4 Tips to Build an Annual Nonprofit Fundraising Calendar

Planning your nonprofit’s fundraising initiatives each year involves managing many moving parts. From diversifying your revenue streams for increased financial stability to keeping donors at all levels engaged in supporting your mission, your team needs to take multiple variables into account to achieve your funding goals.

The best way to keep all of your campaign information organized throughout the whole year is to create a fundraising calendar. This comprehensive resource allows your team to see exactly what initiatives are going on or coming up so everyone can stay on track with their responsibilities and execute campaigns successfully.

In this guide, we’ll discuss four tips for creating an annual fundraising calendar that will effectively guide your organization’s revenue generation efforts. Let’s get started!

1. Set Clear Goals

Every successful fundraising plan begins with clear goals. Your overarching goals for the year lay the foundation for the smaller revenue generation and supporter engagement targets you’ll set for each individual initiative on your fundraising calendar.

As you develop your overarching goals, take the following considerations into account:

• The total amount of revenue you need to generate. Start by setting three funding benchmarks: the bare minimum you need to raise to cover essential expenses, an amount that allows some money to be set aside in case of emergency, and a target that would provide enough funding to plan for growth. Then, review your nonprofit’s financial data and strategic plan to determine which benchmark is most helpful and feasible to pursue.
• Seasonal charitable giving fluctuations. The end of the calendar year is a popular time for nonprofit giving, both for tax purposes and because of the giving spirit that accompanies the holiday season. In fact, 30% of annual charitable donations occur in December! On the flip side, giving often dies down during the busy summer months.
• Which supporter segments you most want to engage. Your target audience’s preferences will influence the types of campaigns you plan. For example, if your top supporter engagement priority is retaining major donors, you might choose a gala or auction as your main fundraising event for the year. However, if you’re trying to attract supporters with young children, you might plan a few family-friendly events throughout the year, like carnivals or outdoor movie nights.

Then, format your goals using the SMART method—i.e., ensuring they’re specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound—based on your brainstorming in the consideration stage.

2. Identify Your Most Important Fundraising Campaigns

Once you have your goals in place, start creating the calendar by laying out your primary fundraisers for the year. These initiatives are typically large undertakings that happen on specific dates, such as:

• Year-end giving campaigns, from GivingTuesday to creative holiday fundraising ideas.
• Events like the ones mentioned above that bring supporters together around your mission.
• Other initiatives specific to your nonprofit, such as a crowdfunding campaign or a 24-hour fundraiser on the anniversary of your organization’s founding.

Annual fund solicitation is also an intensive fundraising activity for most nonprofits, but it can take place at various times throughout the year, so make note of when your organization plans to promote your annual fund in your calendar.

3. Add Supplemental Year-Round Fundraisers

For your nonprofit to be financially sustainable, you need steady revenue coming in between your major fundraising initiatives. Supplement your calendar with year-round campaigns such as:

• Recurring giving. On your online donation page, include a button that allows donors to quickly convert their gifts from one-time to monthly contributions. This way, they can automatically contribute their chosen amount each month, providing more sustainable funding for your nonprofit and convenience for donors.
• Matching gifts. Matching gifts provide an opportunity for donors to multiply their donations’ impact without giving more out of pocket. If they work for a company with a matching gift program, they just need to submit a match request to their employer after they donate. Then, their employer will also give to your organization, usually matching the original donation amount at a 1:1 ratio.
• Shopping fundraisers. These campaigns allow supporters to contribute to your nonprofit as they make everyday purchases. Once your nonprofit signs up with a free online shopping fundraiser platform, supporters shop as usual at participating e-commerce businesses, and a portion of their sales total goes directly to your mission. You can also sell fundraising gift cards to popular retailers that your donors can use themselves or buy as gifts for friends and family.

Although these fundraisers are ongoing, some of them lend themselves to additional promotion at specific times of the year, so note this in your fundraising calendar. For example, ShopRaise recommends marketing gift card fundraisers more heavily in November (to prepare for the holiday season) and April (leading up to Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, school graduations, and peak wedding season). Additionally, some companies may ramp up workplace giving around Employee Appreciation Day in March, making it a great time to promote matching gifts.

4. Ensure Your Team Is Aligned on Your Plans

Before finalizing your fundraising calendar, ensure everyone at your organization is on the same page about your revenue generation goals and tactics for the year. One essential step in this process is checking that your calendar aligns with the information in your nonprofit’s other major planning tools, including your:

• Strategic plan. As mentioned previously, your strategic plan informs decisions about which donor segments are most important to engage and whether your organization is planning for growth in the near future.
• Marketing plan. According to Getting Attention, your organization’s marketing plan should include a calendar showing when you plan to promote various initiatives, so ensure its activities and time frames align with those on your fundraising calendar.
• Operating budget. Your budget will be your source of truth for setting fundraising goals based on projected expenses, and the revenue side of the budget should align with your campaign objectives.

Additionally, meet with nonprofit staff members in various departments—especially development, marketing, and financial professionals—to get their direct input on your calendar and goals. Your organization’s board of directors will likely need to approve your plan, and they might also provide insights that can help you refine your calendar for maximum effectiveness.

Every nonprofit is different, so make sure to adapt the tips above to align with your organization’s needs, mission, and supporter preferences. Once you start using your calendar to guide your fundraising efforts, take note of its strengths and potential areas for improvement so you can plan even more effectively in the coming years.