By Bill Shiell, Senior Strategist at BrightDot Fundraising Advisors
The end of the year is the most generous season for charitable giving, and one of the most critical times for nonprofits. Nearly one-third of all annual donations are made in the final weeks of the calendar year, often determining whether organizations meet (or miss) their fundraising goals.
And this year, nonprofits have another date circled on the calendar to kick off the giving season: October 9th – DAF Day. Similar to Giving Tuesday, DAF Day is a reminder for donors to activate their donor-advised funds (DAFs), a popular tool for charitable giving. With billions of charitable dollars already sitting in these accounts, the opportunity for nonprofits to capture meaningful year-end support is bigger than ever.
As Q4 sets in, many nonprofits begin to feel the pressure. The most prepared organizations already have their strategies in motion by fall, but if you’re not there quite yet, there’s still time to get a strategy in place to ensure a successful end of the year.
With the right plan and the right partner, you can shift from scrambling to strategic and ensure your year-end efforts inspire generosity and create lasting impact.
That’s where BrightDot comes in.
The High Cost of Poor Preparation
Too often, organizations enter Q4 without a clear year-end fundraising roadmap. The result?
- Campaigns that feel rushed
- Transactional messaging that doesn’t resonate with donors
- Leadership that isn’t engaged in fundraising
- Stewardship that falls by the wayside
When this happens, campaigns underperform, opportunities are missed, donor relationships weaken, and worst of all: fundraising goals remain out of reach.
How BrightDot Can Help You Prepare
While some may think of preparedness as piling on tasks, it’s more than that. It means prioritizing what counts.
At BrightDot, we guide organizations to year-end strategies that spark lasting impact. Our approach ensures your team focuses on what matters most:
Utilizing the Art of Fundraising to Tell Your Story
- Highlighting the emotional “why” behind your mission with donor-centric messaging.
- Showing your donors that each gift is meaningful and impactful, no matter the amount.
Engaging Leadership to Become Confident Fundraisers
- Teaching presidents, executives, and board members how to be confident fundraising leaders.
- Building trust among your donors that inspires generosity at every level.
Prioritizing Stewardship through Mattership
- Designing intentional stewardship strategies that show donors they truly matter.
- Transforming one-time givers into lifelong supporters.
Teaching, Training, Transforming
- Equipping your staff with proven fundraising best practices.
- Building confidence in execution and cultivating a culture of donor connection.
- Hitting goals and creating an organization that thrives year-round.
Our Approach
At BrightDot, we’re your fundraising partners. Our approach to fundraising, The Art of Fundraising, guides everything we do, by blending data and strategy with creativity, storytelling, and human connection. Our methodology, Teach, Train, Transform, equips your team with strategies that are authentic, achievable, and aligned with your mission. By bridging strategic planning with genuine human connection, we help turn every donor interaction into an opportunity for transformation.
Final Thoughts
Preparedness is what separates rushed appeals from meaningful, lasting generosity. And with DAF Day on October 9th kicking off the season, there’s no better time to remind donors of the many ways they can give.
If your year-end plan isn’t ready, the time to act is now. BrightDot is here to guide you through the most critical giving season of the year with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Ready to maximize your year-end giving? Connect with a BrightDot advisor to step into Q4 with confidence.
A Bright Idea
Want to unlock more strategies for year-end giving success? Tune in to BrightDot Founder & CEO Bill Crouch in his OneCause webinar, The Art of Fundraising: Adding Color to Giving Tuesday & Year-End Success.
