Finish the Year Strong: Your 90-Day Year-End Fundraising Plan for Major Donors

Details

Year-end fundraising can feel like a race to contact every donor before December 31. A stronger approach starts earlier: review each major donor’s giving, set an individual goal, and plan the next conversation around what matters to them.

In this session, we’ll walk through a practical 90-day plan. We’ll begin with a donor-by-donor audit and realistic projections, then cover how to reconnect with supporters, report impact, and prepare a specific opportunity for each person.

We’ll discuss how to make a clear, permission-based ask and follow through on commitments by December 15. Finally, we’ll look at how to use the last weeks of the year to track incoming gifts, thank donors promptly, and help outstanding gifts reach completion without turning the holidays into a scramble.

Key Learnings

• Audit and prioritise your major donor caseload using giving history, individual goals, and recent engagement.
• Build a year-end plan for each donor alongside your organisation’s broader campaign.
• Reconnect with donors through relevant impact updates and conversations about their interests.
• Prepare and make specific, permission-based asks, then record and confirm each next step.
• Complete essential relationship and solicitation work by December 15.
• Use the final weeks of the year to monitor gifts, resolve unattributed contributions, and thank donors personally.
• Identify five actions you can take in the next two weeks to put the plan in motion.

The views expressed are the speaker’s own and don’t necessarily reflect the positions of Fundraising Everywhere. Content from guest speakers may reflect different approaches, experiences, or perspectives to those covered in other events and training.