The holiday season is important for nonprofit fundraising, but no week can even compare to the last week of the year. Year End campaigns can bring in 15-25% (or more!) of an organization's overall revenue. But how do you make sure your Year End campaign is as effective as it can be?

Ryan and Steve walk through easy things you can do to maximize the impact you can have in the last few days of the year. What do you say? Where do you say it? When do you say it?

Unintentionally, Ryan and Steve turned this into a two-part episode. Last week, they talked through a micro view of how to evaluate your fundraising (ROI, income generated overall, performance of each impact). 

But this week is a macro look--if your fundraising is (or isn't) working, what does that look like for your organization's "vital signs"? And more importantly, what do you do if you don't like what you see?

Also:

Warm cookies

Repeat, repeat...repeat

Golfer who disappeared...never to be heard from again (not really, but he did disappear from the PGA Tour)

You put in all that hard work to create your fundraising impacts and get them to the right donors at the right time. But, then, how do you know if it's working?

Ryan and Steve talk about what metrics to follow, which don't matter, and which can deceive you into thinking you're doing better than you really are.

The only thing as important as getting new donors is KEEPING the donors you've acquired. 

Ryan and Steve walk through how to calculate donor retention, what a good retention percentage looks like, and how to raise yours if it's not where it should be. 

We know that email is a viable form of fundraising. But, not all emails do well and bring in a lot of donations--and it can be hard to determine exactly what (if anything) went wrong. 

Also on this episode:

Newsletters that bury the interesting parts

An early Giving Tuesday tip

Follow @AlexLlull on Twitter if you're looking to build a Twitter audience

oneicity.com/pod

[email protected]

Your emails to [email protected] really will get answered, and this episode is proof!

In this mailbag episode, Ryan and Steve answer:

How to start a Millennial strategy

How do you plan a big event right now?

The best way to fundraise on Giving Tuesday

Data. The database. Donor records. They're not as flashy as copywriting or art design, but they can have just as big an impact on your fundraising results as anything else. 

In this special episode, Kris Hoots (President and Founder of Oneicity) joins Ryan and Steve to talk about:

Why you should love data. Ways you could be using it incorrectly. How using the right data can instantly improve your fundraising ROI. 

Donors are the lifeblood of your organization, and their support is what allows you to accomplish your mission. 

...but they're also wrong. A lot. 

Ryan and Steve talk about the most common ways donors are wrong and how to engage with them and (nicely) set them straight. 

Also:

Ryan talks about an email he never received

Why recommendations about longer social posts miss the point

A book to help you find courage. 

Find us at oneicity.com/pod 

You sent out direct mail fundraising, and no matter how often or seldom you check the results...they're not good. What went wrong?

Ryan and Steve go over the 8 reasons why that appeal failed, and how to fix it. 

Also:

Using the same envelope and teaser year over year

Deadly in-person fundraising events

Refine vs. redesign

Snopes.com telling...lies?

Visit oneicity.com/pod for video episodes, and see why they have faces for podcasting.

Last Episode, Ryan and Steve talked about why you shouldn't be thanking your donors (and what you should do instead). This week they go over the ways you can validate your donors.

Also:

Steve gripes about how unhappy he was with Episode 19

Ryan opens an invitation for an event but isn't sure what it's for.

Steve uses alliteration.

Ryan saves the goldfish.