Crafting an end of year giving strategy

Crafting a Winning End-of-Year Giving Strategy

Preparing for end-of-year giving, or campaign season as we often call it, has a unique starting point for all organizations – I'm speaking toward those who have mid-level sophistication and an established routine end-of-year program.

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Jamie Garcia

End-of-year giving is only one component of your year-round fundraising efforts. Strategies for a successful end of the year in which you meet your goals and donors feel seen and appreciated begin with looking at your entire development calendar – and analyzing what efforts have been effective and what has room for improvement. This can be quite a collaborative activity, with your team looking at the entire calendar.

Noting the national holidays relative to your organization (think about Grandparents Day if you work with seniors or National Pet Month if your organization serves animals) helps in planning special communications and micro-campaigns.

Once you've mastered the plan for the year — I recommend taking steps in August to plan your end-of-year touchpoints around important dates.

Once you’ve mastered the plan for the year — I recommend taking steps in August to plan your end-of-year touchpoints around important dates. For example, will your organization participate in one or more giving days in November or December? Consider other events such as holidays, elections (we all know to be aware this year!), and if your organization’s end-of-year date hits on a weekend when you are closed. Do you plan to send emails and/or direct mail? What will your segmenting look like? What days of the week do holidays fall on and what are the best days to communicate? Once you make your final decisions, take steps to make your team aware of these dates this month.

Diving deeper into direct mail and email for end-of-year campaigns: we often get questions about how much is too much when it comes to communicating with donors. If you plan to send a direct mail piece alongside emails, I recommend including donors in both of these outreach lists. Always assume that every person wants to give to your organization until they specifically tell you they’re not interested! Especially if your donor pool has a wide variety in age, casting a wider net ensures you make efforts to connect with everyone in the ways they prefer to be contacted. Some donors dislike multiple direct mail pieces, though a series of emails is often needed to effectively reach donors and close end-of-year gifts.

Knowing your donor pool is key when it comes to segmentation for an end-of-year campaign, which can be done by age. For example, I recommend connecting with donors approaching 72 (or those who are older!) about required minimum distributions. When it comes to informing your donors about these opportunities, planned gifts, and other non-cash gifts, consider educational communication pieces in the Summer, far before you send any end-of-year messaging. Planting this seed early can get your donors thinking about their giving in advance, and also before other organizations begin discussing this kind of giving with them.

At almost every organization, there are donors who give a significant contribution at the eleventh hour – sometimes on the last day of the year! Perhaps your organization is closed during this time – even if this is the case, you can let your donors know that your development team is available. Your team should have a plan for when your last act donors want to hand-deliver their check on the last day of the year.

Balancing one-on-one donor meetings during the end of the year certainly proves to be a challenge. While you may not want to schedule many of these sessions in December, I recommend having both the budget and bandwidth to deliver a small token of gratitude to your most generous donors (bread, poinsettias, etc.) – which often yields the perfect opportunity for them to send you back to the office with their end of year gift.

Along these same lines, it can be difficult to accomplish all of the donor appreciation that needs to take place in your end-of-year calendar, especially following giving days. I recommend utilizing volunteers (from your development committee, your board, or elsewhere) to make light of many thank you calls and notes. At the same time, it’s also important that signed thank you form letters have a personal touch – I always ask for materials that arrived with the donor’s gift (cards and notes) to also make their way to me. If someone has given to my organization in honor of their friend’s 80th birthday, I want to say much more than thank you – I want to add to their story! Something along the lines of “thank you for celebrating Helen’s 80th birthday and including us in the fun,” would help the donor see that I noticed the specific reason they gave.

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Lauren Sisneros

Lauren Sisneros is the founder of LS Consultants, LLC, a consulting firm that provides strategic advising and interim management support to nonprofit and education-focused organizations. A mission-driven leader with over 20 years of experience, Lauren brings a deep commitment to advancing equity across education, workforce development, and public policy.

