Just like that, it’s a new year, which means it’s time to start preparing your donors’ contribution statements for the last one. While it’s easy to view these purely as giving receipts covered in gratitude, they can be even more. You can actually use your year-end contribution statements to kick off the new year’s giving campaign, and using Fresh Vine can make it simple.
Specific Gratitude
When preparing your statements, you probably already plan to include two main components:
- An itemized receipt for the amount and/or goods donated for donors’ tax prep
“Thank you” for the donations received throughout the year. - Of course, these are necessary pieces, but let’s go a step further. Be specific in showing the accomplishments made possible by your donors’ generosity. Specifics allow the reader to see the real-life impact of their gifts. For example, a food pantry might show meals provided, families served, and which specific communities were reached. In summary, you’re saying, “Because of your gifts, we were able to accomplish all of this.”
Cast the Vision
Now that you’ve stated what was done, you’ve created an easy transition into “and this is what we hope for the future,” also known as vision casting. While you may still be ironing out the details, you can lay out a high-level overview of what you’d like to accomplish over the next 12 months. It reminds them that the cause they believed in last year is still necessary and in need of action this year.
Ask the Question
So, you’ve done all the above, now what? It’s time to ask for their continued support. Remember, you’re speaking to people who’ve already shown they believe in your mission and organization. Chances are, they still believe in it and will in the future. Asking them simply offers the opportunity to join with you as you continue to make a difference.
Doing This with Fresh Vine
Fortunately for you, Fresh Vine makes contribution statements simple. Before publishing your statements online, add your note or thank you to the Statement Message area within Fresh Vine. Be sure to include the advice from above. Once you’re satisfied with that message, publish the year-end giving campaign statements for your donors to get online. The URL for the published statement is the same for everyone. This makes it simple enough to email and share with your community. Once a user logs in from that link, they will see only their statement.
Give your community a few weeks to access their statements online. After that, it’s a best practice to mail paper statements to anyone who has not yet seen their statement online. Before printing, you’ll want to make sure your printed statements match the message of your online statements. Do this by updating the Word-Template provided by Fresh Vine. Add the same message you used with the online statements to the template. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to print and you are off to a great start in your new year’s giving campaign.
