Tis the season to talk Year End Giving people!
November and December are statistically the best two months of the year for giving. In fact, around 17-30% of ALL GIVING in the United States occurs in the month of December alone. Here are a few more interesting statistics from from Giving USA 2025:
The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2024 report that individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations gave an estimated $592.50 billion to U.S. charities in 2024. Total giving grew 6.3% in current dollars (3.3% when adjusted for inflation).
In October and early November, it’s great to focus one’s efforts on face to face appointments. If you can, kick it into overdrive and set goals for more appointments and initial contacts than usual! Why? Well, typically speaking it’s one of the easiest times of year to schedule appointments. Summer is over and people are into routine, school is back, people are checking their calendars and not overwhelmed with plans. After Thanksgiving is when things should shift from business as usual face to face appointments to Year End Giving mode. Toward the holidays there are additional touches you can create to show your existing team you care as well as generate some excitement and cash gifts. (see below for the ideas!)
Consider creating a specific goal for all of your Year End Giving and try a multichannel approach that all work together to support that specific goal. Maybe you want to raise $3,000 for your language learning costs, get $200 in new monthly support, or reach 75% funded. Just make sure it is reasonable and attainable – and that you are pushing it across multiple platforms and channels in your communication.
With all of that being said, here’s a break down on some specific ideas for your Year End Giving strategy.
1. GIVING TUESDAY
Giving Tuesday, which occurs the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is a day for non-profits and others raising funds to solicit donations. It is a GREAT DAY to post something online asking friends and family to give. Giving Tuesday donations has risen 143% in the last 7 years.
Consider posting newsletters, videos, or various macro communication multiple times before Giving Tuesday to promote the day. Create a specific goal you have in mind and perhaps a line item in your budget that makes sense for giving. (For instance, a goal of $3,000 for plane tickets or language learning costs) The day of Giving Tuesday, promote it throughout the day in multiple places – newsletter, Facebook wall or hidden group, (other people’s Facebook walls with their permission!), various social media stories and spaces as you are able, text threads, etc.
Then, reinforce this communication with personalized text messages or emails. Make them short but informative and always point to your goal. Here’s some examples of text messages:
“Hey Debbie! Just wanted to reach out quickly to let you know this year for Giving Tuesday (X DATE OF GIVING TUESDAY)- a giving platform called HopeGives is doing matching funds. For anyone who gives above $10, HopeGives gives 50$. We are asking for 100 people to give $15. If we do that, matching funds will have us at $6,500 which will finish off our cash budget and get us to Latvia! Wanted to let you know and please feel free to spread the word to anyone you know who would be interested. Here’s the link: to give on (X DATE) GIVING LINK XXXXXX
“Debbie! You’ve prayed us this far 🙏 and now we’re just 100 gifts from Latvia. Give $15 on Giving Tuesday, (X DATE OF GIVING TUESDAY) and HopeGives adds $50! That’s $6,500 to finish our budget and get the gospel to [city/people group]. Will you be one of the 100? 🇱🇻 (Attach GIVING LINK: XXXXXX) Let us know if you have any questions!
“Hey Debbie! 💛 You’ve been such a big part of our journey, so I wanted you to hear it from us personally and not just in our newsletter. This Giving Tuesday, (X DATE OF GIVING TUESDAY) HopeGives is matching every gift of $10+ with $50! If 100 friends give $15, we’ll reach $6,500, finish our cash budget, and get to Latvia, where [only X% of people know Jesus / so many have never heard the gospel in a way that makes sense to them]. 🇱🇻 Your $15 could help open the door for someone there to meet Him. Would you be one of the 100? And feel free to share with anyone who’d love to join! (Attach GIVING LINK: XXXXXX)”
Email example:
Subject: A Giving Tuesday Opportunity to Help Us Reach Latvia
Dear Pastor [Name],
Thank you for the ways you and [Church Name] have supported us on this journey. Your ongoing partnership means so much to our family. (MAYBE ADD SOMETHING PERSONAL HERE)
We wanted to write you personally as this Giving Tuesday, HopeGives is offering matching funds: every gift of $10 or more will be matched with an additional $50. Our goal is for 100 people to give $15. If we reach that goal, the matched total will bring us to $6,500, which will complete our cash budget and allow us to depart for Latvia.
ON X DATE OF GIVING TUESDAY we would be honored if X CHURCH NAME would consider being one of those 100 givers. A gift of just $15 has the potential to help open the door for someone in Latvia to meet Jesus.
f you feel lead, you can give here any time on X DATE: [GIVING LINK] and please feel free to spread the word.
Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your partnership in the gospel. We are grateful to serve alongside you.
With gratitude,
[Your Names]
[Missionary title / AGWM]
Beyond messaging or emailing, try to come up with some things that set your ask apart. Can you get your kids involved with a give away of their artwork? Can you as a business or maybe an existing partner for a matching fund? Can you have a team of people promote it on their Facebook walls and social media? (Make sure to always comply with your needs due to sensitivity!)
2. NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
Send out a regular newsletter at the beginning of November, even if you have done one recently.
