30 June

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Two days before the end of the financial year

Snip20160625_1It is just two days before the end of the financial year. Is there a sense of celebration or a sense of panic in your workplace? I hope it is a celebratory moment and not a tense one.

All of us scurry to bring in final revenue before the clock ticks midnight on 30 June. But, shouldn’t we really spend the two days catching our breath and implementing solid plans for the new year? Shouldn’t we turn our focus on analysis of what went well and a focus on what we need to alter from July forward?

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End of Financial Year…is here!

It’s really hard to believe that 30 June is nearly here. Weren’t we just celebrating the other New Year’s Eve just a few days ago? The months have flown by and we are all trying our hardest to close the financial year with a bang.

Most donors, like me, are receiving a flurry of tax appeals in their letterboxes, email boxes, and, possibly, via other channels.

I decided to do a comparison of the tax appeals I have received to date to offer you a few statistics.

Of the appeals received to date, 75% of charities have used a single channel and, of those, 100% have been received by post. Yet, 25% of the charities have sent their appeal dual channel – post and electronic – with one channel clearly leading their campaign.

Some other interesting statistics*, positive or negative, include:

  • One charity sent their tax appeal on 6 June 2014;
  • 65% of the carriers contained no teaser copy;
  • 5% of the carriers contained just a return address and did not have a logo or the name of the organisation sending the piece;
  • 60% of the appeals were 3+ pages;
  • 15% of the appeals were 1 page or less;
  • 15% of the appeals contained no ask amount or no response device to return with my gift;
  • The largest ask was for $1,000. I previously gave $20 to this organisation and I have not heard from this organisation since 11 Nov 2013 when they sent another ask for the same amount;
  • 70% of the appeals did not mention financial year end or tax;
  • Of those that did refer to the financial year end, there was a mention of 30 June “deadline” or an urgency to give a gift by 30 June;
  • And, no appeals were mailed directly to my new address. All of the appeals were forwarded by the Australian Post mail redirection service
  • Not a single charity chose to conduct a national change of address (NCOA) exercise prior to dropping their tax appeal

If any of your donors are like me and are receiving dozens of tax appeals all at once, they must sift through the asks and decide which of the charities are worthy of their year end support. Think about how your appeal shined amongst those sent by your competition and why a donor would give to your organisation over the others that are asking at the same time. Did it stand out because you mailed it outside the typical window – early or late? Did it stand out because of the story, the urgency, or the angle you used? What made it unique amongst the mountain of requests?

*As of 6 June 2014