The end of the year is already here, even though it’s only October. Your year-end planning is well underway—right?
Cue the vinyl scratch sound effect …
If you’re feeling behind this year, that’s OK. We’re here to help take the pressure off. Start with these three steps and four gift types to get your year-end planned giving campaign on track.
Plan: 3 Steps
Step #1: Set Year-End Goals and Objectives
It’s easy to get caught up in the endless tasks and events that surround any marketing campaign. Without clear direction, even the best efforts become scattered and siloed.
Your goal, no matter how far along you are in planning, is to be sure the marketing campaign complements the overall strategic planned giving marketing program. In “How to Build a Planned Giving Program That Drives Engagement and Results,” we detail the difference between a program and a plan—namely, that a marketing program tells you why having a plan (or action steps) matters and how the steps work together—along with six signs you’re running a strategic program.
Step #2: Stay Focused on Your Target Audience
Targeted messaging that speaks to the right audience isn’t just important; it’s crucial for a successful year-end marketing campaign. Targeting the right audience contributes to more than 40% of your marketing success.
It’s best to begin with the three core elements that target a donor’s readiness for a planned gift:
Loyalty/Affinity
- Number of years giving or volunteering: 5 to 10+
- Number of lifetime gifts: 5+
- Value of lifetime giving: $500+
Age
- Most prolific PG marketing responders: Age 60+
- Broader PG education messaging: Age 50+
Recency of Giving
- Last gift: within 5 years
To resonate with your audience, start by thanking them for their support, then align your messaging with their values and long-term interests. Finally, highlight the impact of legacy gifts and how they contribute to your organization’s future.
Step #3: Craft Your Campaign
Tailor your messaging to align with your donors’ motivations. Understanding why your supporters give—whether it’s for tax benefits, personal values or the spirit of the season—allows you to create more personalized and impactful appeals.
Additionally, using a combination of email, direct mail and social media boosts donor engagement, ensuring you reach the right person, at the right time, in the right way to motivate them to act (i.e., create a year-end gift).
In fact, in one case study, donors who received both direct mail and email saw a 60.5% increase in response rate compared to those reached through a single channel.
Practical Tip: Focus on high-impact, low-effort tactics like including a planned giving message in general appeals and on social media, highlighting both impact and donor stories. Be sure to emphasize the crucial December 31 deadline for potential tax benefits.
No time to re-invent the wheel?
- A control package may be your answer. A control package is a set of tested and proven materials that consistently perform well with your donor base. Did you run a year-end campaign last year? Identify elements from the campaign that worked well, maybe a specific email subject line, direct mail design or donor segmentation strategy. Use these vetted components as a starting point for this year’s materials.
- Leverage the existing excitement of Giving Tuesday and offer resources that make it easy for donors to learn about and include your nonprofit in their estate plans.
Promote: 4 Gifts
Our senior gift planning consultant, Lynn Gaumer, J.D., CAP®, says it’s important for nonprofits to highlight gift options that offer the most impact for your donors and your organization alike. Gifts of appreciated stock, QCDs and DAFs are particularly effective because they can provide tax benefits while supporting your mission, especially critical as we head into 2026.
“Starting in 2026, high-income earners and itemizers will face new limits, including a 0.5% adjusted gross income floor and a cap on the value of itemized deductions, which may reduce the tax benefit for larger gifts. Maximizing contributions for these individuals before year-end is a powerful strategy.”
– Lynn Gaumer, J.D., CAP®, Senior Gift Planning Consultant, The Stelter Company
1. Appreciated Stock
Why it’s a smart year-end gift: Donors qualify for an income tax deduction and eliminate paying tax on the appreciation of stocks. One caveat: Donors must have owned the appreciated stock for longer than one year.
Key to communicate: If the stock is electronically transferred, the gift date is the day the stock enters your organization’s account, not the date donors ask their broker to make the transfer.
2. Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)
Why it makes sense at year-end: DAFs offer donors immediate tax benefits, allow for flexibility in contributing various assets and provide a simplified way to manage future charitable distributions over time.
Key to communicate: Donors can recommend a grant (or recurring grants) to support your organization, but they qualify for an income tax deduction only when they contribute funds to their existing DAF.
3. IRAs
Why this is a popular gift option: If donors are 70½ or older, they can give any amount up to $108,000 from their IRA directly to your organization, and they will not pay income taxes on the transfer. This gift can also count toward meeting a donor’s required minimum distribution.
Key to communicate: The donor’s IRA administrator must transfer the funds by Dec. 31. If your donor has check-writing features on their IRA, the check must clear their account by Dec. 31 to count toward their required minimum distribution for the calendar year.
4. Charitable Gift Annuities (if offered)
Why they make a smart year-end gift: Charitable gift annuity rates are currently the highest they have been in 17 years, but that could change soon. Donors should take advantage of the higher rates by creating a gift annuity before the end of 2025.
End the Year by Thanking, Not Just Asking
Successful year-end campaigns are not a one-way street. Don’t just campaign—connect.
Allotting time to engage with your donors is key. Thank them as a group on social, individually with a phone call or text, or send them a handwritten holiday card. By whatever means necessary, thank your donors and do it often.
After all, your supporters are your organization’s greatest gift—every day of the year.