Timing is Everything: Why Now is the Perfect Time for Your Fall Fundraising Appeals
Timing can make or break a nonprofit’s fundraising efforts. As the leaves start to turn and fall events pile up, many nonprofit leaders find themselves juggling a seemingly endless list of tasks. Sound familiar? You’re not alone.
But here's a powerful tip that has worked wonders for nonprofits we've partnered with:
September is the perfect time to send your appeals, setting you up for a smoother, more effective year-end campaign.
Yes, it may sound early, but that’s the beauty of it. By getting ahead of the curve, you’re not only making things easier for yourself come December but also ensuring that your message is heard when it matters most.
Why September? Timing Matters
Avoid the Crowded End-of-Year Rush
The end of the year is a notoriously busy time for nonprofit fundraising. With so many organizations sending out appeals in November and December, it can be tough to be heard. Consider working with other nonprofits in your ecosystem to coordinate appeals or raise funds together—what donor wouldn’t love knowing that their fave orgs are working together? By sending your initial appeals now, you’re also helping staff breathe a little easier going into those months where you (we hope!) really want to be showering them with gratitude for a great year and not making them stay up sleepless nights to wonder if those donors will respond. AND you’re giving your supporters the time and space to connect with your cause on a more human timeline.
Build Momentum Over Time
It can be hard to make written appeals feel rooted in relationship-building and not like transactional interactions. Sending your appeals early allows you to create a steady rhythm that develops your story over time, which makes it feel more relational. Your September appeal becomes the first touchpoint in a larger narrative arc that invites your supporters to engage multiple times, not just when the year is winding down. This approach let’s you give mini-progress reports along the way. For example: “If your gift crossed in the mail with this note, thanks for joining the with many others who are making their gifts right now!”
Make December About Personal Follow-Up
One of the things we love about Community Centric Fundraising principles is prioritizing personal, meaningful interactions with your supporters so that you can further their understanding of the complexity of this work. By sending out your first appeal early, you create the space to use December for thoughtful, relational follow-up. Whether it’s a quick phone call, a personal email, or a meeting, this slower pace allows you to deepen the connection with your donors. When you’re not scrambling to get appeals out the door, you can focus on what really matters: building trust and authentic relationships that grow giving and understanding of your mission.
Shift Your Focus: Relationship-First Fundraising
In community-centric fundraising, the aim is to engage donors in a way that lets them know they are part of a community working together toward shared goals, but not the center of it. By planning your appeals strategically, you respect your donors’ time and attention, while also giving yourself the bandwidth to nurture relationships and center community. This isn’t just about hitting your year-end target—it’s about laying a foundation of trust and engagement that lasts far beyond a single fundraising season.
Your Next Steps
If you haven’t already, now is the perfect time to get your September appeals ready. And really… it doesn’t have to be perfect. Get your message out there and start inviting donors in. Don’t shy away from the ask—they should know it’s a fundraising ask in the first couple (short) paragraphs. Focus on crafting messages that tell your values-driven mission story in a way that rings true for the community you serve. Then, as the year wraps up, lean into the opportunity to have genuine conversations with your supporters, rooted in gratitude and shared purpose. December is for follow up, not for starting to ask. Call some folks who haven’t given yet and ask if they’d prefer to have a short chat. Ask them to let you know either way. Expect that they respect your mission enough to respond with yes or no to your request.
By approaching your fall fundraising early you’re not only setting your organization up for success this year but building a fundraising strategy that is more aligned with the values of equity, sustainability, and bringing donors into the complexity of our missions.
Want more?
Values-Based Appeals is Open!
Don't know where to start with your appeals? Sign up for Values-Based Appeals! For $297, you'll receive:
2 email templates
2 mail templates
An appeal planning timeline
Weekly support via email
Two one-on-one coaching sessions for feedback on your appeal, help with segmentation, or whatever you need!
Supervisors: This is a great way to support team members who are newer to appeal writing. Give them positive coaching and the experience of leading the process, while freeing up more of your time for other priorities. The time to delegate is now!
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Your Appeals, Done for You
Don’t have time to work from a template? We can do it for you for $3,000 per four-part series. Get it off your plate and focus on thanking donors and moving them into your major donor portfolios when they give.
Psst...
Major giving and annual appeals often overlap! Book a free 15-minute session to learn more tips. Schedule here!
What About Major Gifts?
Do donors in your portfolio get appeal letters? Unsure when or how much to ask for? Sign up for the Values-Based Major Giving Academy waitlist and be the first to access our major donor program in a box. Whether you're training or retraining, VBMG has everything you need to raise more money faster, no matter who’s in your donor base. Sign up this month and get a free major donor ask letter template to use throughout the fall. Join the waitlist now!
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