As a fundraising skilled, you realize the year-end giving season is essential on your nonprofit, particularly the time of 12 months between GivingTuesday and New Yr’s. The truth is, nonprofits obtained 5% of all 2022 income on December 31 of that 12 months.
What’s proper in the midst of this productive fundraising interval? The Christmas season!
Christmas is a enjoyable, festive time to unfold good cheer and lift extra on your nonprofit’s mission. Individuals are inclined to really feel extra charitable this time of 12 months, that means it’s an efficient time to carry fundraising campaigns or occasions to help your group. Plus, you need to use Christmas-themed fundraisers to get individuals enthusiastic about submitting their year-end donations.
On this information, we’ll discover these festive Christmas fundraising concepts:
- Vacation eCards
- Matching reward drive
- Vacation 5K
- Christmas current public sale
- Polar Plunge
- Bake sale
- Christmas tree sale
- Vacation gala
- Home adorning contest
- Gratefulness problem
- Live performance or singalong
- On-line procuring fundraiser
- Vacation photoshoot
- Reward catalog
- In-kind donation drive
- Gingerbread adorning contest
- On-line baking or cooking class
- Vacation lights pageant
- Footage with Santa
- Vacation film marathon
Above all, your vacation fundraisers and occasions ought to concentrate on spreading goodwill amongst your supporters and exhibiting appreciation for his or her continued involvement. Maintain that in thoughts as you take into account the next concepts.
1. Vacation eCards
Vacation eCards unfold the Christmas spirit and permit donors to point out their family members that they’re considering of them. You possibly can leverage vacation eCards in a number of sorts of campaigns. For instance, donors should purchase eCard packages to ship to household and associates. Or, give donors the choice to ship eCards notifying their family members that they made a tribute reward on their behalf. You may also ship donors festive thank-you eCards to point out your gratitude for the presents they made that 12 months.
The best Christmas eCards are:
- Personalizable, with area for donors so as to add every recipient’s identify.
- Designed with the vacation spirit in thoughts, utilizing festive imagery like Christmas bushes or reindeer.
- Branded to your nonprofit, together with your emblem included into the design.
Right here’s an instance of an eCard from UnitingWorld, a faith-based worldwide help company:
These eCards can be found as on-line purchases by way of the group’s eStore.
Contemplate investing in vacation eCard software program to make it simpler to design and distribute these messages. These platforms simplify the design course of with an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it simple even for inexperienced persons. Then, you’ll be able to instantly embed your eCards into your web site or donation web page for donors to begin utilizing them.
2. Matching reward drive
In matching reward applications, companies match donations that their workers make to eligible nonprofits. You possibly can increase this concept into an identical reward drive, the place firms pledge to match all donations made to your nonprofit inside a given time interval or as much as a specific amount.
Matching reward drives will be extremely motivational for supporters as a result of they’ll really feel that their presents are extra impactful, since they are going to be doubled. Launch a profitable matching marketing campaign by taking the next steps:
- Attain out to new or current company companions asking in the event that they wish to associate together with your nonprofit this vacation season. Spotlight the advantages of getting concerned, corresponding to a constructive PR enhance.
- Ask company sponsors to match donations made inside a particular time interval, corresponding to December 25-31.
- Promote your matching reward alternatives on a number of platforms, together with your web site, social media, and e mail e-newsletter.
Be sure you thank your company sponsors by spotlighting them in your social media posts and e mail newsletters.
3. Vacation 5K
A 5K or enjoyable run can encourage pleasant competitors amongst your supporters and lift cash on your nonprofit. Ask runners to pay an entry price to take part in your 5K.
Select a wintry theme on your 5K corresponding to:
- Reindeer Trot
- Sizzling Chocolate Sprint
- Santa Dash
Add a enjoyable, participating aspect to your occasion by encouraging individuals to decorate up in festive garb, corresponding to Santa fits, reindeer antlers, or ugly sweaters.
To generate a further income stream, create branded merchandise, corresponding to t-shirts and mugs, that displays your theme to generate. Be sure that to incorporate cute Christmas imagery in your merchandise to make it extra interesting to supporters.
4. Christmas current public sale
Christmas procuring tends to be an anxiety-inducing exercise for many individuals. Take away a few of the vacation stress by internet hosting a Christmas current public sale. Attendees can bid on gadgets after which reward the gadgets to their associates and family members.
Collect attractive public sale gadgets like:
- Reward baskets
- Classes or lessons, corresponding to golf classes or portray lessons
- Occasion tickets for experiences like concert events or sporting occasions
- Customized artwork
- Autographed memorabilia
Ask present supporters like your company sponsors or main donors to contribute public sale gadgets to your occasion.
