Game Plan for End of Year Giving

Did you know the EOYA appeals to a different type of donor than your standard monthly donor? It’s wise to offer various giving opportunities because you recognize there is no "one size fits all" appeal. A large ask, such as an EOYA, tends to resonate with your special gift donors (look for any who gave over the past three years) and those with a higher capacity to give. This group may even include those who stopped giving or have never given before. This group can make up a HUGE chunk in your MTD. I had missionaries last year who gathered $10,000, $25,000 and even $50,000 in their EOYA efforts! This is not a small potatoes thing, if you do it correctly.

Statistics indicate:

• 31% of all charitable giving happens at year-end.
• 12% of all giving happens in the last three days of the year.  

This is a season when everyone you know is making some financial choices for this year and next.  Two streams of thought are happening. They are deciding on their giving priorities for the next year. They are also receiving end-of-year bonuses and choosing how to be generous with their windfall earnings. 

For EOY, we usually recommend a Top 20 or 30 list. There are some good practices of who should be included on that list:

• Look at those who give annually,
  Consider asking donors who give once or twice a year to consider making an end-of-year donation.

• Look at those who give irregularly
  You likely have some donors who give as money comes up. End of the year is a great time to let them know your need

• Look at those who give only when asked
  Many donors aren't able to make monthly commitments but would love to give towards a need once a year. Look at your list and find those donors. 

• Look at those who have never given but might be open if asked again.
  Take a look at your prayer list and consider asking people who may not have been asked in a year or two. It's possible their situation has changed and would be open to giving. 
  
  
• Lapsed donors (non-current), who have stopped their regular recurring giving, and those who may be at risk of leaving your team. While monthly or quarterly giving might not fit with this donor's current situation, sometimes a special gift does. 
  
  
• Anyone who has given a one-time gift in the past 3 years. 
  
  
• Who NOT ask: Those you've asked for a special gift or increase in regular giving in the past 3-6 months (your discretion). 

Your database can help you determine this. Run reports from the last 3 years and take a look at your list. Filter by: Gift Type/ Special, Last Gift/ Last 3 Years. The report will show special and recurring giving for each donor. To easily filter through, copy data into Excel or Google sheets and sort/ filter by special gift date. 

There are many options on how to make the Ask for an end of year gift. However, this is the process we recommend and have seen a lot of fruit from. 

• Card: Send a Thanksgiving card to each person on your list. Include a hand-written, personal note reflecting why you're thankful for them in this season. Also include a picture or magnet with your smiling face. Drop it in the mail before Thanksgiving. This puts you ahead of the other Christmas-card and year-end-giving appeals. Here are some holiday card examples. Additional examples.
  
  
• Phone: Call each person on your list and make the EOY ask voice-to-voice (or face-to-face). The point is for you to make a very personal ask. If your donor only texts, then make the ask over text. But don't let that be the default for everyone. Put in the effort to make the ask voice-to-voice or face-to-face. 
  
  
• Letter: After the ask, let them know you'll send an email with a letter. This email has details about the ministry vision for the coming year as well as how to give (mailing address for check donors, link for online and instructions for EFT/Lifelink). Let them know you'll be praying the Lord makes it clear on how much He's challenging them to generously give. Also let them know you'll call back to see how God is leading them. 
  
  
• Phone: Anticipate you'll have to make about 3 follow-up calls/texts/emails before a decision is made. Don't let this surprise or discourage you. It's normal. Use the end of the year as a motivator. Calendar out and batch your follow-up calls. Sample:  One follow-up each week of December. 

To do an End of Year Ask well, we recommend making this ask separate from your monthly update letter. Here are some sample letters/phone call asks and below are some good tips on how to best craft the ask:

1. Look back and celebrate what God has done this past year.  
   Lift people’s eyes to what the Lord has done. Celebrate His accomplishments. This has been a tough year, but that has not stopped God from moving in people’s lives. Ask others on your team about what they have seen God do. You can use each other’s stories. Anything God is doing in the ministry you are a part of is okay for you to write about.
   
   

2. What you are trusting God to do in the coming year?  
   Take time to dream and ask God what He wants to do in your ministry in 2022. Invite the Lord to show you what He wants to do through your team. Your partners will be encouraged as they read what you are trusting God to do next year.
   
   

3. Invite people to give to the vision of what you are trusting the Lord to do in the coming year.  
   Ask people to give to your vision, not to your need. Invite people to be a part of what God is doing. THAT is exciting. See the sample letter  for a great example of how to ask. Be specific. Challenging people to give a specific amount is helpful for them.
   
   

4. Keep it concise but clear
   Be sure that your celebration, vision, and ask are all on one page or able to fit on one screen. Most people take in things within 30 seconds, and may not read a 2 page letter, no matter how compelling it may be!

