Every year in November, National Philanthropy Day would roll around and I’d sigh and say to myself: “Next year, I’m going to be ready.” I’d swear that I would plan ahead, write the emails, prep the social media graphics, and really celebrate the day with our donors.

Then February would roll around and I’d see adorable Valentine’s Day posts from other schools – “We ❤️ our donors!” – and then again on St. Patrick’s Day – “We’re lucky to have you!” And I’d think: Next year. Definitely next year.

Finally, last summer, I had had enough.

We blocked time, pulled out the project management software, and started building a full philanthropy calendar – complete with stewardship moments, giving day content, and awareness-based messaging. And now? We don’t miss those chances to talk about philanthropy. We show up with intention. And the best part? Once this year is done, we’ll already have an entire year’s worth of content ready to refresh and reuse next time around.

Honestly – it’s one of the best things we’ve done.

If you’re in higher ed advancement (and especially if your fiscal year starts July 1), now is the time to build your calendar for the next year – before you're juggling events, campaigns, and year-end appeals.

When you plan your giving-focused content in advance, you give your team the time and space to tie fundraising to moments that matter – national observances, cause-based awareness days, and your own institutional milestones. You stop scrambling. You start seeing results.
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Digital fundraising isn’t just about being visible. It’s about being intentional.

Start with the obvious ones: your founding date, commencement, homecoming, or the birthday of a beloved former president with a named scholarship fund. Then build out from there.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

• World Gratitude Day (Sept 21) – a lovely touchpoint to show donor appreciation
• National Philanthropy Day (Nov 15) – a perfect moment to thank donors and highlight giving’s impact
• National Estate Planning Awareness Week (3rd week of October) – opens the door for gentle legacy giving education
• National Scholarship Month (November) – great for student stories, recruitment, and stewardship

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The more your calendar reflects your organization’s story, the more it will resonate with your community. These aren't throwaway posts – they’re meaningful messages that reinforce your mission and make giving feel timely and personal.

Use scheduling tools like Buffer, Later, or Hootsuite to plan ahead. Build Canva templates you can reuse year after year. And make sure someone on your team is tracking which content types drive engagement – not just likes, but actual clicks, gifts, or email signups.

Once you get into the rhythm of planning ahead, the content starts to build on itself – and pretty soon, you're not starting from scratch every year. You’re refining, reusing, and getting stronger with every cycle.
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You don’t need a massive team or a fancy agency. Just a plan, a few tools, and a commitment to showing up for your donors in meaningful ways.

I’ve done the heavy lifting for you  –  get your free Year-Round Philanthropy Calendar with dates organized by theme and by month and ideas for implementation.
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This curated list of dozens of dates is tailor-made for fundraising, stewardship, and storytelling – including giving days, mission-aligned observances, and the quirky holidays that make for surprisingly great donor content.

Just drop your email, and you’ll be able to download it instantly. Easy.
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One calendar. A year’s worth of opportunities to show up, connect with your donors, and tell the story of your mission.

What dates are important for your messaging and content throughout the year? Let me know in the comments.
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Cheers,

​PS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my e-newsletter, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity, and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!

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I learned the power of recurring gifts when I ran a faculty/staff giving campaign. I saw how quickly even $5 payroll deductions added up across the year when dozens upon dozens of donor participated. When I arrived at a much smaller institution that really needed unrestricted gifts, I knew they needed a strong monthly giving program that would help us reach our annual goals.
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Recurring giving is a powerful strategy that can transform your nonprofit’s fundraising model. A successful recurring gift program provides steady, unrestricted income and builds a loyal donor base that supports your mission long-term. Here’s how to build a thriving recurring gift program from scratch.

A recurring gift program allows donors to give smaller, automated contributions on a monthly basis, typically via credit/debit card or bank draft. These "set it and forget it" donations make giving simple and budget-friendly for donors, while providing nonprofits with reliable revenue.

Why You Should Launch a Recurring Gift Program:

• Cost-Effective: Solicited only once, recurring gifts reduce acquisition costs.
• Predictable Revenue: Monthly gifts offer a consistent income stream.
• Higher Lifetime Value: Studies show that recurring donors give more over time compared to one-time or annual donors.
• Increased Donor Loyalty: The regular engagement helps deepen the relationship with your organization.

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Why Donors Love Monthly Giving
Monthly giving resonates with donors for several key reasons:

• Convenience: Automated payments make it easy to maintain their support without additional steps.
• Budget-Friendly: Smaller, regular donations are easier to fit into monthly budgets.
• Eco-Friendly: Recurring gifts reduce paper usage and reliance on direct mail, aligning with donor values around sustainability.
• Impactful: Donors feel a deeper connection, knowing their consistent support enables ongoing projects and growth.

Here’s a step-by-step approach to creating a sustainable recurring gift program that will drive long-term success.

Choose a donation platform that securely stores donor payment information and processes automated monthly contributions. Key features to consider include:

• Mobile Optimization: Ensure the sign-up process is seamless on all devices.
• Security: Look for Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance and encrypted data storage.
• User-Friendly Maintenance System: Make sure the system is easy for staff to manage, update, and integrate with your CRM.

