The End of the Year is Here, Still Need to Fundraise?

A friend, and experienced fundraiser, texted me a couple days ago. She's had so much going on in her life that she's just now thinking about a year end appeal. Which is pretty late to the game! You're late but not completely out. At least she isn't.

She has a short list of donors -- just a few hundred. And she has great relationships with them. That's really what makes her being late to the game not so bad.

So, we came up with a simple strategy: send a year end appeal through direct mail. (She's using a mail house. So she doesn't have to do anything but send them the art files and list of names and addresses. They do the rest.)

After that, we decided she would call 20 people out of that list she would really love for them to give a year end gift. On the call, you have two options. Make a direct ask or an indirect ask. An indirect ask might sound something like this, "Hi Joe, How are you? Did you receive my latest letter? Our campus ministry has been so blessed this year to disciple so many young people. And we want to do even more next year. We're asking our financial and prayer partners to consider a year end gift to reach our $10K goal. And I just wanted to thank you for considering something generous. You're such a integral part of what God is doing on the campus."

Even if you're late to the game, there may still be hope!

Russell Cooper, Co-Founder

As co-founder of Tailored, I am dedicated to developing generosity in the Body of Christ. This is why I'm passionate about creating strategic partnerships with disciple-making organizations, as well as coaching leaders. When I have free time, I'm watching America’s Test Kitchen and trying out new recipes on my wife, my most dependable food critic.