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December is Learn a Foreign Language Month—the perfect time to celebrate the diversity and richness of languages around the world. Learning a foreign language opens new opportunities, perspectives, and cultures for anyone who wants to expand their horizons.

But learning a foreign language is also challenging, especially for those needing more resources, access, or motivation. That’s why many nonprofits and charities are dedicated to promoting language education and exchange, whether it’s through scholarships, immersion programs, online courses, or cultural events.

If you run one of those nonprofits or charities or are simply looking for a fun, inclusive way to mix up your nonprofit fundraising as we approach the end of the year, you might be wondering how to leverage Learn a Foreign Language Month to raise funds for your cause. 

Well, we have some ideas for you!

Every campaign starts with the same fundamental questions:

• Why are we doing this? (Or what is it we want them to know?)
• Who are we targeting?
• What do we want them to do?

How CRM Can Target Donors for Your Fundraising Campaign

A donor or nonprofit CRM (customer relationship management) system is a tool that helps you manage your donor relationships and optimize your fundraising efforts. A CRM tool should ideally help you:

• Store and organize unlimited donor data, such as contact information, donation history, preferences, and interactions, without manual importing and exporting.
• Segment and analyze your donor profiles with demographics, behavior, and engagement. Check out this eBook for more tips on creating donor personas.
• Assign special tasks and more with an integrated Volunteer Management Portal
• Communicate with your donors by sending personalized, creative appeal emails and calls.
• Integrate powerful tools like Constant Contact, QuickBooks, and  Mailchimp.
• Understand relationships between donors and corporate partners 
• Track and measure your donor activity, such as donations, clicks, opens, or responses. Check out these 9 KPIs to help you with new donor acquisition, engagement, and retention. 

Using a CRM tool, you can target donors for your campaign based on various criteria, such as:

• Donor Type: You can target donors based on their level of involvement or commitment, such as new, loyal, or lapsed donors. For example, you may have lapsed donors who haven’t given to you in more than a year. Targeting them with more tailored messaging is a smart move  to re-engage them.  
• Donor Interest: You can target donors based on their interests or passions, such as travel, languages, or cultures. For example, you can send an email showcasing prizes matching their interests or a story related to what interests them. Who has bid on travel experiences or accessories if you've held an auction? Or who has participated in past mission trips? 
• Donor Behavior: You can target donors based on their actions or responses, such as donations, clicks, opens, or replies. For example, you can send an email that reminds them to complete their donation or a follow-up email that asks for their feedback.

Your donor management tool should help you keep your donor profiles up-to-date, making it easy to create personalized and relevant messages that appeal to different donor segments and motivate them to participate in your campaign; your system should also track and measure the results of your fundraising so you can use the data to exceed your goals in your future campaigns and events.

Now that we have some ideas on how to target donors for a Foreign Language Month fundraiser, let’s look at some pictures to add something new to your campaign.

Add Something Extra to Your Risk-Free Fundraising Campaign 

One of the most effective ways to engage your donors and supporters is to create a fundraising campaign that aligns with your mission and the month's theme. A fundraising campaign can help you reach new audiences, increase donations, and showcase your impact.

December is a big fundraising month. While many of your supporters who had this time last year will likely give again, what about the rest of your donor database? You are competing for their dollars just like other charities and retailers. 

While a Holiday Shop is always an option,  another fun route is running mini,  cause-themed auctions to engage donors.  And that’s where the Panorama Risk-Free Marketplace comes in incredibly handy. Exclusively and in conjunction with our consignment partners, we offer our nonprofit partners access to exceptional risk-free items for every budget and many great options within the Learn A Foreign Language Month theme. 

When you’re selecting items, you should keep a few tips in mind:

• The ‘Buying Criteria’ – we dive deeper into that concept in this post all about using risk-free consignment items – but in general, there are items you would buy anyway once-in-a-lifetime/bucket-list level experiences and a good deal. 
• The Price Point – you know your donors best. What makes sense for their budget? While there’s no cost unless your item “sells,” you want to make sure the price ranges of the thing will be appealing and not too much of a stretch for supporters. Additionally, ensure your starting bid includes the minimum profit margin you want so you know you’re covered even if it only gets one recommendation.
• More is not always better -  donors might lose excitement and engage less if you offer too few items. On the flip side, you don't want to risk overwhelming them with way too many options. It's all about striking the perfect balance. Check out this free webinar recording to learn more:

Before we jump into how this comes together in your campaign, let’s check out a few of the items that would be a perfect fit for a Foreign Language Month-themed online auction: 

• Five Nights in Paris for Two
• Barcelona Culinary Excursion for Four
• Six-month subscription to a language learning app like Babble

Okay, with a basic understanding of how risk-free items can help you run a themed fundraiser, let’s look at two possible formats that you can try.