With a keen understanding of complex systems and a results-oriented approach, Lauren partners with organizations to develop and implement strategies that are both effective and sustainable. Through LS Consultants, she delivers hands-on guidance in program management, board and stakeholder engagement, and leadership transitions, empowering mission-aligned teams to grow, adapt, and create lasting community impact.

Lauren has collaborated with a diverse portfolio of clients, including the Prosperity Denver Fund, Contractor Academy, Education Commission of the States, and Strong Start to Finish. Her work is grounded in a strong foundation of project management, nonprofit leadership, and policy analysis.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Colorado State University–Pueblo and a Master’s in Education from Colorado State University Global. Lauren is also a proud graduate of the University of Denver’s Latino Leadership Institute, a fellowship preparing Latino professionals for positions of influence across Colorado, and the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation’s Leadership Program, an 11-month civic leadership experience.

A Colorado native born and raised in the San Luis Valley, Lauren now lives in Lakewood, Colorado. She is a proud mother of two college students and a devoted grandmother who cherishes time with her family.

Throughout her career, Lauren has remained deeply dedicated to expanding access to opportunity, especially for underserved communities. Her work continues to center on shaping systems that are inclusive, community-driven, and equity-focused.

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Kyle Christensen

Kyle Christensen, M.P.A., is a program leader, facilitator, and trainer with more than 25 years of experience designing and delivering transformative learning experiences that advance leadership, civic engagement, and organizational change. He specializes in designing and evaluating leadership programs, facilitating team and organizational development, and guiding strategic planning processes that align purpose with measurable impact.

As founder of The Connected Leadership Project and consultant with Arrow Performance Group, Kyle partners with organizations such as the State of Colorado, CiviCO, and the University of Denver to design experiential leadership programs that build resilience, connection, and innovation. He also serves as program director for Leadership Veteran, an 8-month leadership initiative advancing the skills of professionals serving veteran communities.

Previously, Kyle directed Colorado State University Douglas County Extension, where he launched Colorado’s first Juntos 4-H program to expand pathways to higher education for Latinx youth and families. He also led the Family Leadership Training Institute of Colorado and has worked with institutions such as Peace Corps (Moldova), NYU Steinhardt, Centrul Educatia 2000+ (Romania), and the Council for Economic Education.

Kyle’s facilitation expertise is rooted in adult learning theory and supported by credentials such as Emergenetics, Strategic Doing, and Technology of Participation. He has led statewide and national trainings, peer learning cohorts, needs assessment processes, and community-centered planning efforts across government, nonprofit, and education sectors.

He holds an M.P.A. from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and a graduate certificate in Learning and Development from the University of Denver’s College of Professional Studies.

Kyle believes that the workplace should focus on continuous learning and growth, inclusive engagement, and creating a sense of belonging. “Why wouldn’t we hope for work environments that align with our values and our professional and personal growth aspirations?” He brings curiosity, compassion, and clarity to every engagement, and is most inspired when people find their voice, connect with others, and lead boldly in collective service.

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Jason Pemberton

Jason Pemberton is a multi-award winning facilitator, coach, independent executive board director, and strategist based in Denver, Colorado. Born in USA and raised in New Zealand, his entire career has been dedicated to Not-for-Profit and purpose-led organizations striving for high impact.

A series of catastrophic earthquakes in his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, launched him into several years of disaster response, which, in turn, launched him into international consulting practice. He has worked in more than a dozen countries supporting companies, networks, and communities navigate through unexpected terrain for mutual benefit.

As a strategist and coach, he is pragmatic, direct, and clear, bringing his sharp mind and depth of thought to the fore whilst supporting groups to identify their own priorities and take charge of their future. His deep governance experience, coupled with professional training in positive psychology and related coaching accreditations, makes him highly effective at supporting teams of leaders and governors to find successful paths forward.

His time now is invested in supporting governance boards and senior leaders to succeed, and coaching technical experts and engineers on how to be skilled leaders of people.