Twenty-eighteen is only a little more than a month away. Each year, it seems as if the holiday season and year’s end come more quickly than last. Nevertheless, it’s that time again to say goodbye to one year and welcome the next.

The Year in Review

No good donor development plan is complete without a thorough review of the past year’s successes and challenges. Your year is certainly not over yet — and to try to take an effective look at your work for 2017 now would be premature — but you can start laying the groundwork for a more exhaustive evaluation in January.

Go ahead and begin gathering data; pull statistics and information from the first three quarters of the year and make notes in a central location as you remember things from 2017 that you want to include in the final review. 

Setting Goals for 2018

No matter what 2017 looked like for you, you should be encouraged that the outlook for donor giving is good for 2018!

Experts are predicting that donor giving and the number of donors will increase next year. Average to above-average growth in the overall economic climate — including the stock market and personal income — will encourage and influence donors to increase their giving.

For a thorough look at experts’ projections for giving trends for the new year, see this report from Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Marts & Lundy. Here are some important highlights:

• Total giving is expected to increase by 3.8% in 2018.
• Giving from estates and foundations will rise slightly.
• Research shows that donors give because they identify with the organizations they support and respond to personalized messaging.
• Online giving is consistently growing, and digital fundraising efforts will continue to be key in increasing online revenue for nonprofits next year.
• Donors will also respond well to crowdfunding efforts to support people or causes.
• Because of our “on-demand” society, consumers expect the same when it comes to giving, making text-to-give and one-click giving incredibly effective in 2018.

Investing in your fundraising efforts for 2018 is a sound plan, as donors are projected to be eager to give — and even increase giving! Based on research, you should make sure your online presence is complete and updated, paying special attention to one-click giving. Make sure you offer text giving, encourage peer-to-peer fundraising, and continue to present emotional, compelling, and authentic storytelling-based appeals to your audiences.

There’s never been a more exciting time to be working in donor development! With such a positive outlook for the new year, nonprofits should be encouraged to dream big for their fundraising goals and plan for expected growth.