I hope your year-end fundraising campaign is going well. Fundraising is a year-round effort and after you’ve thanked your donors, you need to make a plan to communicate with them at least once or twice a month throughout the year.
If you’re getting stressed out wondering how you’re going to pull this off, then you need a communications calendar (also known as an editorial calendar).
I like the term communications calendar because it emphasizes the importance of communicating with your donors and other supporters all-year-round.
This is not just a job for your marketing department. All departments need to work together. Figure out what information you need to share and when to share it. You want a consistent stream of information – not three emails in one day and nothing for three weeks.
As you put together your communications calendar, think about how you will use different channels and which audience(s) should receive your messages. You may only send direct mail a few times a year, but send an e-newsletter once a month and communicate by social media several times a week. You’ll often use a number of different channels when you send a fundraising appeal or promote an event.
Start big by looking at the entire year and then break it down by months and weeks. You’ll keep adding to your communications calendar throughout the year.
Here are some categories you can use in your communications calendar. Some items will be time sensitive and others won’t be.
Events
Does your organization hold any events? Besides your events, are there other events in your community that would be of interest to your supporters? This is a great thing to share on social media.
Legislation
Advocacy alerts are a wonderful way to engage with your supporters. Be on the lookout for any federal or state legislation that’s relevant to your organization. Encourage people to contact their legislators about an issue or a bill. Then report back to them with any updates, and thank them for getting involved.
Time of year
Is there something going on during a particular month that’s pertinent to your organization? Perhaps it’s homelessness awareness month.
Thanksgiving, the holidays, and winter can be a difficult time for some people. How can you weave that into a good story to share with your supporters? In addition, think of creative ways to connect on Valentine’s Day, spring, and back-to-school time.
News stories
You won’t be able to predict news stories in advance. However, if there’s a hot item in the news right now that’s relevant to the work you do, that could be something to share.
Fundraising and recruitment
Be sure to add your fundraising appeals to your communications calendar. You want to highlight these and not inundate your donors with a lot of other information at that time.
If your organization has specific times it needs to recruit volunteers, add that to your calendar, as well.
Thank your donors
This is so important! Find different ways to let your donors know how much you appreciate them. Do this at least once a month.
Ongoing content
If you’re making a difference, you have stories to tell. Share a story at least once a month. Client success stories are best. You could also profile a board member, volunteer, donor, or staff member. Be sure to highlight what drew them to your organization.
Create a story bank to help you with this.
Keep it up
As you hear about other relevant information, add it to your calendar so you can stay connected with your supporters throughout the year.
Here is more information to help you create a communications/editorial calendar, along with a couple of templates.
2017 Nonprofit Editorial Calendar Template
[…] I hope your year-end fundraising campaign is going well. Fundraising is a year-round effort and after you’ve thanked your donors, you need to make a plan to communicate with them at least once or twice a month throughout the year. (Ann Green Nonprofit Blog) […]
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[…] It will be a whole lot easier to stay in touch with your donors if you use a communications (aka editorial) calendar. Why You Need a Communications Calendar […]
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[…] updates (by mail, email, and social media), thank yous (see above), advocacy alerts, and surveys. A communications calendar will help you with […]
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[…] your communications calendar to incorporate ways to thank your donors. Try to say thank you at least once a month. Here are some […]
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[…] let the welcome packet be the last time your donors hear from you until your next appeal. Use a communications calendar to help you plan to stay in touch throughout the […]
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[…] create a fundraising calendar to structure how the campaign plays out. Similarly, your team should create a communications calendar that accounts for each channel of your communications with donors. This way, you can easily keep […]
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[…] The thank you letter you send after your appeal is just the beginning. You must thank your donors all year round. You can make this easier by creating a thank you plan, which you can incorporate into your communications calendar. […]
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