There is no real limit for how much you can ask for during your End of Year Ask. We've seen anything from $100 to well over $70,000 come in for certain individuals. However, there are some good ways you can go about setting an end of year goal:

• Calculate how much you need to get fully funded
  If it's $10,000 or less, this is a reasonable ask for your partnership team.
  
  
• Check on your backpay
  Since backpay only lasts for so long, it's essential to get this paid back as soon as possible, and as gifts come in during the final months of the year, backpay will be added to your pay. This could be a perfect number to let your support team know about and see if they can meet that need.
  
  
• 3 month buffer in your account
  A good rule of thumb is to aim to have 3 months of expenses covered by your account balance. If you current balance does not cover that, calculate the difference and this could be a good number to ask for.
  
  
• Ask the Spirit for a number
  Technically this should be your first move. Let the Lord of hosts guide and direct you on how much you should be asking for, and then let God blow that number away to shine His Glory!

• Stop and pray. Then plan. 
  The old adage is true; We don't plan to fail, we fail to plan. December can be a very valuable time for fundraising, if it's approached thoughtfully and in a way that helps your messaging stand out. If you're going to do an end of the year ask, take the time to ask the Lord for His wisdom on whom to contact. Then plan it out. 
  
  
• If you need the funds, plan to follow-up voice-to-voice or face-to-face. 
  People have great intentions, but tasks get lost in the shuffle of life; especially around the holidays! A follow-up plan will greatly increase follow-through from those who desire to give. Effective asks include written communication (letter, card, email, etc), followed up by a phone call or face-to-face meeting. This can be done in small batches over a number of weeks. 
  
  
• Determine your distribution list. 
  Who will receive this ask? Definitely send to those who don't give on a regular basis. Don't send to anyone who has been recently asked (either for an increase or special gift) or those who just started giving monthly within the last 6 months.
  
  
• Consider snail-mail, including a hand-written a note. 
  Printed mail has far more staying power than electronic and it allows you to add a personal, hand-written note. These notes build relationship and show you care. We've found this to be true especially for donors who primarily receive correspondence electronically throughout the year because it stands out!
  
  
• Determine timing.
  Plan to have it hit mailboxes the weekend after Thanksgiving. You’ll want to beat the deluge of Christmas cards (and Christmas spending). Some recommend putting the letter in the mail on Black Friday. 
  
  
• Affirm the relationship & your donor’s generosity. 
  This is where that hand-written note comes into play. This small gesture helps build relationship. 
  
  
• Anchor your ask in vision. 
  Show them the impact they're making and invite them to go deeper. Tell them how the Lord is moving within your ministry then invite the donor to come alongside that work through leveraging their finances. When following up your ask with a call or a meeting, your ask is more about learning how God is challenging the donor toward radical giving. It is less about you and your ministry. Your ministry is the vehicle by which the Lord is discipling your donor into a deeper relationship with Him through the leveraging of their finite resources to build an infinite and lasting Kingdom. You're the mouthpiece God uses to deliver this message. Yes, lives within your ministry will be impacted as a result of this gift. But, if the donor's life and heart is not being impacted for Christ as well, then you've missed out Then, paint a picture of your ask; why it's important and how lives will be changed as a result. Avoid these terms: need, shortfall, lack of funding, low support, backpay, deficit. Those are not compelling reasons for people to give. Your ask should be vision-driven, not need or crisis-driven.  Remember, people give to people, justified by the cause.
  
  
• List your financial need and what those finances will help accomplish. 
  
  
• Make a clear ask.
  
  
• Include how to donate
   Not everyone gives online. Provide a way for people to easily send a check in the mail (include the How to Start Giving Form and a self-addressed envelope in your mailing). 
  
  
• Follow up 
  Phone call, email, or texting is all appropriate ways to follow up on the ask. Consider following up 3 times per donor. Also see: Follow Up Strategies

When people respond to your opportunity to make an impact through giving, the next step is to thank them. Donors give to multiple causes. An average donor will see 10-20 thank you's a year and promptly forget them all. You want to be the thanks they can't forget.

The general standard is a hand-written thank-you card and a phone call. A welcome packet sent to a new donor or a small gift for a particularly impactful gift can go a long way! 

Develop the art of flattery in your thanks. Don't be shy about it! Tell your donor often, loud and clear, in the big type, just how great they are (because they are!) and remind them of the impact they're making. 

Do not include a financial ask or additional giving opportunity in your thanking process. 

See Annual Stewardship Plan & Timeline for how to follow-up with donors after the Year-End giving season with a THANK, SHOW, CONNECT, OFFER progression. 

Hooray! You've received gifts at year-end and you've thanked the donors. Now it's time to increase fruit through some cultivation. 

The Annual Stewardship Plan details how to honor and steward these special donors throughout the year with a Thank, Show, Connect, Offer cycle; recognizing their investment with genuine thanks, showing how their giving is making an impact, personally ministering to them, offering new opportunities to give and the cycle starts over.