Pro Tip: The ability to automate receipts and acknowledgments in your software will save staff time and maintain a consistent donor experience.

Engage your team and leadership early. Present a clear case for why a recurring gift program is a strategic priority using data and examples:

• Highlight the benefits of consistent revenue and lower acquisition costs.
• Address any concerns about additional workload or technology investment.

Share a short executive summary and draft donation page copy with key stakeholders to secure buy-in and streamline implementation.

Develop a unique brand identity for your recurring giving group to create a sense of community. Consider naming the group and designing a logo (e.g., "The [Organization] Sustainers"). This branding helps build a strong identity and a feeling of belonging among donors.
Examples:

• Charity: Water’s "The Spring" 
• The Adventure Project’s "The Collective" 
• Starr King School for the Ministry’s "The Starr King Sustainers"

Begin by reaching out personally to a select group of 25-50 loyal donors, volunteers, or board members. These individuals are likely to be early adopters and provide valuable feedback for refining your program.
Action Steps:

• Make personalized calls or set up Zoom meetings to introduce the program.
• Explain the benefits of becoming a founding member and gather testimonials from these early donors.

Once you’ve piloted your program, it’s time for a full launch. Use a multi-channel approach to reach your audience:

• Email: Highlight the ease and impact of monthly giving.
• Social Media: Share testimonials and visual stories of impact.
• Direct Mail: Include a simple option to sign up for monthly giving on reply cards.
• Phone Campaigns: Engage donors directly and answer any questions they have.

Keep the momentum going by regularly reporting progress. Consider using a thermometer graphic to illustrate growth in monthly donors and total contributions.

While your main goal is sustainable support, offering small perks can enhance donor loyalty without significantly increasing costs:

• Access to an exclusive Facebook group or early event registration.
• An annual Zoom Q&A with your CEO or program director.
• Personalized thank-you notes or recognition on your website.

These gestures help make donors feel special and connected to your mission.

Ongoing maintenance is key to the success of your program. Be proactive about updating expired credit cards and follow up with donors whose payments fail. In January, send timely letters for tax purposes covering all of the gifts the donor made in the previous tax year. I’ve always liked to send monthly donors a sticker and/or car decal for every year they are in the program. 
Upgrade Strategy:

• Every 12-24 months, ask existing donors if they’d consider increasing their monthly gift. Even a small increase can have a big impact over time.

Persistence is crucial when building a recurring gift program. Plan an annual campaign to recruit new donors and replace any who have lapsed.
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Case Study: When we started "The Starr King Sustainers" program in 2016, we had just 11 donors giving under $1,000 monthly. By 2024, we grew to over 110 monthly donors contributing nearly $6,000 each month, providing a stable base of support for our mission.

​Building a successful recurring gift program takes time and effort, but the payoff is substantial. With a thoughtful approach and consistent stewardship, you’ll create a loyal base of donors who are passionate about supporting your mission month after month.

When my boss at The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation asked me to develop my goal for next year’s annual fund, I leaned into my expertise with spreadsheets and data. Piece by piece, I built a realistic projection for what we could raise through direct mail, email marketing, and our phonathon. Confident in the numbers, I presented them to him, and he was skeptical because the figure was three times more than the previous decade of annual results.

He suggested revising the estimate to a modest 10% increase, but I firmly stood by my projections, stating they were my low-end projections. He challenged me by saying, “If you hit these numbers, I’ll let you put a pie in my face.” We formalized the bet with a signed contract displayed in the office, which became a motivator for the team.

As the year unfolded, the energy around this goal grew. Even as we processed triple the usual number of gifts, everyone rallied around the challenge. My projections were so accurate that our phonathon came within $100 of my estimates, proving the strategy worked.
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At a faculty and staff event marking the year’s end, we celebrated with the promised pie-in-the-face moment. My boss, albeit wearing protective gear, took the pie as I reveled in knowing that meticulous planning and confidence in my expertise led to such a monumental achievement.

As we enter a new year, the promise of fresh opportunities is balanced by the practical need to set realistic projections. For nonprofit professionals, this is a pivotal step in crafting a fundraising strategy that not only meets but exceeds organizational goals. Even if you are on a July - June fiscal year, now is the time to planning and projecting because you will likely need to lobby for budget resources in February or March for the upcoming new fiscal/academic year.

But let’s start with some clarity: a goal is a desired end state – what you hope to achieve. A projection, however, is an educated calculation based on data and trends – a tool to guide your way.

While these terms are related, their distinctions are critical. In healthy organizations, projections should drive goal setting. Yet, many of us have faced the challenge of working under arbitrary or unrealistic goals set without a solid foundation in data.
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So, how do you ensure your projections are both reliable and actionable? Let’s dive into how to create, use, and leverage them to empower your program and set yourself up for success.

Whether your organization has given you a set goal or you have the freedom to build it, projections are indispensable. Even if the target feels unattainable, projections are worth your time because they:

1. Pinpoint the Shortfall
   By analyzing past performance and calculating realistic returns, projections can reveal where your program may fall short. This allows you to identify gaps, explain challenges to leadership, and show with data why certain outcomes are unlikely.
2. Identify Opportunities
   Projections force you to look at each segment of your program, which might reveal untapped opportunities. Is there a new group to solicit? A fresh strategy to implement? These insights can help you stretch toward your goal, even if it initially feels out of reach.
   
