If you’re in the nonprofit world, your year-end giving campaign is probably the most important marketing event – accounting for an average of 30-50% of most organizations’ total fundraising. 

The holiday season marks a significant uptick in donor generosity, and it's the time of year most people are actively thinking about giving back. It’s also the last opportunity for individuals and organizations to make charitable donations that will impact their taxes for the year. 

Everything comes together to make your year-end giving campaign a crucial cornerstone of your operations. 

And at Acton Circle, we’re in the business of helping you engage more donors, create urgency, and see the best results possible from your year-end giving campaign with our strategic, intentional graphic design services. 

How design impacts year-end giving

Purposeful design doesn’t just look good – it tells a story, evokes emotion, and encourages people to take action. 

Design is the key to connecting donors to your mission and vision and getting them excited about participating. 

When it comes to year-end giving, design is one of the most important elements of a successful campaign. 

You can combine three things to make your year-end giving campaign effective:

1. Emotional storytelling
2. Intentional visual design
3. Strategic messaging
    

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Everything should be grounded in your mission and vision. You can leverage especially leverage interactive design strategies to bring your purpose to life and show others why they need to donate today! 

Design elements that tell a story 

There are a number of design elements and strategies you canuse to tell your story and get a positive response from your donors. 

When it comes to visual storytelling, you want to craft a visual narrative that is easy to understand and irresistible to connect with. 

This is done with:

• High-quality photos and videos that show your target demographic benefitting from your work. These images and videos show your work in action and make it easy for donors to see what their money and support can do for others. Bonus tip: use images of people where they are making eye-contact with the camera.
  
  
• Before and after images that showcase the transformation your nonprofit creates for others. When a donor can see that their monetary donation turns a run-down park into a lively center of community activity or gives a child struggling in school the resources and support they need to thrive, they’re much more likely to give.
  
  
• Infographics are still one of thee best ways to take plain numbers and data and capture the attention of your reader. We design innovative, high-quality infographics that make it easy for anyone to see the impact their donation will have and the value of the work your nonprofit is doing.
  
  
• Stories from those who benefitted from your work are important for creating an emotional connection with your donors. When these stories are strategically designed – with beautiful images, call-out quotes, lists with icons, infographics, and scannable headlines – your donors are more likely to read and engage with them. 
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Design elements that increase year-end giving urgency

It’s one thing to help a donor see the value in donating to your nonprofit’s work someday and showing them why they need to donate today.

Urgency is a significant element of a successful year-end giving campaign, and design is an important component of creating meaningful, authentic urgency. 

Design elements like countdown timers in emails and on giving pages are a direct, simple way to show people how much time they have left to join in the cause. 

If you offer matching gift opportunities, you can use bold, eye-catching design to capture your donor’s attention and give them a clear reason to give now. You can also use infographics to show why donating at this time matters to your mission. 

Interactive design elements – like measurements of your progress toward your year-end giving goal that update in real-time (or close to it) – can get people excited about being the donation to move the needle or get you over the line. 

A clear financial breakdown that shows where each dollar donated goes can make donating feel more personal and important, motivating others to take action. 

Anytime you can visually conceptualize urgency, your donors will be more motivated to not only give, but to give today! 

Strategic messaging + design work together

Telling a cohesive, emotional story is the best way to engage donors and create urgency to donate to your year-end giving campaign. 

Your design should always amplify your messaging and make it easier (and more appealing!) for donors to read your copy. 

Applying a comprehensive theme to your message and design is one way we give your campaign more power. Themes make it easier for others to relate to the story you’re telling and when the visuals match and enhance the message, every word is more effective. 

It’s also important that you keep your overall branding consistent across your year-end giving campaign.
Think custom sub-logos, patterns, or design elements for a year-end campaign, but these should be created as a natural extension of your existing brand, not something unrecognizable or new.

You want to use the brand recognition and trust your branding has built for your nonprofit to support your year-end giving campaign! 

Need help with your year-end giving campaign?

If you’re feeling inspired to improve or refresh your year-end giving campaign now, it’s not too late!

Our signature 1-week Design Intensive gives you the strategic, intentional year-end campaign design work you need to engage donors and create urgency without a months’ long process or wait. 

Learn more about what we can do for your year-end campaign in only one week! 

And if you have questions about our work or want to chat through the details of your nonprofit’s needs, click here to contact us today. We’d love to hear from you!