5. Polar Plunge
Invite daring supporters to take part in a Polar Plunge fundraising occasion. In a Polar Plunge, individuals leap into chilly our bodies of water to lift consciousness and funds for a charitable trigger.
Each Polar Plunge wants these parts to achieve success:
- Artistic branded merchandise (assume cute polar bear imagery!)
- Medical personnel on-site in case of any emergencies
- Snacks and (heat) drinks for when individuals emerge from the icy waters
Acquire donations all through this occasion by asking individuals to collect pledges forward of time. Donors will fulfill their pledges after individuals have accomplished the plunge.
Check out a real-life instance of a Polar Plunge occasion held by Particular Olympics:
Particular Olympics makes use of Polar Plunge occasions to lift consciousness and funds for his or her efforts to make sports activities extra inclusive and accessible for individuals with mental disabilities. Their Polar Plunge occasions routinely appeal to dozens of individuals and spectators for native occasions.
6. Bake sale
No vacation occasion or gathering is full with out tasty treats to share! Host a bake sale for supporters to swing by and decide up their favourite sweets. This may be a good way to ease a few of the stress that goes together with baking in the course of the vacation season.
Supply gadgets corresponding to:
- Christmas cookies
- Pies
- Desserts
- Bread
- Trifles
- Bars
- Gingerbread
Permit supporters to choose up their baked items on Christmas Eve in order that they keep recent.
7. Christmas tree sale
The Christmas tree is essentially the most iconic image of the vacation season, with roughly 25-30 million bushes bought yearly within the U.S. Companion with a neighborhood Christmas tree farm or vendor to see if they’ll host a donation field on your nonprofit or donate a portion of their gross sales to your trigger. Ask in case your nonprofit may arrange a sales space or desk at their tree farm to share details about your mission.
8. Vacation gala
Give supporters the excuse to decorate up for an evening in town within the type of a vacation gala. Make your gala an evening to recollect with the next ideas:
- Interact attendees with a efficiency.
- Present a tasty meal and dessert.
- Spotlight your nonprofit’s accomplishments from the 12 months.
- Host a silent public sale alongside your different gala actions to present attendees one other method to help your group.
You possibly can even host a raffle or giveaway in the course of the occasion to open one other fundraising stream and provides attendees one thing to stay up for on the finish of the night.
9. Home adorning contest
Decorations like Christmas lights, blow-up figures, wreaths, and candles are staples of the vacation season. Everybody has that one neighbor who takes issues up a degree with a vibrant Christmas show.
Flip this phenomenon right into a fundraising alternative by asking supporters to ship in images of their decked-out properties. Have individuals vote on their favourite home utilizing their donations. This could seem like having a novel donation web page hyperlink for every home or placing an area in your donation kind for donors to notice their favourite entries.
Announce your winner in your social media web page and supply a first-place prize, corresponding to money or a present basket.
10. Gratefulness problem
Challenges are in style social media tendencies, particularly on platforms like Fb that make it simple to fundraise and unfold consciousness of a trigger on the identical time. Invite supporters to take part in a vacation gratefulness problem. Every single day for per week in December, encourage individuals to submit a photograph or description of one thing they’re grateful for, whether or not family members, pets, particular locations, and so forth. Then, request that supporters tag a member of the family or buddy of their posts to ask others to get entangled within the problem as properly.
To boost funds and consciousness on your nonprofit, ask individuals to share a hyperlink to your on-line donation web page, together with some background info. For instance, you may present textual content for them to make use of that claims “I’m collaborating in [your organization’s name]’s Gratefulness Problem to unfold consciousness of [your mission]. Here’s a hyperlink to their on-line donation web page: [link here]. I problem @[friend or family member’s name] to get entangled!”
The vacation season tends to encourage individuals to mirror on the individuals and locations they’re grateful for, so a gratefulness problem is an efficient method to unfold goodwill whereas enhancing consciousness of your trigger.
11. Live performance or singalong
In the course of the Christmas season, Christmas carols are virtually unavoidable. Permit supporters to return collectively and share within the pleasure of the vacation season with a holiday-themed live performance or carol singalong.
You may function native performers corresponding to the highschool band or a regionally well-known singer-songwriter to foster a stronger sense of neighborhood. Spherical out your occasion by providing themed refreshments, like sizzling chocolate and cookies.
