Ah, autumn. The time when we jump from one holiday to another. Judging by the decorations in the stores, we have holidays that each span two months. Labor Day – October 31 is Halloween. November 1 – December 31 is Christmas. And then it’s suddenly 2015. Like many people, I get frustrated with how the holidays start earlier and earlier. (Have you noticed that Halloween has been sneaking into August?)

So keep that in mind when I say… you should really start planning for an end-of-the-year mailing. I know, I know, it feels like it’s a long time from now. But it’s really going to be on you faster than you think.

In my book The Little Book of Gold: Fundraising for Small (and Very Small) Nonprofits, I laid out a timeline for getting a mailing together. Here’s a short excerpt from the book describing how long it takes “Linda” to prepare her mailing.

• Early October: Bookkeeper started work on the database. Linda found a printer for stationery and envelopes.
• Mid-October: Linda wrote the letter and sent the completed database to a mail house.
• Late October: Linda showed the letter to a friend and her board chair and got a final version approved.
• Early November: Linda created a reply card and sent it, the scrubbed database, and the letter to the printer who had already completed the stationery and envelopes.
• Mid-November: The printer completed everything and sent the completed letters to the mail house.
• Late November: The mail house got the letters out.
• Early December: Because the letters were sent using the nonprofit rate, they sat for a week before the post office mailed them. Donors didn’t get the letters until December 8.

That’s a two month timeline from when the work began to when letters hit mailboxes, and I think that is even pretty ambitious.

But you may not want your letter going out as late as December 8. That has a real possibility of getting lost in the holiday shuffle. Getting it out between November 1st and the 15th might be even better. Which means you need to start the initial work now.

Then, you can use a small reminder postcard, phone call, or follow-up letter in early December to those who haven’t given yet.

So don’t be put off by the summer feeling. Start planning now to make your end of the year appeal as good as it can be!