Making a List and Checking it Twice

10 Nov Making a List and Checking it Twice

11 November 2025

By David Allen, Development for Conservation

If you will stick your neck out and ask for specific amounts of money in your appeal letters, you will raise more money. And if you can hand tailor a few of them, doing so could make an even impact.

Here’s how:

Make a list of everyone who gave you money last year and order it in descending order by gift amount. This works regardless of whether you are looking at year end giving or cumulative giving, but if the latter, use the cumulative total for the entire calendar year.

Now look at what they have given so far this year. What patterns emerge for you?

• There will be those who have given more or about the same – they’re probably OK for this exercise.
• There will be those who have given substantially less. It’s up to you, of course, but I might be looking at whether there is still time to ask them again this year.
• And there will be some who have not yet given in 2025.

Keep in mind that dollars can be considered “renewable” as much as donors can. Here’s an example: If someone gave you $500 last year and $100 this year, they represent a 1/1 = 100% renewal. But their gift only represents a 100/500 = 20% renewal. I wouldn’t infer too much into this idea on an individual basis, but over a segment, it can be really telling. You can influence the result by asking for more money and by not giving up on donors who haven’t given.

For the last group – those who haven’t yet given – and maybe even the last two groups, consider some variation of the following:

1. Prepare a solicitation letter asking that they consider a year-end gift. Use a variation of the year-end appeal letter or draft something completely new. Personalize it to the greatest extent possible, specifically including language that acknowledges what they have given already this year. Fold, stuff, seal, and stamp – all ready to go.
2. Call them

If they answer the phone, introduce yourself and your role (staff, board, volunteer), and thank them for their past support. Tell them that you are working on the end-of-year campaign, that you are personally putting their letter in the mail that day, and that you hope they will give it serious consideration.

If they don’t answer the phone, leave a message including your name, role (staff, Board, volunteer), and cell phone number. Explain that you are working on the end-of-year campaign, that you are personally putting their letter in the mail that day, and that you hope they will give it serious consideration. Invite them to call you or visit the office if they have any questions.

1. For those who didn’t answer, send an email that same day. The subject line is: “Trying to reach you.” Consider something like this:

Hi ______, I’m on the Board of the ________ Land Trust, and I am reaching out about our Annual Fund campaign that just launched for 2025. We are entering a new era of land conservation in ________. We are also thrilled with________. ________ Land Trust is your community land trust. This work needs your engagement and your investment. The stakes could not be higher, so we’re raising the bar for this year’s annual fund.

1. After you press send on the email , mail the letter.
2. Follow-up as appropriate if they respond in any way. If they don’t respond at all, repeat the call/email sequence, reminding them that you are interested in discussing their year-end gift and asking that they respond to you directly. See if you can set up a time to chat or a time to meet.

In a perfect world, every person who made a gift last year would receive this same hand-holding experience. In the world we actually live in, there will be too many of them and not enough available minutes for you. You will have to prioritize. Here’s the way I would prioritize.

• Twenty largest gift donors from last year who have yet to make a gift this year.
• New donors from last year who have yet to make a gift this year.
• Donors on the major gift prospect list.

Every donor who responds with a gift – regardless of size – represents a win, because you are not only raising money for this year. You are making it more likely that they will give again next year, and again and again.

Six weeks from now is Christmas week. Make the most of that time.

And if you have ideas about getting more from your year-end activities, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Cheers, and have a great week!

-da

PS:  Your comments on these posts are welcomed and warmly requested. If you have not posted a comment before, or if you are using a new email address, please know that there may be a delay in seeing your posted comment. That’s my SPAM defense at work. I approve all comments as soon as I am able during the day.

Photo by TeeFarm courtesy Pixabay