12. On-line procuring fundraiser
On-line procuring continues to develop, particularly across the vacation season — 57% of U.S. shoppers mentioned they supposed to buy on-line in the course of the 2021 and 2022 vacation seasons. With a web based procuring fundraiser, shoppers can help your nonprofit whereas conducting their common vacation procuring.
Right here’s how supporters can store for a trigger through a web based procuring fundraiser:
- Obtain a web based procuring fundraiser app, like ShopRaise.
- Make purchases on-line from collaborating retailers.
- Routinely contribute a proportion of their gross sales to your nonprofit with out having to take any motion themselves.
On-line procuring fundraisers symbolize the final word comfort for supporters. After downloading the app, they gained’t have to change their day by day plans in any manner, and so they can help your group whereas searching for family and friends.
13. Vacation photoshoot
Give supporters the possibility to take Christmas card images by internet hosting a vacation photoshoot. Recruit just a few native photographers or your employees photographers to volunteer their providers. Present loads of props, corresponding to Santa hats and Christmas bushes. And, make certain to ship out the printed images or digital information a number of weeks earlier than Christmas so individuals can get their vacation playing cards out in a well timed method.
14. Reward catalog
In the course of the vacation season, loads of people prefer to ship their members of the family or associates considerate presents to allow them to know they’re considering of them. Contemplate internet hosting a present catalog fundraiser to make it simpler for supporters to ship these presents and help your nonprofit on the identical time.
Your reward catalogs might function quite a lot of merchandise, corresponding to:
- Popcorn
- Sweet/chocolate
- Candles
- Chocolate pretzels
- Nuts
- Wrapping paper
- Cookie dough
- Kitchenware
Mail your reward catalogs to supporters a number of weeks earlier than Christmas in order that they have time to decide on the fitting presents and ship them earlier than the vacation begins.
15. In-kind donation drive
In-kind donations are noncash presents that supporters donate to your nonprofit, sometimes within the type of items or providers. With an in-kind donation drive, you’ll be able to ask supporters to contribute gadgets that your nonprofit sometimes wants essentially the most.
Relying in your mission, you might ask for presents like:
- Toys
- Canned items or different nonperishable meals gadgets
- Private care gadgets and clothes
- Gardening provides
- Pet provides, like meals, leashes, and bowls
Acknowledge your donors by sharing images of their in-kind donations in your social media pages or e mail e-newsletter.
16. Gingerbread adorning contest
Adorning gingerbread homes is one other time-honored Christmas custom. Invite individuals to compete in a gingerbread adorning contest to see who can give you essentially the most artistic or elaborate construction. Require an entry price for the competitors or have individuals “vote” with their {dollars} by inserting cash right into a money field subsequent to their favourite design.
17. On-line baking or cooking class
On-line lessons permit supporters to study a brand new talent from the consolation of house. Plus, the vacation season is filled with alternatives to check out a brand new baked good or dinner recipe.
Invite supporters to take part in a web based cooking or baking class with a professional teacher. Attain out to cooks or bakers inside your neighborhood to see if somebody could be prepared to donate a few hours of their time to show the category.
Be sure you ship out an ingredient listing forward of time so individuals can collect the whole lot they want for the day of the category. Supporters will be capable of impress their members of the family and associates at their subsequent gathering with the brand new abilities they’ve picked up!
18. Vacation lights pageant
Deck your nonprofit’s halls by making a Christmas gentle show on your neighborhood to return see. You probably have entry to a number of roads on the grounds surrounding your facility, you’ll be able to create a drive-by gentle show for guests. Request donations firstly of the show and supply treats all through, corresponding to sizzling chocolate and cookies, that individuals can snack on as they discover the winter wonderland.
19. Footage with Santa
Together with Christmas card images, footage with Santa will be cherished reminiscences for households. Recruit volunteers to be Santa and the elves, and ask a employees member or native photographer to take images. Arrange a picture-perfect backdrop with festive lights and a Christmas tree.
Cost a small price for the images to earn donations on your nonprofit.
20. Vacation film marathon
Host a drive-in film marathon the place supporters can tune in to observe a basic vacation movie or two. Rudolph the Crimson-Nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Story, and It’s a Fantastic Life are only a handful of basic films to contemplate exhibiting at your occasion. Supply a snack stand the place attendees can decide up popcorn, sweet, and sizzling chocolate.
These concepts will assist increase extra on your nonprofit’s mission whereas spreading positivity all through your neighborhood. When neighborhood members see your nonprofit’s efforts to generate goodwill, they’ll really feel rather more related to your trigger and be extra prone to donate.
Searching for much more Christmas fundraising concepts? Try eCardWidget’s information to 25 artistic concepts to proceed brainstorming.
