The super-simple timeline:
- Monday before Thanksgiving: Relationally reconnect
- Right after Thanksgiving: Snail mail a letter with your appeal. Add a note that you'll call in a few days.
- A few days later: Call and invite them to give. "I was just calling to see if you got my letter..." *Plan to recap the letter. Most will not have read it.
- Is tomorrow too soon? Follow up.
- After Christmas: Email a copy of the letter as a soft reminder.
- Every 3 days: follow up until you get a yes or no.
The detailed timeline:
| September | Determine the need/ amount. Through prayer, ask the Lord to determine your need and the amount for which you will ask. $10K or more. |
| September | Compile a Top 20 list. Review your giving data from the past 3-5 years. Begin praying over these people by name. See Who to Ask for how to run those reports and who to look for. |
| October | Relationally Reconnect Know thy donor. Some love a personal call, some love texts, some FaceTime, some snail mail. Pick the flavor that works best for them and you. The goal is to reconnect and remind them how valuable they are to you. Personal Favorite: Send a paper Thanksgiving card to your Top 20* along with a short, handwritten note about why you’re thankful for them. Bonus points for including your picture. Consider hand-addressing the envelope. The simple version of this: grab a pack of Thanksgiving cards, print 20 photos, include the pic in the card, write a note and pop them in the mail. |
| November | Snail-mail a letter with your appeal. Encourage your contact to pray about how the Lord may have them respond to this need. Let them know you'll be calling in a few days to see how the Lord is leading them. Consider batching the letters in groups so you're not trying to make 20 follow-up calls all on the same day. Manageability is key. |
A few days later (November) | Call and invite them to give. "I was just calling to see if you got my letter..." *Plan to recap the letter. Most will not have read it. |
The next day (November) | Follow up. Is tomorrow too soon? |
3 days later (December) | Follow up Text, call, FaceTime, DM, email, etc. Pick one. |
3 days later (December) | Follow up Text, call, FaceTime, DM, email, etc. Pick one. |
| After Christmas | Follow up with an email copy of your appeal letter. This acts as a soft reminder. |
| Last week of December | Follow up. Last chance to give in (year)! |
| First week of January | Thank your year-end givers for being the amazing people they are! The general standard is a hand-written thank-you card and a phone call. |
| Beyond | Plan to cultivate your special-gift donors throughout the year by thanking, sharing the impact of their giving, personally connecting, then presenting them with another giving opportunity. *You can do this every 6 months. More here: Annual Stewardship Plan & Timeline. |
Behind schedule this year? Talk to your MTD coach about how to best approach your Top 20.
Is this schedule not your flavor? Want to do something different? Go for it! Just be sure you're including best practices into your ask.
Additional Resources
Fundamentals for Large Donor Asks
Game Plan for End of Year Giving
