Year-End Giving: How to Plan Your Nonprofit's End-of-Year Campaign

‍

Table of contents

• What is year-end giving?

• Your year-end plan, month by month

• Starting late? A two-week plan

• Year-end strategies that work for small nonprofits

• Year-end appeal: what to send and when

• After December 31: receipts, thank-yous and January

• Run your year-end campaign on Zeffy

• Year-end campaign examples: three plays small nonprofits run

• Year-end giving FAQ

‍

If you run a small nonprofit, you already know December matters. You also know the year-end goal tends to eat every hour you have, and other projects wait until January. So the plan below isn't a bigger campaign. It's a shorter list: one goal, one form, two audiences and a handful of messages. And it treats January as part of the campaign, because the receipts and thank-yous are what bring the same donors back next year.

‍

What is year-end giving?

Year-end giving is the gifts that come in from late November to December 31. Donors give then for a few reasons. The holidays put generosity top of mind. December 31 is the last day for a gift to count on this year's taxes for donors who itemize. And many donors finish yearly giving plans or recommend grants from their donor-advised funds before the year closes.

The numbers show it. In the M+R Benchmarks 2024 report (2023 data), December brought in 26% of nonprofits' online revenue for the whole year. December 31 alone brought in 5%.

For a small nonprofit: a few weeks can decide whether you hit your annual number, so this is the one campaign worth protecting time for.

‍

Your year-end plan, month by month

Each month below has a short job. If you're reading this in September or October, you have time to do all four. If it's already mid-November, skip to the two-week plan in the next section.

‍

September and October: goal, story, list, form

• Pick one goal. Choose one dollar amount tied to something people can picture, like a program, a repair or a season of services. One number is easier to share and easier to track.

• Pick one story. Find one person, animal or family your work helped this year. Get permission and a photo. This story carries every message you send.

• Clean your list. Fix bounced emails, merge duplicate contacts and make sure last year's donors are in the same place as this year's.

• Build one dedicated year-end form. Keep it separate from your everyday donate page. In January you'll know exactly what the year-end campaign raised, even if you ran other fundraisers at the same time.

• Ask about a match. If a board member or local business might fund a match, ask now. Matches take time to agree on.

• Plan January now. Write the thank-you email and decide who will call your top donors after December 31.

‍

November: the Giving Tuesday kickoff and the run-up

Giving Tuesday falls on Tuesday, December 1, 2026. It's the official start of the season, so November is the run-up.

• Put your form live and test it on a phone.

• Tell your most loyal donors about the goal a few days before Giving Tuesday.

• Line up a few volunteers or board members to share the campaign on December 1.

• Send your kickoff email on Giving Tuesday morning with the goal, the story and one link to the form.

For the full playbook on the day itself, read how to run a Giving Tuesday campaign.

‍

December: the final push

• Send a short progress update each week: how close you are to the goal and what the money will do.

• Mid-month, send your story email. This is your strongest message, so give it room.

• Save energy for the last three days. December 29, 30 and 31 are when donors who meant to give finally do.

• Check your form on December 31. Late gifts come in until midnight, and a broken link that day costs you the biggest day of the month.

‍

January: receipts, thank-yous and results

• Thank every donor within a few days.

• Make sure donors have their receipts or a year-end statement before tax season.

• Look at what the year-end form raised next to your other fundraisers.

• Start the follow-up to donors who gave last year but not this year.

For a small nonprofit: do the September work once and the rest of the season runs on rails. Skip it, and you'll spend December building the plane while flying it.

‍

Starting late? A two-week plan

Most year-end guides assume you started in September. If it's mid-November and you haven't started, don't run a shrunken copy of the full plan. Run the minimum version: one goal, one form, four messages and one follow-up.

‍

Week 1: set it up

• Day 1: Pick the goal and the one story. Don't overthink either.

• Day 2: Build your year-end form. Add suggested amounts and a line on what each amount pays for.

• Day 3: Pull two lists: people who gave this year, and people who gave last year but haven't given yet this year.

• Days 4 and 5: Write all four messages at once, so December doesn't eat your writing time.

‍

Week 2: get ready to launch

• Test the form on a phone and send a test gift.

• Ask two or three board members or volunteers to share the launch.

• Write the January thank-you email now, while you still have time.

‍

The four messages and the follow-up

• 1. Giving Tuesday (December 1): the goal, the story, the link.

• 2. Mid-December: a progress update and what gifts have already done.

• 3. December 30: "Two days left," with how close you are to the goal.

• 4. December 31: a short last reminder that today is the last day for a gift to count on this year's taxes.

Then one follow-up: a thank-you in the first week of January, with a word on what the campaign made possible.

For a small nonprofit: late is fine. A focused two-week setup beats a sprawling plan you never finish.

‍

Year-end strategies that work for small nonprofits

You don't need every tactic out there. These are the ones that pay off when one or two people run the whole campaign.

‍

Start with Giving Tuesday

Use Giving Tuesday as your launch, not as a separate campaign. Announce your year-end goal that day, and treat every gift after it as part of the same push to December 31. One goal and one form across both keeps your message simple and your results clean.

‍

‍

Segment by who gave this year and who gave last year

At year-end, the useful question is simple: who has given this year, and who hasn't? Split your list in two before you send anything.

• This year's donors: thank them first, show progress, and invite one more gift or a monthly gift.

• Last year's donors who haven't given yet: remind them what their gift did last year and ask them to renew. This is often the warmest group you're not emailing.

Build the second list by comparing last year's donors against this year's. In Zeffy, you can filter donors by giving history and save the list in Zeffy's free donor CRM, using campaign, amount and date filters, and the saved list updates itself as new gifts come in.

