How to Use August and September to Set Up Your Best Year-End Giving Season Yet
If you work in fundraising, this probably sounds familiar. December rolls around and every nonprofit on the planet is sending appeals, calling donors, and crossing fingers for a big year-end boost. Those weeks of the year do matter! According to Giving Tuesday data, a quarter of annual giving happens between late November and New Year’s Eve, with a good percentage coming in the final 24 hours of December.
But here’s the secret that savvy major-gifts officers and development directors know: the real work for year-end success starts in August and September. Those early fall months, right after summer vacations wind down, are the sweet spot for laying the groundwork, deepening relationships, and building momentum that will pay off when the big push arrives.
If you’ve been waiting for a sign to start your year-end plan, this is it. Let’s break down how to make the most of the next two months, so you hit the ground running when the holiday giving season arrives.
Step 1: Refresh Your Donor Intel
You can’t have a strong year-end giving strategy without a crystal-clear understanding of your donor base. August is the time to dive into your data and figure out who you’re talking to, what they care about, and where they are in their relationship with your organization.
Identify your top prospects. Whether you’re brand new to major gifts or you’ve been running a program for years, your best prospects are already in your database. Look for consistent givers, not just the largest gifts. Steady midlevel donors often have major-gift potential.
Assess capacity. If you can, run a wealth screening to identify donors with the capacity to give more. If that’s not in the budget, do some light online research to get a sense of capacity indicators like real estate holdings, business ownership, or board memberships.
Focus your portfolio. You can’t meaningfully cultivate everyone. Narrow your major-gifts list to 15–20 high-potential donors. That’s a number most fundraisers can realistically manage, even while juggling other responsibilities.
Think of this as your fall clean-up: clear out the cobwebs in your donor records, refresh your notes, and make sure you have an accurate picture of your strongest relationships going into year-end.
Step 2: Get Face Time Before the Ask
September is an ideal month to connect with donors in a low-pressure, non-ask way. Invite them for coffee, take them on a tour, or simply call to check in.
Here’s the goal: you want to know what lights them up.
A donor who has always given to your prenatal health program might have a deeper personal connection to your cardiology research because of a family experience. A long-time arts supporter might be especially passionate about youth education. You won’t know unless you ask.
Try simple openers like:
“I’d love to hear more about what inspires your giving.”
“What part of our work feels most meaningful to you right now?”
These conversations will help you tailor your year-end messaging to each donor’s priorities and help them feel heard and valued long before an appeal letter lands in their inbox.
Step 3: Build Your Cultivation Plan
Once you know who your top prospects are and what they care about, it’s time to map out your cultivation plan for the next four months. Think about it as a series of intentional touchpoints leading to a natural year-end ask.
For example:
September: Invite them to a behind-the-scenes look at a program.
October: Send a handwritten note with an update on something they care about.
November: Share a personal story from a beneficiary that connects directly to their interests.
December: Make the ask. Framed it as the next step in the story you’ve been building together.
The important thing is to make each interaction meaningful, not transactional. You’re not just moving them toward a gift. You’re making them feel like an investor in your mission’s success.
Step 4: Share Impact Early and Often
Too many nonprofits wait until year-end to share impact stories. By then, donors are getting a flood of appeals from every organization they’ve ever supported. If you start showing results now, you’ll stand out, and you’ll prime donors to see your year-end ask as the natural next step in their giving journey.
Impact is more than a list of activities. It’s the real-world change your donors made possible. Instead of “We ran three literacy programs this summer,” say, “Because of your support, 72 children started the school year reading at grade level for the first time.”
Better yet, personalize the story: “When Maria came to our summer program, she was shy and struggling in school. Now she’s reading to her younger brother every night, and her teacher says she’s thriving.”
When you connect outcomes directly to donor support, you reinforce their role as a change-maker.
Step 5: Lock in Your Year-End Content Now
If you want to avoid a December panic, draft your core year-end content by the end of September. A simple but effective structure for a three-part email or letter series could be:
Look What You Made Possible: A gratitude-forward message that shares recent impact.
Here’s What’s Next: A vision for the coming year, with an invitation to join.
Let’s Finish Strong Together: A direct ask tied to a specific goal or outcome.
Once you’ve drafted these pieces, you can repurpose them for multiple channels, such as email, print, social, and even phone scripts without scrambling at the last minute.
Step 6: Avoid the Common Year-End Traps
Pressure to meet year-end goals can tempt organizations into tactics that erode donor trust. Three pitfalls to watch for:
Overblown matches. Don’t promise a 10x match unless it’s real and verifiable. Donors are savvy and skeptical of too-good-to-be-true claims.
Purchased email lists. Cold-emailing strangers might get you a short-term bump, but it damages your sender reputation and your brand. Focus on the people who have already raised their hands to connect.
Competitive bidding on other nonprofits’ names. It’s costly, and it undermines trust in the sector. Invest in your own brand visibility instead.
A year-end campaign should strengthen relationships, not risk them.
Step 7: Keep It Personal
Personal touches stand out in a crowded fundraising season. A handwritten holiday card, a personal note from your executive director, or a quick “thinking of you” call can mean more than a flashy appeal.
You don’t have to do it for everyone. Focus on your top-tier donors or your longest-standing supporters. Even 20 cards can make a big impact if they’re sincere.
Step 8: Rally Your Whole Team
Year-end fundraising shouldn’t be the development department’s burden alone. Get your communications, finance, and program staff on board with the messaging. Ask employees and board members to share campaign posts on their own networks.
When everyone in your organization is telling the same story, donors hear a clear, consistent message, and they’re more likely to respond.
The Bottom Line
August and September are your runway to year-end success. By refreshing your donor data, reconnecting personally, sharing impact early, and planning your year-end messaging now, you’ll set yourself up for a December that feels exciting, not frantic.
And here’s the best part: this isn’t just about hitting a year-end target. It’s about building stronger, more genuine relationships with the people who care most about your mission. Do that well, and the gifts will follow for years to come.