This is our last issue of 2025, and we're sending you off with strategies to finish strong. With two weeks until December 31st, you're in the home stretch — the question is how to sustain momentum without exhausting your team.
This week's resources dive into what to focus on in these final days, from gratitude that builds donor loyalty to strategies for converting one-time givers into recurring supporters. We'll be back in January with insights to help you kick off 2026. Until then, happy holidays from everyone at Feathr.
The take-home template
Donor thank-yous shouldn't wait until next year. This resource includes ready-to-use scripts for thank-you phone calls, handwritten notes, and follow-up emails. The approach is simple: call to say thank you (not to ask for anything), leave a voicemail if they don't answer, and follow up with a personal email.
Snackable snippets
How to keep donors engaged after December 31 📖
January sets the tone for whether December donors give again or slowly drift away. Start 2026 with gratitude by building an email series that thanks donors in January and makes a soft ask in May or June. Use these months to shift one-time givers to recurring supporters by showing them your work happens all year, not just in December.
Is your EOY campaign focusing on the wrong thanks? 📖
Your thank-you letters might be polished, but donors can tell when appreciation sounds rehearsed. If your board can't explain the impact without notes, or your gift officers struggle to connect donations to the mission without materials, donors hear "we don't really understand our own work." The organizations raising the biggest gifts have teams that can naturally explain why support matters in any conversation.
What GT signals for your year-end strategy 📖
Organizations that succeeded on GivingTuesday focused on everyday givers and offered multiple ways to engage beyond donations. The winning approach heading into year-end: thank supporters first, show collective impact, then offer volunteer and sharing opportunities alongside donation asks.
For your inspiration folder
Need ideas for your year-end appeals? These five fundraising emails take different approaches, but all work. Hawaiian Mission Houses led with gratitude, United Methodist Children's Home incentivized action with a $5 coffee card, Homeboy Industries shared a transformation story, Lacrosse the Nations used one image and one button, and BirdsCaribbean showed exactly where money goes.
