Only a few weeks left!!!
Since Labor Day, you have worked hard to plan your Fall and Year-End appeals via mail and email. You have also made follow up calls to your key ministry friends as well as your Multiple Support Program donors (MSPs) who make multiple gifts on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Now is not the time to back off and give up! Rather, it’s full speed ahead as you reach out to your key ministry partners and ask them to help you with a generous year-end gift.
Don’t forget to share the following with your donors and ministry friends:
• Remind your donors about the benefits of giving directly from their IRA or appreciated assets, especially since the stock market is tracking at an all-time high.
• Thanks to federal coronavirus relief legislation, taxpayers are now able to take advantage of a new deduction for donating to qualifying charities — up to $300 for individual filers and up to $600 for married couples. This applies even if they don’t itemize, which is favorable news for many tax filers.
•Another helpful CARES Act change removes the charitable contribution deduction cap. Normally, the deduction cap on charitable contributions for those who itemize is 60% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). The CARES Act lifts that cap to 100% for individual and joint tax filers that wish to claim this $300 charitable donation deduction.
For December, we recommend the following action steps to maximize your final year-end appeals follow up and personal solicitations to your ministry partners.
December 2020
• Follow up with a year-end appeal sent out via email and snail mail on or before December 10th.
• Conduct a Ministry Briefing virtual event and arrange follow up virtual visits to those attending the event who express interest in learning more about your ministry.
• Schedule personal/virtual visits with your major/mega donors by your CEO, COO, and CDO during the final month of 2020. Prepare a sample script for scheduling appointments.
• Team members should make “thank you” calls to major, mega, and faithful donors as part of your year-end outreach. Acknowledge gifts received during 2020, particularly major gifts and remind them of your year-end appeal. Recruit a calling team of board members, administrative staff, development department staff, and faithful friends or donors (volunteers) dedicated to the ministry’s mission and vision. Provide a sample script for call team members. The best time to call is between 12/10 to 12/20 after the year-end appeal has arrived.
• CEO, COO, and CDO complete personal/virtual visits with key donors for solicitation of significant year-end gift commitments.
• Make sure your Administrative and Development Staff are on call to follow up with key donors interested in arranging special or last-minute year-end gifts; (i.e., gifts of stock, IRA Rollover, planned gifts, etc.).
Please drop us a line and let us know how you are doing. Visit our website for more helpful tools and resources. We would love to partner with you in your urgent year-end fundraising activities to support and advance the unique ministry mission God has called you to accomplish.
Author: Dan DiDonato, Consulant