For the last few months, your donors have been buried.
Their mailboxes filled up with glossy postcards. Their phones buzzed with texts asking for $5 before midnight. Their inboxes overflowed with urgent subject lines. Whatever they thought of the candidates, everyone felt it: a constant stream of asks, all of them shouting.
On Tuesday, the election happened. And almost overnight, the shouting stopped.
That quiet is an opening for you. For the next eight weeks, your year-end message doesn't have to compete with a national campaign for attention. And after a season that can leave people feeling worn out or unsure where their voice matters, many donors start looking closer to home, to the places in their own community where they can see what their generosity actually does.
That's you. Here are three things to do with the quiet.
1. Call the people who gave last year and haven't given yet
If you do nothing else this year-end, do this one.
Pull a list of everyone who gave last year but hasn't given yet this year. Fundraisers have a slightly clunky name for them: LYBUNTs, for "last year but unfortunately not this." These are people who already believe in your work. They've said yes before. Most of them haven't decided to stop giving. Life simply got busy.
Don't wait for your appeal letter to do the work. Reach out directly, by phone if you can, with a personal note if you can't. Thank them for what their gift made possible last year, share one specific story about what's happening now, and let them know you'd love to have them with you again before the year closes.
This is often the easiest money still on the table, and it's the step most organizations skip.
2. Thank your current donors before you ask anyone else
Year-end can turn into a sprint of asks. Slow down long enough to say thank you first.
Pick a week and have your board members, staff and volunteers make simple thank-you calls to people who have already given this year. No ask. Just gratitude, and maybe one sentence about the difference their gift is making.
And if nobody picks up, leave a voicemail. Don't skip it, and don't count that call as a miss. A warm, unhurried voicemail that says "I just called to say thank you" is something donors often save, replay, and mention months later. Every voicemail is a successful call.
It feels small. It isn't. Donors who are thanked well give again, often more. And a board member who makes five thank-you calls usually finishes surprised by how good it felt, which makes the next ask a lot easier.
3. Send a short, personal email in the last week of December
A big share of online giving happens in the final days of the year, many of those gifts on December 31 itself. Be in the inbox when people are deciding.
Keep it short. Write it like a note from a person, not a brochure from an institution. Tell one story, make one clear ask, and give one easy button to click. If you can send it from your executive director or board chair by name, even better.
Then send a brief reminder on December 31. People appreciate the nudge more than you'd think.
Want to go deeper?
These three steps are a strong place to start, and you can begin today. If you'd like more, last year we hosted a masterclass on finishing the year strong, and it's free to watch on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ddWva4W0BH0
The noise has stopped. Your donors are listening. Make sure they hear from you.
