All anniversaries are significant, but celebration is always in order when approaching a milestone. Not only is a major anniversary an admirable achievement for a nonprofit, but it’s also an opportunity to convey impact and interact with donors, volunteers, and staff to let them know how much their contributions matter.

But how do you create an anniversary campaign that matters? The answer lies in your organizational DNA.

The good you do in the world and the impact of your efforts are the core of your NPO’s identity. Your anniversary campaign should highlight your accomplishments, allowing stakeholders to measure how far you’ve come.

We have a few tips to help you plan and execute an epic anniversary campaign that underscores your impact and connects with the people who matter most.

Celebrations are best when you invite people to join in. A well-planned campaign offers the opportunity for you to do just that. Here are some ideas to integrate into your planning process.

1. Make it a fundraising opportunity

Use your anniversary campaign to interact with current and prospective donors and highlight the impact of their contributions. Ensure that fundraising asks are secondary to the campaign’s main point, which should be to celebrate and connect.

2. Create a compelling theme line

Similar to a tagline, a theme line is a statement that ties all anniversary-related communications, campaigns, and events together under a single, cohesive message. A strong theme line can serve as a rallying cry, making fundraising campaigns more compelling and giving donors a reason to contribute in honor of the milestone. It can also spark excitement among staff, board members, and volunteers, encouraging them to participate in celebrations and fundraising efforts.

3. Create an evolutionary timeline

Milestones come in many forms but can easily be lost or forgotten as time passes. Brainstorm with your staff and board members to identify major accomplishments or hurdles crossed in your journey. Ideas might include these: number of people served, impact metrics, grant anniversaries, programs added, the number of donors, etc. Once you start talking, the answers will flow.

4. Determine campaign goals

Campaigns should have a stated goal, be it boosting fundraising goals, gaining publicity (earned media), or helping more people. Keep it simple, but choose a specific goal for the campaign ahead of time and craft your messaging with that in mind.

5. Plan ahead

Starting the planning process early allows you enough time to solicit input and ideas from various stakeholders to make the campaign more meaningful. Big anniversaries take more planning; we recommend initiating discussions a year in advance to ensure people have time to weigh in and you don’t miss any critical details.

6. Engage your people

As much as your anniversary is cause for celebration with donors and the public, it’s also an opportunity to engage your staff and volunteers. Inviting them to engage with the celebration and its planning is a great morale booster and an excellent way to bring people into the process and ensure you have the human power to make it happen.

7. Tell stories (via video)

Storytelling is the best way to connect with people. Personal stories evoke emotional responses, encouraging people to lean in and engage. Videos are an excellent vehicle for visual storytelling, enabling you to use people, voices, images, and ideas to bring your organization and its mission to life. You might feature your leadership, staff, or volunteers or choose to tell client success stories. For even better results, tie the video’s narrative into your anniversary theme.

8. Celebrate with gifts: have a giveaway

Giveaways don’t have to be lavish or expensive. For example, you might give away a visit to one of the locations where you deliver services or provide recognition on your social media pages for answering a trivia question. Think about simple ways to encourage engagement with the campaign.

9. Create an anniversary landing page

Create a dedicated landing page for your website that includes all elements of your anniversary campaign. Here’s where you can integrate every media element of your campaign, including videos, blogs, features, fundraising links, and your evolutionary timeline. Your landing page will be the destination for social media posts and digital advertising. Be sure to feature your anniversary link prominently on the home page so people can find it.

10. Reflect on how far you’ve come – and talk about the future.

Anniversaries are a great time to reflect on the past and think about where you’re headed as an organization. You’re celebrating accomplishments, but are not content to rest on your laurels, as there’s plenty more work to be done. Once you have people’s attention, they’ll be interested in what’s next. This is your chance to be aspirational and outline exciting plans ahead, and to develop a case for ongoing support.

An anniversary campaign is an opportunity to showcase your organization’s impact through the years. LETTER 7 BRANDS has been helping non-profits raise their profiles for over 15 years. Speak to us today about how we can make your anniversary campaign epic.