The giving season is upon us! Enthuse’s Donor Pulse Winter 2023 Report found that 72% of people planned to donate to charity over the festive period. So, it’s the perfect time of year to get your donors involved in some festive fun and build strong relationships.
Build relationships through festive events
Major gift donors value the opportunity to get to know the people behind your organisation. While they may initially engage with your cause because it aligns with their philanthropic aims, donor retention is often down to good relationship management.
A festive event is an opportunity to connect your major donors with trustees, board members, frontline staff and the people who benefit from your charity’s work.
Key ingredients for the perfect festive event
Festive events should feel fun and not like a fundraising ask! It’s a chance to engage and get to know your major donors while sharing your charity’s impact. Create an emotional connection with your cause by sharing the stories of the people your organisation supports. If possible, ask them to speak for themselves. Your donors will be thrilled to see the impact of their gift and meet the people benefiting from their support.
Keep the focus of the event on thanking and celebrating your donors. If they feel appreciated and valued, they are likely to give again.
Planning your guest list
While festive events are the perfect way to thank existing donors, they’re also an opportunity to invite new donors into the fold. A little research can go a long way when planning your guest list. Find the perfect prospects to complement your invite through:
- Data mining – your supporter database is the perfect starting point for in-house prospecting.
- Wealth screening – helps to identify prospects who have the capacity and propensity to support your cause.
- Desk research – can help you expand your invite list beyond your current supporters.
- Prospecting groups – involve bringing some key supporters together to connect you with new prospects.
Bring the whole team on board
A festive event is the perfect way to engage the whole team and break down any silos within your organisation. Frontline staff will know what stakeholders to involve and who’s benefitted most from your work. Board members may provide useful connections for your guest list, and your marketing team might come up with the perfect quirky event to engage donors, like this award winner from 2016.
People often work with charities because it’s a cause that’s personal to them. Giving your team the opportunity to share those stories with donors provides another emotional connection to your cause.
If you’ve left your festive event guest list to the last minute (or had some dropouts), we can help. We specialise in research, wealth screening, consultancy and regulatory compliance, making fundraising more effective and successful.
Successful major gift fundraising isn’t just about securing a donation. It’s about building relationships, understanding people’s motivations and aligning their interests with your cause.
Get in touch to get started on your research-based fundraising journey.