December is a month not only filled with the holiday spirit but also one of the best times for fundraising in the year. According to Double the Donation, 30% of annual giving occurs in December, with 10% of all annual donations made in the last three days of the year.
You can leverage the spirit of giving in your fundraising efforts by using Christmas eCards in your strategy. This guide will explore how Christmas eCards can increase giving through the following topics:
- Why should you offer eCards for Christmas?
- How do nonprofits use charity donation Christmas eCards?
- 5 examples of great charity donation Christmas eCards
- 5 tools we recommend for eCards
- Conclusion and additional resources
No matter what fundraising ideas your nonprofit leverages during the Christmas season remember to evaluate donor receptivity, affordability, and uniqueness. eCards are a surefire way to meet all of these criteria. Let’s begin to discuss why.
Why should you offer eCards for Christmas?
eCards are digital greeting cards that are usually sent via email, and charity donation eCards are usually offered by nonprofit organizations to their supporters. Charity donation eCards make a great Christmastime offer because:
- They connect with the holiday spirit. Physical greeting cards are commonly exchanged among friends and family to celebrate Christmastime. Offering eCards allows you to lean into a pre-existing holiday tradition, making the option more appealing to supporters.
- They’re convenient. With eCards, there’s no need to worry about printing greeting cards, writing messages, or paying for postage. With a click of a button, supporters can send a heartfelt Christmas message to their friends and family.
- There’s no distance limitation. The digital nature of eCards allows your supporters to send them anywhere. The cards also reach their recipient almost instantly, forgoing the hassle of mailing times or delays.
- They’re eco-friendly. Since you can digitally send eCards, there’s no paper waste from envelopes or the card itself, making it a more eco-friendly choice than sending physical greeting cards.
- They’re personalizable. eCards allow you to write a message along with the card, meaning that supporters can personalize them just as they can with physical greeting cards.
- You can get creative! With eCards, you have an opportunity to show off your creativity by creating customized cards that relate to your nonprofit and the holiday season. You can even add interactive or animated elements like California Wines did with their holiday eCards.
Use eCards to supplement your usual year-end fundraising events and programs. With the added option of making donations through a greeting card, supporters will be excited to give to your nonprofit in a way that leans into the holiday spirit.
How do nonprofits use charity donation Christmas eCards?
Part of what makes eCards a great choice for your nonprofit is that they can fit into your fundraising or marketing strategies effortlessly. For example, you can use eCards as a supplementary fundraising method to give your nonprofit another revenue stream. Some of the ways nonprofits can implement charity donation Christmas eCards into their year-end strategies include:
- Online purchases. Donors can choose from a variety of Christmas eCards provided by a nonprofit and purchase them to send to their peers. Or, nonprofits can offer charity eCards as a bonus reward that donors receive after they make a gift..
- Tribute donations. Some individuals may ask their peers to donate to a nonprofit in place of or in addition to their Christmas gift. Give tribute donors the option to send an eCard to the person they made the gift for—this way, they can prove that the gift was made and wish their friend a Merry Christmas!
- Event invitations. If you’re hosting a fundraising event during December, send eCards as event invitations to supporters.
- Thank-you messages. Send eCards to donors who make a gift during December. You could also design a card for all donors who made a gift this year to show your gratitude and appreciation for their support.
Decide which eCard strategy would most appeal to your donors, or use a combination of strategies to maximize giving. For example, if your supporters specifically enjoy attending fundraising events, you could send event invitation eCards and offer different eCards for them to purchase online.
5 examples of great charity donation Christmas eCards
To help you get a better understanding of how to use eCards to support your holiday fundraising and donor recognition efforts, we’ll cover five examples of great charity donation Christmas eCards.
1. Everything in Common by UnitingWorld
UnitingWorld is a nonprofit focused on creating a world free from poverty and injustice. As an agency of Uniting Church in Australia, they are dedicated to helping people overcome poverty through health, income, and education opportunities. Everything in Common is their gift catalog, where every gift directly supports UnitingWorld’s programs.
Everything in Common offers eCards as an online purchase to UnitingWorld’s supporters. For $12, purchasers can send as many Christmas-themed eCards as they would like within two weeks. While the cards are not branded to UnitingWorld, the message included in the eCard mentions their cause and provides recipients a link to purchase eCards of their own.
2. Cure Cancer
An Australian nonprofit dedicated to creating a world free from cancer, Cure Cancer funds early-career cancer researchers, enabling them to pursue their unique research.
