Strengthen End-of-Year Fundraising Campaigns with Thoughtful Planning and Practical Strategies

Each month, the Wyoming Nonprofit Network highlights a specific topic impacting the nonprofit sector in its What We Are Learning email series. In November 2025, WNN is exploring end-of-year fundraising campaigns and what is needed for these campaigns to be successful.

Start Thinking About End-of-Year Campaigns

An end-of-year campaign is a strategic fundraising effort that takes place in the last months of the calendar year, when many individuals are motivated to donate to nonprofit organizations because of the generosity of the season or to maximize tax-deductible giving. Consider the pre-learning questions below related to planning and executing an end-of-year fundraising campaign:  

1.  What was the most recent communication the organization had with its donor base?  Has the organization prioritized stewardship of donors from previous donation requests this year?  

2.  What is the staff capacity to support the campaign? This includes supporting all aspects of the campaign, including cultivation, asking, and stewardship in a timely manner.

 3.  Does the campaign have clearly defined financial and non-financial goals?

4.  Has the organization discussed what motivates its donors and how these motivations could be incorporated into a year-end giving campaign?

Worth the Listen

The year-end giving season is nearly here, but that does not mean it is too late to organize a campaign with real impact.

In this episode of Nonprofits Are Messy with Joan Garry, fundraising expert Gail Perry explains how every organization can still run a valuable end-of-year fundraising campaign through high energy and actionable strategies that activate staff, board members, and volunteers.

Resources

• Nonprofit professionals should understand why charitable giving increases in November and December. Read Vanguard Charitable’s “When Donors Give: The Importance of Year-End Giving” to learn more.

• Being creative can help your organization connect with donors. Start brainstorming with Kindsight’s “15 Year-End Giving Campaign Ideas” to build an engaging campaign that aligns with the organization's goals.

• National data indicates that “approximately 30% of all annual giving occurs in December and around 10% occurs in the last three days of December.” Develop a fund development plan for the final months of 2025 with the help of DonorBox’s “End-of-Year Giving Campaign: 14 Essential Steps for Success.”

What You Want to Learn Matters

Email Director of Learning and Development Tess Mittelstadt at tmittelstadt@wynonprofit.org with your feedback on the What We Are Learning email and suggestions on future topics.

The Wyoming Nonprofit Network amplifies, cultivates, and advocates for Wyoming's nonprofits.

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