A lot of my work lives in Fundraising Land, and over here we know that the last few months of the year are incredibly important. In fact, M+R’s Benchmarks study found that nonprofits received 37% of their annual online revenue in December 2025 and 10% during the last week of the year. This is high stakes for nonprofits, and most of us have built our fundraising calendars to capture as much of this year-end flurry of gifts as possible.
I think it’s good to pause for a moment to ask ourselves WHY people give so much at year end. My first thought is that the holidays put generosity and gratitude on many people’s minds. Also, some donors want to make gifts before the end of the tax year. And for some people, this is simply a time when life slows down a little and they’re more likely to open an email, read a letter, or think about the organizations they care about.
But part of the reason that year-end giving is such a make-it-or-break-it moment for our annual budget is our own doing.
As nonprofits, we’ve created a culture that places an enormous emphasis on giving in November and December. We also know that donors are creatures of habit, and we’re suddenly locked in to cramming so much development activity into the last few months of the year that we need an extra week off in January just to catch up on sleep!
Don’t get me wrong, there are advantages to having distinct fundraising seasons. When we know November and December are going to be big fundraising months, we can plan for them. We can turn up the volume on our communications, develop special plans for major donors, launch a strong year-end annual fund campaign, engage our board members, and make more thank-you calls.
But I also think we may be leaving money on the table.
We’ve trained ourselves—and, to some extent, our donors—to think of fundraising as something that happens primarily at year-end, with secondary pushes in the spring and fall. One idea I’ve been thinking on more lately is continual fundraising: intentionally creating opportunities for people to give every month of the year.
Don’t leave money on the table!
Your successful year-end doesn’t kick off in November. It starts with the work you do, the stories you tell, and the relationships you build all year long.
I think this idea has the potential to help organizations raise more money overall, but few of the groups TREC work with operate like this. Just some food for thought as you start planning for 2027.
Let’s put that aside for now as the year-end is coming, and most of us still need to raise a lot of money.
Your year-end success starts long before year-end
When I think about what makes an organization successful during their year-end fundraising, the first question isn’t: Do you have a great appeal that’s beautifully written with gorgeous photos?
My first question is much bigger than that.
Are you an organization doing meaningful work?
Are you known, respected, and trusted on the issues your mission addresses? Are you making a difference that people want to be part of?
That’s the foundation. Fundraising techniques can’t substitute for it.
My second question is: Have you communicated that work well throughout the rest of the year?
Do your supporters know what you’ve been doing? Have you helped them understand both the challenges you’re facing and the progress you’re making? Have you kept them informed enough that they feel connected to your work?
If you haven’t communicated much so far in 2026, year-end becomes an awfully difficult time to play catch-up. Suddenly, your appeal has to explain everything that’s happened, engage people emotionally, demonstrate your impact, ask them for money, and cut through all the fundraising asks they’re receiving from other organizations who HAVE been stewarding them all year.
That’s a tall order.
Ideally, when your year-end fundraising arrives, your donors already understand why your work matters and they feel like a valuable part of the solution. You’re not introducing them to the story. You’re inviting them to continue being part of it.
Have a plan for different kinds of donors
The third piece is having a good plan for the different segments of donors who support you.
Most organizations have some combination of annual fund donors making smaller gifts, recurring donors giving monthly, major donors making significant gifts, and perhaps a group of mid-level donors somewhere in between.
As much as we’d like to give the exact same attention and care to a donor who gives $25 a year as one who gives $25,000, we know we can’t and we need to meet the challenge of finding the right amount of communication and personalization, and the best way to ask for each group while being realistic about your organization’s capacity to carry out the work.
A general outline of what this might look like for your work could be…
Major donors might receive personal outreach from the executive director, a board member, or another organizational leader.
Mid-level donors might receive a personal note or phone call alongside other communications.
Your broader annual fund audience may receive your year-end appeal letter and emails—but we should still make those communications feel as personal, relevant, and connected to the reasons people support your work by utilizing supporting features in your CRM.
Meanwhile, your recurring donors may just receive a lovely holiday card thanking them for their ongoing support. This acknowledges their value to your cause and readies them for a monthly donor upgrade letter you can send out in February.
The goal isn’t to personalize absolutely everything because, honestly, no organization I know has the capacity for that. The goal is to be thoughtful about where personal attention will matter most and what you can realistically execute well.
Talk about impact, not just activity
Once you’ve assessed your readiness and made a plan for your different donor groups, you’re ready to roll.