When supporters make a gift during the holiday season, Cure Cancer directs them to a thank-you page and allows them to send a tribute donation eCard to friends or family. This eCard proudly acknowledges the donor’s gift and informs them that three hours of cancer research have been funded on the tribute’s behalf. The card is branded to Cure Cancer, helping to spread awareness of their nonprofit.
3. The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ
Based in New Zealand, the Fred Hollows Foundation’s mission is to put an end to avoidable blindness in the Pacific by providing quality eye care. The foundation opens a holiday shop during December, where supporters can buy gifts including eCards.
What sets this eCard apart from others is that it is focused on a beneficiary of the Fred Hollows Foundation. By telling Rex’s success story and including an image of him on the eCard, donors will understand the tangible impact that the nonprofit can make, encouraging them to lend their support. The story lends credibility to the Fred Hollows Foundation’s effectiveness, further appealing to potential donors.
4. Habitat for Humanity South Africa
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit with a vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. They build houses for families that need them, and along the way, hope to help those families gain the strength, stability, and self-reliance they need to succeed.
In exchange for a tribute gift of any amount, Habitat for Humanity donors gain access to three Christmas-themed eCards. Since these cards are branded to Habitat for Humanity and have Christmas imagery on them, donors can send them to spread holiday cheer and awareness of the nonprofit’s cause.
5. Single Homeless Project
Dedicated to helping people experiencing homelessness, particularly during the winter months, Single Homeless Project is the largest London-based homeless charity. They specifically try to help people experiencing homelessness have a positive holiday experience by asking donors to choose and fund gifts for their beneficiaries.
For £5, donors are able to choose from 15 different eCards and send an unlimited number of them to their friends and family. They are given the option to personalize their cards with their own message, and can even print out the card if they wish to send it through direct mail or present it to their peers in person.
5 tools we recommend for eCards
If you’re excited about charity donation Christmas eCards and ready to jump into making your own, consider using one of the following tools:
eCardWidget
eCardWidget is an easily adaptable eCard software that integrates with your organization’s website to increase audience engagement, build brand loyalty, and provide a fun and interactive element to your online presence. It has solutions that help organizations by:
- Increasing fundraising
- Celebrating employees
- Thanking donors
This tool integrates eCards into your organization’s existing strategies, making it an ideal software solution if your goal is to seamlessly upgrade your marketing efforts with eCards. It boasts features such as multi-language support, customizable email templates, and eCard statistics to help you reach your target audience and evaluate how your promotional messaging is doing.
Canva
A free design tool, Canva can be used to make videos, presentations, and even eCards. A great option for nonprofits on a budget, it offers templates for eCards that you can easily customize with its database of high-quality photos, icons, and illustrations. Even without graphic design experience, you can create a professional-looking eCard that will delight your supporters with Canva.
Adobe Express
Adobe Express offers design tools on desktop and mobile for flyers, logos, banners, social media posts, eCards, and more. Like Canva, Adobe Express also offers eCard templates that your nonprofit can get started with, as well as a library of Adobe fonts to spice up your eCard’s text. This option is perfect if your nonprofit is looking for a well-rounded design suite and eCard design software.
Ojolie
Specifically for creating cards digital and physical alike, Ojolie can be used free of charge, or you can pay for a membership to personalize your eCards and send an unlimited amount per year. Ojolie has unique, artistic, and animated eCards for all sorts of occasions, including birthdays and holidays. Additionally, these cards can easily be shared to social media such as Facebook, making it a great choice for nonprofits hoping to spread cause awareness.
Blue Mountain
As a member of Blue Mountain, you’ll be able to share eCards conveniently through all your devices, and can even customize your own cards. Blue Mountain eCards are interactive, allowing senders to sign cards and recipients to open and close them, as though they were physical greeting cards. Blue Mountain’s eCard designs are family-friendly, and new designs are added every month so that your eCards never feel repetitive.
Conclusion and additional resources
Charity donation Christmas eCards can spice up your nonprofit’s year-end communications, broaden your outreach, and show appreciation for the donors that have made everything possible. With the suite of eCard recommended tools and plenty of great examples to reference, you’re well on your way to enhancing your Christmas communication strategies with eCards!
If you’re interested in amplifying your nonprofit’s messages with eCards further, check out the following resources:
- Charity eCards for Your Nonprofit: A Comprehensive Guide – Learn more about other ways your nonprofit can use charity eCards with this comprehensive guide.
- The Ultimate Guide to Nonprofit Donor Recognition Strategies – Donor recognition is crucial for nonprofits seeking to strengthen their relationships with their donors. Read more here.
- Birthday Fundraisers: How to Secure Year-Round Support – This article outlines different fundraising ideas to leverage for birthdays.
