The holiday season is upon us. December is not the only month with holidays, but when referring to the holiday season or holiday fundraising, it is often the month people think of. This makes sense, since 30% of annual giving is done in December. However, at GiveSmart, the holiday fundraising options are endless, and we want to share and inspire ideas for holidays throughout the year.
Holiday FUNdraisers for Your Community
We’re kicking things off with October, November, and December. Below are examples that put the FUN in holiday FUNdraising, many of which are easily done virtually:
- Santa Run / Jingle Bell Run / Turkey Trot / Polar Plunge: Fundraisers like 5ks/runs/walks/rides already garner a lot of attention, but a Turkey Trot, Santa Run, or Jingle Bell Run always have that extra festive vibe.
- To ensure you maximize participation and include everyone, consider going virtual with your 5k/run/walk/ride this holiday season. You can still have everyone sign up online and then record their times using any fitness app. You can also allow them to accrue mileage over time during the holiday season, or encourage them to run with a small group rather than alone. Costumes and dress-up might be essential, so encourage a social media share of the best get-ups.
- Voting: Voting is a great fundraising feature anytime a competition is involved. Voters can pay $1, $5, or whatever amount your organization desires to place their vote for their favorite:
- Halloween costume
- Ugly sweater
- Christmas tree
- Holiday bake-off
- Epic snowman
- Gingerbread house
- Holiday photo
- Light decorations
- Online Store: Opening an online store is a great idea if you have merchandise to sell, whether it’s year-round, for an annual campaign (like this marvelous strawberry sale), or holiday-specific.
- Holiday bake sale
- Holiday card sale
- Craft sale
- Holiday Wreaths
- Knit scarves, hats, mittens
- Candles
- “A visit from Santa” – Reserve your spot & Santa will come to say hello
- Christmas Caroling- Reserve your spot & have carolers come to your home
- Babysitting Services
- Festival of Lights: Drive through a neighborhood. Sell tickets online and goodie bags (think route maps, hot cocoa, treats, etc.) for pickup. You can also sell decorating kits so people can show their support for your organization.
- Festival of Trees: Hosting a Festival of Trees event could be that supporters vote (for a small donation) for their favorite tree to win the competition. Or, pre-decorated trees can be auctioned off for your cause.
- Sign-Up Parties: Sign-up parties allow a set number of people to purchase a “spot” at a virtual event or small gathering. This could be a:
- Winter workshop – craft a wreath (easy to do from home over Zoom!)
- Drive-In movie with a holiday film (Christmas or Halloween…don’t forget the costumes!)
Impact-Based Holiday Fundraisers
The holidays offer additional motivation for donors. The holiday season, or “giving season,” brings with it high donor intent, emotional giving, and built-in fundraising themes. These are some examples of ways to maximize impact during the giving season:
- Giving Tuesday: Take a different approach to make your mission stand out and compel your donors to give. You could host a giving day on a different day that week. Or, run the campaign around a specific area of need, so your donors know their gift supports that cause rather than just another Giving Tuesday campaign. Simple things like adding the option to make gifts recurring instead of one-time, or incorporating peer-to-peer, can make a big difference on a competitive giving day.
- Angel Tree: Angel trees are also known as “subs for Santa.” This is a great way to connect families in need of holiday gifts with donors. Donors can sponsor a family or physically fulfill their needs. Most often, the families in need are advertised by a description of how many children they have and their ages.
- Santa’s Wish List: If your organization needs some specific items to stock your shelves or get your families ready for the new year, you can make a list of items that you need so that donors can come to your site and “purchase” these items for you. Their “purchase” will be donated directly to your organization so you can fulfill the items on your list.
- Donor and Volunteer Appreciation: A donor and volunteer appreciation event or campaign might not bring in the big bucks as a holiday fundraiser, but it’s important to show your appreciation for those who keep your mission moving forward. The end of the year is a nice time to recap all that’s been accomplished and celebrate one another’s hard work, especially this year.
- Text-to-Donate Campaign: Texting your donors is a great way to reach them, as texts have a 99% open rate. Sending out a text blast asking for donations is an easy lift on your team, an excellent opportunity to touch base with donors, and a way to collect any lingering dollars. Here are essential steps for a text-to-donate campaign.
- Peer-to-Peer Campaigns: Encourage your donors to ask their networks to give to your cause as a holiday gift for a loved one. Running a peer-to-peer campaign is always a great way to have your donors do the fundraising for you to help close out the year.
Running a virtual holiday fundraising campaign? You won’t want to miss this webinar.
How GiveSmart Celebrates the Giving Season
Incorporating the winter holidays into your year-end fundraising is a great way to engage with your supporters and raise more money. As the national conversation pivots towards gratitude, togetherness, and celebration, here are five real nonprofit fundraisers to get your donors into the spirit of giving.
