Top 10 ways to make your annual appeal feel like the most wonderful time of the year.

Let’s Talk about End-of-the-Year Giving Campaigns

If you lead a non-profit, you may have mixed emotions about your annual appeal. For some, this is simply an end-of-the-year giving campaign; for others, it is an overwhelming, stressful, and never-ending to-do list. Responses to your annual appeal can feel like Christmas morning at the Cratchit home when the “goose” arrives from an unexpected friend, time to bust out the elastic pants, eat up, and celebrate! At other times, it can feel like you are the parent up at 3 a.m., speeding from store to store, hoping to land that exclusive “turbo doll” (IYKYK), and coming up empty. If you feel like the latter, you're not alone. I’ve often felt stretched too thin, and I’ve developed ten innovative yet straightforward strategies that can make a significant difference in raising more funds and keeping supporters engaged. 

The end of the year can be a crucial time to ramp up fundraising. With many donors feeling generous during the holidays and some seeking to take advantage of tax breaks, it’s the perfect opportunity for non-profits to boost donations and foster stronger connections with supporters.

In this post, I will share my favorite best practices for diving into your annual appeal, and I hope that by implementing these, you can enjoy the season without as many highs and lows, leaving you with a sense of gratitude this holiday season. These tips will help you feel grateful for the people connected to your mission, celebrate every gift, and raise more funds to kick-start your new year.  

10 Best Practices for End-of-Year Giving: How Nonprofits Can Maximize Impact

To make the most of this giving season, nonprofits should focus on a few key principles. After helping dozens of nonprofits, I’ve found that these three tips have helped my clients gain more traction and secure more funding. 

1. Personalize your outreach to show donors that they’re seen and appreciated. 

2. Time your asks around essential deadlines.

3. Reach out through various channels, such as mail, email, and social media.

With these key principles in mind, we will explore in detail ten easy strategies you can use right away to make the most out of annual appeals and keep this time of the year stress-free. 

1. Use Donor Data to Personalize Your Appeals

One of the most effective ways to increase donations is by tailoring your messages to each donor. Your donors want to feel seen and know that you are speaking directly to them. It is easy to spot when a mass generic email has been sent out: “To whom it may concern.” Segment your audience based on their giving history, how recently they’ve donated, and their interests. Then, craft your ask amounts around what donors have given in the past, and include personalized touches, such as references to their volunteer work or events they’ve attended. Your donors want to know that their gifts are appreciated and making an impact. 

This kind of personalization helps your appeal feel more relevant and compelling. If you plan to create the same letter for everyone, a great way to personalize each letter is to write handwritten notes in the margins.

Pro Tip: Use blue ink to offset the black print and make it stand out. 

2. Storytelling

Storytelling is essential in end-of-year giving campaigns because it creates a personal and emotional connection between donors and the cause, making complex issues relatable and memorable. By focusing on real people and authentic experiences, storytelling engages empathy, builds lasting relationships, humanizes the mission, simplifies complex topics, and fosters trust and transparency. Everyone loves a good story. This emotional engagement encourages donors to feel personally invested, increasing the likelihood of sustained support and deeper involvement with the organization’s work. One simple way to make the process easier is to think of a story's basic structure, beginning, middle, and end. Start with those, and you can fill in the details later.

Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to add some data to reinforce your story. For example, last year we served 225 families at our local food pantry, but we still turned away about 75 due to limited resources. We hope that with your support, we can meet this need and serve 300 in 2026.  

3. Time Your Appeals Around Key Deadlines

Timing is everything during the busy holiday season. Ensure your direct mail pieces arrive before mid-December, or even as early as Thanksgiving, by aligning with the USPS-recommended send-by dates. If you have donors who give through donor-advised funds (DAFs), remind them early about grant recommendation deadlines to ensure their gifts are processed on time. Consider sending two waves of mailings: one in late November to introduce your cause and a follow-up in mid-December that emphasizes urgency. Pro Tip: My favorite method was to mail the appeal letter by the end of November and then follow up with a holiday card specific to the cause (for example, a photo or hand-drawn picture from a child who may have benefited from services) in mid-December. Also, do the math, but consider sending your appeal letters by first-class mail. People are more likely to open mail with a stamp on it. Is your list small? Hand-address the letters or place a fun sticker on the back to garner additional attention. 

