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Write your year‑end appeal letter in an hour
By the Ember team · November 3, 2026
The appeal isn't written yet, and fundraising is one more job on a full plate. One good letter, sent on time, is enough.
Tell one true story, with permission, then ask for one amount, say what it does, and make giving one easy step. Set a December 31 deadline, repeat the ask in a P.S., and mail it by mid-November if you can. In December, email it, then remind anyone who hasn't given around the 28th and on the 31st.
Your hour, in four parts
Ask permission for the story a few days ahead, since that part waits on someone else. Then block one hour:
- 15 minutes: choose the story and set your amounts.
- 25 minutes: fill in the letter below.
- 10 minutes: cut it down into the email.
- 10 minutes: set up the reply card and test your giving link.
If there are two of you, one writes while the other handles the list, the reply card and the link.
Pick one story, and ask first
One person, one moment, one change. Not your whole year. A reader can picture one person. Nobody pictures a program summary.
Small and specific works, like a second grader who finished her first chapter book, or a family's first night in a warm apartment. Pick the one you still think about.
Then ask the person before you write a word. Tell them where it will appear, and show them the draft. Offer to change their name, and if you do, say so in the letter. For a child, ask a parent or guardian. Keep their yes in writing, even a short email.
Never blend several people into one made-up story. If no one says yes, tell a moment you saw yourself, with no details that point to anyone.
Make one ask, with real amounts
“Please consider a gift” isn't an ask. “Will you give $100 by December 31?” is. Name one amount in the letter. Then offer three on the reply card, plus a blank for any amount.
Set the amounts from your own records. Use a common gift size from this year for the middle one, then add one smaller and one that stretches. For bigger gifts, asked in person or by phone, see How to ask for donations.
Show what the gift does
Tie each amount to something real, using your own costs. If a week of groceries for one family costs you $40, write “$40 fills one family's shelves for a week.” If you can't back a line like that, describe the work instead.
Talk about the good the gift does, not what you need. “Help us cover our costs” asks donors to pay a bill. “Your gift keeps Dana's reading group meeting in January” lets them see what they made possible.
Make giving one easy step
Every extra choice is a place to stop. On paper, send a reply card and an envelope with your address printed on it. The card needs your amounts, a line for their email, and who to make checks out to. Add a short web address they can type, like yourorg.org/give.
In email, use one link to one page. Test that page on your own phone before anything goes out.
Why is December 31 the deadline?
A deadline gives people a reason to act now, and this one is real. A gift counts on a donor's taxes for the year it is made. A mailed check counts on the day it is mailed. A credit card gift counts in the year it is charged (IRS Publication 526). So say the date plainly, in the ask and in the P.S.
Add one line about the 2026 deduction
Starting with 2026, people who don't itemize can deduct cash gifts again (IRS Topic no. 506). The limit is $1,000, or $2,000 on a joint return. Cash here means a check, card or online gift. Stock and goods don't count.
The rule covers gifts to public charities, but not to donor-advised funds or supporting organizations (26 U.S.C. §170(p)). So use the line only if you are a public charity and not a supporting organization. Churches and schools count, and if you aren't sure, ask your accountant. Put it near the end:
“New for 2026: even if you don't itemize, you can deduct up to $1,000 in cash gifts, or $2,000 filing jointly. Ask your tax preparer how it applies to you.”
Never estimate what anyone will save. 2026 charitable deduction: what to tell your donors covers the details, including a new floor for people who do itemize.
Year-end appeal letter template
Keep it to one page, in short paragraphs, signed by a real person. The P.S. repeats the ask, so a reader who only skims still sees it.
Dear [first name],
[Name] first came to [organization] in [month]. [One sentence on what was hard.] [One sentence on what changed.]
“[A short quote from them, used with their permission.]”
That happened because people like you gave. This year, you helped us [the main thing you did, with one real number].
In [next year], your gift can [the next good thing it will do, in one sentence]. Will you give $[middle amount] by December 31?
$[small amount] [does this]. $[middle amount] [does this]. $[large amount] [does this].
You can give at [short web address], or send a check in the envelope with this letter.
[Signature]
[Your name], [your role]
[Phone or email]
P.S. Your gift of $[middle amount] by December 31 means [what it does, in a few words]. Give at [short web address].
New for 2026: even if you don't itemize, you can deduct up to $1,000 in cash gifts, or $2,000 filing jointly. Ask your tax preparer how it applies to you. [Keep this line only if you are a public charity and not a supporting organization.]
The email version
Use the same letter, cut to about half. The subject line names the story or the deadline, never “Year-end appeal.” Put the ask near the top. Send it from a person, with a real reply-to address. Repeat your one link at the end if you like, but never add a second place to go.
When to send it, and when to follow up
Mail the letter by mid-November if you can, so it arrives well before the holidays. If that date has passed, mail it as soon as it is ready. Email the same appeal in the first half of December, leaving off anyone who gave on GivingTuesday. A few days later, send it again with a new subject line to people who haven't given yet.
GivingTuesday falls on December 1, 2026 (GivingTuesday.org). If you take part, use the same story and amounts, so donors hear one message.
Then follow up with whoever still hasn't. Send a reminder around December 28 and a last one on December 31. Keep each one short: the deadline, the amount, the link and one line from the story. The year-end giving calendar has every send date, from October to January.
Thank each gift within 48 hours, by name, and keep one list of who has been thanked. How to write a donor thank-you letter has templates.
When the gifts start coming in, Ember Giving keeps each one on a list until its donor is thanked. Sign up for Ember Giving before your letter goes out. Free if your budget is under $50K a year, with no credit card.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. The tax rules here were read on IRS.gov and in the U.S. Code on 24 September 2026. Send donors to their own tax preparer for anything about their taxes.
The Ember tool for thisEmber Giving
Record each gift, see who still needs a thank-you, and get a draft you send from your own email. Free under a $50K budget. Unlimited users on every tier.
Sources: 26 U.S.C. §170(p), (b)(1)(A) and (b)(1)(I), as amended by Public Law 119-21 (2025), with its effective-date notes; IRS, Topic no. 506, Charitable contributions; IRS, Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions, sections Cash Contributions and When To Deduct; GivingTuesday.org for the 2026 date. All read 24 September 2026. The $40 grocery line and the names in the examples are made up to show the format.