WHY SUMMER IS THE WORST TIME TO STOP FUNDRAISING

(AND THE BEST TIME TO GET BETTER AT IT)

There are two kinds of fundraising organizations in this world.

The ones that go quiet in July.

And the ones that quietly build their foundation for the months ahead while everyone else is at the cottage.

Guess which ones end up breaking records?

Every June, or even earlier, the same conversations happen at organizations.

Words like “quiet months” get passed around.

Someone in the room says, “Let’s pick things back up in the fall.”

Everyone nods.

That moment is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make.

Here’s what we do differently at The Bowie Group – and how we’ll help you do it too.

What Actually Happens in the Summer

Here’s the cold, hard truth.

Your donors don’t stop checking their emails in the summer.

They don’t stop opening their mail.

But they do start hearing from fewer causes.

This is NOT a fundraising off-season. It’s an open lane on the freeway – and yours for the taking.

So let’s talk about what you can do right away this summer.

Summer is the Perfect Time to Test

Even if you scale back your fundraising volume in the summer months, there’s no better time to run tests that will make your fall and year-end campaigns stronger.

We’re talking A/B testing – one of the most powerful tools in direct response fundraising.

But first, let’s be clear about what A/B testing is:

Sending two different versions of the same appeal to see which one performs better.

But the key here is discipline.

And here’s how you do it right:

Test ONE variable at a time. If you change the subject line and the call to action and the Johnson box, you’ll never know what made the difference. Keep it clean – test subject line vs. subject line, teaser vs. teaser, ask string vs. ask string.

Send to statistically valid segments. Don’t test on 50 people and call it science. You need a large enough sample that you can trust the results. Otherwise, you’re guessing.

Track results ruthlessly. Response rate, average gift, ROI – those are your benchmarks. And don’t just look at who “won” the test; look at what that tells you about your donors’ behaviour.

Trust the data, not your gut. What you think will work isn’t always what actually works. Some of the best-performing lines or formats are ones that felt risky or counterintuitive in the moment.

Keep testing. Direct response is about iteration. One test builds into the next, and over time, that’s how you transform “good” performance into “great” performance.

Your key takeaway:

Testing doesn’t cost you money.

Testing makes you money.

And summer gives you the runway to execute that testing before your all-important Q4.

Time To Clean Your Data

By the way – and this is where it gets interesting.

Your donor data is one of the most valuable assets your organization has.

And summer is the ideal time to invest in making it better.

Every mailing confirms which addresses are still valid, every email tests whether your records are current, and every action sharpens your understanding of your donor file.

Look back at your appeals.

Who never responded?

Which emails bounced?

Who hasn’t opened an email in 6 months?

There's always clutter to clean – and that frees up more space for active subscribers.

And here’s an industry secret:

There’s no such thing as bad data.

Use what you have and improve it through action.

That’s what summer is perfect for.

Finally, Time for Strategic Planning

Beyond testing and data, summer offers something most fundraising teams desperately need: Time to think.

The fall and year-end rush leave precious little room for strategy.

You're in an executing loop.

But summer gives you space to step back and ask the bigger questions:

• What worked last year – and what didn't?

• Are you segmenting your donor file effectively?

• Is your messaging still resonating, or has it gone stale?

• Are you leaving money on the table with your ask structures?

• Do you have a plan for Q4 that's built on data – or on habit?

The organizations that raise the most money in Q4 aren't the ones that start planning in October.

They're the ones that spent the summer getting ready.

So our advice: use this time while you have it.

The Bottom Line

At The Bowie Group, we don't believe in an off-season.

So while your competitors are quiet, we're going to keep working.

And by the time everyone else wakes up in September, the organizations we work with will already be halfway to their year-end targets.

Are you ready to be one of them?

Let's Talk!