A few weeks ago I facilitated a training session titled “2014 Finish Strong: Year-End Strategies” for a group of non-profit professionals in New Mexico. Long story short . . . there were LOTS of things that non-profits try to do in the fourth quarter. Participants shared with each other what they were doing back home at their agency and we collectively talked about best practices.
The following is the laundry list of fourth quarter activities that we discussed:
- Budget development
- Resource Development Plan (aka fundraising plan)
- Strategic Plan (or any other flavor of planning like tactical plans, business plans, program plans, etc)
- Board Development & Board Governance activities (e.g. officers slate, expiring terms, new recruitment, orientation, year-end evaluation, etc)
- Board Retreat
- Thank-a-Thons (stewardship phone calls to donors)
- Holiday Cards (holiday greetings and stewardship messaging to donors)
- Starting to prep for creation of annual report (e.g. content creation, pics, theme selection, etc)
- Financial Audit prep (e.g. RFP, hiring auditor, closing year-end books, etc)
- Focused solicitation strategies with LYBUNT/SYBUNT donors
- Targeted/Segmented year-end holiday mail solicitations
- Phone-a-Thons (solicitation phone calls typically following up on mailing)
- Online fundraising strategies (e.g. #GivingTuesday, etc)
Lots and lots going on in non-profit shops right now all across the country. The fourth quarter is exhausting!
What are you currently working on at your agency? Are some of those things the same as what you see on the aforementioned laundry list of projects? Please scroll down to the comment box below and either add to our list or share a best practice related to one of the items on the list. We can all learn from each other.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
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Eric, keep adding to the list… Special Event s: Gala’s, Beefsteaks – Alumni Hall of Fame, membership fundraising raffles, and Annual Campaign Kick -off events, Donor Breakfast
Thanks for sharing, Robert. You’re soooo right about planning for those special event fundraisers that happen in the beginning of the year. And so the list grows. LOL