EOY ain’t over until it’s over
EOY.
Funny how acronyms slip off the tongue so easily. I throw “EOY” into conversations as easily as I do Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve.
End of Year. In the development world, this is the season of giving, stretching from mid-November to December 31. In fact, 30% of all individual charitable giving in the US occurs in December, with 10% of annual giving happening in the last three days of the year.
That’s today, tomorrow and yesterday.
What’s the NYE connection? For most individual givers, charitable donations can count as itemized deductions on your individual tax return, leading to tax savings. Since the IRS works on a calendar year, your donation needs to be made no later than 12/31, otherwise you cannot deduct it until the following year. Tactically, this means the online donation needs to happen on or before 12/31, even if that means simply charging your credit card on or before 12/31. If the donor is writing a check, the check needs to be dated 12/31 or earlier, regardless of when the recipient organization deposits it.
Typically, your nonprofit will have planned an EOY strategy months ago. It likely includes a combination of email, snail mail and social media posts. Each outreach includes that all-important call to action: donate before year-end. Ideally, you’ll have some unifying theme or campaign that you can use across all media and platforms. This leans into guerrilla marketing theory: the customer needs to see the same thing multiple times before taking action. And, as you’ll be creating quite a bit of content for your EOY campaign, it’s easier if you have a common thread or storyline to build upon.
I should have posted about this in August or September, giving you plenty of time to put together an impactful campaign. As I sat down to write today, I told myself that it is too late to do any meaningful fundraising between now and tomorrow night. Why mention it?
But… it ain’t over until it’s over! With 5% of annual donations coming within the next 30+ hours, there’s still time to get that MailChimp / Constant Contact out or post something eye-catching on social. People are generous right now - but you have to make the ask.
Fortunately, EOY ends on NYE, which is is both a long day and a celebratory day for most. Get something out there RIGHT NOW and hope for the best. Then put a note in your calendar sometime around Labor Day, 2025, to start thinking about your 2025 EOY plan well in advance of December.
Happy New Year!
