It’s no surprise that year-end fundraising appeals are so important for non-profit organizations. According to Charity Engine, thirty percent of annual giving occurs in December with 10 percent happening in the last three days of the year! Planning for your annual appeal mailing and fundraising should begin by the end of summer (now) to be ready for peak fundraising time.
30% of annual giving occurs in December with 10% happening in the last 3 days of the year.
Many non-profit organizations that Trillion designs fundraising campaigns for begin planning their annual appeals in September and October. They know that planning ahead is critical to a successful campaign and printed mailers are a powerful tool for fundraising. Listed below are some pointers meant to give you a head start for a successful year-end appeal.
Year-end Appeal Outer Envelope Design
It’s all about the outer envelope! If the design of your annual appeal envelope is not effective, the items inside will never inspire a donation…ever. It’s common for executive directors and development directors to become consumed by articulating the perfect letter, stating all of the most important reasons why a potential donor should support your cause while overlooking the content of the outer envelope.
You can see more examples of non-profit outer envelope designs.
The design and words used on the outer envelope set the tone and urgency of your appeal. With so many non-profits soliciting donations before the year comes to a close, a strategically designed outer envelope will help it stand out in a pile of mail and get your important message in front of prospective donors.
At Trillion, our award-winning design team encourages our clients to invest in a fully converted outer envelope because of the great results they bring. A fully converted envelope means the design is printed all the way around the envelope. The envelopes are actually printed as a flat piece of paper first, then cut and assembled so images and graphics can seamlessly be on the front, the back, and even the flap of the outer envelope. It’s a great way to make an impact.
Many non-profit organizations have strong feelings about whether or not to use a window envelope or a closed-face envelope for the year-end appeal mailing. Both can work just fine. For those who are looking for potential cost savings, a window envelope can be a help. If you are personalizing content on the inside, an additional cost will be incurred from the mail house for “matching” the personal information on the inside content of the appeal with the personal information printed on the outside of the envelope. For a window envelope, having the recipient’s personal information (mailing address) at the top of your letter or as part of your reply card can show through the window of the outer envelope, thus reducing the need for a match mailing and reducing the cost.
What to Include in a Year-end Appeal Letter or Ask
Sharing a compelling story, impressive or alarming statistics, or how gifts of particular values can support the mission of the organization are tried and true methods of gaining donations and increasing engagement with constituents. In doing this, leveraging the data you have about those on your list is critical to touch them in a way that sparks an emotional connection and compels their need to give.
Segmenting your donor list can help you categorize specific nuance details in your letter. For example, if you know a recipient lives in a certain town/county/region, a sentence or paragraph can touch upon this. You can swap an entire paragraph based on the segment or audience you create.
Personalization will have a stronger, more focused impact and yield better ROI for your organization.
We also like to include “bump” gifts that reference a previous gift as a means to incrementally increase and encourage larger gifts.
Important Things to Know About Your Response Card
Over the years, Trillion has designed many year-end appeal mailings. Sometimes, our clients want to try new things and formats. One very common request we see, because of its inherent simplicity, is a perforated reply form at the bottom of a letter. Personalize the front of your letter and the reply form in one swoop and save money at the same time—but the results are much stronger when the reply form is separated. In any mailing we have created where the client demanded an attached reply form, even with a similar design and content, it has generated fewer gifts. So we recommend a detached reply form; we have even seen people hold on to it and return it with a gift at a later date.
Our preferred response card format has a heavier weight paper and personalized information name, address, email address, and previous giving history can help to make a connection with the reader. People interact with annual appeal mailings in different ways. Some immediately read the letter while others sift through the entire package or gravitate toward imagery. This is why the response card can become a showpiece as well as something that is filed away as a reminder to donate at a later date.
One side of your response card can be used for storytelling or include a more visual depiction of your ask or the importance of your ask. The other side should be pre-populated with your constituents’ full contact information and the ask amounts that are relevant to them. For example, you should not have gift increments that are lower than their previous gift. If a constituent has given $250 last year, your options should start there and go up, and remember to include an “Other” option so they can fill in what they prefer. Additionally, the personalized content of the reply card will make record keeping for your staff easier since some handwriting can be hard to decipher.
What Else Should You Include in Your Year-end Appeal Mailing?
The most important thing to remember is that you rely on donations. That needs to be clearly stated and communicated throughout your year-end appeal’s design. If the urgency of your ask is not presented, your appeal mailing may end up in the recycling bin.
Also, remember that statistics say that the P.S. of a letter is the most read component of it. The P.S. is a great place to insert your important touchpoint.
We have found that appeal mailings need more than just an outer envelope, letter, and response envelope. The inclusion of inserts and detached response or reply cards are beneficial. Some of the more common and effective topics for these inserts that encourage engagement and gifts are:
- Year in review/impact results
- Examples of how gift values are used
- Matching/challenge gifts
- Handwritten notes from the executive director, management or board members
- Thank you letters
You can have a separate insert, large or small, that covers the examples above, but touching upon them in your letter text, and potentially on your outer envelope, will help create a cohesive year-end appeal mailing.
Should You Produce a Printed or Digital Year-end Appeal Mailing?
Even though online and social fundraising efforts are gaining popularity and effectiveness, many non-profit organizations are very committed to having printed year-end appeal efforts created and mailed. It’s common for development directors to quickly omit the cost of printing and postage for annual appeal efforts and opt for digital campaigns, but we advise clients to think twice before saying “no” to printed appeals.
Year-end appeals have historically been effective with older demographics and less so with younger audiences, but printed appeal mailings are a fantastic companion effort for digital campaigns and for younger adults. It is common for printed appeals to drive recipients to make a donation online and a simple tracking code can provide analytical proof. Donors even retain reply cards as a reminder to make a donation at a later date (we’ve had many clients tell us of older appeals being contributed to months after they were sent).
Would You Like to Get Started with the Design Your Year-end Appeal Mailing?
We love designing annual appeals for non-profit clients and can get started creating them as late as November 1. We also have relationships with printers and mail houses that can help facilitate your process.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss how Trillion can help create something impactful for your organization, complete our contact form or give us a call at 908.219.4703. Our talented team will bring their best creative efforts to your year-end appeal.