4. Blend Direct Mail with Digital Outreach

While direct mail remains a powerful tool, pairing it with email, SMS, and social media outreach can significantly boost results. Coordinate these channels so your messages reinforce each other. Utilize QR codes, even on your print materials, and personalized links to simplify online giving, particularly for donors using mobile devices. This integrated approach helps capture the growing number of donors who prefer digital giving in December, even if it is the mail that prompts them to open their phone and make an online donation. Pro Tip: Think of the letters as your outreach anchor, something tangible that your supporters can hold onto, while your digital outreach, emails, and social media help reinforce your message, reminding them to take action.

5. Capitalize on Giving Tuesday and Year-End Momentum

Plan your biggest pushes around Giving Tuesday (December 2nd) and the last few days of December—these periods often generate a large portion of online donations. Use countdowns and match offers to create a sense of urgency and drive sales. Share recent success stories and data points that show increasing community support to encourage donors to give or give more. Pro Tip: If you secure a matching donor, ask if they will allow you to use pledges through monthly giving. You can reinforce messaging that donations up to a certain amount will be matched by a donor, including monthly giving. If someone is willing to give $25 per month = $300 a year, and that $300 would be eligible for the match. 

6. Make Donor-Advised Fund Giving Easy

Donors using DAFs can be a significant source of year-end gifts. Provide clear instructions and checklists to help them submit grant recommendations on time. Include links to a dedicated DAF information page in your mailings and emails, and prepare your team to acknowledge and process these gifts quickly.

7. Simplify the Donation Process

Offer multiple quick and easy ways to donate. Include pre-filled business reply envelopes for mail donors, QR codes that link to mobile-optimized donation pages, and phone lines for stock or bank transfer gifts. Clearly communicate gift processing deadlines and guide late donors to digital giving options once postal deadlines have passed.

8. Promptly Thank and Engage Your Donors

Send personalized thank-you notes within 72 hours of receiving a gift, whether by mail, email, or SMS. Include an invitation to join a monthly giving program for donors who haven’t yet committed to recurring support. This quick stewardship can boost the chances of a second gift and long-term donor retention. Ensure that everyone receives a copy of their tax-deductible receipt. If a duplicate receipt is required, place a duplicate copy at the top to ensure you avoid any issues.

Pro Tip: Find an inexpensive way to honor regular donors, those who have returned after an absence, or top donors (you can decide your focus based on where you want to grow your impact). Invite them to stop by the office for cookies one day in December, or swing by for a donut and cup of coffee. If your budget allows, consider dropping cookies off on a donor's front porch. I have done this with inexpensive cookies from my local grocery store and a handwritten note. 

Sidenote: You know who really appreciates this gesture? Those people who help you a lot but may not always receive the appreciation, such as bank tellers, janitors, and elevator operators. A little generosity from someone unexpected goes a long way. 

9. Track Your Campaign and Adjust in Real Time

If your non-profit has capacity, use unique tracking codes and personalized URLs to monitor which appeals and channels are driving donations. Keep a close eye on daily giving patterns from early December through the end of the month. If some segments or channels underperform, be ready to send additional emails, texts, or targeted ads to lift results. Compare your progress to last year’s performance to stay on track.

10. Tax Incentives for Donors

If you are a Development Director or Executive Director, some changes are coming in 2026. For end-of-year giving in 2025, donors can generally deduct charitable contributions if they itemize taxes, use qualified charitable distributions from IRAs if over age 70½, and may carry over excess donations to future years.

In 2026, those who take the standard deduction will be able to deduct up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for joint filers. While the increased standard deduction limits benefits for smaller gifts, larger donations still offer tax advantages, although new caps will apply for 2026. This is not a finance blog, so consulting a tax professional is recommended to maximize benefits and stay updated on any changes.

