The 6-Week EOY Email Cadence That Drives Donations
The end of September marks the official start of the most critical fundraising quarter of the year. Amidst the flurry of social media campaigns and digital ads, one channel remains the undisputed workhorse of year-end fundraising: email.
But what’s the right way to approach it? Many nonprofits struggle to find the balance between sending too few emails and leaving money on the table, or sending too many and burning out their list with repetitive asks. The truth is, a successful year-end email campaign isn’t about volume; it’s about strategy and momentum.
A well-paced email cadence builds a narrative, fosters goodwill, and creates a sense of shared purpose that leads to incredible results. This simple week-by-week playbook will guide your efforts and turn your email list into a powerful engine for your mission.
Why This Cadence Works
This 6-week plan is designed to do more than just ask for money. It strategically moves your audience through a journey. It starts with gratitude, introduces a clear goal, tells stories that connect donors to your impact, builds urgency, and finally, makes a direct and compelling case for support. Each step is intentionally designed to build on the last, ensuring your final, most urgent asks land with an audience that is primed and ready to give.
It also provides you and your team enough time to draft the copy, nail the creative, and segment your lists, so that you’re not scrambling days or hours before each email blast to hit ‘Send.’
Week 1 (Mid-November): The Unexpected Thank You
Goal: Build goodwill and warm up your audience before the asks begin.
Content: This email has one job: to express pure, unprompted gratitude for your donors’ past support. There should be no "ask" in this message. Share a heartfelt, powerful story of the impact their support made possible over the past year. This message should come from a real person at your organization, like your Executive Director, and use a warm, personal subject line.
Why It Works: In a season filled with appeals, a message of pure appreciation stands out. It reminds your supporters that you see them as partners, not just as transactions, making them far more receptive to the appeals that will follow.
Week 2 (Thanksgiving Week / Giving Tuesday): The Campaign Kick-Off
Goal: Officially launch your EOY campaign and set the stakes.
Content: This is your big announcement email for Giving Tuesday and your wider EOY campaign. Clearly state your fundraising goal and what that goal will help you accomplish (think impact, not just dollars—let your donors see how their contributions transform into an incredible outcome, not just numbers on a balance sheet). If you have a matching gift, this is the time to introduce it with excitement. Your call-to-action should be clear, direct, and focused on this first major giving day.
Why It Works: This email anchors your campaign to a specific, tangible goal. It gives your supporters a finish line to race towards and leverages the built-in urgency and energy of the Giving Tuesday movement and the giving season writ large.
Week 3 (Early December): The Deep-Dive Impact Story
Goal: Connect your fundraising goal to a powerful, human story.
Content: Move from the big-picture goal to a personal story of impact. This email should be a deep dive into the life of one person, family, or community that has been changed by your work. The entire email should be focused on the narrative, with a softer call-to-action at the end that ties their potential donation back to creating more stories like this one.
Why It Works: People give to people, not to numbers. This email puts a face to the fundraising goal, creating an emotional connection that a simple progress bar cannot.
Week 4 (Mid-December): The Urgent Reminder & Progress Update
Goal: Create momentum and introduce mid-month urgency.
Content: Remind your audience of the campaign goal and show them the progress they’ve helped you make so far. Frame them as heroes who are helping you get closer to the finish line. This is a great time to remind them of the approaching December 31st deadline and re-emphasize your matching gift if you have one.
Why It Works: Showing progress creates a powerful sense of momentum and social proof. It tells supporters, "This is working, and your gift right now can help get us over the top."
Week 5 (December 26-30): The Final Countdown
Goal: Make direct, urgent, and repeated asks during the peak giving week.
Content: In the last week of the year, your messaging should become shorter, more direct, and more frequent. The EOY Toolkit recommends sending multiple emails during this period with clear, action-oriented subject lines. Emphasize the rapidly approaching deadline and the tax-deductible nature of their gift.
Why It Works: Data consistently shows that a huge percentage of online giving happens in the last three days of the year. Your audience expects to hear from you during this time, and clear, urgent reminders are essential to capturing those final, critical donations.
Week 6 (December 31): The Last Chance
Goal: Capture the final wave of last-minute donations.
Content: On December 31st, plan to send multiple emails. These can be your shortest and most direct messages of the campaign. Use subject lines like "Last Chance to Make a 2025 Gift" or "Just Hours Left." Focus on the deadline and the impact of one final donation.
Why It Works: This email serves as a final, helpful reminder for procrastinators and those who have been meaning to give but haven’t gotten around to it yet. You’ve already set the stage in the prior weeks about the significance of a gift for your organization’s impact, and this email is the peak of urgency.
Final Thoughts
A strategic email cadence takes your supporters on a journey. By planning your communications with intention, you can build a campaign that is not only successful but also meaningful for your community and your supporters.
Need a partner to help bring your EOY campaign to life? Good Dog Strategies is here to help.
