Thursday January 8- the year of the donor

Hi !

Three’s Company: What’s cookin this week 

In this week’s enews…

• A shitty email

• 2026 is the year of the…

• How to craft a compelling story

• Great post: How to maximize monthly donations

• My favorite article of the year

• An important P.S.

Thank you to everyone who filled out my reader survey! Plenty of food for thought for me to work thru and find the content that you need to help you at work.

The solution to the Triple E (enews easter egg) from three weeks ago: Some of my favorite sugar cereals.

So it’s 2026. And I’m calling this the year of consistent and constant. Why? Because I’m pissed. Read on.

Charlie’s Angels: What a shitty email 

Close to 2,000 year-end fundraising emails came through my inbox in December. I’d say the majority were… not great. Organization centered. All about the nonprofit’s internal fundraising goal that they HAVE to hit. Little mention of impact. A cash grab.

Do I get it? No but yes. It annoys me but I also know that many many organizations depend on December donations for a large portion of their annual budget.

But then I got this from the ACLU on December 31 and I lost it:

Complete and total shit. And I apologize for my language but enough is enough.

THEY can’t afford to fall short of THEIR goal. My gift is PENDING.

😡😡 😡 

This is exactly how NOT to treat donors. It’s as if they’re standing in front of me, arm outstretched, hand open, tapping their foot and saying, let’s go dude. Give us the money!

It’s not fundraising. It’s a shakedown.

I have been told that this works in politics. People love candidate X and know the candidate has to raise X money to keep the campaign alive. So “pending” works as a way to encourage a person to give.

But politics isn’t fundraising and fundraising doesn’t mimic politics! I got plenty of these “pending” emails but the language + the image on this one just made me stop and curse. This is not the way to treat a potential supporter.

Which leads to this: Sector donor retention stinks. Household giving is down. Government grants are down and/or disappearing.

Some of you may already be banging your head on the desk wondering how you’ll survive 2026. I’ve been there and I want to share with you what works. It’s why I’m calling 2026 the year of constant and consistent.

What does that mean and what do you have to do to make it happen? Let’s dive into it.

Laverne & Shirley: You and your donors in 2026

When money is tight, many nonprofits go into “cocoon mode.” Fire people, spend only if absolutely necessary, ask staff to take pay cuts, hunker down until the “messiness” blows over.

With people having to take on extra jobs, they no longer have time or head space to do all the things. One of the things that ends up suffering is communications with donors. And that’s exactly what I want to prevent!

I am asking you to make 2026 the Year of Constant and Consistent Communications with supporters. I am going to come back to this theme a few times during the year and provide you with ideas how to stay in touch with donors so that you raise more, boost retention, build relationships and THRIVE rather than survive.

For now, here are a couple of items you need to add to your to do list.

1️⃣ What happened: Last week I mentioned the need to send all your subscribers an email wishing them a happy new year. This week I’m telling you to prepare and send out very soon an email to EVERYONE on your list about the year-end campaign. Let them know you hit your goal- and if you surpassed it, let em know!

Share a ton of genuine, heartfelt gratitude to everyone. Thank your amazing community of supporters for helping to <insert impact here>. If you can, include a quote from a beneficiary. People need to know that their collective good will impact many in their community.

Didn’t hit your goal? Send an email anyway and thank the community for coming together at year-end and helping to support those who need it most. Same genuine gratitude.

You spent December sending plenty of comms. Just because it’s 2026 is no reason to go quiet. Constant.

2️⃣ Ongoing impact: Email, text, blog posts, direct mail, phone calls, in person meetings. Those are just some of the ways for you to share gift impact.

And I share all those methods to not only tell you to diversify your marketing portfolio but to make sure you use them all! Impact sharing isn’t a one-time thing. It should be year round so people are kept up to date. You have at your disposal multiple outlets to share impact. Use them!

Consistent.

3️⃣ Out of sight out of mind: If you’ve been here long enough you know that I believe that nonprofits don’t send enough emails to their list.

This is why I want you to consider sending more emails this year. Go from quarterly to monthly. Monthly to bi-weekly. Bi-weekly to weekly.

Why? Constant and consistent donor comms.

Will people open every email you send? Nope. But inbox visibility is a HUGE deal. You need to be present, front and center so your supporters remember you exist, remember the good feeling they got when they donated to you and remember the shared values they have in common with your organization.

4️⃣ That good feeling: A donor gave a gift? They feel good.

You sent them a thank you card? They feel good.

And then… quiet. You go silent until the next time you have an ask.

Keep giving them that good feeling!!!! Share stories, data, pictures, videos, quotes and whatever you can to make them feel that good feeling over and over and over. This way, the next time you ask they will happily participate in the joy of philanthropy.

Constant and consistent = organizational growth.

I know how hard the above seems from a time and energy perspective. But I’m telling you that without staying in touch with donors on a regular basis you’re losing them to other organizations and causes. And that’s too bad because if they liked you enough to give once or more, there’s a good chance they’d do so again. But only if you show them you care and want to engage with them.

So no more pending. No more demanding money. Put in the effort to connect with supporters. Make them feel the love. Make it happen in 2026.

What’s Happening: How to craft a compelling story

For the How Do I online conference in January- the conference for staff at GROWING nonprofits (budget below $5 million)- I’m using this section to introduce you to one of the conference speakers, fundraising expert T. Clay Buck.

If you know and/or follow T. Clay Buck of Next River Fundraising Strategies, you know how passionate he is about helping people and nonprofits succeed. A fundraising expert, data specialist, strategist, storytelling master, relationships builder. That is just some of what Clay brings to the table. And he’s gonna share his expertise, experience and knowledge with you at How Do I.

At the conference, Clay will be teaching a session titled “How do I craft a compelling story.” Learn how to create and share stories which mobilize people to take action.

Here is part of what Clay says you’ll walk away with:

• What donors respond to most in a story

• How to continue the energy and emotion of giving through the whole story cycle

• Why stories matter so much

Lemme add an extra tip from Clay:

Seats are limited so reserve your tickets today for the How Do I conference. Discounts available for multiple tickets.

Hoping to see you on January 20 and 21 where you’ll learn the steps, get expert tips, best practices, how to and practical advice so you exceed your fundraising goals in 2026 and beyond.

Family Feud: A little of this and that

In this section I’m going to share with you great content I’ve picked out that you can learn from.

1. How to maximize monthly donations on your online donation form. MUST READ! (4 A Good Cause)

2. How to create a volunteer handbook (Nonprofit Learning Lab)

3. Infusing emotions into your donor appeals (SOFII)

4. Best practices for email design (Hubspot)

5. 26 free webinars in January to learn from (Wild Apricot)

Alice: My favorite annual article

I wait for it for twelve months. And every year when it comes out in December, I stop whatever I’m doing and read. And laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more.

I am of course talking about Dave Barry’s 2025 Year in Review. The humor writer takes a look back at the last year and.. well, it was a pretty crazy year. And Barry makes it funnier and zannier.

I have been reading his end of year reviews for almost 40 years now. It is the one article I wait for with great anticipation and it never disappoints. I know that 2025 may not have been a great year. Take a few minutes and relive it a little differently than you remember it.

You won’t regret it.

🎶 I listened to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holdin Out For A Hero” on an endless loop while crafting this week’s enews. Remember what I said about constant and consistent? Make donors fell like the hero over and over and over.

I’ll be back in your inbox next Thursday. Have a great weekend!

P.S. In case the platform you use doesn’t do it automatically, a reminder to switch the copyright on your website and enewsletter to 2026.