Bringing it all together

These ten foolproof strategies will help you maximize year-end donations and make your annual appeal feel much more manageable, and build stronger momentum. By strengthening relationships through personalized messages, coordinating letters with social media and emails, and timing your asks around key moments, you'll create the kind of connections that drive lasting impact.

Pro Tip: Last, but certainly not least, manage your expectations. If this is the first time you have ever tried an annual appeal campaign you most likely aren't going to raise $100,000 (although holiday miracles can happen), and if last season you raised $1,000, setting a goal of $25,000 may be too big of a reach - try shooting for a 15% - 25% increase, and at times, depending on the economic climate, raising the exact same as the prior year is the win!

Following these best practices helps nonprofits turn the year-end giving season into a powerful opportunity to increase donations, engage supporters more deeply, and build momentum for the year ahead. And when it’s all done, you can step back and rest with gratitude for the community that makes your work possible. 

Now is the time! Choose one of these strategies to start this week.

Disclaimer: Blog article for informational purposes only, not intended as specific or tailored advice. 

Source research material used in the article:

1. Bloomerang Blog - How to Segment Your Year-End Fundraising Appeal: https://bloomerang.com/blog/4-ways-to-segment-your-year-end-fundraising-appeal/

2. Give Butter Blog - Donor Segmentation: https://givebutter.com/blog/donor-segmentation

3. USPS 2025 Holiday Mailing and Shipping Dates: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2025/0917-usps-recommends-2025-holiday-mailing-and-shipping-dates.htm

4. DAF Giving 360 - Giving Deadlines: https://www.dafgiving360.org/giving-deadlines

5. Nonprofit Pro - Personalization Strategies in Direct Mail for 2025: https://www.nonprofitpro.com/post/personalization-strategies-in-direct-mail-for-2025/

6. Blackbaud Institute Report Takeaways on Individual Giving Trends 2024: https://candid.org/blogs/individual-giving-trends-2024-blackbaud-institute-report-takeaways/

7. Blackbaud Blog - Giving Tuesday Examples for Fundraising Strategy: https://blog.blackbaud.com/givingtuesday-examples-for-your-fundraising-strategy/

8. AFP Global - Why Direct Mail Still Matters for Nonprofit Fundraising and Stewardship 2025: https://afpglobal.org/why-direct-mail-still-matters-nonprofit-fundraising-and-stewardship-2025

9. Business Initiative - Nonprofit Fundraising Trends 2025: https://www.businessinitiative.org/statistics/non-profit/fundraising-trends-2025/

10. Funraise Blog - How to Write Nonprofit Emails That Actually Convert: https://www.funraise.org/blog/how-to-write-nonprofit-emails-that-actually-convert

11. Blackbaud Institute Latest Data on 2024 Charitable Giving: https://www.blackbaud.com/newsroom/article/latest-blackbaud-institute-data-reveals-2024-charitable-giving-neared-all-time-high

12. CNA CNBC - Trump's Tax Changes and Charitable Giving: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/05/trumps-tax-changes-charitable-giving.html

13. Meyer Partners Fundraising Blog: https://www.meyerpartners.com/fundraising-blog/direct-mail-fundraising

14. Giving USA - 2025 U.S. Charitable Giving Growth Report: https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-2025-u-s-charitable-giving-grew-to-592-50-billion-in-2024-lifted-by-stock-market-gains/

15. Fidelity Charitable - Articles on Tax Reform: https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/articles/obbb-tax-reform.html

16. CLA Connect - Key Changes in Charitable Deduction Rules: https://www.claconnect.com/en/resources/blogs/nonprofits/key-changes-in-charitable-deduction-rules

17. Virtuous Blog - Ask Amounts: https://virtuous.org/blog/ask-amounts/

18. Double the Donation - End of Year Appeal Strategies: https://doublethedonation.com/end-of-year-appeal-strategies/

19. DonorPerfect - Donation Ask Amounts: https://www.donorperfect.com/nonprofit-technology-blog/featured/donation-ask-amounts/

20. Team Allegiance - Re-engage Lapsed Donors: https://teamallegiance.com/resources/re-engage-lapsed-donors/