You’ve got a compelling mission, a passionate team, and a fundraising campaign to run. However, if your timing is off, your message might miss the mark. In fundraising, when you say something can be just as important as what you say. 

This post explores how timing affects donor engagement, ways to improve your timeliness, and how nonprofit technology solutions can simplify the process. When you master timing, you’ll build goodwill with your audience and raise more support with less stress.

The Role Timing Plays in Donor Engagement

It’s a cliche, but it’s true: timing really is everything. Timing impacts every aspect of our lives, from deciding when to go on a beach vacation to making major career decisions. 

Similarly, timing can influence how donors perceive and respond to your messages. Nailing down your timing strategy can help you make smarter decisions about when and how to connect with supporters, empowering you to:

  • Tap into seasonal generosity: Donors are more receptive to fundraising requests at certain times of the year, like the holidays or the end of the fiscal year (when donors can make their last-minute tax-deductible gifts). Fundraisers that tap into seasonal feelings of generosity or make logical arguments for year-end giving can inspire individuals to open their hearts and wallets.
  • Create urgency and relevance: Timing gives context to your message. For instance, a campaign launched during a natural disaster or in response to a community need feels urgent and helps prompt immediate action.
  • Avoid donor burnout: Ill-timed asks, such as a donation request during a donor’s personal or professional busy season, can be overlooked or even feel inappropriate. Knowing when your audience has the bandwidth to engage with your nonprofit is key.
  • Reinforce donor engagement: A well-timed email during a national giving day or a thank-you message delivered right after a successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaign can reinforce donor loyalty and drive further action.
  • Align fundraising with audience preferences: Your CRM or donor management software can track when donors typically give, respond to emails, and attend events. Use these insights to time future asks.

When you notice patterns in donor behavior and align your efforts to match their cadence, you can create fundraising campaigns that feel effortless and natural for donors to get involved in. 

Common Timing Mistakes (And What to Do Instead)

Even the most well-intentioned fundraisers make timing missteps. Fortunately, most common mistakes are fixable with thoughtful adjustments.

Here are a few examples of timing miscalculations and ways your nonprofit can overcome them: 

  • Asking too frequently (or not enough): Constant appeals can cause donor fatigue, while too few can make your mission forgettable. Strike a balance by using donor engagement data to guide your outreach frequency. For example, perhaps donors tend to stop opening your texts after you send more than three per week. With that in mind, you can limit your SMS outreach to just two to three weekly messages to maintain your audience’s attention without overwhelming them. 
  • Missing key giving windows: Dates like Giving Tuesday or the fiscal year-end are prime fundraising opportunities. Create a campaign calendar to start planning for these major giving windows months in advance, so you’re ready to go when giving momentum is high. 
  • Delayed or absent follow-ups: Waiting too long to thank donors, or failing to follow up entirely, can weaken relationships. Make follow-ups prompt, personal, and relevant. For instance, let’s say your organization hosts a walk-a-thon campaign during Breast Cancer Awareness month. Send your donor thank-you emails within 24 hours of the campaign’s conclusion. Mention each supporter’s unique impact with a personalized statement like, “Jessica, your $300 gift is fueling the next breakthrough in breast cancer research, bringing hope and healing to patients who need it most.”

Correcting these common timing mistakes can lead to better donor retention, more predictable revenue, and a smoother fundraising experience.

Using the Right Tools to Automate Timing 

Nonprofits of all sizes can stay perfectly timed with the help of automation tools. These tools include donor management solutions, marketing and outreach software, and any AI tool that can help predict donor behavior. 

Leveraging these tools allows your nonprofit to optimize outreach timing by: 

  • Sending timely donor communications: Use email marketing automation to send welcome emails, thank-yous, and follow-ups after events and campaigns. These moments are crucial for building relationships and maintaining donors’ interest and attention. Bloomerang’s email marketing guide also recommends leveraging software that integrates with your nonprofit’s CRM so you can seamlessly share donor data between platforms to create personalized outreach. 
  • Segmenting your audience for personalization: Every donor group requires customized outreach cadences that appeal to their preferences and needs. For example, new supporters may need more frequent touchpoints to introduce them to your mission, while long-time donors may respond better to seasonal asks. To tailor your timing, create communication segments for donors based on criteria like their engagement level, gift amount, or giving history. 
  • Streamlining automation workflows: Maintain consistent follow-up by formalizing the automation process into a standardized workflow. Here’s an example of what an automated workflow could look like for new donor communications: A new donor triggers a welcome email series → the final message includes a soft follow-up ask → based on the donor’s response, they are segmented into groups for future campaigns.

While automation tools may have upfront costs, they are usually worth the investment. Automation saves staff time, boosts engagement rates, and increases donor retention.

The right tools will help you stay on schedule and scale your fundraising without sacrificing personalization or consistency.

Building a Timing Strategy That Works

Timing can also influence your long-term strategy. Think of your strategic plan as a living framework that evolves alongside your organization’s goals and donors’ preferences.

Use these three simple steps to craft your annual fundraising strategy: 

  1. Start with timing goals. Define what success looks like. Are you aiming for increased year-end donations, better event turnout, or higher open rates for email appeals? Let your goals guide your calendar.
  2. Audit your current communications. Take stock of what messages you’re sending, when, and why. Identify gaps where follow-ups are delayed or opportunities where a well-timed message could make a difference.
  3. Test and refine. Run A/B tests on different send times, follow-up intervals, and cadence frequencies. Use these insights to continually sharpen your strategy.

The key to success is consistency. Once you’ve built your plan, revisit it regularly to refine your timing based on new data and feedback.

Timing doesn’t have to be a guessing game. When you pay attention to patterns, plan ahead, and put automation to work, you free up your team to focus on relationships. Take a look at your upcoming campaign schedule and ask: Is this set up to spark engagement or just to check a box? A few simple, strategic shifts could transform your fundraising results for the better.

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