employees and maximizes the resources you can donate.

Embrace the Season of Giving with a Year-End Fundraising Campaign

For nonprofits, a year-end fundraising campaign is all about attracting new donors and boosting donations. Meanwhile, businesses and donors interested in supporting nonprofits can leverage year-end campaigns of their own. 

Encouraging your staff to donate by creating campaigns tailored to your organization’s values and matching employee giving is a great way to get started. Here are a few key tips to keep in mind as you design an end-of-year fundraising campaign for your teams:

  • Plan Early – Many nonprofits begin ramping up for year-end fundraising as early as October, and many kick off campaigns of their own before or on Giving Tuesday (the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the US). That means your campaign can start early, too; you can even host several campaigns within the end-of-year period! 
  • Identify Target Audiences – Determine which organizations or causes your campaign will aim to support. Whether you select recipients that align with your strategic goals or values or choose something new for the season, it makes sense to establish your audience and ideal donor early. Doing so will help you determine how you can promote and design the campaign to best suit your needs.
  • Establish a Detailed Timeline – How long will the campaign last, when will it begin, and when will it end? Create specific, measurable, and actionable goals within your timeline that will help you quantify your campaign’s success. 
  • Show Your Gratitude – Once your campaign comes to a close, show your appreciation to employees who participated by sending thank you cards or special acknowledgments.

No matter how much you plan to give, Groundswell’s corporate donation platform is here to help you craft a campaign that suits your needs.

Plan Impactful Year-End Fundraising Campaigns in 3 Steps with Groundswell

Groundswell’s mobile-facing platform gives you the ability to create year-end fundraising campaigns in minutes, even if you’re on the go. Our 5-star rated app puts the power to launch donation initiatives in your hands. All you need to do to get started is follow three simple steps:

Step 1: Name Your Program & Rules

Give your fundraising campaign a name and establish its purpose. In this case, you might opt to name it “End-of-the-Year Fundraising Campaign” or something similar. 

Regardless, your next step will be to decide what the basic “rules” of the campaign will be. What cause or causes will donors support? When will the deadline for donating be? What will the reward or incentive be for donating? Consider questions like these as you begin building your program to customize it to your liking.

Step 2: Choose Recipients

Select which employees, departments, or teams will participate in the fundraising program. This might be your entire organization, or it might be more specific. You might find it helpful to leverage multiple campaigns to boost year-end fundraising across different industries or niches.

Step 3: Establish Matching Amounts

Determine how much your business will donate to match employee contributions, if applicable. Customize matching amounts to different donation values or teams, review your choices, and you’re ready to launch your new program!

Bigger Impacts, Fewer Admin Tasks: Groundswell’s Promise

If you’re looking for the perfect time to launch fundraising and donation efforts that have an impact, you can’t go wrong with the end-of-year period. 

Nonprofit organizations receive a significant portion of their funding during the last few months of the calendar year, making it an ideal timeframe for corporate donation programs to launch tailored campaigns. 

Drum up engagement levels with an employee donation matching campaign that embraces everything that makes the end of the year so unique. 

Groundswell is here to help you make it happen without the administrative backend or headaches. 90% of donations sent through Groundswell are delivered within 24 hours, so you can rest assured that even last-minute contributions will go where they’re needed most quickly.

Ready to get started? Schedule a demo with us to learn more about how Groundswell can help you increase year-end fundraising and donation efforts.

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