Thanksgiving Fundraising
What better way to give thanks than by learning more about the holiday’s true origins, sharing a meal with others in your community, and giving back? Launch Ministries held a virtual Thanksgiving fundraiser that was both fun and educational. They provided “viewers” with pre-packaged meals derived from indigenous recipes. The thoughtful menu choice was a creative way to weave the event messaging throughout the celebration.
Hanukkah Fundraising
Often called the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah is celebrated with the lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, games, and gifts. For many, charitable giving is part of their Hanukkah traditions. One Jewish Community Center offered donors the option to donate online as a gift to a friend or family member. Using a tool like Tribute Gifts allowed their donors to notify the recipient of the donation immediately
Christmas Fundraising
In the Christian tradition, people give gifts that symbolize the gifts given to the baby Jesus. The Rescue Mission provides donors with a way to get into the Christmas Spirit and give to those in need. With their Christmas Catalog, their donors can choose from a variety of giving opportunities and make a difference for families in their community.
Solstice Fundraising
Winter Solstice is December 21st and is celebrated by many other faiths and traditions from around the globe. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is a celebration of the sun’s return and the anticipation of warmer Spring days and the emergence of new verdant life. Many people exchange gifts that come from nature. And giving back to nature is a perfect way to celebrate the solstice. A Farm Center held a tour of its center and an evening bonfire to celebrate the changing of the seasons. They used ticketing for easy touchless check-in at the event and allowed donors to contribute to their mission.
All Holiday Giving
Because generosity and giving are common aspects of many December holiday traditions, some organizations offer donors of any faith a way to make a charitable gift in honor of others during the Holiday Season. Inspired by Cameo, one theater had their actors create a personalized holiday message that a donor could gift to friends and family. Other nonprofits have mailed cards, shared recipes, and sent small tokens in exchange for a holiday donation.
Holiday Giving with GiveSmart
As the year wraps up, you may be considering a Giving Tuesday or an end-of-year push for donations. There are many ways to differentiate your organization, and in this time of giving, it is essential. Be creative. Think outside the box. But also, remind yourselves about why you are involved with your organization and what motivates you to fundraise for this cause. This is a great time to revisit this and remind your team to incorporate these messages into their work.
Some ways that GiveSmart can help:
1. Utilize our Donor Segmentation Guide to segment your messaging by donor demographics. Donors across age groups, generations, genders, and economic backgrounds will be influenced differently by messaging and expect different things in return for their donations. You can communicate these messages through text campaigns, social media, email, in-person at events, and more with the help of GiveSmart.
2. Utilize GiveSmart’s platform for a layered ask. Each donation can be THIS much more valuable if you give just a bit more. When a donor makes their end-of-year donation or purchases a ticket for an upcoming event, establish a cadence for outreach that encourages a second or third donation. The positioning should emphasize that their donation will allow ## homes to be built or ## students to attend college. The encouragement to give more is a “soft-ask” attached to a behavior of giving that already exists.
3. Create a contest or game of chance with GiveSmart to entice the younger donors. Run a raffle, game of chance, or a fundraising competition (maybe with teams) where everyone donates to participate, and winners can earn a prize. As we all know, a small donation goes a long way by allowing those with an interest but limited means to participate. They can be enticed and can enter your stewardship campaigns in a small way.
Ready to learn more about how GiveSmart can help with registration, auctions, ticketing, hosting, virtual/hybrid events, and more? Request a demo of GiveSmart’s Fundraising Platform today!
FAQs
How do you promote a holiday fundraiser?
Fortunately, the holiday season brings with it a sense of community and a willingness to give to those in need. The motivation for many is already there during the holidays. Still, it helps to tap into that giving nature and support it with a holiday theme, such as feeding the community (Thanksgiving) or giving to those in need (Christmas).
What virtual holiday fundraising ideas still work?
With the right software, almost any fundraiser can be done virtually. Everything from a 5k or Turkey Trot to a full Gala can be hosted on our platform and still be engaging enough to reach your donors.
How early should you start planning a holiday fundraiser?
We recommend starting as soon as possible. Holidays are set dates, so the schedule is built in. Holiday parties, travel, and get-togethers fill up your donors’ schedules quickly, so the sooner you can get your event or campaign on their calendars, the better!
How do you keep donors engaged during the busy holiday season?
It can be tough to keep donors focused on your cause with busy schedules, donor fatigue, and the overwhelming amount of holiday campaigns they see daily. But you can combat these interferences by differentiating your campaign through creative, fun donation options, strong storytelling about your cause and who your donations impact, and uncomplicated participation options for your in-person/virtual/hybrid events and campaigns.
How can corporate partners support holiday fundraising?
Most nonprofits have a recommended donation amount for board members that they must fulfill each year. At the end of the year, there is a push to encourage anyone who has not donated yet. You could also encourage board members to talk with their networks about end-of-year corporate giving or employee-matching programs.
