Your Back-to-School Development Plan
In my day, I’m pretty sure back-to-school shopping started with my Mom seeing what hand-me-downs from my older brothers would fit. After that, only the basics were purchased. With five children and my Father’s single income, we simply made due.
There were no logoed status-symbol backpacks, shirts, or shoes beyond the simple Converse “Chuck Taylors.” It was basic Bic pens, spiral notebooks with perforated sheets that made a mess and never tore correctly, along with homemade book covers crafted from paper grocery bags.
As a development director, hearing the phrase back-to-school should serve as a reminder to be fine-tuning your 4th quarter fundraising plans and to start planning for 2025 and beyond. As a professional fundraiser, your job is never done, which is all more reason to take time to reflect, take stock, and plan. Some items to consider:
Analyze data from previous years' 4th quarter fundraising campaigns to identify what worked and what didn’t.
Set realistic and ambitious fundraising goals for the 4th quarter.
Develop a 2025 fundraising calendar
Identify and mark key dates such as Giving Tuesday, year-end giving deadlines, and any relevant holidays.
Plan campaign timelines to include start and end dates, communication schedules, and follow-ups.
Brainstorm and draft compelling donor stories.
Consider tailoring messages to different donor segments (major donors, recurring donors, new donors, lapsed donors, etc.) and how you will reach them through a mix of direct mail, email, social media, and phone calls.
Review and update your website to ensure your content and functionality are modern.
Develop an individual contact and follow-up strategy for your top 50 donors with personalized messages and meeting requests.
Prepare a list of local employers who match employee gifts
Consider personalized 4th quarter thank you notes.
Create reports and share stories of how donations are making a difference.
Ensure everyone on your team is working off the same page.
Collect feedback from donors and team members to improve future campaigns.
I never could get over the fact that my younger (and only) sister never experienced what it was like to wear hand-me-downs. She always got new stuff each school year. As a development professional, it’s your job to build upon, keep, and re-use what worked previously and acquire new material to stay with emerging trends and replace what didn’t.
Dan Koenig is a senior consultant with Strawhecker Nonprofit Services. Dan grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and currently resides in Pottawattamie County, Iowa.