This year there seems to be more digital holiday fundraising programs than ever. It's no secret that December is a great month for giving.

Traditional increased giving around the holidays combined with greater access to digital, mobile and social fundraising tools have allowed nonprofit organizations to develop creative online holiday campaigns and programs centered around holiday giving.

Consider the following key factors before you launch your holiday giving program:

• Timing: Ideally the program should be launched in mid-November (or after Thanksgiving if you're in the U.S.). This means you should have the program set up and fully tested by the end of October or early November. If you're doing a first-time campaign, planning should start no later than the end of the summer so you have a few months to get everything set up and ready to go in November.

• Who to target? Holiday giving campaigns tend to have a broad appeal - however, these programs are particularly well-suited to new donor acquisition and reactivating lapsed donors. This is a time of year when people are more likely to "do good."

• What to focus on? Focus on participation among new and lapsed donor groups by offering lower "participation points." Of course for your established donors, this lower gift rule of thumb probably won't apply. In fact, the holidays/end-of-year program is likely a good time to ask for a higher level of giving from your established donors.

• Giving as a gift: Making it easy for people to "gift" your cause to family, friends and colleagues helps you get more people involved. You typically see holiday card programs (virtual and physical) along with holiday gift catalogs. Anyone who has ever struggled with what to buy someone for $15 can appreciate that the gift of doing good - which is appreciated far beyond the dollar value.

Since your 2011 end-of-year campaigns are undoubtedly already well underway, here are several holiday giving program examples to help you develop a successful 2012 campaign.

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