When the weather heats up, nonprofits often experience a cooldown in giving and donor engagement. This “summer slump” is well documented:
• An analysis by GiveSmart revealed that donations during July and August are “on average 18% less than gifts made during the rest of the year.”
• Most nonprofits collect less than 5% of their annual funds during the summer.
• Fidelity Charitable receives the lowest number of grant recommendations in the month of August.
However, before you pour your lemonade and prepare to coast through the quieter summer months, consider putting your time to use combating donor inactivity and building momentum and support for the remainder of the year. Should any of the following be added to your summer to-do list?
1. Focus on personalized communication.
Consistent, year-round communication is critical to maintaining donor loyalty and support. Personal communication fosters even deeper connections and long-term relationships—but it’s difficult to find the extra time for that during most of the year. This summer, consider strengthening donor relationships through handwritten notes, calls, or one-on-one meetings. Express gratitude and share how their generosity is making a difference for your organization and those you serve.
2. Plan summer events.
Staying connected year-round is key to maintaining donor engagement. A summer donor event can preserve those connections in a more relaxed, fun setting. When preparing for an event, focus on building relationships, incorporating strategic messaging, and creating a lighthearted environment. Be mindful of popular vacation times when locking in dates, and choose a venue appropriate for your donors. (For example, make sure seniors will have seating and access to air conditioning or shaded locations.)
3. Encourage recurring grant recommendations.
The “set it and forget it” method of making grants from donor-advised funds (DAFs) benefits the donor and your organization. Summer can be a good time for DAF donors to simplify their giving by setting up recurring grant recommendations to your organization, ensuring that their charitable goals don’t fall by the wayside due to travel or a change in routine. Better yet, these gifts come from money they’ve already set aside for charitable purposes and, therefore, don’t impact their daily finances. Meanwhile, your organization enjoys a consistent cash flow.
4. Prepare for Giving Tuesday and the year-end giving boom.
Year-end is an active time for nonprofits, with 30% of annual giving occurring in the month of December. Many year-end donations come as a result of Giving Tuesday, which brought in an estimated $3.6 billion in 2024. Preparing to encourage generosity beyond cash gifts and promote planned giving during the last months of the year (and on Giving Tuesday specifically) takes thought and time—making this perfect work for the slower summer months.
• Define your goals and craft a compelling and concise message.
• Review past donors and identify planned giving candidates for this year’s campaigns.
• Create a Giving Tuesday content calendar and timeline.
• Start working on donor testimonials that can be included in marketing materials, in social media posts, and on your website.
The effort you put in now can give your organization a strategic advantage later, laying the groundwork for your future campaigns.
5. Tackle your back-burner items.
We all have tasks we set aside for “when we have a little free time.” While summer isn’t totally free of pressing work, donor activity is slower, making it a great time to tackle some housekeeping items that will foster greater productivity during busier months. Perhaps you have items like these on your list:
• Testing your donation page and other website forms to ensure everything is working properly.
• Deep cleaning your donor database for better accuracy and prospect identification.
• Confirming that all gift intentions and bequest commitments have been properly documented.
• Refreshing your marketing materials and web content or looking into upgrading your planned giving website.
• Reviewing your gift acceptance and recognition policies and revising if needed.
• Updating your legacy society list and planning new engagement opportunities.
• Taking time for professional development.
Work—But Also Rest
Making intentional use of the slower summer months can bring benefits all year long by helping to ease your workflow, increase efficiency, and boost effectiveness. But the summer is also a time to refresh and reset yourself. Take a breath. Take a vacation. Reduce your stress to prevent burnout, boost creativity, and improve energy for future projects. Ultimately, adding your mental health to your summer to-do list sets you up to make an even greater impact.
