Strengthening your year-end appeal: Cut-and-paste messages

As the last days of 2025 approach, you’re likely preparing to send a final appeal to your donors. This is one of the most important fundraising moments of the year—and an ideal opportunity to remind supporters that their generosity can sustain both today’s work and your organization’s long-term stability, including through your endowment or reserve fund at Kitsap Community Foundation.

With a few intentional adjustments, your year-end message can inspire gifts for immediate needs and encourage donors to invest in your organization’s future. Here are three strategies and sample language you can cut, paste, edit, and use right away.

Invite donors into the full picture of giving

Year-end letters work best when they reflect the many ways supporters can be part of your mission. Consider language such as:

"Our community thrives because of caring supporters like you who choose to stand behind our mission in so many meaningful ways. Some of you give every December to support our operating budget. Others have strengthened our future by making gifts to our long-term reserves. And many of you have made thoughtful legacy plans through a bequest or retirement account beneficiary designation. Whatever your path, your commitment makes our work possible—and we are truly grateful."

Show donors how their gifts create real impact

Help donors understand what their support has accomplished this year—especially how long-term giving plays an important role. For example:

"Because of the generosity of donors, our organization was able to add two case managers this year, expanding services to nearly 50 additional children. What’s more, endowment distributions alone allowed us to equip our team with updated technology, saving time on administrative tasks and giving us more capacity for direct, personal support. These are just a few examples of how your giving strengthens our work today and long into the future."

Provide clear, simple ways to give before December 31

A strong call to action makes year-end giving easier and more likely. Offer straightforward options and highlight tax-smart strategies:

"We welcome your year-end gift in whatever way works best for you. You can give online, check out our sponsorship promise form, or mail a check to the address below. If you’re considering a gift of appreciated securities—an especially tax-efficient option this time of year—please reach out. Through a partnership with KCF, we can help you make a seamless gift to support our annual operations, our reserves, our endowment fund, or all of the above."

Looking for additional messaging?  Feel free to adapt any of these year-end messages to your mission. You can also read our CEO, Tina O'Brien's opinion piece in the Kitsap Sun for messaging ideas.

As always, please reach out to our team at Kitsap Community Foundation. We are happy to serve as a sounding board as you close the year strong and head into 2026!