- Keep it to 1 page – be brief.
- Keep it ministry focused with specific stories.
- Use it to promote any social media events, crowd-funding efforts such as HopeGives or Giving Tuesday efforts you will be doing.
- Say a very hearty thank you!
- Don’t do any asks on this newsletter.
3. CHRISTMAS CARD / YEAR END LETTER
Do Christmas cards along with a year end letter sometime before December 31st (think about sticking it in the mail the day after Thanksgiving). I think it’s a good idea in some circumstances (see below for more on this) to bundle these two and stick them in the mail together, the card of course being Christmasy with the year end letter inside. Send these out to your existing financial and prayer partner list.
Include the following components:
- Merry Christmas greeting.
- Express your authentic thankfulness for your support team. Emphasize and focus your letter on the impact your partners are having.
- Percentage update of where you are at raising your funds.
- A gift-wrappy-Christmasy-wonderful-snowy graphic that has your organization’s giving website / ways to give. Canva is great for this if you don’t know what you are doing! Or see if you can run it through AI!
- An actual ask in the letter for finances (yep, this is the only time of year I say go for it on a letter!). Consider making it about one story of a life changed or need.
- Try to stay away from “I” language and use “we” language instead. Example: “I need $500 more in monthly support” to “In order to keep this ministry to the United School in South Africa and impact people like Miles, we are looking for $500 more in monthly support.” Answer the question “What difference will this make in someone’s life?”
- Do a nice handwritten PS.
Tips for year end letter:
- Switch this up from a regular newsletter. Use a slightly different template than a regular newsletter and make it more like a letter.
- Don’t send an ask year end letter to anyone who recently started giving, just gave one time recently, or just increased their giving. (probably within the past 6 months). Just send them Christmas cards instead. You don’t want to overwhelm them with too many asks.
- Consider creating a different version of your year end letter to those who haven’t started giving yet or didn’t give when asked. Change particulars as needed for the audience.
- Perhaps for people who have said that they can’t give- give them a soft opportunity to give. Change the thankfulness for being on your support team and instead thank them for their prayers and involvement in your life.
- For those you haven’t yet met with, change the particulars to reflect your desire to meet with them soon and thank them for the involvement in your life. You may want to include a soft ask but not as bold as to those you send it to who you’ve already met with.
- Snail mail your year end letter.
- Keep it to 1 page make it look really nice!
4. SMALL GIFTS
Send your members of your partnership team small gifts. December is a great time of year to express your thankfulness to your support team. Go above and beyond that newsletter!
5. SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
A well crafted, intentional, relational social media campaign or campaign launched on Hope Gives can be helpful during these months of giving. Consider creating a campaign in November or December if you haven’t done one recently. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you craft yours:
A wonderful time to start a campaign is around or on Giving Tuesday!
Keep in mind, this is advisable only if you have gotten far enough in your financial partnership (75-80%) to start one.
GET SILLY. (this applies to Giving Tuesdays as well!) Shave a head if you reach your goal! Do a weird dance! Eat something weird! Write a song! Don’t discount the lure of silly rewards. Here’s a screen shot of a worker who jumped into freezing waters on the last day of their Campaign (they reached their goal of $1,000 in monthly support in 10 days):
6. EMAIL AFTER CHRISTMAS
Send out an email on December 29th or 30th. Include the following:
- Greeting of Happy New Year for your partners
- Remind them of your ministry as they execute their giving.
- Use that Christmasy-graphic and update it to be new-years-y with a clickable link on giving online.
- Don’t include a formal ask. Just thank yous’ and the graphic on how to give online.
OTHER TIPS:
- Stay consistent with your goals and shoot for a multi-channel approach. The secret sauce for creating a successful year end strategy is all about sequence. What does that mean? Essentially, sequence is you creating a goal and using that message/goal consistently to create a multi-channel integrated approach. Your goal should be consistent across any blogs or websites, social media, email, and written mail.
- Have your strategy in place and communication pieces written BEFORE November.
- Sequence maximizes the return on your effort and time investment. Stay consistent.
- Try to get a hook when creating your goals. Maybe an image, theme, tagline, story.
- Try to be eye-catching. Be compelling.
- Less is more. The fewer words the better. Keep videos as short, fun, and informative as possible.
- Don’t send a year end letter to anyone who just started giving, gave a special gift, or increased their giving in the last six months. Just send them a Christmas card.
- Customize two different letters: one for on-going financial partners, one for non-givers.
- In your wording, focus on the partner. Example: “There is hope, and that hope is you.” Talk about how your partners make the world better with their gift: “You gave 50 kids the gift of Jesus last year with your donation, and now you can do more.” The partner and the partnership between you becomes the hero of this story. Acknowledge their important role in your mission.
- Get creative! These aren’t the only ways to utilize this season, just some ideas I’ve seen work very well.
- Don’t let your partners only hear “asks” from you. Be sure you stay on top of personal communication. The routine newsletter that arrives in early November will be helpful – 1 page with pictures, ministry focused with specific stories. But get beyond that and reach out in micro relational ways to your team.
