The last week of the year will often bring in 40% or more of donations for the entire year-end season.
But only if you have the right strategy.
To make things simple, we’ve put together 3 email templates that you can use to drive urgency and giving leading up to your year-end deadline.
Keep in mind, these are most effective if you’ve used a full year-end playbook to craft a compelling value proposition throughout the season.
If your potential year-end donors have seen the impact of giving over the course of your year-end campaign, these 3 emails will help drive the urgency needed to activate donors before the deadline.
Let’s get started.
Email 1: December 30th
Description:
Your December 30th email should briefly remind donors of the impact of giving while focusing on a high-urgency donation ask. Send it from a human and use a warm, friendly tone.
Send Time: 7:37am
Sender: Send from the Chief Development Officer (or equivalent)
Subject Line: Tomorrow’s the last day
Email Copy:
| Good morning, [First Name]! Can you believe the end of the year is tomorrow? I’m looking back on this year and celebrating so many milestones and moments of impact we’ve seen at [ORGANIZATION NAME]. • [Example 1] • [Example 2] • [Example 3] Of course, all of this is made possible by your generous giving. Will you consider making one more generous donation before the end of the year? Here’s a link where you can make your tax-deductible donation before the year-end deadline: [INSERT DONATION PAGE URL] Thanks for your consideration and support. Your gift will help make even greater impact as we head into a brand new year. – [Sender First Name] [Signature] |
Email 2: Dec. 31 – Morning Reminder
Description:
The Dec. 31 Morning Reminder should focus exclusively on urgency and asking for the gift. You can mention how close you are to your year-end goal and/or include additional incentives.
Keep it short, to the point, and make a clear donation ask.
Send Time: 8:03am
Sender: Send from the Chief Development Officer (or equivalent)
Subject Line: Just a few hours left to give
Email Copy:
| [First Name], it’s new year’s eve! I was checking my records this morning and noticed that you hadn’t made your year-end donation yet. So I thought I’d send you a quick reminder this morning to make sure you can get your donation in before the deadline at 11:59pm this evening. Will you take a minute to give your year-end gift? [INSERT DONATION PAGE URL] – [Sender First Name] [Signature] |
Email 3: Dec. 31 – Evening Reminder
Description:
This final email should read like a reminder you would send to a co-worker or friend with whom you were waiting on a response.
Keep it short, to the point, and include the call-to-action. Include your original Dec. 31 Morning Reminder email below to increase the authenticity.
Send Time: 5:38pm
Sender: Send from the Chief Development Officer (or equivalent)
Subject Line: Quick reminder
Email Copy:
| [First Name], I sent you a note this morning but hadn’t seen your response. There’s only a few short hours left to donate before the end of the year. Will you make your year-end donation before the deadline? Here’s the link to donate right away: [INSERT DONATION PAGE URL] – [Sender First Name] ___________________________________________________________ Sent: December 31, [YYYY] at 8:03am From: [INSERT ORIGINAL SENDER NAME] [First Name], it’s new year’s eve! I was checking my records this morning and noticed that you hadn’t made your year-end donation yet. So I thought I’d send you a quick reminder this morning to make sure you can get your donation in before the deadline at 11:59pm this evening. Will you take a minute to give your year-end gift? – [Sender First Name] [Signature] |
Improve Performance with Segmentation
If you’re using a one-size-fits-all email blast strategy, you’re leaving donations on the table. Donors expect more this year.
They expect that you know them.
They expect you to understand what matters to them.
They expect you to communicate in a personalized way.
There are many ways to improve your performance using segmentation during the last week of the year.
Consider creating versions of these 3 emails that specifically address:
- Donors who are about to lapse.
Emphasize that they’ve been a faithful donor in the past, but you haven’t seen a gift from them this year yet. - Consistent year-end donors who have not yet given.
Emphasize that you’ve seen year-end donations from them faithfully in years past. But you have not seen a year-end gift from them this year. - Donors who gave early in the season.
Many donors will give multiple times during the year-end season. Ask donors who gave in early December to consider making an additional donation before the deadline.
There are countless other ways to segment and personalize your last week of the year communications to improve results. In fact, there are 15 unique year-end segmentation ideas here.
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