What is annual giving?

It’s not your annual mail appeal or email appeal. And it is not relegated to something you do once a year. In this course, you will learn all the methods you can use on an ongoing basis to raise money for your nonprofit organization.

This course will consist of eight lessons, approximately 20 minutes in length for each lesson.

You will learn all the methods of direct response and how each one works. You will also learn some ways you possibly haven’t thought about before.

Lesson 1: Is annual giving really annual?

Doesn’t annual giving mean our annual appeal to donors? Can we only appeal to donors once a year through one method? No! You will learn that this method leads to low ROI and low donor retention. You will also learn why the annual giving appeals are the foundation of your development program.

Lesson 2: What is included in annual giving?

Annual giving includes many areas of fundraising, in fact, it is most of your fundraising except for capital campaigns and planned giving.

Lesson 3: Email and Direct Mail

Is direct mail dead? Some people think so, but statistics show it is alive and well. And email giving is appealing to many donors. Learn why!

Lesson 4: Telephone Fundraising

Yes, I said it—the dreaded T-word! It is not as bad as many people think it is though. And guess, what—it has a higher rate of return than many other types of fundraising.

Lesson 5: Website Giving

Everyone raises money on their website! How much are you raising? What can you do to improve results on your website?

Lesson 6: Major Giving

Although many organizations do not categorize this as annual giving, you want major donors to repeat their gifts every year, don’t you? How to find them, get them t give, and retain them as loyal donors.

Lesson 7 Business Appeal

Annual giving comes from more than individuals, you should include business giving in your annual appeal too. Learn about running a high impact campaign on an annual basis

Lesson 8: Recognition of annual donors

How do you acknowledge and recognize your annual donors? Remember they’re the lifeblood of your fundraising program. We will talk about the pros and cons of giving clubs as a way to recognize annual donors and encourage them to increase their gifts.