‍

Give your top donors a personal ask

Pick your 10 or 20 biggest supporters. Don't send them the mass email first. Call, send a handwritten note or ask for coffee. Tell them what their giving did this year and tie the ask to one project. A board member can split the list with you.

‍

Make giving easy

• Most donors will open your email on a phone, so make sure the form works there.

• Ask only for what you need: name, email and payment.

• Show suggested amounts with a line on what each pays for.

• Offer a monthly option. Some year-end donors are happy to keep giving, and a monthly gift carries into next year. You can add a recurring option to your year-end form so donors pick one-time or monthly in one step.

‍

Welcome donor-advised fund gifts

Many donors recommend grants from their donor-advised funds in December. Mention in your appeals that you accept donor-advised fund gifts, and ask early in the month, since these grants can take time to arrive.

‍

Use a match if a donor offers one

If a board member, major donor or local business offers to match gifts up to a set amount, put it front and center. "Your gift goes twice as far" is a strong reason to give now. The match is funded by that donor, so agree on the amount and the end date in writing first. Our guide to a donation match covers how to set one up.

‍

Tell one story

Use the same story from the kickoff email to the last-day reminder. Repeat it with fresh details, like a photo, an update or a short quote from the person you helped. One story people remember beats five they skim.

If you want a seasonal event or sale alongside your appeal, pick one from our holiday fundraising ideas. Keep it pointed at the same goal.

For a small nonprofit: segmenting and the personal ask are where your time pays back most. If you only do two things on this list, do those.

‍

Year-end appeal: what to send and when

Here's a simple message calendar. Send each one to both lists, with a small change for each group.

• Giving Tuesday (December 1): launch. Share the goal, the story and the link. To this year's donors, open with thanks. To last year's donors, open with what their gift did last year.

• Early December: progress. "We're 30% of the way there." Add one concrete thing gifts have already paid for.

• Mid-December: the story email. Your longest, most personal message. Mention the monthly option and donor-advised fund gifts here.

• December 29 to 31: two or three short reminders. Say how close you are to the goal and that December 31 is the last day for a gift to count on this year's taxes. Skip anyone who already gave this month.

Need a starting point for the copy? Our Giving Tuesday email templates cover the launch, and you can grab free Giving Tuesday and year-end email templates to adapt for the rest of the season.

For a small nonprofit: five or six emails is enough. Write them all before December 1 and schedule them, so the busiest month doesn't depend on finding writing time.

‍

After December 31: receipts, thank-yous and January

Most year-end guides stop on December 31. That's where the next year's campaign actually starts.

‍

Thank donors within days

Send a thank-you in the first days of January. Say what the campaign raised and what it will do. Call or write a personal note to your top donors. If you need help with the wording, use our guide to the donor acknowledgment letter.

‍

Send receipts and year-end giving statements

At year-end, donors want to know one thing: can I get a receipt? A year-end giving statement is a summary of everything a donor gave during the year, which they keep for their taxes. If you have no fundraising staff, building these by hand in January is a real burden. Plan how they'll go out before December starts. On Zeffy, receipts go out automatically, and you can see how automatic receipts and the January Giving Recap work.

‍

Look at results by campaign

If you ran several fundraisers at the end of the year, check what each one raised. This is why a dedicated year-end form matters. Note what worked, which email brought the most gifts and which list responded best. Write it down now, while you remember.

‍

Follow up with lapsed donors

Some of last year's donors still won't have given. Don't write them off. A friendly note in January or February, with no hard ask, often brings them back. Our guide on how to re-engage lapsed donors walks through it.

For a small nonprofit: the January follow-up is the cheapest fundraising you'll do all year. Donors who feel thanked are the ones who give again next December.

‍

Run your year-end campaign on Zeffy

Zeffy is the free all-in-one fundraising platform for nonprofits, with a donor CRM built in. Here's how it covers the plan above:

• A dedicated year-end form. Forms are unlimited, so you can make one just for year-end with suggested amounts and a custom thank-you email. No platform fee, no transaction fee, no credit card fee. Ever.

• One-time or monthly. Donors can give once or set up a recurring gift on the same form.

• A live thermometer. Show progress toward your goal as gifts come in.

• Automatic receipts. Every gift gets a tax receipt. Each January, donors get their receipts again with a Giving Recap of their year, and monthly donors get one cumulative yearly receipt.

• A donor CRM that fills itself. Every gift lands on the donor's record, next to their tickets and memberships. You can see results by campaign and email a saved list from the same screen.

• Donor-advised fund gifts. Accept them on donation forms and peer-to-peer campaigns, with no fees.

• Free templates. Giving Tuesday and year-end message templates are ready to adapt.

Zeffy is free for nonprofits of every size. Donors can leave an optional contribution to Zeffy at checkout, and your nonprofit keeps 100% of every gift either way: $100 in equals $100 out.

‍

‍

Year-end campaign examples: three plays small nonprofits run

You don't need a national brand to run a strong year-end campaign. These three plays work at any size.

‍

1. The one-project appeal

The whole campaign funds one concrete thing, like a new van, a winter of meals or a classroom set of instruments. What to borrow: a goal donors can picture makes every message easier to write and easier to share.

‍

2. The seasonal sale with a donation option

A group sells something seasonal, like wreaths, cookies or holiday cards, then keeps the donation form open through December 31. What to borrow: buyers who aren't ready to donate still meet you, and you can ask them to give before the year closes.

‍

3. The personal note to last year's donors

Board members split the list of people who gave last year but not yet this year, and each writes a short personal note in early December. What to borrow: a note from a real person reaches donors that a mass email misses.

For a small nonprofit: pick one play, not all three. Each one fits around the same goal and the same form.

Sign up free and launch your year-end campaign with automatic receipts and a January Giving Recap built in

‍

Year-end giving FAQ

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