Creating a Year-Long Marketing Plan
Every successful team needs a solid game plan, and your
nonprofit is no different. Planning out your year-long marketing strategy is key to experiencing growth and accomplishing your goals. We’ve drawn up a month-bymonth plan along with some best practices to help you WIN with your supporters this year!
Quarter 1: Thank, Update, Fix the Vision
1. January
This is a great time to reach out to donors from the previous year and thank them for their contributions. You can provide updates about what goals you reached, how your organization grew, and how their contributions helped you get there. It’s also a good time to engage with new donors who showed interest in your yearend campaigns. Offer them new ways to continue their involvement with your nonprofit. Fight the urge to let your email updates and social media posting slow down in the beginning of the year.
2. February
This could be a good time to have an event that continues to thank donors and makes them feel appreciated while also drawing in new interest. For example, you could host a gala with a guest speaker that people would be interested in hearing. This gives you the opportunity to put on a high quality event and share more information about what your organization does.
3. March
Now that you’ve thanked and affirmed your donors, you can start pitching the vision for the upcoming year. Make sure you establish clear goals for what you want to accomplish in the year at scale. You want to remain positive about the impact donors have already made, and help them feel invested enough to want to continue their involvement.
Quarter 2: Donor Connect & Prospect, Event for Donors, Pitch the Vision
4. April
This is a great month to send direct mail to all of your contacts. These could
be donors, volunteers, and people who may have expressed interest in your
organization but have never gotten involved. Come up with a creative way to catch attention and create interest. Offer specific call to action points that could appeal to different groups of people.
5. May
Remind your supporters about your vision for the coming year. Host another event, this time one that is more accessible to all community members, like a 5k. This event can also double as a fundraiser that is based on running, sponsorship, etc.
6. June
Update your supporters on the results of the event. How much money did you raise, people did you connect with, etc.? Consistently ask for donations but give other ways to be involved before big push at EOY.
Quarter 3: Gather Stories, Share Stories, Gather Data
7. July
Individually connect with your donors and volunteers to gather their stories
about their experience with your nonprofit. Ask why they’ve decided to give/be
involved in the past. PWI Storyteller is a great app to use to gather photo and video testimonials. Testimonials can then be shared over email, social media, or be posted on your website.
8. August
Feature testimonials on your website and social media. Include stories from people who have been positively impacted by your organization. The purpose of sharing these is to spread awareness about the work you’re doing and to show donors the impact they’re making.
9. September
Gather data from your last year’s fundraising, and analyze how much more you will need to meet your year end goal. Gather contact information for all people you can potentially contact for donations at the end of the year push.
Quarter 4: 50 percent of giving happens here, Giving Tuesday, EOY Giving
10. October
This is the time to start asking for end of the year donations and expressing what areas of need your organization has. Having a specific need and purpose in mind can help you connect with donors who want to support a certain project.
11. November
Giving Tuesday is a big time for potential fundraising campaigns. It follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday and provides a nonprofit alternative for people who are in the mood to spend money. In 2017, $274,000,000 were raised worldwide as a result of nonprofits’ Giving Tuesday campaigns*. To participate, simply create a campaign focusing on a specific area you need to raise money for, and include the hashtag #GivingTuesday. Send emails and create a social media campaign advertising your Giving Tuesday campaign in the days and weeks leading up to it to keep it at the forefront of donors’ minds.
12. December
Final push for end of year donations. Statistics show that 30% of annual giving occurs in December, and 10% of donations are given in the last three days of the year*. Use direct mail and a creative social media campaign to express the need that you have and ask donors to step up. Once you’ve collected all your data, send a thank you message to volunteers and donors who have helped you throughout the year.
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