I recently returned from a trip and had a long layover between flights on the way home. One of my favorite things to do is people watch. I watched travelers move from gate to gate - some were relaxed, and some seemed rushed. I noticed how some flyers take advantage of the moving walkway and others do not. I thought about how an airport is designed to move people from place to place – on purpose.

How does an airport designer know where to place walkways? How do they understand how to move travelers? The answer is moves management – just like a fundraiser’s goal is to move donors to the next level of giving while ensuring their donor journey is purposeful, communicative, and rewarding.

As we enter the fourth quarter of the calendar year nonprofits are planning their fall and end of year campaigns to be purposeful (reach a financial goal and increase awareness), have clear communication (what impact will a donation make) and make donors feel rewarded and appreciated (personal acknowledgement letters, being invited to volunteer or serve on a committee, attend an upcoming event or tour, etc.).

As I thought more about year-end giving, I turned to Charity Engine’s A Nonprofit's Guide to Year-End Giving which states:

• Almost 30% of nonprofits raise up to half of their annual fundraising during year-end campaigns.
• In 2023, Giving Tuesday raised about $3.1 billion in the U.S.
• More than half of all nonprofits start planning an end-of-year campaign in October.
• Even as charitable giving levels go up and down, many nonprofits see strong year-end fundraising results.
• Clearly, year-end fundraising is a big deal!

Donors are giving in the final weeks of the year. If an organization does not implement a system to move donors up - donors might move themselves down and give less or worse, they might move out altogether and onto another organization.

Each year organizations want to celebrate a higher number of total donors and an increase in total giving. Nonprofits want LYBUNTs (Last Year But Unfortunately Not This (year) donors) to return to giving this year and SYBUNTs (Some Years, But…) to return this year – decreasing the number of lapsed donors.

However, perhaps the biggest opportunity is increasing a renewal donor’s financial investment each year. It is harder (and more costly) to gain a new donor than to keep a current one. So, how do you help donors invest more deeply?

It starts with stewardship. Did you thank the donor in a timely way when the initial gift was made? Have you kept the donor informed of the difference their investment made? If so, the next step is to ASK for more. Ideally, the solicitation letter or personal solicitation celebrates the last donation amount and then asks the donor to increase their donation this year. For example:

• Donor A gave $500 last year and could be asked to increase their donation to $750 this year to support 3 students in an afterschool program instead of 2.
• Donor B gave $1,000 last year and could be asked to increase their donation to $2,500 to feed 5 families this quarter instead of 2

The goal is to MOVE the donor from one level of giving to a higher level of giving, and typically, donors do not move unless they are asked.

Moves Management is a systematic approach to grow funding, grow individual donations, and grow the trust a donor has by demonstrating the impact their dollars are making. Typically, a member of the development team leads moves management, but specific moves with individual donors are often executed by the CEO, a board member, or key fundraising volunteer.

Moves management is often used with major gift donors but it should start with annual fund donors. Often a donor makes her first gift through an annual appeal—many times prompted by a direct mail or email solicitation that arrives in her inbox at the end of the year. And so, moves management begins—thank her, welcome her to the donor family, stay in touch with her about the difference she is making for your clients.

An organization’s database can help track outreach and strategies to move donors up the ladder of increased gifts. I strongly encourage you to do everything you can to ensure your organization’s donors do not decrease their giving this year. Set a goal to MOVE donors to a higher level of giving and help them make an even bigger impact on those you serve.

Want to read more about Moves Management? Check this out.

Looking for more ways to strengthen your solicitation letter?

1. Make sure the language invites both bottom line (statistical) and heart string (personal story) donors to make a gift.
2. One page is all that a donor will read and, it really needs to grab them in the first paragraph.
3. Include a personal, handwritten note at the top of the letter from a volunteer or the Executive Director.

Good luck!

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April Anthony is a Senior Advisor with Armstrong McGuire who specializes in fundraising, interim work, capital campaigns, executive searches, strategic planning, retreat facilitation, Art of the Ask training, and board development. Learn more about April and check out her other musings in her bio. Check out her recent video on annual campaigns here.