One of the most important things you can do in your year-end communications is show people the impact of your work rather than giving them a list of everything you did.
For example, instead of saying:
We trained 200 volunteers this year.
Tell me what happened because you trained those volunteers.
Maybe those volunteers are now leading invasive species removal days in their communities—and bringing dozens of other people along with them. Maybe someone who attended their first volunteer day a year ago is now confidently organizing restoration projects themselves.
That’s the story I want to hear.
Outputs matter—and sometimes they’re useful evidence of scale—but donors ultimately want to understand what changed because your organization exists.
Ellie’s final reminder: relationships remain your strongest fundraising strategy.
It’s easy for year-end fundraising to become a production schedule: letter drops on this date, emails go out on these dates, social media post goes here, follow-up appeal goes there.
Don’t forget that these are just tactics and tasks. What sits at the very heart of fundraising has been and continues to be relationships.
People give to organizations they trust and to work they feel connected to. No clever subject line will ever replace that.
And donors have so many choices right now. There are roughly 1.8 million nonprofits in the United States and 87,000 registered charities in Canada. People are increasingly thoughtful about where they give their money, particularly when deciding which organizations will receive their most significant gifts.
In one way or another, they’re asking:
- Is this organization making a real difference?
- Can I trust them to use my gift wisely?
- Do I feel connected to this mission?
- Am I helping create meaningful change through my gift?
These are meaningful questions, and organizations doing meaningful work must be able to communicate them throughout the year, not just at year-end.
Which brings me back to where I started.
Year-end fundraising isn’t just about asking for money.
It’s about the trust you’ve worked hard to build and maintain, the powerful stories you’ve told, and the real opportunity you’re giving people to keep the work moving forward.
Do that well, and year-end fundraising gets a lot simpler.
You’re not trying to make people care this December.
You’re inviting people who already care to join you in making what’s next possible.
Until next time, may your stories move hearts, may your board members make their calls, and may the road rise to meet you—and lead straight to the Donate button.
Happy fundraising!
Donor Thank You Guide
A ready-to-use guide for fundraisers featuring sample thank-you notes and expert tips for meaningful donor stewardship. This resource helps you express genuine gratitude, strengthen relationships, and keep your donor communications fresh and heartfelt.
Stewardship Matrix
Having a well thought out and logical thanking and stewardship structure is important for ensuring fairness to your donors and simplifying your process. This sample matrix shows a way to provide increasing levels of stewardship and personal connection as donors give more. It also incorporates monthly and annual donors.
Below we have a downloadable template for you to create your own matrix, as well as instructions on creating your matrix.
Come explore the 2026 M+R Benchmarks Study Zine — hands on, lovingly crafted, and crammed full of data and insights covering nonprofit fundraising, advocacy, and marketing.
Major Gifts Plan Template & Sample
The TREC Major Gifts Plan Template is a useful tool for organizations and fundraising staff to track strategies, goals, action steps, donors, and costs to plan your Major Gifts program. Review our template and simple sample plan to help your organization be successful in tracking and cultivating raising major gifts.
TREC is a founding member of the Environmental Capacity Builders Network (ECBN), a group that shares emerging trends, ideas, and opportunities to strengthen our collective capacity to support the conservation sector. Through ECBN, we’re connected to the Salazar Center, which brings people together across borders, cultures, and sectors to tackle shared conservation challenges.
The Salazar Center is conducting a 5-minute survey on emerging conservation issues. If you’d like to share your perspective, you can participate here.
Visit Our Website
Through our website, we’re honored to offer more support to take the bold, grounded, actions that will empower your work in the months and years to come.
A streamlined job board and referral board for easier access to opportunities and connections. TREC’s newsletters will also be posted on our website blog, and most blog posts are open for your discussion!
Explore Our Learning Guides
Tailored to your needs, offering everything from foundational insights to complex solutions in our core offering areas.
Explore individual guides in TREC’s Core Offering Areas:
Ellie Stanley
Director of Organizational Development
What landscape or ecosystem feels like home?
After wandering the world, I found my heart’s desire in the Southern Appalachian region of Western North Carolina. The ancient mountains, abundant rivers and waterfalls, and moss covered forests provide peak nourishment for my soul.
What’s your go-to karaoke song (even if only in the car)?
My go to karaoke song is Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash
What lights you up in your role—what feels like “YES, this is my thing”?
What lights me up in my work is having the honor to support, guide, problem-solve, and be creative with amazing people doing critical work in the world!