4 Year-End Giving Strategies Help Hospital Foundations Raise More Money

August 29, 2025

By Wendy Johnson

One third of all annual nonprofit donations arrive in December, and most come in the final three days. These proven strategies will help you seize the surge.

1. Build a Clear Year-End Giving Timeline and Strategy

Write down a focused year-end giving strategy that covers these essentials:   

• • • Collect patient stories and donor testimonials.
      These become the backbone of all your year-end appeals. One compelling story can fuel multiple touchpoints—email appeals, social media posts, direct mail pieces, and website updates for fundraising campaigns.

How to get started: 

• • Download my free End-of-Year Fundraising Checklist and Planning Guide, a month-by-month timeline that keeps your team ahead of deadlines during this critical fundraising period. 

  • Schedule patient story collection meetings with clinical staff 

  • Contact 3-5 major donors this week to discuss matching gift opportunities 

  • Create a shared calendar with all team members showing every touchpoint through December 31

  • Draft your first appeal letter by October 1, even if it's rough

2. Reactivate Lapsed Donors 

Year-end is prime time for bringing long-lapsed donors back into the fold. It's even possible to revive donors who haven't given for up to 10 years!  

Try testing acquisition-style packages for your toughest segments. It helped one hospital foundation boost net revenue by 533% and decrease their cost per dollar raised by 50%.

The foundation was barely breaking even on the drab, single-insert renewal packages it sent to lapsed donors year after year. As a test, they sent colorful donor acquisition-style mailings that included supporter cards, free brochure offers, and multiple inserts. The response rate more than doubled!

The amount of snail mail we receive is far less than the email flooding our inboxes. A year-end fundraising letter that shows up in a donor's mailbox gets attention. Use that to your advantage.

How to get started: 

• Pull a list of donors who gave 2-5 years ago but haven't given recently 

• Test one "acquisition-style" package on 100 - 200 lapsed donors before committing to larger mailings

• Write a "we miss you" subject line and draft a re-engagement email this week 

• Set a goal to reactivate 5% of your lapsed donor segment

• • Drop 1:  Send a compelling year-end Giving Tuesday or other fundraising appeal in late November or early December. Integrating Giving Tuesday into your double-drop schedule gives donors a clear, nationally recognized moment to act within your broader year-end giving cadence.

  • Drop 2: Follow up later in December with a stewardship mailing, like a newsletter, annual report, or holiday card, that wraps up end-of-year giving and shows impact.

And yes, direct mail outreach is absolutely necessary for year-end fundraising. Up to 90% of direct mail appeals are opened by the recipient, compared to only 20-30% of emails. Direct mail has a 3.7% response rate, compared with email (1%) and social media (1%). 

How to get started: 

• Schedule each drop date 

• Order printing and postage by November 1 to avoid holiday delays 

• Create a simple tracking spreadsheet to measure response rates between drops

4. Optimize Your Donation Page 

Your donation page can make or break year-end giving. The goal is simple: when someone feels inspired and clicks "donate," remove every obstacle between that moment and their completed gift.

• • Maintain visual consistency. Keep your colors, fonts, logo, and messaging consistent across the entire year-end giving journey. When donors see familiar branding, they feel safe. When they see something unfamiliar, they pause—and every pause costs you gifts.

  • Include a thank you page where donors are redirected after making a donation. Thanking donors will help you retain them in the new year.

  • Remove every variable that slows donors down. Test loading speeds, minimize required fields, and make sure your page is mobile-optimized. Provide clear confirmation messaging.

  • Offer the option of a recurring donation. Include lower suggested giving amounts than those for one-time donors. Donors are more likely to give monthly at a lower amount, even if the total donation will be higher over time.

  • Test the process yourself. Donate $1 on your hospital foundation's end-of-year donation page to see what your donors experience. Does it look consistent with your brand? Is it mobile-friendly? Can you complete the gift without confusion? This isn't optional—it's essential market research on your own process.

How to get started: 

• Test your donation page today

• Run a page speed test and fix any issues that slow loading to more than 3 seconds

• Add suggested monthly amounts that are 1/3 of your one-time suggestions ($25/month vs. $100 one-time) 

• Write a compelling thank-you page message that includes next steps for donors