Spur the FOMO by Using a Virtual Auction in Your Campaign

When people hear about auctions, they usually think of a silent auction as part of a larger fundraising event, like a charity golf tournament or annual gala. But it’s also a great fundraising tool as a campaign tactic. With an all-in-one digital fundraising and donor management solution like Panorama, you have the flexibility to run an unlimited number of campaigns and events throughout the year. Why not lean into a theme like Learn a Foreign Language Month as the grounding reason? Plus, since it happens in December, you can remind people that these items make great holiday gifts in addition to helping good things happen.

Once donors register and create an account to participate in the auction, they can then browse the items and place their bids. The auction can run for a certain period (e.g., a week or a month) or end at a specific date and time (e.g., December 31 at midnight). The highest bidder for each item will be awarded at the end of your auction, and payment will be automatically charged without the hassle of a prolonged post-event closeout. 

This format creates a sense of competition and fun among your donors, as they strive to outbid each other to win their desired prizes. It also creates a sense of value and satisfaction, as they get to choose the items they like and pay the price they are willing to pay.

***Find New Supporters: Panorama customers have access to the BiddingForGood community of over 1.7M philanthropic shoppers that make up 35% of bidders per auction on average!***

Add a Raffle to Your Fundraising Appeal

While highlighting a major donor match when you have one is expected, that isn’t always an option. But you still want to find a way to drive urgency and maybe a little FOMO ("fear of missing out"). A raffle is a simple and exciting way to do just that. You can offer prizes related to travel, languages, or cultures, such as travel packages, gift cards, books, or gadgets. 

You can source these prizes from charity consignment items, which means you don’t pay for them upfront (only after you sell them). This way, you can minimize your risk and maximize your profit.

To enter the raffle, donors must donate a certain amount (e.g., $10) within a specific time frame (e.g., December 1-15). You can also offer multiple entries for larger donations (e.g., $50 for six admissions). The more access they have, the higher their chances of winning.

However, there is a catch: the raffle will only take place if the total donation volume from all supporters reaches a certain goal threshold (e.g., $5,000). This will ensure you cover your consignment cost and generate enough revenue for your cause. The prizes will be returned to the consignment company if the goal is unmet. Throughout the campaign, remember to highlight where you are against the plan and that the raffle only happens if collecting achieves or surpasses the goal.

This format creates a sense of urgency and excitement among your donors, who must act within a specific period and spread the word to make the raffle happen. It also creates a sense of community and collaboration, as they must work together to reach the goal.

***Reminder: Raffles are subject to various laws and regulations depending on the state where they are conducted. Before you plan a raffle for your fundraising campaign, check your state’s rules and regulations on raffles to make sure you comply with them and avoid any legal issues. Some states have strict requirements for raffle licenses, eligibility, prizes, fundraiser tickets, and reporting, while others have few restrictions. Some states even prohibit raffles altogether or ban online raffles. Please note that raffle laws can change regularly, so make sure you are up-to-date and consult with legal counsel if you are unsure of raffle regulations in your area.***

How to Promote Your Learn A Foreign Language Month Fundraiser 

Once you have decided on the format of your campaign, you can start mapping out your promotion strategy. Like any other fundraiser, including multiple touches and channels or tactics is essential. Here are some ideas to help you spread the word and generate interest:

• Come up with a catchy name and slogan for your campaign, such as “Learn a Language, Change a Life,” or “Travel the World with Words.”
  
  
• Create a logo and a visual identity for your campaign using colors, fonts, and images that match your theme and brand.
  
  
• Create a  donation form for your campaign and explain the purpose, the rules, and the impact of your campaign. Include a clear call to action and a donation or bid button.
  
  
• Put together a video or a slideshow that showcases your campaign and your cause. You can use testimonials, stories, or statistics to highlight the benefits of learning a foreign language and the challenges that your beneficiaries face.
  
  
• Take to social media using hashtags, stories, and live streams to promote your campaign. You can also create a challenge or a contest to encourage your followers to share your campaign with friends and family.
  
  
• Develop an email campaign using newsletters, updates, and reminders to inform subscribers about your campaign. You can also segment your email list and send personalized messages to different groups of donors, such as new, loyal, or lapsed donors.
  
  
• Write a press release and a media kit, and reach out to local or national media outlets, such as newspapers, magazines, radio stations, or podcasts. You can also contact influencers, bloggers, or celebrities interested in your cause or theme and ask them to endorse or feature your campaign.

***A note about Live Stream: this is an underutilized strategy and a perfect outreach method for this campaign. Invite someone to talk to you about a culture or the evolution of language, or have someone teach a short lesson on an exciting or related topic. It doesn’t need to be a crazy production effort, either. With live stream fundraising functionality, any live stream (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, twitch) transforms into a fundraising opportunity.***

Create Your Learn a Foreign Language Month Fundraiser Now

Learn a Foreign Language Month is a great opportunity to celebrate and support language education and exchange. By creating a fundraising campaign that aligns with your mission and the theme of the month, you can have better donor engagement, raise funds and awareness for your cause, and showcase your impact.

Get creative! Have fun! And if you need more help or advice, we are here to help; reach out to one of our Fundraising Experts today to learn more!