High-Growth Fundraising the Silicon Valley Way

8Maximizing Year-End Giving

Year-end giving is a pillar of the nonprofit financial strategy. The idea of year-end giving closely parallels the Silicon Valley mentality for fundraising. In Silicon Valley there are multiple rounds of fundraising: pre-seed, seed, series A, B, C, D rounds. Fundraising in Silicon Valley is typically done with a very specific process.

The process is typically two to four weeks or, for a larger round of fundraising, two to three months. Within that time, an organization has a very specific plan to meet with a specific set of investors. Beyond raising the necessary funds, the goal is to create what's called FOMO (fear of missing out) and buzz within the overall tech community. This enables these expanding businesses to consolidate their time and create an intense period when they are focused on fundraising.

In the same way, if nonprofits were to have a fundraising round it would be most aligned to the year-end giving cycle. The end of the year is when most of the momentum is. Any nonprofit organization that wants to increase their funds needs to create a catalytic moment—a moment that spurs people into action and encourages them to give abundantly.

You want to create atmospheres of generosity and build a season of momentum when everybody is giving together. There is no better time than year-end giving for nonprofits.

Many organizations create too much pressure around year-end giving by leaving the planning until too late or planning ineffectively. ...