5 Holidays Your Nonprofit Should Consider to Launch Fundraising Drives
Running a nonprofit is a year-round pursuit. That’s a given. However, there are certain times of the year when people are bound to be more generous, more engaged, or simply more interested in hearing about what your organization is trying to do.
Here are just a few dates you should mark on your calendar.
1. The New Year Is Good For Everyone
As noted by nonprofit site World Vision, the majority of Americans give to charity towards the end of December.
This isn’t really a surprise. In the wake of the most giving time of year, it’s only natural that people might be in a generous mood.
That generosity is likely further influenced by the fact that the end of the year tends to be marked by introspection.
Together, these factors create the perfect storm for any nonprofits in search of donations, particularly those dedicated to humanitarian causes.
2. In The Pursuit of Better Health
From World Cancer Day (February 4) to World AIDS Day (December 1), there are plenty of awareness events your nonprofit can tap into if you’re dedicated to physical or psychological health.
While most of these aren’t official holidays, they’re still a time of year when most people are at least going to be thinking about your cause.
You can check out nonprofit site Fundraising IP for a comprehensive list.
3. Protecting The Environment
Just as there are many awareness days and months for healthcare, there are also plenty of occasions focused on promoting better awareness and care of the environment.
Earth Day (April 22) is probably the most noteworthy of these, and also the most widely-observed. However, there’s also World Wetlands Day (February 2), Endangered Species Day (May 17), and World Environment Day (June 5).
Again, you can find a full list on Fundraising IP.
4. Fourth of July
Philanthropy was arguably one of the values upon which the United States was founded.
With that in mind, the Fourth of July can be a great time to host an event like a charity barbeque or banquet.
Not only will your donors have the opportunity to celebrate one of the most important days of the year, they can do so while also donating money to a good cause.
Generally speaking, you’ll see more success with a Fourth of July fundraiser if your nonprofit is focused primarily on humanitarian causes such as education, disaster relief, or veteran’s aid.
5. Giving Tuesdays
Our last entry technically isn’t a holiday either, though it falls immediately after one. A global movement originally created in 2012, Giving Tuesday falls on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
Any nonprofit can participate, leveraging the increasingly-popular and well-known event to create a massive degree of engagement for its cause, potentially bringing in a ton of donations in the process.
In 2019 alone, Giving Tuesday raised approximately $1.97 billion dollars across sixty countries. That’s a lot of good. And 2020 is only slated to be even bigger.
Author: Brad Wayland
Brad Wayland is the Chief Strategy Officer at BlueCotton, a site with high-quality, easy-to-design custom t-shirts.
