Dusty Rhodes “Stop Overthinking..”
Stop Overthinking December Fundraising – Connect Emotionally | Ask Boldly | Thank Sincerely
If we were having our year end fundraising conversation last July, I’d be talking about how important it was to continue cultivating and educating your listeners about your ministry’s mission, to cast vision, and to make a strong case for support long before you ask someone to consider making a gift. And it’s likely you have been doing that throughout 2025. But around this time of year those of us responsible for making the “Big Ask” often begin feeling like we have not done enough of those “seed sowing” things. We may start feeling like taking all the things we do year-round and cram them all into December in hopes of hitting our fundraising goals. That approach might make us feel better initially, but it will likely make things worse for the donor and for us.
Here’s a better idea. You may be familiar with what is often called the Donor Giving Cycle.
It follows this general rhythm:
Identification – we try to determine who and where the most likely donor prospects are.
Qualification – we learn what we can about their affinity for our mission and capacity to give.
Cultivation – we invest our time getting to know them and vice versa, including their giving preferences.
Education – we keep them informed on mission accomplishments, cast vision, and make our case for support.
Solicitation – we invite them to partner with God’s work through our mission by making a gift.
Appreciation – we thank them, and report back to them what their giving accomplished.
The Donor Giving Cycle, usually referenced when talking about major gift donor relationships, is really applicable to all donors. As we can see in the image, there are ‘seasons’ in our relationships with donors. While Identification and Qualification are primarily tied to major giving relationships, we have a responsibility to listeners and donors of all giving levels to get to know them as best we can (Cultivation), to keep them informed (Education), to ask them to give (Solicitation) and to thank them, crediting them for the impact of their giving (Appreciation).
December, more than any other time of year, is the time to focus only on Solicitation and Appreciation!
Don’t worry about the other seasons and their responsibilities. If it’s any comfort to you and your workload, this time of year is too late for effective cultivating and educating. December is not the time to teach your listeners and donors new things. It’s time to remind them what they already learned. Welcome to the ‘red zone’ of fundraising. Akin to football’s red zone, we are closing in on a deadline or goal – not time to work the long-term strategic stuff – we need to be more tactical to fundraise well so we can end our year financially stronger.
There are only 2 vital things to focus on today through December 31st:
1 – Help your audience connect emotionally with your mission, and
2 – Give them a simple and convenient way to give.
As my friend Steven Screen has said, “Your donors don’t experience your fundraising as donors. They experience your fundraising as humans.” So connect with them emotionally and respect their time by making it easy for them to respond! That’s it. If you execute that well on-air, online, in print and in person you will make life for you and your listeners more joyful and fulfilling this giving season!
Some thoughts on execution for on-air, online, in print and in person:
On-Air
Funding Drive
Share your most powerful stories, play only your highest testing songs, and make it easy for listeners to give. Call-to-action (CTA) options include phone, text to give, your website’s donate page and on your station’s phone app.
I remember research done years ago to find out which stories had the most influence on listeners who gave during on-air fund drives. The top two examples were…
1 – The listener telling their own story via prerecorded audio, if they can be understood clearly and you can feel their emotion.
2 – The on-air talent sharing someone else’s story and adding why it is personally meaningful to them.
Radio Spots or Short Features
Make it your best production of the year with emotionally connecting authentic stories full of believability. Include CTAs.
Do not hesitate to run multiple spots and liners per day containing clear CTAs, with the heaviest run on the two biggest online giving days of the year – December 30th and 31st.
Online
Website
Send your listeners to a landing page showcasing powerful stories of changed lives, crediting your radio station’s donors for making it all happen, and inviting site visitors to join those ‘champion’ donors so that even more lives will be impacted. Include audio or video versions of stories when possible, and pictures of faces. Plus ‘above the fold’ in more than one location make it easy for site visitors to give right now.
On your Donate Page have a brief, compelling picture and purpose for their giving followed by a clean, simple donate form. Make the form friction-free with no unnecessary distractions. Just let them give.
Emails
Send multiple emails per week in December containing those same powerful stories with easy CTAs. Then send multiple emails per day on each of December 30th and 31st. If able, segment out those who give so that once they receive their ‘thank you’ email, they do not receive additional emailed ‘asks.’
In Print – if you are able to create and send something at this 11th hour
Major gift donors usually respond best when their mailing is a small package sent executive-style, tailored to their specific interests and giving ability and with a sense of urgency, a personal touch, and received after Christmas Day, as close to December 26 as possible when they typically are making their year-end giving decisions.
Mass donors are usually responsive using a normal monthly mailing. Include those same powerful stories and clear CTAs with urgency.
In Person
Do not assume your major gift donors are too busy to see you. They may be. But it is worth the effort to contact as many as is reasonable, starting with the ones who prefer face time, have the affinity and capacity to give in ways to help you reach your goals, and who perhaps have given in the past but not this year yet. The visit’s purpose can be to thank them for previous giving, bring them up-to-date and perhaps hand-deliver their year-end packet, and solicit a gift.
Year-end can also be a great time for those with the closest relationships with your major gift donors, or leadership including board members, to call and simply thank them for their past support.
Image credits to Firespring
Dusty Rhodes is a strategic executive leader helping Christian media and other nonprofits grow revenues to fulfill their missions for wider and deeper impact! He works alongside leadership creating visionary strategic plans and the revenue strategies to fund them for sustainable growth. His accomplishments span 30+ years serving in Christian media and ministry as an award-winning radio morning show host, Program Director, Operations Manager, General Manager, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Development Officer and Senior Vice President.
Contact Dusty: DustyRhodes777@Outlook.com and at www.LinkedIn.com/in/DustyRhodes777
