Strengthening your year-end appeal: Cut-and-paste messages
Written by Jennifer Turner, VP of Philanthropy
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 a CICF Collaborative entity (which includes Central Indiana Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana).
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:
Central Indiana 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 at [URL], or mail a check to the address below. If you’re considering a gift of appreciated securities—an uniquely tax-efficient option this time of year—please reach out. Through our partnership with CICF Collaborative, we can help you make a seamless gift to support our annual operations, our reserves, our endowment fund, or all of the above.
As always, please reach out to our team for help. We are happy to serve as a sounding board as you close the year strong and head into 2026!
About the CICF Collaborative
CICF Collaborative is a partnership of philanthropic organizations working together to strengthen communities across the region. Each entity within the CICF Collaborative (including the cornerstone entities, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana) brings deep knowledge, strong relationships, and its own individual, focused mission. The CICF Collaborative unites the entities by providing shared services, allowing the entities to operate more efficiently and effectively. By leveraging what we each do best, we’re able to better serve our communities and create more lasting impact, together. Learn more »
About the Author
Jennifer Turner has a passion for creating partnerships and connections within the community to create meaningful impact. As vice president of philanthropy at CICF, she helps support more than 1,300 families, companies, and not-for-profits design philanthropic plans that are both meaningful and impactful. With expertise in fundraising, capital campaigns, planned giving, and more, Jennifer helps organizations of all kinds maximize their missions and ensure their long-term sustainability.