How to Boost Charity Momentum During the Summer Slowdown

Summertime is sometimes casually referred to as the “off-season” for the non-profit sector. The major fundraising seasons bookend the summer months, with most charities running campaigns in the Spring and Fall – in addition to the big year-end fundraising push across the holiday season. 

Because of the fundraising slowdown and lots of charitable staff, donors, and volunteers taking time off for vacations, summer can be considered a stagnant period. But it doesn’t have to be! Here are some best practices to help your charity make the most of this sometimes challenging time of year. 

While this may seem obvious, strategically planning your charity's annual calendar and ensuring slow times of the year are factored in is what will enable your organization to make the most of that time. It will also help manage expectations and make sure “off-time” is optimized, versus seeing this period as unproductive. 

Having a dedicated period where your team is not focused on fundraising is an opportunity for your organization to prioritize areas that may fall by the wayside during busier times of the year. 

For optimal ROI this summer, CanadaHelps suggests giving the following strategies a try to keep your charity’s momentum strong.

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Strengthen donor relationships, improve retention🤝

To retain donors, fundraising relationships must be nurtured throughout the year and especially during periods when you are not actively raising money. 

According to a 2019 report, donor retention hovers around 50%. Canadian charities are failing to retain about half of their donors, even though they have done the hard work of acquiring the donor in the first place. 

If your staff has increased capacity over the summer months, ensure donor management processes are in place to meet touchpoints at a regular cadence. For optimal retention results, we recommend a multi-channel approach to donor relationship cultivation. This means a management strategy where touchpoints consist of email, phone calls, direct mail and/or text messages. 

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Invest in high-value supporters💌

How is your charity investing in your highest-value supporters? We suggest creating a “super supporters” program to highlight individuals who are your top volunteers or giving in the top 10% to your cause.

If you don't know who your super supporters are, take inventory of your donor and volunteer bases to identify and segment the folks who are your top supporters and donors. 

We also suggest segmenting high-value prospect donors, people who have given to your charity at moderate levels but have large untapped giving capacity. Prospects are the key supporters you want to nurture and build relationships with.

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Hold in-person events🏞️

In many parts of Canada, summer is the only season where outdoor events and gatherings are possible, from a simple weather perspective. Summertime allows you to engage with your charity’s supporters and volunteers face-to-face. Hosting a float at a community parade, tabling at a local festival, or organizing an outdoor event like cooking workshops, paint nights, band battles or any number of other creative activities to engage your volunteers and bring aboard new supporters.

When planning a charitable event, differentiation is key to creating a memorable experience. Keep who your target audience is, what your charity’s core values are and what fundraising goals you have for the event front of mind during the planning process.

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Try matching and partnerships 💲

In this challenging economic climate, pausing fundraising for the whole summer may not be possible due to your charity’s financial needs or constraints. If your organization finds themselves in this spot, don't panic – be strategic. 

Research by Impact Canada shows that matching campaigns increase donation rates. In a matching campaign, a donor or a group of donors pledges to match contributions made by other donors, effectively doubling (or sometimes tripling) the impact of each donation. Time-limited matching campaigns are the most effective, and charities should expect most donations to come in at the end.

A partnerships campaign is a collaborative effort between a nonprofit organization and one or more businesses, or corporations to achieve mutual fundraising goals – this can take the form of corporate event sponsorships, product partnerships, or donating a portion of the business’ proceeds to a specific cause.

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Tap into incentives🏆

Incentives like raffles and giveaways are a surefire way to boost engagement and increase momentum over slow periods. In a recent American study, Cornell researchers found that incentives increase the likelihood that a donor will give. Advertising the incentives prominently can also help.

Offering a “free gift” with donations, or placing donations that come through during a certain period into raffle eligibility are two options – but incentives can apply to a wide variety of engagement activities, get creative!

We recommend seeking corporate sponsorship for prizes (ask local businesses who align with your mission) or using merchandise that features your charity’s brand or logo – ensure the gifts you are offering are season-appropriate so items like water bottles, baseball caps, planting seeds, or tote bags for summer.

Is there someone at your organization that supporters want a piece of? For other types of low-cost incentives, consider offering a lunch or coffee chat with that individual, or giving away priority or behind-the-scenes access to a special event.

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Refresh your online presence!📱

It’s always the right time to refresh your online presence! Remember, you have just three seconds to engage a new user who visits your site. 

Especially during slow times, putting time and resources into improving SEO, publishing new blogs and content, auditing user-flows, and updating graphics and images are worthwhile endeavours. Give specific attention to your mobile user experience. CanadaHelps data shows mobile giving now makes up 21% of the giving market.

Your landing page should have easy-to-read messages, no long text blocks, and a compelling video or photo, accompanied by clear calls-to-action urging visitors to donate or volunteer. 

We also recommended incorporating storytelling into your digital presence. Videos, testimonials, success stories about the positive impact your charity is having, and content highlighting the vital work of your charity’s volunteers communicate the value proposition of the work your organization does.

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Looking for more learning tools, training and support? Check out Charity Growth Academy. It's a free digital program designed to help Canadian charities become more digitally enabled.