Between Giving Tuesday and the generosity embodied by the holiday spirit, the last couple of months of the year are big ones for nonprofit fundraising. But because all nonprofits are looking to boost their coffers, yours needs to stand out in the form of a compelling year-end appeal letter to your supporters.
What should you say to encourage donors to give? Here is some tried-and-true advice for writing mailed, emailed, and social media appeals for donations, plus a nonprofit annual appeal letter sample to follow as a template.
What is a Year-End Appeal?
Nonprofit year-end appeals can take many forms, but the most common is an appeal letter, typically mailed or emailed to your supporters in the last quarter of the year. These letters or emails must be carefully crafted to make the case for why your nonprofit is deserving of donations, particularly from folks who have already contributed to your cause at some other time of the year.
You may also want to kick off a social media drive during the end-of-year time frame that supports and mirrors your letters as a way to broaden your reach and garner new donors.
The Importance of Year-End Giving
It’s no secret that folks are more generous throughout the holiday season, making it one of the best times of year for a fundraising drive. It’s also your organization’s last chance to meet or beat any annual goals.
The spirit of Thanksgiving, and in particular the nonprofit donation day of Giving Tuesday, serves as the jumpstart, but people are often more open with their pursestrings up until December 31 — it’s individuals’ and businesses’ last chance to make tax-deductible gifts (and even in tandem, with many companies offering matching funds for their employees’ donations).
In addition, these funds can get your nonprofit organization through the next year’s first-quarter months, when giving tends to stagnate, or it can be too cold, weather-wise, for outside events.
Key Elements of a Successful Year-End Appeal Letter
To stand out and inspire giving, your nonprofit’s year-end appeal letter must be personalized and clear about what your nonprofit stands for and how it uses funds. You might lead with a compelling story of how your organization helped someone in need or a summary of how previous donations from donors like them have helped you reach goals.
It should also be brief enough—no more than a few paragraphs or a single typed page—so folks read it all the way through, but not so sparse that you leave out key information. Most importantly, the call to action should be clear and easy for donors to follow.
Other touches—such as a creative theme based on your mission, current projects, or a striking color palette—can help your letter stand out from the pack.
How to Write a Powerful Year-End Appeal Letter
Your word choice and tone are extremely important for appealing to prospective donors. Generally speaking, that means you want to be friendly while sounding knowledgeable and authoritative on your nonprofit’s impact as well as its goals to further that impact and how donations are central to your mission.
If the cause and needs are dire, you should say so; emotional appeal, even if it’s dramatic or distressing, goes far in terms of encouraging supporters to give. Before you send, read what you write from the recipient’s perspective to ensure you hit the right tone and pull the right heartstrings. The donor should feel like their contribution can really make a difference—and how.
Personalize Your Year-End Giving Letter
Making your end-of-year appeal personal isn’t just about addressing the letter to your recipient by name—though you should do that. The more you can make the letter feel directed at the reader, the greater the connection you will make. This may even mean sending different letters to different supporters based on their area of interest within your organization.
For example, it’s wise to customize letters based on supporters’ historic involvement and donation level with your charity. For example, if you have several substantial initiatives, you may customize letters for each of them to be sent to historic supporters. Additionally, major sponsors may even get a fully personalized letter thanking them for their past gifts and describing in detail how the money was utilized and how their continued sponsorship will further the cause.
Include a Clear Call to Action
Possibly the most challenging part is managing the logistics of getting those who read your letter of appeal to call, make an online donation, or mail a check of support. This is where a powerful and clear call to action comes into play.
Your physical letter should include a self-addressed envelope and a prominent QR code to your donation page. If you’re relying on email appeal letters, embedded hyperlinks and prominent “donate here” buttons are your go-to.
Your social media calls-to-action should, of course, include your donation link, but also consider encouraging likes, shares, and tagging of nonsupporters in the comments as ways to draw attention to your drive and your cause.
Create a Sense of Urgency
Without urgency, it’s all too easy for your reader to put off making their donation “until later,” with the risk that later never comes. Take advantage of the end-of-year excitement by imposing a “deadline” for donations, or frame your appeal letter as a fundraising drive on a certain Day or Week of Giving. Often, nonprofits use Giving Tuesday as their cornerstone for annual giving, but you can choose any date to be the focus of your fundraising drive.
Another way to create a sense of urgency is to offer an incentive, such as a raffle prize that only those who donate by a specific day are eligible for, or swag for the first 100 donors or for donors who get their gifts in by a certain date. These kinds of incentives also work great for social media posts to encourage liking, sharing, and tagging.
Incorporate Major Donors into Your Fundraising
Most organizations have major donors or corporate sponsors that contribute year after year. Consider asking them if they’ll match funds for others’ donations. If they decline, ask if you can advertise their support as a matched fund to curry excitement from other supporters.
You may also opt to assign individual “promoters” for your donations to help you raise more funds. With Ticketstripe, promoters act as extensions of your organization, receiving their own unique link to the donation page. Any time someone contributes using a promoter’s link, they add to the promoter’s running tally of funds raised. You can even turn it into a fundraising competition among promoters, with a prize for whoever garners the most donations.
Encourage promoters to write their own letters with a QR code to share with their network, send their own emails, and/or promote their link with their own social media content to drive end-of-the-year donations. Whatever donations they secure will benefit your organization’s bottom line.
Use Donation Forms Effectively
Whether your supporters find your donation page via a QR code they scan from your appeal letter or a link they click, your work isn’t done yet. Your donation form must be user-friendly and appealing—and maybe even provide you with info about your donors.
Ticketstripe offers essential donation options, including donate-what-you-wish amounts, suggested amounts, and tiers that differentiate the level of support. For example, you could label descending donation levels in the traditional gold, silver, and bronze with tiers. Or you could connect the amounts of each tier to the impact the donation will have for your organization—an animal rescue group might include, “A $30 donation will feed one rescue puppy for a month”, or “A $60 donation will cover spay/neuter expenses”, and so on. Or you might link donations to swag gifts the donor will receive for their support. People tend to like options, but you’ll have to decide what types of donations make the most sense for your organization.
Ticketstripe’s donation form also lets you customize questions or fields for your donors to complete at checkout. This can be a great way to gather basic contact info from first-time donors or to hone in on supporter interests—data you simply don’t get from using PayPal donations or other similar platforms.
Thank You Letters and Follow-Up Strategies
The old-time, traditional thank-you letter is very much alive and well in the nonprofit world. Showing gratitude to those who part with their hard-earned money to support your mission isn’t just the right thing to do—a thoughtful thank-you note goes a long way to keeping your organization at the top of someone’s charitable giving list. A handwritten thank-you card is most impactful, but if that’s not tenable on a broad scale, send one to your largest donors. If you intend to send paper thank-yous to all, you’ll want to include an address field on your Ticketstripe donation form to collect that info for easy export into a spreadsheet.
Even your donation form’s “thank-you” screen should be well-considered. Ticketstripe’s Message After Purchase allows you to write out your heartfelt appreciation for donations the moment they’re made. But sending a thank-you email at the end of your drive to let everyone know how their contribution helped is also recommended.
Crafting an effective year-end appeal letter is crucial for maximizing your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts during the holiday season. By personalizing your message, creating a sense of urgency, and clearly communicating the impact of donations, you can engage supporters and meet your annual goals. Remember, a well-executed appeal not only raises funds but also strengthens relationships with your donors, setting the stage for future support.
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