3. Tell a Story to Advocate for Resources
   When your projections highlight the potential for growth with additional resources, they become a lobbying tool. Imagine presenting leadership with clear evidence: “If we invest X dollars in this program, we project an increase of Y dollars in revenue.” This positions you as a forward-thinking fundraiser who makes decisions based on data, not guesses.

Giving Tuesday 2024 is officially in the books, and I’m thrilled to share what worked for us this year! The seminary I work for has participated in Giving Tuesday on and off for almost a decade, but this year, we took bold steps that paid off in a record-breaking campaign.

​Spoiler alert: We set a $20,000 challenge match - our highest ever - and not only met it but exceeded it, raising $40,000! (We even used a strategic extension to cross the finish line - more on that later.)
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Whether you’re looking for fresh ideas or want to refine your strategy, here’s what made our campaign a success:

Challenge matches are a must-have in your Giving Tuesday toolbox. This year, our $20,000 match created a sense of urgency and gave donors an irresistible reason to give.

Why It Worked: It answered the critical question, “Why should I give today?” A generic “it’s Giving Tuesday” doesn’t cut it anymore because every nonprofit is vying for attention. A match is specific, exciting, and makes donors feel like their gift has double the impact.

If you are not as chronically online as I am, you might not be familiar with TikTok Shop. However, as a nonprofit fundraiser, you should be. The nonprofit sector can learn many valuable lessons from this feature of TikTok about how to engage online with our supporters.

TikTok officially launched TikTok Shop in the U.S. in November 2022, marking a significant expansion of TikTok's e-commerce capabilities. The feature allows users to browse and purchase products directly within the app, integrating shopping with the platform's popular short-form videos.

But that doesn’t quite capture how seamless it really is. Picture this: You are scrolling through funny cat videos after all the work of the day is done. Before you notice it, you’ve stopped to watch someone apply moisturizing oil to their skin. You scratch a rough spot near your elbow and find yourself nodding as the person giving the video testimonial bemoans how much they dislike normal lotion, which leaves their skin feeling sticky. Suddenly, without leaving TikTok, you are on a sales page and two days later, your moisturizing oil arrives in your mailbox.
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Even as I was scrolling through my FYP (For You Page), my brain was wondering how we as nonprofit fundraisers could craft an online experience like this for our donors and, even more importantly, for future donors. Here are some defining features of TikTok shop that I believe could be incorporated into our nonprofit marketing and fundraising plans.

• ​TikTok Shop: TikTok Shop integrates e-commerce directly into the app, allowing users to browse and purchase products without leaving the platform. This seamless shopping experience reduces friction in the buying process, making it easier for users to make impulse purchases while still engaging with the content.
• Nonprofit Application: While currently there is no way to give directly to a nonprofit via the TikTok app, we can reduce the friction (number of clicks and starts and stops that it takes to complete a transaction) of our giving forms. Ensure that your donation process is as seamless as possible. A smooth, user-friendly donation process reduces barriers and makes it easier for viewers to support your cause on impulse.

Nonprofits can take inspiration from the world of e-commerce, such that making a gift of $50 becomes as easy and natural as buying a hair straightener on your phone. If we want a world where folks see a video about our cause and make a gift right then and there, we need to learn from businesses that have proven practices to make impulse purchases happen. The most important takeaway from researching TikTok Shop is that nonprofits should push beyond their strict branding guidelines to lean harder into authenticity. Produce fun and inspiring content featuring voices and faces that are relatable and authentic supporters of your nonprofit’s cause.
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I predict that nonprofit organizations that successfully adapt the strategies of TikTok Shop will thrive in the ever-changing digital landscape. This will happen by tapping into the power of real-time engagement, authenticity, and community-building. By leveraging live fundraising events, interactive content, and social proof techniques similar to those used in TikTok Shop, nonprofits can create dynamic and compelling donor experiences that resonate with modern audiences. These organizations will not only increase their reach and visibility but also foster deeper connections with supporters, leading to more immediate and sustained giving. As digital trends continue to evolve, nonprofits that embrace these innovative approaches will be better equipped to meet fundraising goals and maintain relevance in a fast-paced, online-driven world.

QUESTION FOR YOU? Have you utilized some aspects of TikTok Shop in your nonprofit's online marketing? We found that during the pandemic Facebook Live was a wonderful way for our president to continue to connect with our constituents in real-time. I'd love to try it soon for fundraising purposes specifically. What ideas do you have after reading more about TikTok Shop? Let me know in the comments.

​Cheers!

PS - If you’re loving the resources on Real Deal Fundraising, wait until you see what’s in my Etsy store! I’ve created a collection of digital products designed to save you time and help you bring in more money for your nonprofit. From ready-to-use templates to creative campaign ideas, these tools are crafted with your success in mind. Head over to Real Deal Fundraising on Etsy and take your fundraising to the next level - because you deserve to work smarter, not harder!

PPS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my monthly newsletter email, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is weekly curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!